Previous chapter got updated for quality and clarity. You don't need to reread it if you don't want to, but hopefully should be more palatable than previously.
I need a hobby.
After about two weeks done of marvelling at the wordly access that my newfound freedom affords me, this is the conclusion I've come to. Sure, gathering materials for the first ever in the world career of a Pokémon training other Pokèmon- at least, that I know of- has been fun and all, and my current stock- four Pokéballs, one Ultra, and a spanking brand new Luxury Ball that I stole off of that guy who was with Cheryl... who's apparently a Gym Leader now.
...no, bad. Need to stop doing that. I'm pretty sure thinking about the implications of the world being topsy-turvy from what I'm used to is the opposite of a hobby.
Healing supplies are at two half-cans of potion and one almost full can of ultra potion, which is extremely useful if I get injured. Then again, the Heal Ball seems to be actively regenerating me back to to health on its own just fine, as opposed to its effect in game where it's a one-time deal.
Rare Candy is still there with its tantalizing promise of power. Miracle seed is yet to be delivered to Roserade... I doubt she needs the power boost right now.
And in the factory, while no one was looking, I snagged the TM for Flamethrower. It was... just there, lying around, exactly where I remembered it to be from the games.
...at least, I assume this to be Flamethrower. I could be getting my translations wrong.
But training and meditating, while helping with my sense of purpose, are not true relaxation... and enclosed within a simulation of a glade with no real access to the outside world unless I leave my ball, which I can't right now because Cynthia is being extremely annoying and locked it, I can't really achieve relaxation either unless I sleep. Having just woken up, that's not happening.
I think she and Fantina are riding Gabite, whose speed unfortunately I can't match without Quick Attack, but still. Rude. I could've ridden sidesaddle.
The more time passes, the more I can feel myself reverting back from that feral mentality into my old self... though I suspect it'll never be truly the same. And yet, I crave entertainment, of which I'm getting none right now. I can't even swim because apparently my density to volume ratio and the fur on my body turn me into Sonic the fucking Hedgehog in the water.
I do have that dictionary... but I really overestimated my drive to learn just every word from the sinnoh language from a list of words. Ugh. It doesn't help that for whatever reason, I get that weird translation thing where I seem to understand what humans say, and they can't.
When there's factual evidence for the existance of God, I wonder if something to the effect of Babel happened here. It can't make sense that all Pokèmon understand one another but humans don't, right?
I could... ugh, I could ask Cynthia for help, but I don't want to. I can tell she's trying to appease me, but it's a child trying to indulge a particularly difficult Pokèmon, and rest assured, I have nothing in common attitude-wise with a Charizard.
That, and... I'm not actually sure what is going on inside her head. Whatever goes on in my body that regulates aura- I know I use my tassels for perception, but nothing more- was fucked by Team Might, which is probably why I'm having these anger issues, so I don't use it too much, but I can still get the vague idea of what is going on in people's minds... it's typically separate in intent and feeling. It would be decent if I could do it without focusing in battle.
For Cynthia? It's complete apathy. Moreso than I sensed from Cyrus, which is what I expected. Drive without emotion. Purpose without reason.
Fucking creepy, is what it is. I genuinely don't understand if I stumbled upon two closet sociopaths, though I get the vibe that Cyrus is moreso on the spectrum than anything else, or something is preventing my aura perception.
It's hardly impossible; I can't feel ghost, psychic, bug and fairy types properly, but it's still something that makes it hard to feel comfortable around her.
And besides... now that I'm done settling into my new situation...
I'm really starting to resent the lack of independence... and I'm back to being myself enough that I don't even know how to go about anything in this world. There's... nothing, of what I'm used to. Not the legal rights that I was entitled to as a human and a french citizien, not a house to retire to if I need it, no family to cover for me while I get my bearings. There's not even the brands I'm used to, the companies I've grown to hate and rely on like Google and Amazon over the years.
Hearing Fantina speak French- or Kalosian, apparently- so carelessly made me think of home again.
As I lay on the grass of the digital meadow, I can feel my breath start to quicken. I've got... nothing. No one. Not even Calem can begin to understand. His world is still here, just moved around. Mine can't be found anywhere.
And even if I got back home, how do I get back to me? how do I undo all this? Do I even want to, when this body is so much more capable than my old one?
