Pokemon Shine Diamond

[EmeraldSky]

@Scytherwolf; @Soups;

(Rated E10+ for fantasy violence and frightening images)

Episode 1: Following A Maiden's Voyage

The sun shone down on the small town of Twinleaf, at the south end of the Shinou region. In one particular house, a black haired girl collapsed back into bed after shutting off a beeping alarm clock. "Mm...let's see what's going on in the world today..." she mused as she fumbled for the TV remote on her bedside table and flicked on the TV facing her bed.

"Despite the exploration team's best efforts, however, the rare, oddly colored Pokemon eluded detection." an announcer reported. "The rumored red Gyarados failed to appear, even fleetingly, to the crestfallen team."

This is boring... the girl sighed as she changed the channel to the weather report. After climbing from bed, she stretched and then opened the window, allowing her to see the many houses on her block, a few houses down the next street, and the fields at the outskirts of town. "What a beautiful day...a perfect day to receive my first Pokémon!"

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"Good morning Dawn..." the girl's mother, a woman with similar features to her, smiled as she arrived in the room. A gray cat Pokemon with a springy tail followed the woman, interested in the black haired girl pulling on some socks and tucking in her shirt.

"Morning, Mom...and good morning, Opal." Dawn smiled as she petted the small cat Pokemon rubbing against her leg.

"I can hardly believe you're already leaving on your own Pokemon journey, hon." the woman smiled as she put on a heart-shaped necklace with her name--Joanna--engraved on it in elegant letters. "Come on downstairs--breakfast is ready."

"Coming..." Dawn replied before assuring Opal "I'll feed you in a minute, okay?"

"Meow." Opal replied before jumping on Dawn's bed to snooze.

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"Have you thought about what you want to achieve on your journey?" Joanna asked as she and Dawn had their breakfast.

"Well, I still have the postcard from Prof. Rowan's lab that came in the mail last week..." Dawn explained as she pulled out a postcard lying near the remains of her scrambled eggs. "Dear Dawn, congratulations on reaching your tenth year! I cordially invite you to my lab to choose your first Pokémon."

Joanna smiled as she admired the pictures of small green turtle Pokemon with foliage, the small fire monkey Pokemon, and a small blue penguin-like Pokemon under Prof. Rowan's message. "They all look so cute...which one are you going to choose?"

"Okay, so the little leaf-turtle is Turtwig, the fire monkey is Chimchar, and the little penguin is Piplup." Dawn mused as she studied the postcard some more. "No matter who I choose, any of them would make a great partner in my quest to become a top coordinator like you, Mom."

She smiled as she looked across into the next room, where hundreds of ribbons, trophies, certificates, and other prizes Joanna had once earned gleamed in the sunshine streaming through the blinds. "Just seeing all your awards and prizes makes me want to have an award room of my own!"

After getting up from her chair, she struck an elegant pose. "If I chose Chimchar, we would really set the world on fire!"

In Dawn's imagination, Dawn, now in an elegant red gown, heaved a Poke Ball skyward. "Chimchar, create a burning mandala!"

The crowd in the stadium oohed and ahed as a Chimchar created a sparkling flaming orb in the sky...

Joanna just smiled at her daughter's pose. "All right, what would your dream of a Grand Coordinator look like if you picked a different Pokemon?"

"If I chose Piplup..." Dawn posed again. "we would make waves in the contest world!"

In Dawn's imagination, Dawn, now in a green costume, heaved a Poke Ball skyward. "Piplup! Show this crowd some real sparkling water!"

The crowd cheered again as a Piplup appeared and heaved hundreds of sparkling bubbles into the sky....

"Interesting..." Joanna smiled. "And what would your contest dream look like with Turtwig?"

"If I chose Turtwig, I would plant the seeds of inspiration for aspiring coordinators everywhere!" Dawn decreed, striking another pose...

In Dawn's imagination, Dawn, now in a lavender tap dancer's costume, heaved a Poke Ball and some Berries into the sky. "Turtwig, use Razor Leaf to cut all these Berries at once!"

