Dreams [G]

[Ganyu]

Dreams

"Mm mmm mm~"

A little girl skipped daintily through a meadow of blooming flowers, humming faintly to herself. She followed the usual path down to the quiet creek where she spent hours sitting beneath a tree and daydreaming.

"Hello trees! Hello creek!" She chirped brightly.

"And hello Pokemon living here." She added with a whisper.

She had never seen a Pokemon when she was at the creek, but she assumed it was because they were sleeping and did not want to come out. She sat in between the thick sprawling roots of a birch tree. Absentmindedly, she traced shapes into the loamy soil with a finger as she softly sang a tune her mother had taught her.

She had almost dozed off when a sudden rustle of leaves had alerted her ears. It had to be close to her for her to be able to hear it. She looked around the creek, seeing nothing that created the sound. As she moved her eyes away, she caught a glimpse of something pink darting among the trees. She sharply turned her head to where she last saw the pink afterimage. She slowly got to her feet and quietly walk towards the trees.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She gently called out.

What looked like a pink snout peeked out from behind a tree a few feet away and quickly disappeared behind it.

"There you are, you can come out. I won't hurt you."

The pink thing refused to show itself even after a few minutes. To prove that she was not going to hurt it, she began humming the tune she knew very well. When the pink snout reappeared, she began singing faintly to coax it out from behind the tree. As she sang, the pink creature slowly showed itself and moved closer to her. It was drifting above the ground, and looked very similar to the coin bank her mother got for her. It was then she realized she was looking at a Pokemon.

She stopped singing and studied the Pokemon before asking, "What are you called?"

Munna. A voice spoke in her head.

"Wait, did you just... Speak in my head?"

Yes, I'm a Psychic pokemon. Psychic pokemon like me can communicate via telepathy.

"I see. Where did you come from? I've never seen any pokemon around the creek."

I live in the Dreamyard, an ancient ruin north of this creek. Your singing drew me here when I went on a walk.

"You live in the Dreamyard? Mom and Dad never let me go there before even though it's near where we live. Can I see your home, please?"

Why not? Nothing wrong with that.

That evening during dinner, she told her parents of her new pokemon friend.

"You went where?!" Her mother's spoon clattered onto the table.

"Fennel, we told you that the Dreamyard is no place for a child like you. You're not a Trainer, you've no pokemon." Fennel's father said grimly.

"But Munna was with me!" She retorted. "And she said the Munnas there aren't hostile. They're more concerned with protecting their world."

"Their world?"

"Yes, she said there's a world that they go to when they sleep. It's a beautiful place with clear blue skies, pretty flowers and sometimes cute pokemon appear."

Her parents stared quizzically at her, suspecting that she was just off daydreaming as usual.

"Well, as long as you stay safe and don't get into trouble, you'll be allowed to go to the Dreamyard." Her father relented.

"Yes! Thanks Dad!"

From then on, Fennel spent most of her time playing with Munna in the Dreamyard. She once asked if she could go to the world Munna often spoke of, but Munna replied that she would not know as there were no humans there. Fennel was disappointed but as long as she could be with Munna, she was fine not being able to see the Dream World. For now.

~~~

When she was ten, her father had his job posted to Castelia City and they all had to move over. Fennel would also be enrolled in the Trainer School there. Before they had shifted their house, Fennel begged her parents to let her bring Munna. They gave in, she was going to need a pokemon after all. Her mom went to the Striaton PokeCenter and purchased a regular PokeBall which she gave to Fennel. Fennel then visited Munna in the Dreamyard and explained her moving. Munna accepted being caught so that they could travel together easily. When they returned, Fennel's Munna surprised her parents by helping to lift up some of their heavy belongings with her psychic powers. They were also amazed that their daughter had actually caught a pokemon as easily as talking to it in a place deemed unsafe for her age.

After a year or so, Fennel had settled comfortably in Castelia City. It was busier and bigger than Striaton but she did not let that intimidate her. With Munna around, she felt safe and explored the streets of Castelia when she was free. In school, she aced all her subjects, having great interests in mathematics and sciences. She was motivated by her lifelong dream of going to the Dream World with Munna. Any topic that could help her find a way to do so always got her interest.

~~~

The beep of the doorbell surprised her on a Tuesday morning, as Fennel was cleaning up her apartment's laboratory.

"Who could it be?"

She wondered aloud to her Munna as she patted down her coat.

Let's see, shall we?

Munna used her telekinesis to answer the door. Before them, a young boy with wind-ruffled hair dressed casually with six pokeballs attached to his belt greeted Fennel nervously.

"Uh... Are you Doctor Fennel?"

"That would be me. How can I help you?"

"I was wondering whether you'd know anything about the Dream World. I asked Professor Juniper and she told me you'd be the most likely person to know such things."

"Professor Juniper? As in Aurea Juniper?!"

"Yeah..." He said uncertainly, feeling awkward by the outburst. "She gave me my Tepig."

"Ah, you must be the one she told me about then! Come on in, make yourself at home. Or at lab." She giggled as she swept him inside with her arms and shut the door.

"Now tell me everything you know about the Dream World." She said once she'd got him comfortably seated.

It was not much, just some things Fennel already knew. Hilbert learned of the Dream World from his pokemon. Just like me, she thought.

"Well then, I have a machine that allows pokemon and their trainers to enter the Dream World but it may not succeed. Will you mind being the first to test it out?"

"Well, it couldn't hurt to try as long as my pokemon aren't hurt."

"Very well then! I'll just strap this helmet on and you can go to sleep on the bed." She gestured to a small cushion besides a bed and said, "The pokemon you choose to bring along would sleep here."

Hilbert nodded and released his Tepig. He told it to sleep on the bed and it willingly complied. The bed looked inviting. As he lied down on the bed, Fennel was busy tapping away at the machine's screen.

"Ready? Here goes!"

The Trainer shut his eyes and soon went to sleep. About 15 minutes later, the machine had triggered both minds to start dreaming. Her attention on the screen grew avid by the minute.

"Have they entered?"

Her Munna closed her eyes, and pink fog gradually billowed out of its snout. The pink fog thickened into a cloud in the air, like Fennel's increasing tension.

They're in the Dream World. Her Munna had awakened.

A mountain of joy erupted from within her as she cried and hugged Munna.

"It worked! It worked!"

She hurriedly found a spare helmet and wore it. Tears trickled down onto the screen as she giggled uncontrollably. She lied down on her bed and sighed contentedly. She closed her eyes and finally dreamed.


A/N: I've always been fascinated by the Dream World and Fennel would logically be a character I'm deeply interested in. Also found a gif that amazingly fits the final scene perfectly. I swear I only found it on Tumblr after I wrote the story. Am I psychic? =O

Spoiler:

[Ninaiso]

This was so sweet! I loved reading it!!
Fennel was always my favorite of the game and I wanted to learn more about her so badly! You gave her a beautiful little background story here. <3 It warmed my heart, I love it! You keep writing, you are good! Absolutely love it. <3

And you're right, that gif is perfect!