Platinum Witch

Chapter 1: They Call her a Witch

AN: And here we go again. Hey there everybody! The name's grey0716, and because I said I would, I present you with Platinum Witch! This story will be based on Pokemon Platinum, with several changes in the plot, so it won't just be cookie cutter from the game. And now for the obligatory disclaimer:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Pokémon or any of its existing/canon characters. This disclaimer is in effect for the entirety of the story so I don't have to repeat it over and over and over again in each chapter.

And for reference, "-words-" is when a Pokemon speaks. No one will understand what they're saying unless they have something special that lets them understand their speech.

Alright with that out of the way, let's get started!

"...Barry's not showing up today...has he finally started to not like me too? Like everyone else? I-I don't want that...He's my only friend..."

'Oh, so I'm not your friend?'

"Th-That's not what I meant! Of course you're my friend too! I just meant–!"

'Haha, don't worry. I know you didn't mean it like that. It's alright. But don't worry. He'll show up.'

"What's that? Don't worry? He'll show up? But..."

'Perhaps he's busy with something. He's never blown you off before.'

"...I guess...yeah...I'll wait! He could be busy with something. I heard Uncle Palmer's very busy lately."

'That's the spirit.'

"Thanks for cheering me up! You always know what to say!"

'What are friends for?'

"Speaking of...you never told me your name. Have you finally remembered it?"

'...Hm...Not quite. I'm sorry. Perhaps give me more time.'

"It's okay! You already do so much for me!"

'Thank you. Just remember. I'll always be there for you. You always have a part of me within you.'

"So long as you have a piece of me with you, I'll always protect you."

"...Despite the exploration team's best efforts, however, the rare oddly Pokémon eluded detection," the television said. "The rumored red gyarados failed to appear, even fleetingly to the crestfallen team. That concludes our special report "search of the red gyarados". Brought to you by Jubilife TV on the nationwide net! See you next week, same time, same channel!"

And with that, the documentary ended, with a boy with blonde hair and orange eyes wearing a jacket with orange and white stripes staring at the network with extreme intent. Next to him was a girl with navy-blue colored hair and sharp platinum eyes wearing a black mini dress with a pink skirt, who looked bored out of her mind.

"Yoooo! We need to go find the red gyarados, Dawn!" the boy yelled ecstatically. "I bet'cha it's definitely in Lake Verity!"

"Oh? And what makes you say that?" Dawn decided to humor him.

"They said that it was in a lake," the boy replied. "Lake Verity's a lake, so it must be in there!"

"And this is why you're an idiot, Barry," Dawn chided.

"What?! Why?!" Barry yelled.

"First of all, there's no such thing as a red gyarados in Lake Verity," Dawn said. "Second of all your logic is akin to saying that since a bird can fly, that means since a piplup is a bird, it can fly, which it cant. Third, if it's a red gyarados, then that must mean that it's a shiny variant, which is extremely rare to find in the wild, so there's little chance that we'll actually find it, assuming it's actually in Lake Verity. Fourth, even if there was one in Lake Verity and we somehow find it, we don't have any Pokémon to defend ourselves. And finally, you're an idiot. Simple as that."

"Yeah you got a point..." Barry muttered. "Oh I got it!"

"Oh great, what did your feeble mind come up with now?" Dawn asked.

"You heard of Professor Rowan, right?" Barry asked, completely ignoring Dawn's insult.

"Yeah, he's the famous Pokémon professor who lives in the next town," Dawn answered.

"He must have lots and lots of Pokémon," Barry said. "So if we ask him, then he must give us Pokémon that we can use to go find that red gyarados! Am I a genius or what?"

"...I'm done here," Dawn declared as she got up.

"Wha–HEY!" Barry yelled. "What was wrong with my plan?!"

"I highly doubt that a renowned professor would just hand over Pokémon to two random kids," Dawn said. "Even more so if the purpose was to go on something suicidal as hunting down a gyarados with said Pokémon."

"But we're fourteen!" Barry argued.

"Not the point," Dawn drawled, rolling her eyes as she grabbed a red jacket and wore it over her dress, where she grabbed a white scarf and white beanie and wore it as well, where she headed downstairs.

"Wha–Hey! Wait up!" Barry yelled as he chased her from behind.

Dawn headed downstairs into the living room, where a woman with round blue hair was watching TV with a large brown bipedal creature with a thick tail next to her, and a gray, slender feline Pokémon sitting on the couch.

"Oh, Dawn, you going out?" the woman asked.

"Yeah," Dawn said as she wrapped her scarf around her. "Barry's acting like an idiot again and I need some fresh air."

"Don't go out too far," her mom said.

"Alright!" Dawn said as she left the house. "Later Mom! Jumpy! Glammy!"

"Damn it Dawn wait up!" Barry yelled as he rushed down the stairs, until he noticed Dawn's mom. "Oh, hey there Mrs. Berlitz."

"Up to your usual antics again, Barry?" Mrs. Berlitz asked.

"I don't see a problem," Barry said. "Anyways did Dawn leave?"

"Yep," Johanna said. "Keep an eye on her, will you?"

"Will do, ma'am!" Barry said. "I am her best friend after all."

With that, Barry left the house and chased after his friend, leaving Johanna by herself with her kangaskhan and glameow.

"At least she still has Barry, right Jumpy?" Johanna asked her partner.

Jumpy nodded in response. Glammy simply yawned as she went back to sleep.

A cold breeze swept the small town of Twinleaf. Dawn felt a chill run through her as she shuddered a bit, before regaining her composure.

"Now then, what to do..." Dawn muttered.

As Dawn was about to make her move, Barry shot out from the door and bumped into her.

"GAH!?"

"Kya!"

The two were knocked down, where Barry got back up, rubbing his head.

"Ow..." Barry muttered. "Oh crap–Dawn! You okay?!"

Dawn got back up, muttering something under her breath.

"This is why I keep telling you to calm down," Dawn grumbled.

"Sorry..." Barry muttered. "Anyways, so how's about we go meet Professor Rowan?"

Dawn wanted to protest against the idea. Honestly it was so ludicrous that her friend would think of something this asinine. But then again it is Barry we're talking about. And she was bored anyways. Nothing else happens in this small, infernal town.

...It would also give her an excuse to leave this place and never come back.

"...Fine, I'll play along," Dawn muttered.

"Alright!" Barry exclaimed. "First, let's go to my house. I need to pick up a few things."

Without warning, the blonde made a beeline to his house, which was not too far from her own house. Dawn sighed as she went after him in her own pace. As she made her way, she could hear the hushed murmurs of the people around her.

"It's her."

"Ugh, the witch's out again?"