How-
fwoom
I blink, as I turn from data back to flesh, hissing at the sun's glare in my eyes. I'm in front of a cave, on a cliff overlooking the route heading into a massive city- massive enough that, even from far away, I have to crane my neck to see where it ends at either side on the horizon.
Turning to glare at Cynthia for putting me in the Pokèball in the first place, I'm met with the sight of her with a backpack. This is actually my first time seeing her not carry her items in a purse, but I guess we've always been in the vicinity of a city...
"Aww, what's the matter mutt? Already disoriented?" I turn to stare at Fantina, though she's not the one who spoke the words, feeling my lips insinctively pull back in a threatening snarl.
"Riolu! We're having a sparring match with my friend!" Cynthia calls out, and out of Fantina's shadow, the taunting presence slips out into the form of her Misdreavus.
"Arrête, chérie. N'aggravez pas le chien enragé." As those words slip out of Fantina's mouth, I can feel my vision go red. "Ready when you are, darling."
"Then-" having taken that as my cue to act, a Vacuum Wave forms inside my hands as I point them at Misdreavus. I know fully well that it won't do anything, but it should be enough to disorient it.
I can feel all my frustration, anger and grief pour into the ball. And as it shoots with the crack of a gunshot, I'm chasing after it towards Misdreavus, not feeling right now like playing at Cynthia's orders.
As I'm drawing near, ready to tear the damn ghost to ribbons with my Steel Claws, something unexpected happens. My Vacuum Wave connects, and it explodes against Misdreavus, kicking up a cloud of dust. Unable to follow its aura due to its typing, I stay outside of the cloud.
"Hex, mon cheri!" Fantina calls, and I get ready to tank the blow, only... nothing. As I the dust settles, the blue and purple ghost is completely knocked out.
...yeah, right. I didn't even fucking hit it. I Quick Attack, bounding forwards to tear the illusion asunder. With a shout of alarm, Fantina throws herself on her Pokémon, and as I raise my claw, Cynthia's scream pierces through the air.
"STOP, RIOLU! WE'VE WON ALREADY!" The call is enough to shock me out of my fugue state, as I stare at the Ghost type trainer and her knocked out Misdreavus. What the fuck is going on?
"Quel brutal coup..." Fantina murmurs. "Well, congratulations. I didn't quite have this in mind when you proposed sparring, though. We already knew you were the entrainure superior." She replies bitterly.
"I... have no idea what just happened. What was that move?" Cynthia asks, pointing her Pokèdex at me.
"Riolu used its Unknown Move 3." The Pokèdex rattled off unhelpfully, and I squint at it. No?
"These Unknown Moves again… a new one got added. Before, you only had two." Cynthia murmurs. "What did you do, Riolu?"
Staring at my paws, I start to ponder over that question exactly. Slowly, I bring them together before focusing my energy to create a vacuum between them. It's a little like squeezing your hands together and trying to part them without letting the air in, except… well, functional, through the power of Pokèmon magic.
Moments later, the vacuum collapses with a loud pop as I fail to hold it stable for long.
"Tsk. Stop acting so naif, cabot. I could recognize anywhere a Dark Pulse, it was clear as day." Fantina huffs in annoyance, her aura crackling with malcontent. I share a look with Cynthia that perfectly encapsulates what we're both feeling at the moment.
U wot m8
Fantina stomps her foot, but after a moment, she breathes in deeply. "The Dark Pulse is a dark projectile that has its master pour negative emotion in to form. Your Riolu isn't able to control himself at all in using it."
"…" Cynthia seems to be deep in thought for a moment, before bringing the Pokédex close to her mouth. "Do you have footage of the other two Unknown Moves?" she asks, kneeling down in a squat to let me observe as well. Fantina huffs, recalling her Misdreavus but approaching us on the other side of Cynthia now that the tension has broken down somewhat… courtesy of the other trainer's completely blasé attitude. I, admittedly, can't tell much of what goes on inside her mind at the best of times.
The footage I'm shown is me using Work Up before snapping a Frustration into Porygon-Z to massive effect. Right, Lucas said something about the move being similar to Outrage, as I'd lost control during it and hit Porygon for supereffective damage... though perhaps, I just broke through the Conversion instead?
I don't know. This is making my brain hurt.
Cynthia hums, looking similarly confused as me. "I... have a bad feeling about this. Tell you what, next time we see Palmer, we'll get back to work on this, okay?" she says, reaching out to pet my head, prompting me to swipe her hand away with a scowl. With a smug expression, she stands back up, looking at Fantina. "Misdreavus was your only Pokémon, yes?"