A Turtwig emerged from the Poke Ball and heaved some spiked leaves at the flying Berries, cutting them all in half at the same time. The crowd roared with applause, maxing out the excitement meter in the arena as Dawn took a bow...

Joanna couldn't help applauding Dawn's performance. "I believe you could do all of that, and more...but first, you need to pack what you're going to bring on the trip."

"Okay!" After putting her dishes in the sink, Dawn hurried back upstairs to her room...

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"Okay, that's everything!" Dawn smiled, proudly gesturing to the two bulging suitcases, her bag, and the fiddle case she had lugged to the front stoop.

Joanna sighed. "I don't think you need quite that much stuff, hon...come on back inside, and I'll show you how to pack a bit more sensibly."

Once back inside the living room, Joanna first unloaded every bag Dawn had packed. "Now then...the key to packing sensibly is to know the weather before you go. Since Shinou has a wide variety of climates ranging from sunny beaches to snowy mountain peaks, it's a good idea to pack clothes suitable for those conditions. Besides, if you pack too much, you won't have much room for souvenirs on your Pokemon adventure."

"That's true..." Dawn realized her mother had a point. "I do want to bring you back souvenirs."

"Besides, most Pokemon Centers do have a laundry room, and failing that, most towns have a laundromat." Joanna continued. "That, and you can always buy a cheap outfit somewhere if you need it."

After sorting which clothes would stay home and which clothes would make the journey, Joanna and Dawn both beamed with pride at how they had managed to fit two week's worth of outfits and a few other odds and ends into her bag. "There...doesn't that look much better than trying to take your whole closet with you?"

"It does..." Dawn smiled.

She looked longingly at the dull pink fiddle case by her now empty suitcases. "Can the fiddle come too, at least? It would make some nice entertainment by the campfire..."

Joanna just giggled. "Of course your fiddle can come! Not only can you practice on the road, you may run into a guitar player or two to jam with."

"Pokeflute or whistle players would be nice to play with too..." Dawn smiled as she started back outside, where her bike was chained to a rack. "Good thing I can carry it on my back like a backpack." she mused as she set her bag on the bike's cargo rack and tied it down, then set her fiddle case down on the ground to put on her helmet.

"Before you go, let me give you one last thing..." Joanna dug a small metallic orange ribbon from her pocket. "This was the first ribbon I ever won in a contest...many many years ago, of course! I want you to have it, as good luck on your own contest journey."

"Thank you..." Dawn admired the ribbon for a moment before pinning it to her bag. "I'll keep it with me, so I know you're watching over me."

After slinging her fiddle case on her back and climbing aboard her bike, Dawn called "Well, I'm off! I love you!"

"Bye, hon!" Joanna called back, waving goodbye as Dawn pedaled away. "Good luck, and I love you too!"

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As Dawn rode down the path leading outside of town, she spotted a blonde haired boy waving in her direction. "Hey! Where you off to, Dawn?"

"I'm headed to Prof. Rowan's lab in Sandgem Town, Barry." Dawn replied as she pulled up by the boy's side. "And where might you be going?"

"You saw that news report about the red Gyarados on TV, right?" Barry smiled. "That show got me to thinking. I'll bet our local lake has a Pokemon like that in it, too! So, that's what we're gonna do. We'll go find a Pokemon like that!"

"But--!" Dawn protested, but Barry had already dashed down the road and onto the plains outside of town.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Barry assured Dawn. "I'll fine you a million billion credits if you're late!"

Dawn sighed. If he wants to go to the lake without a Pokemon, that's his problem, not mine... "Okay, just wait for me!"

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The way to the lake was uneventful, and before long, Barry and Dawn had arrived by the western shore. "Okay...if I were hunting a red Gyarados, where would I look first?" Barry mused as he and Dawn passed by a sign that read "Welcome to Lake Verity."

"Anywhere there's Magikarp." Dawn smiled as she climbed off her bike and laid it against the sign, making sure to keep Barry in view as he strolled down the shoreline.

Just then, Barry heard voices in the distance. "Uh oh, someone's here! Hide!" he called as he dove behind some bushes, with Dawn not far behind.