"Why does she still live here? She's why this town is so barren."

"I'm amazed that Barry still hangs out with a witch like her, poor boy."

Dawn paid no attention to the hushed gossip, completely ignoring them with a blank expression.

She had gotten used to it anyways. She couldn't care any less at this point.

Eventually, she had reached Barry's house, where she knocked on the door. A middle-aged woman with brown hair answered the door.

"Yes?" the woman asked.

"Hey, Mrs. Pearl," Dawn greeted.

"Oh my, Dawn!" the woman said happily. "It's good to see you! Let me guess, Barry?"

"Yep," Dawn muttered.

"Oh that boy, always rushing off to things," Mrs. Pearl said. "Just like his father I suppose...you're in luck though, he should still be in his room."

Mrs. Pearl let Dawn in, where the girl obliged. The girl headed up the stairs and into Barry's room, where the boy in question was shoving a notebook into his bag.

"Let's see...I better take my journal with me," Barry said, until he noticed Dawn. "Gah! Dawn! Don't you know when to knock!?"

"Like you're one to talk," Dawn shot back.

"Touché," Barry replied. "Anyways, I'm gonna head out to Route 201. You better be there too! If you're late–!"

"Yeah, yeah, it's a 10 million pd fine," Dawn said nonchalantly, having heard her friend's catchphrase several times to the point of memorizing it. "Let's just go."

"R-Right," Barry muttered, embarrassed that he was that predictable.

The two headed down the stairs and exited Barry's house; the exit of the town was to the east, not too far from the house.

"Oh man I wonder what kind of Pokémon we'll get from Professor Rowan," Barry said, trying very hard to contain his excitement.

"There's no guarantee that we'll even get anything from him," Dawn said. "Professor Rowan has no obligation to give two random kids Pokémon anyways."

"I mean we can still try at least," Barry insisted.

"Fine," Dawn groaned.

"C'mon, let's go!" Barry smirked as he grabbed Dawn's arm and dragged her away into the route north of Twinleaf Town, seemingly ignoring the glares and fearful gazes they were receiving from the other townsfolk.

Route 201. The starting route for the Sinnoh Region (if you happen to live in the dead end town of Twinleaf); a small path through a lush, green wooded area. It had densely grown trees that gave off a thick, yet natural aroma.

Standing in front of a field of tall grass, Barry and Dawn were simply staring at the road ahead. The grass that was in their way housed many wild Pokémon which could attack them. This would be dangerous, since they had no Pokémon of their own to defend themselves should they be attacked.

"...So...?" Dawn asked. "How do you plan to get through this?"

"Yeah..." Barry said. "Any ideas?"

"Wha–?! You mean you didn't think of anything?!" Dawn yelled incredulously.

"Ahaha...yeah I was too busy thinking of what Pokémon I would get from Professor Rowan," Barry laughed nervously.

Dawn palmed her face as she glared at her idiotic friend. Leave it to him to not think his hair-brained plans through.

"Barry...what's wrong with you...?" Dawn asked. "Y'know, besides the obvious reasons?"

"You always know where it stings..." Barry muttered, before inspiration came into his head. "I got it!"

"Oh? Enlighten me," Dawn said.

"Sure it's idiotic and potentially life-threatening to run into the grass without any Pokémon to defend ourselves," Barry said. "So, what you do is, you scoot over to the next patch of grass before any wild Pokémon can appear! If we just keep dashing, we can get to Sandgem Town without running into wild Pokémon!"

"I'll arrange your funeral," Dawn said as she turned around to head back to Twinleaf, only to be stopped as Barry jumped at her, clinging onto her leg.

"NO DON'T LEAVE ME! I GET LONELY EASILY!" Barry pleaded.

"Let go, Barry," Dawn grumbled, seemingly unfazed that he was clinging onto her leg.

"C'mon! What was wrong with my idea?!" Barry demanded.

"You're basically telling us to sprint through the grass, gambling on the probability that no wild Pokémon will attack us," Dawn said. "What's not wrong with that? And frankly I don't like gambling on stupid ideas that could potentially get me killed."

"It's not that bad!" Barry whined. "C'mon, pleaaaaaaase!"

"Barry, there's nothing you can do that'll make me–," Dawn said as she looked down to the boy, only to freeze mid-sentence with a horrified, red, expression.

"Huh?" Barry asked, not realizing that he was looking up her skirt, until noticing a specific piece of clothing. "...The pachirisus are pink this time?"

Which earned the blonde idiot a kick to the face so hard, that it sent him flying over the ledge next to them and into a tree face-first.

"Ow..." Barry groaned as he slid off the tree.

"Forget what you saw, and I'll go with your stupid idea," Dawn threatened.

"YAAAY!" Barry exclaimed, making a full recovery despite having been kicked in the face.

Dawn sighed as Barry jumped over the ledge. Even if he was an idiot, she couldn't bring herself to loathe the boy and his overly positive attitude.

"OK! Stick with me Dawn!" Barry exclaimed as they took a few steps back. "If anything does try to attack you, I'll definitely protect you!"

"So that means I can use you as a human shield? Got it," Dawn said as she took a few steps back.

"On your marks," Barry said. "Get set...GO–!"

"HOLD IT!"

The two were about to make a dash for it, but a sudden angry cry stopped them in their tracks, causing them to fall flat.

"What the...?" Dawn groaned as she got up.

The two turned around to see an elderly man with short, white hair and a mustache, with sharp eyes and wearing a blue vest and white shirt. The man glared daggers at the two as he approached them.

"...Professor Rowan...?" Barry asked, recognizing the man.

"You two don't seem to have any Pokémon between the two of you," the man, Professor Rowan, said, examining the two. "Then what is the meaning of going through the tall grass!?"

"His idea," Dawn immediately said, pointing to Barry.

"Hey!" Barry yelled. "Speaking of, what are you doing here, Professor Rowan? We thought you'd be at your lab at Sandgem, so we could get Pokémon from you."

The professor walked away from the two, seemingly ignoring the boy while he contemplated on his own.

"...They tried to go into the tall grass because they wanted Pokémon..." Rowan muttered to himself. "Hmm...What to do...? Their world would surely change if they were to meet Pokémon...Is it right for me to put them on that path...?"

"Why is he muttering to himself?" Barry asked Dawn.

"How should I know?" Dawn shrugged. "Maybe he's thinking that we're two crazy idiots who almost got ourselves killed."

Seemingly done with his contemplation, Rowan walked back to the two kids.

"What you two attempted to do was foolish beyond belief," Rowan scolded them.

"Told you so," Dawn said on the side.