"Non, mon ami. I did just expand my team, though she was by far the better combatant... but perhaps, this is an opportunity, though I fear for Drifloon, in a cave." Fantina bites her lip.
"Peut-être que tu ne devrais pas former une équipe mono-spectre alors, espèce d'idiot..." I mutter back in reply, rolling my eyes. Fantina looks at me, tilting her head and for a moment, I think she might have understood, but she's just staring back at me suspiciously.
"It's not nice to imitate people, puppy." she admonishes, and I roll my eyes.
"Just stick to us then. I can protect you if your Drifloon goes down... and I get the idea that the Pokémon here aren't really going to be strong enough to be a challenge, given that this is a known safe route. It'll be good for you to get some experience." Cynthia offers, and I still can't feel a shred of emotion from her despite the small smile on her face.
"...tres bien." Fantina sighs. "Let's get going."
Dawn is busy trying to wrangle cats when a call reaches her personal phone. She wishes she could say she is being facetious when she says this, but that is as literal a definition of things as it gets.
She doesn't wish to go back on her decision to hiring her friends as the Elite 4. Call it favoritism, call personal preference, but the matter still is that they've proven time and time again that they're some of the most capable people in the region, loyal to a fault, and will see things done.
This does not mean, however, that what just happened was fine on Dawn's physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, and definitely not something that a Champion should be dealing with on a Sunday night. Her role is to look pretty, look powerful, settle disputes between powerful trainers, and make sure Sinnoh is well-respected on the international stage, as well as settling internal matters when it needs to happen.
Not dig through Pokémon blood and guts to fish out handfuls of Litten from their mom's insides, only for them to already be active enough to prance around her house, causing them to require her to fish them out of every nook and cranny there is.
"Nyuuu!" the feline mews as she cradles it in her hands- it's small enough that she can do that- all black and red with these large yellow eyes. As she places them in a box where her friend has been monitoring the others, she finally settles down, back against her couch, where she turns back to level a glare to a sheepish-looking Marley.
Not a single thing about the speedster is typical, from their appearance, a black and white and only black and white dress with platform shoes, of which several mails that get promptly tossed into the shredder complain that they don't dress like a Fire-type representant should, to the fact that there's a grass and flying type on her team. As a member of the Elite 4. The Fire type representant.
A grass and flying type legendary.
Dawn laughed the first time, and the second, but the complaints for the feelings of the water type trainers hurt by Marley's Shaymin do land on her desk with alarming persistence.
As she opens her mouth, about to ask what possessed them to let their Arcanine become pregnant with a litter of Litten, which she's sure the fire type will fight fang and claw over keeping despite the international treaties, her phone rings.
"Number 2, I am the number 2, I am I am I am I am the number 2- Hey, Dawn." The phone pauses for a moment. "You did change that horrible ringtone you have for when I call you, yes?"
"Sure did." Dawn breathes tiredly, winking at Marley, who giggles at her. "What can this humble public servant do for you, Lucas?"
"Yeah, sure... nevermind that." Lucas shook his head, his expression quickly growing serious. "There's a situation that came up from my assistant's report that needs your attention."
Dawn hummed. She'd assumed that it wasn't a courtesy call, but Lucas seemed serious nonetheless, which was troubling. "Which one, exactly? I assume not the lab ones."
"Cyrus, though Palmer was there as well..." Shame. Dawn had hoped to hear about the kid with the Gabite who was with Rowan. The boy... though, he's probably become a man now, huh? So long has passed since she and Lucas had a little boy with an Eevee chasing at their heels. "It doesn't really matter, though. They were investigating at a steel factory that's operating outside of legal parameters and with insane levels of pollutants being released in the nearby waters, and they were blocked."
"...well, alright then? Release the Joys on them. I'm sure they're itching for some perps ever since we put the last of J's guys behind bars. You're not getting soft on the kiddies, sending the big bad champion on the guys that beat them, are you?" Dawn teased him, but Lucas remained stoic.
"I'm not. The whole reason is that they weren't beat... not until someone stepped in and told them to drop the investigation, invoking the name of the Sinnoh League. What the hell are you and Maylene up to, Dawn?"
