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Dawn couldn't stand to be in Sinnoh anymore. Not when everything in the region reminded her of him .
Her home was ruined for her forever now. She couldn’t stand to be there anymore. So, when Cynthia offered her a way out, she took it. The champion often went to visit the Unova region - every summer, in fact. Undella Town. A nice little vacation town. And she invited Dawn along with her this time.
She was grateful to Cynthia, of course. It was nice enough and her friends were always nice to her, but Dawn just couldn’t stand being in one place.
Okay, that was a slight lie. She couldn’t stand to be around Cynthia as much as Dawn loved her. Being alone, cuddled up close in a little vacation home with her would’ve once been a dream for Dawn. But now, whenever Dawn looked at her all she could think was, Volo, Volo, Volo.
She hated it. Hated not being able to see Cynthia as her sweet self anymore. So, she told Cynthia she wanted to go off by herself for the summer. Go explore the Unova region. Cynthia was worried, but she didn’t fight with Dawn about it. She figured Dawn just needed some time alone to process everything she had gone through in Hisui. If only things were that simple.
And now, here Dawn was. Sitting all alone on a bench in an amusement park of a large city, watching as the sun slowly sat. As beautiful as it was, Dawn wasn’t that much of a fan of the long summer days here. She was missing the long Sinnoh nights.
She looked at the couples passing by her, holding hands and giggling together. Winning prizes for each other and getting in line for the giant ferris wheel. Dawn desperately craved that normalcy back in her life.
“Would you like to ride the ferris wheel with me?”
Dawn’s head snapped to the side, meeting a pair of greyish-green eyes. In front of her was a man who towered over her with long green hair. The disarray of hair almost reminded her of-
“Excuse me?” she asked before she could think too deeply on it.
“You were staring at it like you wanted to ride it,” the man said matter-of-factly, “but you don’t look like you have anyone to accompany you on it and I know there has to be two people per car. So, I thought maybe you’d like to ride it together. I don't have anyone to go on it with either.”
Was he… trying to flirt with her? She absolutely didn’t need that right now. Dawn examined his face, but didn’t find anything suggesting he did. He looked at her curiously and like he genuinely just needed a friend to ride the ferris wheel with him.
“Sure, I guess,” she shrugging, invoking a smile from the man. Why did that smile also remind her of him?
She quickly stood up from the bench she had been sitting at, following behind him as he led her through the amusement park. He walked rather fast, and she struggled to keep up with him at her normal walking pace.
The man seemed to know the amusement park like the back of his hand, quickly getting them to back of the line for the ride. Dawn played with her fingers anxiously as the two of them slowly got towards the front of the line, neither saying a word the whole time they waited. He barely spared a glance towards her, staring up at the ferris wheel as if he were longing for something.
Lucky for the two of them, they had made it just in time for the last ride of the day.
“I love ferris wheels,” the man said as he settled himself across from her in their car, “the circular motion… the mechanics… they’re like collections of elegant formulas.”
Dawn stared at him for a solid minute, not understanding him in the slightest. But her fears of him flirting with her dispersed even more at his words. Because surely that couldn’t be a pickup line.
“That’s… nice,” she settled on after a moment, “we don’t have ferris wheels in Sinnoh. It’s too cold or something.”
“This is your first time riding one then?”
“Yeah, I guess it is,” Dawn said shyly as she realized it indeed was. She always thought of ferris wheels as a romantic, intimate thing to ride with your lover, but here she was sharing a cab with a complete stranger.
“This is my first time on one in three years,” he told her, “I’ve only been on it one other time since I lost my dearest friend. I haven’t seen her in almost five years.”
That was… sudden.
“Oh, is she alright?” She asked, not sure if she was overstepping her boundaries.
But this man had been very direct with her so far. He didn’t really seem the type to hesitate to say anything on his mind.
“I’m sure she is. She left this region around the same time I had a long time ago,” he looked down at his hands, looking like he was plagued with guilt, “I miss her very much.”
Something in Dawn’s heart ached.
“She was very special to you, wasn’t you?” She asked in a quiet voice.
“She was the most special person in the world to me.”
The words that he loved this girl were left hanging in the air, unspoken.
“I had someone very special to me too, once,” Dawn told him, “I guess it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him as well.”
That was debatable. It could have been counted as either half a year or a century and a half. Either one worked.
The man gave her a sympathetic smile that she weakly returned.
“One time, I asked my friend if she had a dream. She told me that she did. Even if I never see her again, I do hope that she has accomplished that dream of her’s,” he sighed longingly.
Dawn froze, a conversation playing in the back of her mind.
“Answer me, then, Dawn. Do you have a dream that propels you, as I’ve had?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“You don’t even know… Then perhaps the day will come when you suffer and agonize as I do now…”
If only Volo had known how true his words would become. Doubtless, her newfound misery would make him happy.
Blinking away tears, she forced another smile, leaning forwards and grabbing the man’s hand. He looked confused, but she spoke before he could question her.
“You really care about your friend, don’t you?” she gave his hand a gentle squeeze before pulling away. “I’m sure you two will meet again.”
He looked completely stunned, like he had never heard those words from anyone else before. He leaned forward slightly after he recovered, staring into her eyes.
“You remind me of her a little. Kind hearted, heroic, and you seem like someone who seeks out their ideals.”
She didn’t know what to think of that. The word ideals itself reminded her of Volo. Of his betrayal for an ideal world. One without her. It had hurt. It had hurt so much, and it still did.
“Well, you have my…” She bit her lip, not knowing what to say. There wasn’t a word in any know language to describe what he was to her. “…my friend’s eyes. And smile. And your hair is a little wild like his.”
She cringed internally. That was probably not the best thing to say to a near stranger. Then again, she supposed be started it.
He just laughed a little. In a way he really did look like Volo. Honestly, in her opinion, Volo looked like a perfect mix of this guy in front of her and Cynthia.
Minus the fact that these two people seemed to be genuinely good people.
“I think our ride’s over,” Dawn muttered as the ferris wheel came to a halt, their car at near ground level.
“It does look like that way,” he said with a soft sigh, getting out first, and extending his hand to help her out.
She took it, letting go as soon as she was out. It was almost dark out as the two made their way out of the amusement park.
“Thank you for riding the ferris wheel with me,” he smiled as they were about to part ways, “it’s been far too long since I’ve been on it.”
“Thank you for inviting me. It was… fun,” she smiled back before an embarrassed look takes over her. “Oh! I never introduced myself, did I? My name’s Dawn,” she held out her hand for him to take.
He hesitated for a moment before relaxing, gently shaking her hand, then slightly tipping his hat, “I’m N. It was nice to meet you, Dawn. Perhaps, we’ll meet again someday.”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” she smiled sheepishly, “maybe next time you’ll be able to introduce me to your friend.”
That seemed to make him excited, N nodding eagerly. Dawn envied it. She wished she could feel that excited over the possible chance to see Volo again. But she never even bothered to entertain the idea, the man long dead.
“I’ll see you around, then, N,” she said, slowly walking away, a sense of melancholy filling her.
“Goodbye, Dawn,” N waved, walking away in the opposite direction.
As the two parted ways, neither noticed the hiker watching them from afar.