"Not thinking of the risks of encountering a wild Pokémon without having your own for protection and recklessly attempting to trek to Sandgem..." Rowan muttered. "That's enough to warrant me to NOT give you two Pokémon."

"Way to go, genius," Dawn chided to Barry, who was paling and sweating bullets.

"...However," Rowan continued. "The fact that you young children risked your lives in order to receive your first Pokémon...I commend you for your commitment."

Dawn looked somewhat surprised, while Barry sighed in relief.

"Tell me, you two truly love Pokémon, do you not?" Rowan asked.

"Of course!" Barry exclaimed. "That's why I was stupid enough to go through the wild and drag my friend along with me!"

"Well he's honest," Dawn shrugged. "And yes, I do love Pokémon. They're the few things that don't aggravate me."

Rowan studied the two of them with a critical look.

The blonde was somewhat idiotic, but he was sincere and honest. He truly did love Pokémon. Although he paled at the mayhem the boy could cause given the opportunity, he would truly care for Pokémon should he be given the task to train them.

The girl, however...her words were worth contemplating about. How she had worded it...it's almost like she has some kind of past resentment for many things, and Pokémon are one of the few exceptions.

"It worries me what people like you two would do with Pokémon," Rowan muttered.

"What?!" Barry yelled. "You can ask a hundred times! The answer will never change! We'll both answer a hundred times, we love Pokémon!"

"While he's moronic as you can probably tell," Dawn said. "I can vouch for him; he's not lying. No matter what, our feelings will not change."

Rowan didn't look too impressed, eyebrows raised in a skeptical manner.

"Uh...well..." Barry murmured, beginning to falter at the man's glare. "I, uh...Well, then forget about me, but at the very least give a Pokémon to Dawn here!"

"What?" Dawn asked Barry, genuinely shocked that he would give up his chance for her.

"I mean, it was me who tried to go into the tall grass and all...and she simply listened to me as an obligation of being my only friend," Barry admitted. "And if anything, she needs a Pokémon much more than I do."

Rowan looked impressed at Barry, before letting out a chuckle.

"How big of you..." Rowan muttered. "Very well, then! I will entrust you two with Pokémon!"

"REALLY?!" Barry gasped.

"I apologize for putting you through that exercise," Rowan said. "However! You must promise me that you will never recklessly endanger yourselves again."

"We promise!" Barry exclaimed excitedly, while Dawn simply nodded.

"Now, then... Hm? Now, where...?" Rowan muttered, looking around.

"Professor!"

They all looked behind Rowan to see a boy with short, slate-grey hair and blue eyes, wearing a dark red full-sleeved shirt with a dark blue and black jacket over it, with a white scarf wrapped around his neck and denim black pants with dark gray and white running shoes and a dark red beret, running up to them. In his hand, he was carrying a briefcase.

"Lucas...?" Rowan asked as the boy caught up to them.

"Professor Rowan...you left your briefcase at the lake," the boy, Lucas, panted.

"Ah! There it is!" Rowan exclaimed. "Nice work, Lucas."

"Who's the French dude?" Barry whispered to Dawn.

"How should I know?" Dawn whispered back.

"Allow me to introduce you to my assistant," Rowan said. "Lucas Diamond."

"Hello," Lucas bowed to the two. "Um...Professor...what's going on here?"

"You see, I was about to entrust the remaining two Pokémon to these two," Rowan explained.

"I'm sorry, what?!" Lucas gasped. "Those Pokémon are REALLY hard to replace! Are you sure about just giving them away like that?"

"Hmph! There comes a time when people should meet Pokémon," Rowan rebutted. "There's a world they should explore. For them, today is that time. Right here."

"If you say so..." Lucas muttered skeptically.

Reluctantly, Lucas opened the briefcase, revealing two pokéballs. One contained a small, light green, quadruped turtle-like Pokémon. The other contained a small, orange and yellow chimpanzee-like Pokémon.

"Go on! Choose whichever one you want!" Rowan offered.

"All right!" Barry exclaimed as he was about to rush at the briefcase, but was stopped by Dawn.

"Ah, ah, ah," Dawn said. "Don't you know the term 'ladies first'? You dragged me into this, so you're going to at least oblige with that."

Barry groaned slightly, but complied nonetheless as she went over to the briefcase, picked up both pokéballs and carefully examined both Pokémon. They were both staring curiously at her through the semi-transparent capsules they were in. While the chimpanzee looked fairly cute, and was obviously a Fire-type, judging from its orange coloring and the fact that professors tend to give out starter Pokémon in sets according to the old-fashioned Grass-Fire-Water cycle core, and the turtle was definitely a Grass-type. Strangely, the Water-type, probably a piplup, wasn't present with the two. Someone must have taken it then. Probably that boring looking boy behind Rowan. What was his name again? Lucas? Whatever, it wasn't important at the moment.

While picking the chimpanzee would definitely give her a great advantage over Barry, the turtle was cute in its own right. It was calm. It waited patiently for Dawn to make her decision, unlike the chimpanzee, which looked tense and ready to burst out at any minute.

The turtle would understand her, surely.

Dawn tossed the pokéball with the chimpanzee to Barry without even looking, where the boy easily caught the ball in his hand.

"Huh? You're choosing Turtwig?" Barry asked. He was surprised Dawn wouldn't choose Chimchar and get the advantage over him type-wise.

"Do you have a problem?" Dawn shrugged as she released the turtle from its pokéball.

The turtle glanced up to Dawn, as the girl kneeled down to his level.

"I'm your new trainer now," Dawn said softly. "The name's Dawn."

The turtle stared at Dawn, before nodding in response, seemingly acknowledging her.

"Alright then," Barry shrugged, before grinning. "Alright! Let's go!"

Barry released the chimpanzee, as it landed in front of him.

"Hiya!" Barry grinned. "I'm Barry! You and I are gonna be the best in the world!"

The chimp looked up to Barry, before flashing an equally happy grin.

"So you chose Turtwig, while giving your friend Chimchar," Rowan mused aloud. "Interesting. Usually in a position like this, and especially with only two options, the first pick would go for the one that would give themselves the best advantage."

"I liked the turtle better," Dawn shrugged. "Besides, the chimpanzee certainly fits Barry's personality better."

"I certainly agree with you on that part," Rowan commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Barry yelled.

"Regardless," Rowan said, ignoring the blonde. "Listen well you two! The Pokémon you have been entrusted with are unfamiliar with the world. In that regard, they're much like you, asides from the obvious personality similarities that Miss Dawn here pointed out already. As fellow newcomers to the world, I hope you'll all do well together."

"You can count on it, Professor!" Barry grinned, while Dawn merely nodded in response.

