A Day in Nimbasa

It was the cold night with a breeze through the windows that kept Dawn up. She looked at the clock, sighing deeply when she saw that the time was 1:30am. After a short glance at her Piplup, who was still fast asleep, she promptly got out of her bed, grabbed her robe, and proceeded to go downstairs to fetch a glass of MooMoo Milk.

After a couple gulps of the refreshing drink and the blatant tapping of fingers, she went outside for a short walk that might help her fall asleep. A sudden gust of wind came, and her grip on her robe became tighter. She made a turn on the corner of the Pokémon Center, and was taken aback by the sight of none other than Cilan sitting by the side of the house.

"Cilan, what are you doing here in Nimbasa?" She inquired in a hushed voice.

"Well, Chili and Cress let me take a vacation so…" Cilan trailed off, scratching the back of his head.

Dawn walked over to him and slumped against the building to sit next to Cilan. A moment of silence passed before Cilan spoke.

"Dawn, how would you like to see a musical with me one day?" He asked, before adding: "You don't have to say ye—"

"Cilan, I'd love to!" Dawn interrupted him.

"Hey, the musical doesn't start until about two hours, so what do you want to do until then?" Cilan asked, turning and flipping a map of Nimbasa around in his hands.

"I suppose we could hang out at the amusement park…" Dawn suggested.

"Alright, alright. Amusement park… amusement park. Ah! There it is; just keep going straight an then make a right." said Cilan a little frantically while he was looking at the map.

The walk was short, the banter was interesting. Nonetheless, Dawn quietly waited while Cilan got the tickets to enter. She noticed all of the children playing around in the park that was near; they were all filled with happiness and their faces were glowing. A faint nostalgia came across her when she remembered her mother taking her to the park with Kenny. 'Better call up mom later,' she reminded herself.

Dawn's childhood reminiscence was cut off by Cilan running to her while waving two ticket stubs in his hands. "Got the tickets! It's amusement park time!" He said, promptly entering the amusement park with a big grin on his face.

She chuckled slightly; Cilan was quite a outgoing man. She followed him and they were met with the sights of several roller coasters, a ferris wheel, many booths, and countless food stands.

"Which ride do you want to go on first, m'lady?" Cilan said, gesturing towards all of the park.

"Hmm…" Dawn was thinking as she looked at all of the choices. "Oo! How about the Pachirisu Flash?"

"Sounds great! Let's go!"

The roller coaster was indeed quite fast; the duo didn't expect those kinds of speeds at all. There were sharp turns going in every direction imaginable! They exited the ride with messed up hair, to both's dismay. Dawn was holding a picture that was taken automatically at the end of the rise, and her face was absolutely terrified.

"Oh, why do they have to take a picture of you towards the end of the ride? I look hideous!" She rambled, smoothing down her hair.

"Well, I certainly don't look any better…" Cilan added, fixing his bowtie. "Quite thrilling, though!"

"Yeah, it was," Dawn responded. "How about you pick the next ride?"

Cilan looked through the crowds at all of the rides that were calling his name. "Look at that! Pansage Fury!" He exclaimed, pointing at the shooting game.

"Looks fun!"

The two finished the game with hearty laughter, glad that they were both able to win prizes. Dawn chose a Piplup bracelet, while Cilan chose a Pansage keychain.

"I can't believe you accidentally shot the booth manager, Cilan!" Dawn giggled.

"Well, it's not my fault that he was standing in front of the thing I was trying to shoot!"

"That's so not true! He wasn't anywhere near where we were told to shoot!" She was already grabbing her sides and laughing as hard as she could.

Cilan sighed deeply and glanced at the nearest clock, seeing that they only had an hour and fifteen minutes. "What do you suppose we shou—"

His words were cut off by the sound of Dawn's grumbling stomach. "Aha, sorry, but I'm really hungry!" She apologized, instinctively wrapping her arms around her stomach. "How about some sandwiches and funnel cakes over there?" Dawn suggested, pointing to a stand named "Sandile Sandwiches" in big red and blue bubble letters. Cilan ran to the stand and hurried back, the food stand's menu in his hands.

"Here's the menu, Dawn." Cilan said, handing the pamphlet to her.

"Thanks!" She exclaimed while grabbing he pamphlet. "Hmm, let's see…" Dawn's eyes were scanning the menu. "Oo, yum! The Krokorok Special sounds delicious. I'll get that." A sandwich filled with lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and cheese made from premium MooMoo Milk—surely enough to feed Dawn's hungry stomach.

"Alrighty then! I'll get the same! It's all on me then, Dawn! Stay right here!" Cilan said excitedly, rushing to the food stand and yelling "It's eating time!" before a line could accumulate.

Dawn gave a smile before she went to look for a bench they could eat at. She found an amiable spot near enough to the stand where Cilan could see her. After her stomach grumbles loudly (again), she promptly takes a seat and crosses her legs, awaiting Cilan and the food. Turns out that she didn't have to wait long at all. Cilan was already rushing back with two paper sacks in his hand.

"One Krokorok Special for m'lady," Cilan bowed, offering one paper sack to Dawn.

"Thank you, dear sir," Dawn teased before grabbing the sack.

"Alright, let's dig in! Chow time!"

Their meals were finished in less than ten minutes. Both were starving, more so Dawn.

"Ah, that was so good!" Dawn gloated, her face happy.

"Quite, quite," Cilan added, patting his stomach. He again looked at a clock, saying, "Well, there's about an hour left before the musical."

"Ah, but I'm so stuffed! I can't walk another step!" Dawn cried.