After a few tense moments, Dawn watched from the bush as an older man with snowy white hair and a mustache and a brown haired boy about her age approached where they had been moments earlier. That must be Prof. Rowan... she thought when she saw the man. But who's the boy with him?

On the shore, the boy reported "Professor, there's nothing out of the ordinary on the other side, either!"

"Hm…I may have been mistaken..." Prof. Rowan mused. "Something appears to be different than it was before, but…it's enough that we have seen the lake.

He motioned for the boy to follow him. "Come on, Lucas--let's go."

The boy nodded, and hurried to catch up to Prof. Rowan. "Professor, you've been gone for four years now. How are you enjoying being back in Shinou?" he asked.

"There is one thing I can say." Prof. Rowan smiled, a note of happiness in his voice. "There are many rare kinds of Pokemon in Shinou. The region should serve us very well in regard to our studies."

Barry heaved a sigh of relief. "That was a close one..." he smiled as he and Dawn emerged from the brush.

"It was just Prof. Rowan and someone named Lucas, who I assume is his assistant." Dawn assured Barry. "So you had nothing to be afraid of."

Just then, she spotted a large brown object in the grass. "Hm..." she mused as she got closer, whee she could see the object was a briefcase. "I wonder who left this here?"

She balked when she saw the name "Rowan" on the briefcase's handle. "No way...Prof. Rowan left this here! We have to get it back to him!"

Barry, meanwhile, hurried to Dawn's side and opened the case, where he could see three Poke Balls nestled inside, with nameplates under the three Poke Balls explaining the name and gender of the Pokemon inside. "Which one do you want, Dawn?"

"Are you sure those are the Pokemon meant for us, Barry?" Dawn wasn't so sure.

She studied the three Poke Balls for a moment. If they are meant for us, it would save me the trip to the lab!

She closed her eyes and started to point at the different Poke Balls. "My mother told me to choose..."

When she opened them, she saw her finger was on the Poke Ball containing Piplup. "...Piplup."

"Great choice...I'll take the Turtwig." Barry grinned as he took the Turtwig's Poke Ball. "I'm gonna name her Flora."

"Come on out!" Dawn commanded, heaving her Poke Ball to the sky.

She smiled at the tiny blue penguin Pokemon before her. "Well, aren't you a cutie? I think I'll name you...Kori."

[I like that!] the Piplup smiled, giggling as Dawn hugged it...

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Elsewhere, Ash, Tintri, and Brock walked through a forest not far from Lake Verity. Ash just savored the singing Pokemon in the trees, the sun making the green fletching on Brock's prop arrows glitter, the wind in his face, the crunch of the grass beneath their feet, and Brock softly singing a nonsense Gaelic melody in time to their walking.

"I can't wait to take on the League here in Shinou." he mused, stopping Brock from his song.

"I know...it was all you could talk about on the trip over." Brock smiled. "It's so weird not having Misty here...but all the same, I still wonder what stories Shinou has to offer."

"You've built up a nice repertoire...maybe there's another storytelling competition you could enter." Ash suggested as he brushed a leaf from the blue Poke Ball design that adorned his new cap.

"Yeah...competing in the Lore Stage again, or something like it, would be fun." Brock agreed as the two boys and the Pikachu rounded the corner to the entrance leading to Lake Verity. "Welcome to Lake Verity..."

After digging through his bag and unearthing a guidebook, Brock flipped a few pages before beginning. "Here we are...Lake Verity."

[What's it say?] Tintri asked as he scrambled across Ash's shoulders to get a look at the book.

"It says here that the lake, along with its sister lakes Lake Valor and Lake Acuity, is tied to the myth of the creation of the world, specifically the creation of spirit." Brock began before showing Ash and Tintri a picture of a small pink pixie Pokemon. "Local lore says the lake is home to Mesprit, the guardian of the lake and the Being of Emotion."

"Cool" Ash cried before fumbling for his PokeNav. "Let's get a selfie by the welcome sign!"

Brock smiled as he admired the navy blue vest with a large gold stripe Ash was wearing over a white shirt. "You made a great choice in that outfit...I'm sure Delia and Taran would love to see you in it."