"If you have any trouble, come see me at my lab in Sandgem Town," Rowan offered. "And now, we'll be on our way."

Rowan grabbed his suitcase and made his way to Sandgem Town, with Lucas following dutifully from behind, giving the two new trainers a goodbye before leaving. Now left with their new Pokémon, Barry glanced at Chimchar, before glancing at Turtwig, before finally glancing towards Dawn while sporting the stupidest grin Dawn could ever imagine.

"Oh you know what's gonna happen now," Barry smirked.

Dawn raised a brow at the blonde. They both got their first Pokémon. Knowing the hyperactive boy, there was only one logical conclusion to this. A conclusion she didn't particularly like, but nonetheless was predictable enough to anticipate.

"Do we have to?" Dawn groaned.

"Oh c'mon, Dawn! Don't be that way!" Barry insisted. "We both got our very first Pokémon! We NEED to do this! We NEED TO BATTLE!"

"And why do we need to battle?"

"Because it'll be FREAKING AWESOME!"

Dawn groaned under her breath, rolling her eyes once more. Of course that would be his reply. The boy was just given a brand new Pokémon. It would've been strange if he didn't want to test it out in a battle. Dawn stared at Barry, noting how he was eagerly waiting for her answer; presumably waiting for her to comply. The puppy dog eyes only further supported this.

Dawn then examined the two Pokémon. Chimchar seemed to quickly share Barry's sentiments, equally awaiting for the girl to cooperate and make Turtwig fight him. Turtwig, on the other hand, glanced up to Dawn, patiently awaiting for her orders.

"Do you want to fight?" Dawn asked Turtwig.

Turtwig stared at Dawn for a few seconds, before nodding in response.

"Alright then," Dawn said, complying with Turtwig. "Turtwig wants to fight anyways."

Barry's grin grew wider as he quickly backed off to give the two Pokémon enough room to fight.

"I knew you'd see my way!" Barry exclaimed happily as Chimchar jumped to his side of the field. "I've always wanted to say this...and now, it's time..."

Unable to contain his excitement any further, Barry pointed his finger at Dawn determinedly; Chimchar mimicking the same gesture at Turtwig.

"Dawn! I challenge you to a battle!"

"Chimchar, use Scratch!" Barry yelled.

"Withdraw," Dawn commanded.

Chimchar hastily lunged at Turtwig as the turtle withdrew into his shell, leaving Chimchar to scratch at the shell in vain as Turtwig raised his defense.

"Tackle!"

Turtwig's head shot out of the shell, smashing into Chimchar and sending him back to Barry.

"Ugh...not bad," Barry muttered as Chimchar got back up. "But we won't go down that easily! Chimchar, Scratch once more!"

"Withdraw."

Chimchar lunged at Turtwig again, where Turtwig withdrew into his shell once again, repeating the process that just happened a literal minute ago. Which led to Turtwig smashing his head into Chimchar once again.

"You want to try something else?" Dawn asked as Turtwig lightly stomped his feet. "I don't think your plan's working."

"Alright we will!" Barry yelled as Chimchar got back up once more. "Chimchar, use Ember!"

The boy, who expected a stream of embers being launched from Chimchar at Turtwig, was only met with a confused expression from said chimpanzee in question.

"Wait, what's wrong?" Barry asked, confused. "C'mon, use Ember!'

"I guess Chimchar doesn't know Ember yet," Dawn shrugged.

"...Are you serious?" Barry asked, somewhat disbelieving while Chimchar merely shrugged his shoulders in his defense. "It's a Fire-type."

"I mean it's still young," Dawn tried to reason.

"Breathing fire should be an innate ability."

"Hey, Turtwig can't probably use Absorb yet either."

"Its butt is LITERALLY on fire!"

"Well what do you want me to do about it?"

Barry was still in disbelief that Chimchar couldn't use Ember despite clearly being a Fire-type. The boy then took a good look at the chimpanzee's burning butt, and inspiration struck him.

"Well we still have some kind of fire!" Barry yelled. "Chimchar! Smash you butt onto Turtwig!"

"...You can't be serious."

Somewhat confused, but complying nonetheless, Chimchar charged at Turtwig before slamming his behind onto the Grass-type. Chimchar's butt smashed into Turtwig's face, causing the turtle to freak out, feeling the burn of Chimchar's burning butt, while trying to get it out of his face.

"Yeah that's it! Keep smashing your butt!" Barry yelled out.

Chimchar clung onto Turtwig's head and kept his behind in Turtwig's head. Turtwig cried out bloody murder as Chimchar's fire kept singeing his face.

"This seriously can't be happening," Dawn said incredulously, staring at the two Pokémon incredulously. "Turtwig, if you can hear me, run straight to your left."

Turtwig, somehow able to hear Dawn, did as he was told and charged straight to where he could determine as left and charged straight into it. Turtwig ended up running into a tree and smashed Chimchar, squishing him between Turtwig's head and the tree, and forcing him to lose his grip and fell off.

"Chimchar!" Barry cried.

"Tackle!" Dawn yelled.

As Chimchar fell off the tree, Turtwig tackled into Chimchar once more into the tree, forcing all the air out of the poor Fire-type. Chimchar slid off the tree once again, this time knocked out and unable to fight anymore.

"Aw man! We ended up losing!" Barry yelled as he rushed over to pick up Chimchar.

"I'll give you points for creativity at least," Dawn said as she went over to pick up Turtwig. "Class...not so much."

"But still, that was AWESOME!" Barry exclaimed. "You were pretty good Dawn even though this was your first time handling a Pokémon. You'll be an awesome trainer for sure!"

"Simplicity doesn't really say much, but thanks regardless," Dawn replied, before turning to Turtwig. "You did well, Turtwig. Nice job."

Turtwig tried to rub his face from the burn marks left by Chimchar's rump, before nodding to Dawn.

"Whew! Well I'm beat from that battle," Barry said. "I need some rest, and so does Chimchar."

"Right, let's go back," Dawn said.

"That's the plan!" Barry grinned as he headed back to Twinleaf. "See ya, Dawn!"

With that, the hasty blonde rushed back to his hometown, leaving Dawn to her turtwig.

"Well, let's go home," Dawn said. "Mom should be able to patch you up."

Turtwig nodded as Dawn made her way back home. Turtwig glanced up to Dawn curiously. She was calm, cool and collected from her first impression she gave off. Her friend was overly excited, energetic, and enthusiastic. The two contrasted each other in personalities, yet they seem to enjoy each other's company. Even if Dawn didn't act like it. Well that's what Turtwig could make out of it. Nonetheless, she was a nice trainer, and Turtwig would enjoy being by her side, acting as her partner.