Dawn's eyes widened, and she turned to stare up at Marley, who was staring at her with similarly wide eyes. "Lucas, that's not true. Are you sure he isn't pulling a prank on you? We did do that from time to time."
Lucas scoffed. "Don't play coy with me, Dawn. I understand that as Champion you've got secrets to keep, but at least have the decency to tell me if it's something I shouldn't poke my nose in."
"Lucas, now listen here. My memory-"
"Is absolutely spotless, yes, I'm well aware of the effects of being Uxie's Lakebearer."
Dawn huffed. "Exactly. So when I tell you that no such thing has ever crossed my eyes or ears, then back the heck off and believe me."
Lucas' expression softened. "...so it's really not you. But then, is Maylene operating alone?"
"And you're sure that it's Maylene and not, like... an inpostor or something?"
Lucas groaned. "Who else goes around in a trenchcoat barefoot, has a Champion Tier Medicham, and first beats up my trainers' Pokèmon, then fawns over the unconscious Riolu?"
Marley let out a snort from the other couch where she held the Litten box, only to cover her face when Dawn looked up. The Sinnoh Champion let out a sigh of her own. Yep, that sounded like Maylene alright.
"This is... concerning." Dawn breathed. "Still, I can only imagine that she has her reasons. Considering she's the youngest of the Elite, she probably thinks that she can handle it..." Dawn trailed off. "I'll check in, though."
"Considering all that happened, we could all use a confidence boost." Lucas sighed, and Dawn felt the stress lines that hid in her face pull all at once, making her feel twice her age. Were it that they could be carefree again…
Her fingers scroll on her phone, the call minimizing, as her contacts slide by. Lucas, Riley, Marley... her finger stops as a pang in her heart makes it twist like a string plucked too hard.
Cheryl. In many ways, a big sister figure where Dawn was an only child. Someone who never hesitated to put herself on the line to shield the others... and a stark reminder that they didn't all come out of things unscathed.
How long is it now that she hasn't seen the woman? Four years? Despite the fact that Dawn has been aware that Cheryl is back in Sinnoh from her Alola trip for at least a month now?
Lopunny chooses that exact moment to walk in, bringing a set of wet towels to both of the trainers. She gives a pair to Marley, who nods her appreciation, only to vault over with a leap that clears the entire room to land next to Dawn and start dabbing the towel on her. Her Pokémon are all show-offs to the last one, despite the fact that she hasn't touched a Contest in her life beyond that one time where she tried to follow in Johanna's footsteps.
Dawn is many things, but she wouldn't call herself graceful. That experience with Piplup is the single most embarrassing moment in her life, and she wanted to bury herself whenever Ash thought it was appropriate to bring it up. She loved the guy, he was one of the best friends she had and somehow, despite her wiping the floor with him at the League, he just grinned, said he'd train even harder to beat her, and then somehow, the guy who couldn't string together a decent six Pokémon team despite somehow going farther than he had any right to actually beat her at the Ever Grande years later.
...there was also that time they got briefly stuck in a universe where everyone was weirdly incompetent and she was a coordinator, but those were dark times that she had Uxie regularly banish from her mind, though they always seemed to somehow come back to her. Like right now.
"Dawn? You still there?" Lucas asked, and she blinked back into awareness. The Arcanine giving birth had taken its toll on her more than she realized if she'd just spaced out.
"Yeah, yeah. I've got an idea. Considering that Cheryl is back in Sinnoh, how about we gather the gang for a little powwow? And I can ask Maylene all about the weird stuff at the Steelworks on the sly when we meet, without having to make a big deal out of it." she offers. Locking eyes with Marley, Dawn sees them clap their hands in delight, tiredness fading from their eyes. Dawn's gonna take that as a yes on the Marley front.
"I... sure, why not?" Lucas smiles, huffing out a sigh of relief. "I do have some research on Mega-Evolution I've done in collaboration with their locals that's gonna blow your socks off. Did you know that Absol can evolve? Well, temporarily that is, but it's still-" Dawn smiles fondly as she half-listens to Lucas start to chatter her ear off about his research. She can feel the haze of exhaustion, the threat of darkness slowly ease off of her shoulders, for a moment.
She's sure Maylene had her reasons for whatever she did. They're gonna talk it out like adults.
Everything's gonna be alright.
The other shoe drops. I hope you like the little scraps of lore being thrown in because like ten different things got mentioned in that little Dawn POV thing. I love when you guys theorize 3
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