After posing for a picture by the lake's welcome sign, Ash noticed Dawn and Barry on the other side of the shore, looking for something. "I wonder what that girl and that boy are looking for?" he asked as he hurried to some bushes in an attempt to get a closer look without being seen. "Maybe we should ask them?"

"Stay put..." Brock instructed as he watched Dawn and Barry battle some black and white bird Pokemon. "Right now they look like they handling themselves just fine--we should only intervene if they really need help."

Ash nodded, but gasped when he saw Barry's Turtwig ram into a Starly, angering an entire flock of the black and white bird Pokemon, which the guidebook identified as Starly. I have to do something... he thought as he watched Dawn run for a nearby alcove, carrying a small penguin Pokemon that looked weakened. But what?

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"There's too many of them!" Barry reported as the flock closed in on the alcove where Dawn and Kori were hiding. "I can't send out Flora, because it's suicide to send out a Grass type against birds!"

"What CAN we do then?" Dawn nearly screamed, bracing herself and her weakened Piplup for the end...

Just then, a whistle and a thunk of an electrified arrow landing by the cave entrance caused the Starly flock to scatter in panic. "Hm...who could be shooting arrows out here?" Dawn asked as she quietly slipped from the cave with her weakened Piplup.

"Dunno--I don't know of anyone that's an archer." Barry confessed seconds before another electrified arrow landed near his foot. "Whoa!"

"Whoever's shooting, can you come out so we can see you?" Dawn called as a third arrow drove back the flock even further. "Are you friends or foes?"

After a few tense moments, Ash, Tintri, and Brock emerged from a rock overlooking the field. "We are friends, miss." he replied as Tintri hurried to retrieve the three sparking arrows in the ground. "Two travelers from a far away region who saw you and your friend in danger, and were called to help."

"Thank you..." Dawn heaved a relieved sigh.

"Yeah, thanks." Barry smiled before charging off into the grass.

Typical Barry... Dawn sighed. "I'm Dawn...might I know the names of my rescuers?"

"I'm Ash, and this is my partner Tintri..." Ash smiled as Tintri dropped the arrows at Brock's feet, then climbed back on his shoulder. "...and Brock, my companion, navigator, balladeer, and storyteller."

"Nice to meet you." Brock smiled before putting his arrows back in the quiver.

"I have to ask...how did you get the arrows to spark?" Dawn asked as she led Ash and Brock back towards a path.

"It's the same idea of making fire arrows in the movies." Brock replied. "Infuse arrowhead with elemental you want, and it imbues the arrow with that power. So if you can infuse arrows with fire, you can also do it with ice, or lightning too."

"Wow!" Dawn was impressed. "I wonder what other elementals you can infuse an arrow with..." she mused as Ash hurried to retrieve the briefcase.

She let the thought linger as she frantically looked for a way to cure the weakened Piplup in her arms. Kori, hang on for me... she silently pleaded as she rummaged through the grass, desperate to find a stray Potion or even healing herbs.

A pink flash on the water got her attention. Gatrandis favel, secret, edena... a ethereal female voice sang.
Emusto ronzen fine el balaziis...
Katoradis favel siicletu edena... At this line, a pale blue aura formed around Kori, healing her weariness.
Emusto koron zen fine, si...

Dawn snapped out of her awed trace as Kori woke up, good as new. "Whoever sang that song--thank you for healing Kori!" she called as she hurried to find Ash and Brock.

You're welcome, young one. the voice echoed back in Dawn's mind. We will meet again!

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Lucas arrived by the path as Dawn reunited with the boys. "Whew...You found this briefcase?" he asked, noticing the briefcase in Ash's arms. "The professor would've gone through the roof if he knew I forgot it here."

"You don't mind if Barry and I used two of the Pokemon in there, did you?" Dawn asked.

Surprisingly, Lucas was calm about Dawn's question. "Not at all...those Pokemon were for you and him anyway." he smiled as he accepted the briefcase. "Let's go back to the lab--I'm sure Rowan will want to get to know you and your companions, Dawn."

To Be Continued...