He would certainly enjoy getting back at that stupid chimchar for shoving his ass into his face.

"You're an awfully quiet one, aren't you?" Dawn inquired to Turtwig.

"-Well, it's not like there's much to talk about,-" Turtwig mumbled in his native tongue.

"Hm, I guess you're right," Dawn replied offhandedly. "And here we are."

Turtwig was presented with a large house, like none that he had ever seen before.

"This is my home," Dawn announced. "Well, we'll be leaving this place soon, so I guess make yourself comfortable for now, ha ha..."

Dawn opened the door and entered her house with Turtwig in her arms, where her mother was preparing dinner alongside her kangaskhan, while Glammy was the first to greet her.

"I'm home!" Dawn announced as Glammy curled up around her leg affectionately.

"Oh, welcome home!" Johanna exclaimed as she set down her knife and went over to her daughter, before noticing Turtwig. "Oh, what do we have here?"

"Yeah, I ended up getting a Pokémon from Professor Rowan," Dawn mumbled.

"Why that's wonderful!" Johanna said with glee. "You must've went through a hassle to get to Sandgem to see Rowan."

"Yeah, about that..." Dawn muttered.

The blunette explained the story of how she was dragged to Route 201 by Barry and his 'perfect' plan to get to Sandgem, only to be stopped by Rowan, who decided to give her and Barry a Pokémon, while finishing with how she fought and won against Barry.

"Wow, that's impressive," Johanna complimented as she finished healing up Turtwig. "I mean even if Barry is somewhat...simple, he's still Palmer's son after all."

"Well he was creative," Dawn giggled.

"Hm, you really are your father's daughter," Johanna giggled as well.

"I guess," Dawn replied indifferently, her tone suddenly becoming cold.

"But still, you and Barry were lucky to have ran into Professor Rowan there," Johanna commented, seemingly ignoring Dawn's sudden tone change. "Imagine if you didn't... I wouldn't like to think what the wild Pokémon might have done to you two."

Well it wasn't like Dawn would've been completely helpless in such a scenario, but the girl decided against saying anything, instead letting her mother worry.

"Dawn, you should go to Sandgem and thank Professor Rowan properly for giving you a Pokémon," Johanna advised. "Now that you have this little guy to defend you, I'm sure you'll be fine traversing Route 201."

"Yeah," Dawn said.

"Oh! I know!" Johanna suddenly exclaimed, before rushing off to the closet and rummaging through it, before taking out a pair of boots similar to the ones Dawn were wearing. "Wear these!"

Dawn tilted her head in slight confusion, before trading her old boots for the new ones.

"What, new boots?" Dawn asked.

"The Running Shoes: Boot Edition," Johanna explained. "They were supposed to be your birthday present, but I figured you would need it now. They're much more suitable for running around the region than those old boots."

"I happened to like those old boots, thank you very much," Dawn muttered jokingly. "Still, thanks."

"No problem," Johanna smiled. "Make sure you bring Barry with you!"

"Will do," Dawn said as she got ready to leave once more.

Turtwig got out of Johanna's grasp and waddled towards Dawn, who picked him up in her arms once more, where the girl exited her house once more.

"Oh they're growing up so fast," Johanna mused.

"Déjà vu," Dawn muttered as she headed to Barry's place once more, this time with Turtwig in tow, noticing the people who once again confided to their hushed gossip.

"The witch has a Pokémon now?"

"Poor thing...having her as its trainer."

"Is she going to use it to spread her evil as well?"

"Well if it means she gets out of the town sooner, then good."

Turtwig couldn't help but overhear the hushed conversations between the people around them, all seemingly insulting Dawn. That's strange. Why would they not like her? Turtwig glared at the people around them, offended that they would offend Dawn as such. The turtle looked back up to see if Dawn was hearing what he was hearing as well. Her expression remained neutral. Turtwig couldn't tell if she had heard them or not, or if she did hear them but was keeping up a neutral expression.

"It's only a matter of time before she kills Barry too, if they're involving Pokémon in this too."

For once, Dawn's expression cracked, a slight twitch in her eye eminent.

"You know, if you have something to say, you should say it to my face instead of hiding behind others and gossiping about it," Dawn hissed, making herself known and catching the gossiping people in shock. "And if you vermin really think I would harm one of the few people that don't treat me like a pariah, then truly you're either ignorant, or have less intellect than rhyhorns. If you want me to kill someone so badly, however..."

Dawn's platinum-colored eyes gleamed rather dangerously; a rather malevolent smile plastering onto her face.

"Then I'll be happy to oblige to accept volunteers," Dawn practically dared them.

The people suddenly froze up, before running off. Dawn huffed indignantly, before heading back to her way to Barry's place. Turtwig looked surprised at Dawn. He didn't expect her to actually threaten to kill them like that. Dawn seemed to notice Turtwig staring at her with a rather surprised look.

"Don't worry, I was bluffing," Dawn smiled. "I wouldn't waste my time on people who can only talk and do nothing in return."

That reassured Turtwig somewhat, but he couldn't help but shudder slightly upon remembering how Dawn maliciously threatened them. It was as if she was another person; there was a chilling aura present within her. Frankly, it was frightening. It was as if there was something within her, giving her that kind of terror.

At the very least she was a nice person.

"DAAAAAAAAAWWN!"

Dawn and Turtwig looked up to see Barry and Chimchar at the gate to Route 201, happily waiting for them. Dawn's mood seemed to perk up, before turning back into her neutral expression as she walked up to Barry. She set Turtwig down so that the turtle could interact with Chimchar.

"-Hiya buddy!-" Chimchar jovially greeted Turtwig. "-That was a nice battle, huh?-"

"-I guess...-" Turtwig muttered. "-So long as you don't shove your butt into my face again.-"

"-Oh yeah...sorry bout that...-" Chimchar apologized sheepishly. "-You gotta admit, it was pretty creative, though...-"

Turtwig simply rolled his eyes and grumbled, that embarrassing moment still fresh in his mind, much to the turtle's dismay.

"So you were sent out to visit Professor Rowan to thank him for the Pokémon too?" Barry asked.

"Pretty much," Dawn nodded. "Since we have our Pokémon, I'm sure we can go through the route without anyone reprimanding us."

"Right," Barry chuckled, as they headed into the grass, until he stopped. "Wait! I have a great idea!"

"Oh no..." Dawn muttered.

"You know the lake we always play at when we were kids, right?" Barry asked.

"Verity? The one that you keep claiming has the red gyarados?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, that's the one!" Barry replied. "You know they say a legendary Pokémon lives there?"

"Please don't tell me you're thinking of...?" Dawn asked.

