Hello everyone, and welcome to the world of Pokémon! It is here where legends roam the land, and even the smallest of us can become heroes. It is in this world that our story takes place, specifically in the attic room of a small house at the southernmost point of the smallest town in the Sinnoh region, where a young girl is whiling away the minutes before she absolutely must take the first step on her grand adventure. Now, let us begin.
Chapter One: An Altered Beginning!
Twinleaf Town, September 13th, Morning
"…From the hustle and bustle of Jubilife City, to the weighty ambiance of Celestic Town, to the mix of industry and history enveloping cities like Canalave and Eterna. Even the wonders of nature are protected and nurtured, from Eterna Forest and Pastoria's Great Marsh, to the beautiful Floaroma Town.
"And who could forget the Pokémon? There are many species that call Sinnoh exclusively their home. Catch a rare Pokémon to gain an edge in battles back home, or to take the Contest Hall by storm! Book a trip to Sinnoh today! Sponsored by the Sinnoh Board of Tourism."
Click!
The girl set the remote on the floor, having finally run out of reasons to put off going downstairs. Standing up, she began to dress for the weather: a light sweater and slim jacket over her top, tall boots for the occasional snowdrift, white gloves for inclement weather, and her favorite white hat and matching scarf to complete the look. Slinging her bag on her shoulder, she steeled herself for what was the biggest milestone in every girl's life: her first Pokémon. What kind of Pokémon will it be? Will it listen to me? Will I be a good Trainer for it? Shaking her head, she dispelled her doubts for the time being, feeling a bright smile stretch across her face as excitement welled up in their stead. "This is it! Today's the day I officially become a Pokémon Trainer!"
"Hey!"She held back a shriek of surprise, not hearing anyone come up. A blonde boy about her age in an orange-and-white striped jacket and a brown shoulder bag leapt into her attic room, ignoring the ladder up completely. "What am I, chopped liver? Last time I checked, Dawn, we're both getting Pokémon today- oh, hey!" He zipped over and inspected her Bag. "Is that a Wonder Bag?! How'd you get your hands on one of those?"
"Barry, please! Personal space." Best friend or not, she wanted to keep her personal space personal, at least so soon after she'd woken up.
"Whoops, sorry! Uh… Where was I?" He scratched his head a bit, trying to get back on topic. "Oh, right, right! We're going to go see Prof. Rowan and get some Pokémon."
"Right! So, uh, where do we go? Sandgem Town?" It could be very dangerous trying to get there on foot, what with the road between being perpetually overgrown, but if they could find someone with a Pokémon that could Fly…
Barry shook his head. "The others said that his mobile Lab would be parked right outside of town! Let's go right now! I'll be waiting outside." He raced to the ladder, then turned around to say, "Oh, and hurry, will ya? If you're late, I'm fining you ¥10 million!" With that, he departed, ignoring the ladder per usual.
Dawn couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief for his parting. Barry was her best friend—really, her only friend, if she was pushed to think about it—and they did practically everything together, but she really did prefer to do things at her own, more sedate pace, not have to race to keep up with his hyperactive nature. Walking around, she patted her small trophy case displaying a green belt and a silver medal, shut down her PC, and finally climbed down the ladder to the lower levels of her house, passing her mom's room and guest room before reaching and descending the stairs.
Upon reaching the landing, she was met with a "Dawn!"
"Eek!" Bam! "Ow!"
"Oops, sorry honey! I didn't mean to frighten you!" Johanna Berlitz pulled her daughter back up and helped smooth out her outfit.
"I wasn't frightened, Mom, just… startled," Dawn pouted.
"Well sorry for startling you, then. Come on, chin up kiddo! It's your big day; you're finally getting a Pokémon! Barry already left, but I'm sure you can still catch him if you hurry." Oh Mom, if you only knew, Dawn thought to herself; knowing Barry, he was already halfway there by now. "You'll wanna hurry now, dear," she continued, not quite pushing her favorite teenager to the door, "the Professor's not going to be there all day. So off you go!" Scooting her out, she waved her off, only succeeding in causing a bead of sweat to form on Dawn's forehead.
"Huh? What's all of this about!? It's not like I'm going to be late for a flight or anything. Besides, I still have-" she ducked back in and glanced at the clock "—15 MINUTES?!" She dived out the door and raced north, yelling, "Oh my crease, oooh my crease!" all the while.
Johanna watched her run out of sight with a wave and a smile. "Go, Dawn, go!" she only half-jokingly called out, thinking to herself, Huh. Everything else aside, I don't think I've ever seen her run before. Glad to see there's something that can light a fire under her.
"OhmicreaseOmicreaseOoohmicrease! It's so over! I'm so dead! I've ruined everything! Why am I like this!?" Dawn was running as fast as she could for the town entrance, pushing past the stitch stabbing at her side. I can't believe I put it off as long as I did! What was I thinking!? And why do I live so far away from the entrance?! Where is the benefit in that?!
Okay, Dawn, just keep going. One foot in front of the other. You can do this. You've earned this. You've stayed home for a year after you earned your Trainer's license so you could finish school. You held yourself AND Barry back from trying to brave Route 201 when you heard a rumor that Professor Rowan himself was catching Pokémon there for research. You ignored weeks of taunting from "peers" who got a Pokémon as soon as they got their license and left on their journey with dreams of being the next Champion, and you didn't say a word back when most of them came back a month later without a single Gym Badge. Heck, you and Barry were the ones who beat that swarm of Rattata off from the grade school last month even before Barry's dad could! You will NOT miss this!
She wasn't beating herself up solely because she would've waited as long as she had for nothing, though. In fact, she would've left as soon as she graduated back in June, if not for Barry bringing a rumor to light that at first seemed too good to be true: Professor Rowan of Sandgem Town was setting up an experiment requiring a number of new Trainers, and he was looking at the newest batch in Twinleaf for them! Sensible as she was, Dawn dismissed the tidbit of news out of hand, along with most of the students, much to Barry's frustration (but then, given his typical impatience, it wasn't really outside the norm). That topic was more or less forgotten until after graduation, when the official announcement was made: the Professor had recently come into possession of a number of exceedingly rare Pokémon, and wanted to pick from a similarly new crop of Trainers to raise them for his study. As even a Slowpoke could guess, everybody lost their mind upon hearing the news, and it wasn't hard to see why. As a Pokémon Professor, Rowan had to have come across a myriad of rare and powerful Pokémon in his studies, and they had the chance to train one for themselves!
Of course, these Pokémon couldn't just be given away like bead necklaces at the summer festival. No, Rowan, along with some aides, would personally test the attributes of each applicant to see of they would have what it took (exactly what they had to have was another matter entirely). There were over twenty applicants, and only six Pokémon; chances were already slim as it was. And they'll be zero if I don't get there in time!
Jumping over a Machop laying down cables, she dashed through a busy work area in the middle of a house repair; the Rattata swarm chewed its way through several buildings. Mollifying the several workers who called after her with a quick bow and apology, she vaulted over a barricade and continued on her way, the tree line marking the beginning of Route 201 quickly coming into view. She let out a whoop at the sight and ran the home stretch was a grin, only stopping when she reached the site. It was a temporary plaza setup, complete with two cafeteria tables with umbrellas (and a single wooden chair), a chrome trailer with a window on the side, and Dawn's fellow applicants all standing in a line, with the exception of Barry, who was apparently in an altercation with an increasingly harried-looking woman in a lab coat and red glasses.
"And all I'm saying is that you can't start the test just yet!" he said, a hint of desperation coloring his words.
"And all I'm saying is that the test starts when it starts, and it starts in less than a minute." The woman's tone was calm, but brisk, and brooked no more argument. Barry seemed to pick up on this, and looked visibly deflated as he got back in line. Her expression softened at the sight, but her words, though gentler, were still firm: "I'm sorry, but if your friend isn't here by noon, then she's out. There's nothing I can do about it."
"I'M HERE!"
Dawn's shout instantly snapped Barry out of his funk, and he and a few others let out a cheer. She got into line triumphantly, breathing hard but feeling reinvigorated. The murmurs that sprang up in her wake were silenced by a small but insistent ahem from the woman. Sweeping her gaze across the row of adolescents, she nodded and said, "Okay, so it appears that all of the applicants are now present, but just to be sure, I'm going to perform a roll call." She flipped through her clipboard until she found what was presumably the sign-up sheet and, raising it to the light, began to rattle off names:
"Acosta, Heather."
"Here!"
"Andes, Rocky."
"Here!"
"Berlitz, Dawn."
"Present."
"Cedric, Barry."
"Present!"
"Cyan, Ashur."
"Here."
"Elaine, Marisol Sophia Umbra."
"That's me!"
"Gold, Malcolm."
"Present."
"Gray, Johnson."
A sigh, then, "Here."
"Harlow, Vance."
"Yeah!"
And on it went, until she finished with "Zabini, Blaise" ("That's not even his real name! It's Dylan! That's gotta be grounds for disqualification!" Barry muttered loudly, inciting giggles from the nearest teens and a glare from Zabini). "Okay, it seems that everyone is here, so without further ado, let's get started, shall we?" The woman straightened her glasses, and continued in a more official manner, "Welcome, Trainers, and thank you for coming today. My name is Roseanne, and I am one of Professor Rowan's aides and your test coordinator. As you know, you are all vying for one of six unique Pokémon to raise for the Professor's project. This process will have two parts: Part one will be a multiple-choice and written examination, similar to the one taken for your Trainer's license. Part two will be an interview to see if you have not only the required knowledge, but also the preferred abilities and qualities for optimal results. Please sit twelve to a table, and I will return with the tests shortly."
She entered the trailer, leaving the gaggle of new Trainers to scramble for seats next to their friends. Dawn, naturally, gravitated towards Barry, who was talking to Dan, one of their fellow students from the town dojo, and was saving a seat for her on his other side. "There's gotta be something else to it, though," he was saying, as she sat down and pulled out a few pens, keeping one for herself while giving the other to Barry. "Thanks," he said automatically, still embroiled in his conversation. She left him to it, instead observing the debate quietly. "It can't just be the licensure exam all over again, even if it would be harder."
Dan shook his head, stringy ponytail swinging with the motion. "Well, what else could it be? Seriously, the oldest one here is fifteen, and that's only because he began middle school late. They won't bring out anything we can't've seen before, so as long as we kept ourselves sharp on that front, this should be doable."
That does make sense, Dawn thought reluctantly; she wasn't the biggest fan of the boastful and self-important Dan. Even so, she had to agree with him. The Trainers in attendance were completely green, and had no knowledge of advanced battle techniques and strategies; to set a test asking after those before them would be completely unfair, not to mention pointless. The trailer door opened again, conversation ceasing, and out walked Roseanne with a stack of test booklets. She made her way over to the tables, dropping half of the booklets off at their table, and the other half at the second. "Does everybody have an exam? If so, we can begin." She pulled out an egg timer, wound it up, and set it on the nearest table. "You have forty minutes. You may now start."
The sounds of pens scribbling and pages turning filled the air. Dawn filled out the required information on the front and turned to the next page, where a single, handwritten question filled the page: Do you love Pokémon? The area took on a confused atmosphere, signaling that she was not the only recipient. "Um… Ms. Roseanne?" Marisol asked. Dawn resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the sound of her voice; the two never saw eye to eye over anything, as much because of Marisol's snobbishness and tendency to brown nose teachers as Dawn's natural reluctance to socializing. Paired with a long-held academic rivalry, the girls had a healthy dislike of each other.
"Hm?" Roseanne had sat on the wooden chair, and was seemingly playing with her almost absurdly large phone. "Oh, yes, yes, answer all the questions as best you are able, and no talking."
"O-okay," Marisol said, and sat down with a troubled expression. The scratching of pens started up again, but trailed off almost immediately after, and a definite aura of bewilderment permeated the area. Dawn, already having a good idea of its source, wrote in her "Yes" and turned the page. Sure enough, the next question read, in the same elaborate penmanship, no less, Let me ask again: do you love Pokémon?
What kind of test is this? Frustrated, she wrote in big, bold letters, Yes, I do love Pokémon. Turning the page, she saw only one word: Good. She could only stare in incredulity at the impossibly esoteric "exam". Having to restrain herself to keep from tearing the malign booklet to shreds, she instead turned the page, blocking out the dark mutters from the others, as well as the sharp, "No talking!" from Roseanne that instantly silenced them. This time, a full sentence greeted her: Then we can begin. Foreboding stabbing at her, she swallowed, rolled out a crick in her neck, and turned the next page, where Hell awaited her.
It's good to be back, let me just say! I finally looked over these chapters for the first time in years, and realized they were in dire need of an update. Thus, these redux chapters, remastered, condensed, and in some cases expanded. Enjoy!