"Same, same." Cilan agreed before standing up. "Ah, but we can't just waste this hour at this time of the day!" He boated before offering his hand.

Dawn sighed. "You're right, it is beautiful today." She took his hand and stood up.

"You can pick the next thing we do, of you'd like."

"Hmm…" Dawn surveyed the rest of the amusement park, squinting her eyes and rubbing her chin. "Let's try the Minccino Basket!"

As the name implied, it was a game that involved throwing balls into baskets. The stand was lined with frustrated kids and adults; all of their faces were painted with anger. The booth manager seemed to be holding in his laughter too.

"Step right up! Get at least three balls in one of these baskets and you will win a fabulous prize!" Said the booth manager when Cilan and Dawn arrived, gesturing to the three baskets that lined the wall. "Now, would you two like to give this game a go?"

"Of course!" The duo exclaimed. The booth manager handed both of them six balls.

"Alright, have fun!"

Cilan went first. Unfortunately, he was only able to get one ball into a basket. He grunted a little before adjusting his bowtie.

"No need to worry, Cilan! I'll definitely win a prize for you!" Boasted Dawn, pushing everyone away. Much to her dismay, she was only able to get two balls in one of the baskets.

"This is unfair!" She yelled, slamming her hands on the booth. "That last ball bounced right out of the basket! That totally could have made it!"

"Sorry ma'am, but you and your friend were unable to get three balls into at least one of the baskets. Therefore, neither of you get prizes!" Said the manager, shrugging his shoulders.

"Why you little…!"

"Dawn, there's no need to get angry, aha…" Cilan reassured.

"I AM DOING THIS GAME AGAIN UNTIL I WIN!" She proclaimed.

Cilan sighed heavily; Dawn wasn't going to give up that easily. He stood awkwardly next to the booth as everyone watched his friend get angrier and angrier with every game she did. He surely felt embarrassed for her, even though she probably didn't notice everyone staring at her.

And after 30 minutes of playing and 47 tries, Dawn finally managed to get three balls into one basket.

"Yahoo! I did it! I did it!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Congratulations, ma'am! Now which prize would you like?"

"I'll take that set of figurines over there, please." Dawn pointed to the figurines behind the man.

As he handed them to her, he said, "Thanks for playing! See you soon!"

"Look, Cilan! I finally won!" Said Dawn, turning around to Cilan, beaming with happiness.

"I'm very glad for you!" He glanced at the nearest clock. "Oh wow! We only have about 30 minutes until the musical starts. Do you want to head over there now for good seats?"

"Sure, that sounds like a good plan!"

The pair left the amusement part (and left with much amusement), and proceeded to go to the building where the musicals were held. Upon entering, there weren't that many seats left, but luckily, Cilan was able to find two seats in the second row. Dawn sat down, sighing heavily as she did. "Ah, that amusement park was tiring! Thank Arceus we get to sit down, relax, and watch a fantastic musical!"

"I agree! It's… musical time!" Cilan exclaimed, adjusting his bowtie once more. "So Dawn, since the musical isn't exactly starting yet, can you tell me a little more about how you became a Coordinator?"

"Sure! Well, my mom received the title of Top Coordinator when I was little. She was so cool in contests! Her performances were always breathtaking! I knew I wanted to be just like that when I was able to go on my journey. Following in the footsteps of my mother was certainly how I wanted to be." Dawn smiled.

"That sounds wonderful! I wish I had seen one of your contests... Hey, what were your travels with Ash like in Sinnoh?"

"Oh gosh, I felt like I was babysitting two children—Ash and Brock. But they were fun to be around. We met lots of cool people in Sinnoh—including the gym leaders and the Elite Four! The three of us also met lots of cool Pokémon, even some legendary ones! I just miss everything the three of us did on our journey. And now I won't get to eat Brock's delicious food anytime soon…" She trailed off.

"It sounds like you had lots of fun!"

"Oh, I really did! Pokémon journeys are so fun and exhilarating!"

"I agree! Traveling with Ash and Iris was certainly a new experience that taught me lots of new things I would never have learned if I stayed in Striaton City."

The lights in the building dimmed, signifying that the musical was just about ready to start.

"Yay! It's starting!" The both of them said in hushed voices.

The musical was filled with nice dancing and beautiful voices. The Pokémon on the stage looked like they were having so much fun! They never missed a beat or lost their footing—it was fantastic! A Gothitelle danced with a Sawk, and a Minccino and Swablu sang.

'Gotta take some notes down for future contests,' Dawn thought.

When the musical finally ended, it was met with standing ovations, cheers, whistling, and lots of clapping. (Some people even threw roses!) All of the Pokémon joined hands, bowed, and started waving.

As the two exited the building, they were met with a nice panoramic view of the sunset.

"Today has been a fun day, Cilan. Thanks for taking me here!"

"It was my pleasure, Dawn! To end the day, how about we get some ice cream?"

Dawn nodded her head in agreement. They walked over to the nearest ice cream booth; Dawn ordered a chocolate, while Cilan got a vanilla.

"It's very delicious!" The both of them exclaimed.

And together, they counted down the seconds until sunset and licked their ice cream until there was nothing left.

A/N: And I think the award for my longest fic ever written goes to this one. It was tons of fun to write! I have to thank an anon from Tumblr for giving me this prompt. For it to make sense, this would be after Cilan leaves Iris and Ash. And Dawn comes back to Unova for more contest inspiration.

Please tell me any thoughts and leave a review, if you wish!

(I don't own Pokémon.)