"You guessed it! Let's catch that Pokémon!" Barry exclaimed. "That'll make Professor Rowan happy! I'm sure of that! Me and you together, we've got nothing to fear! And if we happen to run into the red gyarados, then even better!"

Dawn stared at Barry incredulously, before slapping the palm of her hand into her face. The boy couldn't possibly be serious. They were just given starter Pokémon, yet he somehow has the idea that catching a legendary Pokémon and/or a shiny gyarados is a good idea that they're apparently capable of. It was completely asinine. All they had were a turtwig and a chimchar; the latter having a type disadvantage against a gyarados, and neither of them even knew any moves corresponding with their type yet. Not to mention it was a small turtle and a chimpanzee against a giant sea serpent, and possibly a legendary Pokémon.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Barry asked, noticing Dawn face-palming herself. "Don't worry! If things do go bad, then we'll hightail it out of there! I'll protect you no matter what!"

Dawn found herself looking up to Barry and his somewhat infectious grin, and found her expression softening up greatly. No matter how much of an idiot he could be, he did mean well. She couldn't find herself to hate the boy, and would end up following through with his hair-brained schemes in the end of the day.

"Fine," Dawn sighed. "But we run if things go south."

"Of course!" Barry reassured her.

Because Barry chose to stay by her side unlike everyone else, Dawn would never lose her faith in him.

The duo found themselves at the Verity Lakefront, which was predictably, the entrance to Lake Verity, one of the Three Great Lakes of Sinnoh.

"Here we are!" Barry grinned. "We're at the lake!"

"Oh really?" Dawn asked sarcastically.

"Yep!" Barry replied, oblivious to the sarcasm in her tone. "Get ready because we're capturing that legendary Pokémon. Trust me on this one. It's here. It even says so on the sign!"

"I highly doubt that's the..." Dawn was about to retort, until she caught the sight of a sign near the entrance to the lake.

Lake Verity Ahead
According to legend, the lake is home
to the Pokémon said to be "The being of
Emotion."
It is because of this Pokémon that
people can experience sorrow and joy.

"...Well holy shit," Dawn muttered, surprised that the sign actually said what Barry claimed.

Deciding to not waste any more time, Barry headed into the entrance, with Dawn following him. They were greeted to the sight of the beautiful Lake Verity, one of the Three Great Lakes of Sinnoh, which were symbolic to the water-rich region. The air was calm and refreshing; a gentle breeze greeted the two and put their hearts at ease. Truly a relaxing sight.

"Huh...?" Barry asked, stopping in place.

Dawn looked up, confused as to why Barry suddenly stopped. The two looked ahead to see that someone was already there. It was a man, with spiky blue hair and cold blue eyes, wearing a stylized gray vest over a somewhat baggy black suit of sorts. The man was staring out impassively into the lake, eyeing specifically at the small island that was floating in the middle of it.

"...The flowing time...The expanding space...I will make it all mine one day..." the man said to himself. "Cyrus is my name. Remember it...Until then, sleep while you can, legendary Pokémon of the lake bed..."

The man, seemingly done with whatever it was he was doing, proceeded to head to the entrance to leave. He stopped in front of the two kids in front of him, both of them in his way.

"Wait...you..." Barry muttered, finding himself in shock, as if he recognized him.

"Allow me to pass," Cyrus said calmly and aloofly, seemingly unresponsive to the boy. "Step aside."

Before Barry could say anything else, Dawn grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the way, making the exit usable once more.

"Of course," Dawn replied in an equally calm and aloof tone. "Sorry for getting in your way."

Cyrus stared at Dawn for a moment, before nodding and making his leave. Once Cyrus had left, Dawn let go of Barry.

"Why did you do that?" Barry asked. "Wasn't he...?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Barry," Dawn interrupted him, her expression outright rigid in neutrality. "We were in his way, so it was only natural that we move."

Barry wanted to protest more, but he knew that tone of hers. Even if it wasn't that much different than her usual bored tone, it had an underlined trace of authority. Whenever she used that tone, to her, the discussion, argument, whatever it was they were in the middle of, was mute and null, and there was no point in pursuing it any further. At least she wouldn't go any further with it.

Barry sighed, conceding. It was understandable, considering who that man was.

Great, now she's upset! Time to lighten up the mood!

"Anyways," Barry said, bringing his tone back up. "Let's change the subject! Let's go catch us that Legendary!"

"Y'know, I didn't want to burst your bubble or anything," Dawn interrupted, deciding that now was a good time to tell him on the one flaw to his plan. "But aren't we forgetting something?"

"Huh?" Barry asked, with Turtwig and Chimchar looking up to the bluenette. "What? What're we missing? We have Turtwig and Chimchar right here?"

"...Barry, what do you use to capture a Pokémon?"

"Oh, that's easy! A pokébaaa...ooooh..."

Realization dawned onto Barry as he slowly drawled out his sentence, his face changing from an easy-going one to one full of horrified apprehension.

"Dawn! We don't have any pokéballs on us!" Barry yelled in horror. "Y'know, P-O-K-accent-E Balls?! We don't have any balls on us!"

"Yes, we don't," Dawn replied in amusement, although she knew that from the very beginning. "Well at least I don't. I mean I shouldn't, since I'm a girl, and you should, unless there's something you want to share with me today, 'Miss' Barry."

"There's no time for your innuendos and jokes, Dawn!" Barry yelled back. "How're we gonna catch the legendary Pokémon now!?"

*Kyaaun*

A rather serene cry interrupted them and caught their attention. They glanced to the small island in the middle of the lake, the sound of the cry having come from that direction.

"Did you hear that?" Barry asked. "That was definitely the legendary Pokémon crying! Damn it! It's so close, and we can't even catch it! It's taunting us, I swear to Arceus!"

Enraged at the situation, Barry savagely kicked a nearby rock as it soared into the air at an impressive height, before it crashed down into the lake. Not a few moments later, and something emerged from the lake at the exact spot where the rock had entered the lake. All four of them glanced up gaping as a large, blue sea serpent-like Pokémon towered over them.

"A...gyarados...?" Dawn asked.

Said gyarados seemed to have a visible bruise on its head, and was glaring at them rather murderously.

"...Damn it, it's not red!" Barry swore.

"Really?! You choose to worry about that now?!" Dawn yelled.

The gyarados roared as it charged energy into its mouth. Instinctively, Barry grabbed Dawn and moved out of the way as Gyarados shot a violent laser at where they were just standing.

"And it looks like we pissed him off too," Dawn muttered as Barry set her down. "Wonderful..."

"This is bad..." Barry muttered, now realizing the consequences of his actions. "This is really bad...but...we can still fight at least! Chimchar!"

"Barry, you idiot! No!"

Chimchar, despite being intimidated by Gyarados, mustered up as much courage as he could, and lunged at the serpent with his claws sharpened. Gyarados scoffed as he swatted the Fire-type away with little effort, punishing Chimchar to the ground.

"Chimchar!" Barry cried in horror.

Gyarados then shifted his gaze to Barry, before lunging at the boy in a full tackle.

"BARRY!" Dawn cried out.

Turtwig moved in, using Withdraw to use himself as a makeshift shield from Gyarados and to protect Barry. The raised defense managed to cause Gyarados to bounce off, but the force from the tackle caused Turtwig to crash into Barry and send the boy slamming into a tree.

"Agh!?" Barry gagged as he collided with the tree, while Dawn rushed over to him.

"Are you alright?" Dawn asked.

"Well...I could've been better..." Barry coughed. "Thanks Turtwig..."

Turtwig fell off of Barry and slowly went back to Dawn, clearly suffering a lot of pain from Gyarados's attack. Chimchar managed to recover from being swatted down and saw what had happened to Barry. Enraged at Gyarados for hurting his trainer, Chimchar lunged at the serpent once more and proceeded to scratch at it violently. Unfortunately, Gyarados felt no pain from the chimpanzee's fruitless efforts, and swatted him away once more, this time straight at Barry.

"Guh...!" Barry grunted as Chimchar shot straight at him.

The serpent loomed over them, still not done with attacking them. Barry struggled to get back up, while Turtwig managed to drag himself in front of Dawn to protect her from the monster. Dawn, meanwhile, was staring at the serpent, fear eminent in her eyes. Scoffing at the pathetic sight, Gyarados began to charge more energy into his mouth.

"Crap...not another Hyper Beam..." Barry groaned.

Turtwig lunged at Gyarados in an attempt to stop it, but Gyarados instead decided to discharge all the energy at the small turtle, blasting it back to the ground.

"Turtwig!" Dawn cried, seeing her Pokémon taking the Hyper Beam, albeit an incomplete one, directly.

By some miracle, Turtwig was still conscious, but he could barely move at all.

"-Damn it...-" Turtwig groaned in pain. "-You...won't...hurt her...-"

Sneering, Gyarados began to charge another Hyper Beam, as Dawn could only watch in horror.

'A-Are we all gonna die here...?' Dawn thought as she saw Gyarados continue to charge Hyper Beam.

There was nothing she could do. Turtwig and Chimchar couldn't possibly fight any further, and they couldn't run from the gyarados, especially with Barry's injured state. Gyarados would be able to finish charging up a complete Hyper Beam and blast them all into ashes and effortlessly killing all of them off.

*THUD*

'...No...' Dawn's thoughts were racing out of control. 'We...can't die here...If Barry dies...if I die...then I'll be all alone...I'll be all alone again...'

*THUD*

'...no...no No NO NONONONONONONONO!'

'Anything but that! I don't want to be alone again!'

*THUD*

Her heart began to race. Her mind suddenly became blank. What resided inside of her began to resonate with her. The shadow that she casted underneath herself began to grow in diameter. And her blank mind began to flood with a great, but unholy force.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Dawn screamed out in pain, clutching her head.

Startling the Water-type, Gyarados ended up releasing the Hyper Beam prematurely at them. The shadow underneath her shot out as several shadowy tendrils which intercepted the Hyper Beam and shielding her along with the others.

"-Whoa...-" Turtwig murmured.

"D-Dawn..." Barry groaned in pain, recognizing what was happening.

The tendrils then began to shoot out at Gyarados, ensnaring the serpent at an alarming pace. Gyarados tried to break free, but the tendrils firmly took their grasp, locking it in place, before the sharp edges sunk deep within its flesh. Gyarados winced from the great pain, before glancing down at the girl who was still clutching her head in pain. The girl slowly looked up; her dilated eyes now outright glowing in a sharp platinum gleam, while the sclera of her eyes were now a pitch black.

"Leave...them...alone..." 'Dawn' hissed out, her tone now extremely haunting.

Gyarados outright paled at the sight. The girl was clearly different than from a few minutes ago. That vehement pressure she was giving off. The shadowy tendrils that were assaulting it. It was as if something far more menacing had slipped in and subtly replaced itself with the girl. Gyarados could tell that clearly this wouldn't end well. The tendrils wouldn't let go, as they continued to sink deeper into its flesh, causing it to bleed. It wouldn't be as farfetched to believe that the girl could keep this up until Gyarados bled to death. It needed to escape. It wouldn't live if this kept going on. It would die.

Gyarados nodded frantically to Dawn, seemingly agreeing to leave them. Dawn stared at Gyarados with her crazed glare, before the tendrils slowly removed themselves from Gyarados and sunk back into Dawn's enlarged shadow. Using this opportunity, the gyarados fled back into the lake, leaving a trail of red in the once pristine waters.

Dawn panted heavily, her gaze not leaving the lake for a while, until she began to calm down. Her shadow slowly reverted back to normal and her sclera reverted back to its normal white. The intense beating inside her had calmed down as well. As Barry managed to get back up, Dawn suddenly collapsed to her knees.

"Dawn!" Barry cried, practically jumping out to catch the girl before she hit the cold hard ground.

"B-Barry...?" Dawn asked tiredly.

"It's alright," Barry assured the girl. "Everything's gonna be alright..."

"The gyarados...is it gone...?" Dawn inquired weakly.

"Yeah, it's gone..."

"That's...good...I didn't want anything to happen to you..."

"Hehe...well I won't go down that easily," Barry tried to lighten up the mood somewhat.

Dawn managed to giggle slightly. Turtwig and Chimchar approached them, concerned for their wellbeing.

"I'm alright, Turtwig," Dawn assured the turtle. "More importantly, are you alright?"

"-Y-Yeah..." Turtwig muttered.

"...C'mon, let's go home..." Barry said, deciding that enough was enough.

"Oh...so you're just gonna give up on your hunt?" Dawn asked jokingly.

"Yeah...I'm not too keen on continuing after that," Barry replied.

"Right..." Dawn giggled in spite of being in pain.

Dawn helped up Barry, who was in far more physical pain than she was, and recalled their respective Pokémon, as the two slowly traversed their way back home. Despite being in more pain himself, Barry glanced at Dawn worryingly.

"You alright?" Barry asked.

"Yeah...I'm fine..." Dawn muttered. "Nothing a goodnight's rest can't fix. What about you? You took a beating."

"Nothing a goodnight's rest and some medicine can't patch up," Barry shrugged. "...I'm glad you're alright though..."

"Look, it's alright," Dawn muttered.

"But still...it was because of my idea we almost got killed day one," Barry admitted. "And it even forced you to use that power."

Dawn glowered slightly as they made the trip back. She didn't want to be reminded that she had to resort to use that, regardless of how grateful she was of it. It caused enough problems as it is.

"Let's just forget about it," Dawn grumbled, not wanting to be reminded of it. "Regardless, we have some explaining to do to our moms."

"Right..." Barry groaned. Neither of them were looking forward to that.

"So let me get this straight," Johanna grumbled to Dawn and Barry as she was interrogating them. "You had the bright idea to try and capture a legendary, and it ends up with you two fending off against a gyarados that wiped out your two Pokémon. Is that it?"

"...Yeah, pretty much," Barry muttered quietly, cowering under Johanna's angry glare.

Johanna sighed as she slapped her face with her palm as Jumpy finished tending to Barry's wounds while giving Dawn an ice pack.

"Thanks," Dawn mumbled as Glammy sat on her lap. Mrs. Pearl approached them, having healed Turtwig and Chimchar.

"You two were very lucky to have survived that with minimal injuries," Mrs. Pearl scolded them. "It could've turned out far worse."

"We know," the two replied.

"Uh...so...about Professor Rowan..." Barry meekly murmured.

"You'll go tomorrow," Mrs. Pearl declared. "You two had have enough for one day."

The two nodded as Turtwig and Chimchar returned to their respective trainers.

"You alright, Chimchar?" Barry asked.

The Fire-type nodded at Barry as he climbed up his back eagerly. Dawn meanwhile glanced down to Turtwig, who tried to climb up Dawn's leg. Giggling, the girl picked up Turtwig and placed him next to her. Dawn noticed that he looked gloomy; probably due to that one-sided battle against that gyarados.

"You did your best, Turtwig," Dawn assured the turtle.

That soothed Turtwig's slight depression, allowing him to relax next to her.

"It's already pretty late," Johanna insisted Dawn. "You should go to sleep."

"I guess," Dawn muttered, getting Glammy off of her lap as she picked up Turtwig and headed upstairs to her room. "Goodnight."

Once Dawn was out of earshot, Johanna faced Barry, a more grim expression sported on her face.

"So...did it happen again?" Johanna asked.

"Y-Yeah..." Barry muttered. "Uh...Mrs. Berlitz, you don't think..."

"No, she knows how to keep herself controlled," Johanna retorted. "You should know that."

"Yeah..." Barry mumbled worryingly, glancing upstairs.

"...You know she'll still need you," Johanna warned him. "You turn your back on her...break her heart...you'll regret it."

"I know that," Barry grumbled, offended that she would think he would ever consider turning on her again. "And I won't just up and abandon her."

"...I just needed to make sure," Johanna said as she turned her gaze to upstairs.

Dawn sighed as she crashed onto her bed, having changed out of her clothing into nightwear. Turtwig was resting on a cushion prepared for him on her desk.

"Well, that was an eventful day," Dawn sighed as she lied down on her bed, before glancing at Turtwig. "And you must have lots of questions for me."

"-Yeah...-" Turtwig yawned. "-What did you do back there? With those weird tentacles?-"

"...It's a long story..." Dawn muttered. "Ever since one little incident back when I was young, they ended up happening. At first I thought it was cool, but other people thought otherwise, hence causing people like those little worms back at town to hate me like that."

"-What incident?-"

"...Not now..." Dawn's expression looked rather pained. "I'll tell you one day, I promise...Just...not now..."

"-...I understand...-" Turtwig replied. "-...How can you understand me? Humans shouldn't be able to understand Pokémon.-"

"You didn't seem to question that earlier."

"-Well that's until I saw that no one else could understand me.-"

"Call it a perk from this power."

"-That makes sense, I guess,-" Turtwig nodded his head.

"Yeah," Dawn said. "So? Do you still want to be my Pokémon?"

"-Huh?-" Turtwig asked.

"After seeing that...I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't want to be near me," Dawn reasoned. "I mean people still hate me...fear me...treat me like a witch. You'd fall under the same prejudice just by being with me."

Turtwig stared at Dawn, confused. Why would he not want to be her Pokémon? I mean sure she could do things normal humans couldn't ever do, and she could be terrifying when she wanted, but she proved that she was a nice and compassionate person. Not to mention how she handled Barry was pretty funny.

Sure people might call her a witch, but she herself was far from it. Turtwig didn't get why people would be afraid of her. If they just got to know her better, then surely they would see that she's not a witch and a good person. And he'll make sure of it.

"-No, I'll stay,-" Turtwig declared. "-I'm your first Pokémon. And you're my first trainer. We stick together. No matter what.-"

Dawn looked slightly shocked, before smiling gratefully.

"Thank you," Dawn showed her gratitude. "Hopefully you don't end up regretting it."

Turtwig smiled, before yawning and falling asleep. Giggling, Dawn decided to tuck herself in bed, exhausted from all the havoc that happened today. She stared at the darkness that filled her room. She then stared at her window. It was clear; perfectly clear. It was like a mirror.

'Your day was interesting, to say the least,' a voice echoed in her mind.

"Yes it was," Dawn replied. "Thanks for saving me by the way."

'Of course. I did say I would protect you, no matter what.'

"True..."

'So, now what?'

"Now? Now I go to sleep. And tomorrow, I head out to Professor Rowan's lab."

'You do realize there's a chance you'll end up going on a journey.'

"You think?"

'You received a Pokémon from a regional renowned researcher. It's becoming a trend for them to pick children to help in their research. Kanto and Hoenn did so, followed by Johto.'

"You do have a point...well if that does happen, then you would like that wouldn't you?"

'...Yes...yes I would...'

"...We can discuss this tomorrow. I want to go to sleep."

'Very well. If you do end up going on a journey, we'll talk more. But for now, you need rest.'

"Couldn't agree more..."

'Sweet dreams, Dawn.'

"Yeah...goodnight...Giratina..."

To be continued

AN: Yeah, she's pretty unique, isn't she? Now I know there's bound to be questions such as what the hell just happened, why Dawn has powers that look like they came straight out of HP Lovecraft, and why she already knows Giratina, etc, but those will be explained as the story progresses. But for now, this would be a good place to stop.

Anyways, if you like it, great for you. Make sure to favorite and follow to stay up-to-date when a new chapter gets published. If not, well sorry for wasting your time and thanks for wasting your time on this, and then get out. Reviews, critiques and advice on how I can make this story better are appreciated.

And that outta be it, so I'll see you next time. Thanks for coming, hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays.