Dawn watched Shinji feeding Piplup, and the slight annoyance from his earlier lecture gradually dissipated.
She stepped forward a couple of paces and spoke up again, her tone carrying a hint of stubborn earnestness. "Hey, what is your name, anyway?"
Seeing that Shinji still had no intention of responding, Dawn added, "You just saved me and Piplup. I can't keep calling you 'hey' all the time, right? Don't you agree, Piplup?"
"Piplup! Piplup!" Hearing her, the busy-eating Piplup immediately looked up and gave a vigorous nod.
It was then immediately drawn back to the food, burying its head again to peck away greedily, its cheeks bulging like they were stuffed with two small dumplings.
Dawn's gaze was fixed intently on the side of Shinji's face, waiting for his response, but Shinji acted as if he hadn't heard her. His dark purple eyes were slightly lowered, his full attention on Piplup.
With a quiet thought, the pale blue system panel instantly surfaced in his mind, clearly displaying the detailed information of this Piplup:
[Piplup♦]
Level: 9 (Newborn Grade)
Type: Water
Ability: Torrent
Potential: Good
Base Stats: 314
Moves: Bubble Beam, Peck, Bide
"Good potential..." Shinji thought to himself. This was as he expected; after all, it was one of the starter Pokémon selected by Professor Rowan, so its talent naturally wouldn't be poor.
It wasn't until Piplup finished the last bit of food and licked its beak with lingering desire...
...that Shinji noticed the girl's resentful gaze beside him, which felt almost tangible.
If he didn't speak up now, this little girl would probably explode.
"Shinji," he said, withdrawing his gaze and clearly uttering two words.
"Huh? Oh... Shinji." Dawn hadn't expected him to answer so suddenly. The frustration she had been brewing instantly deflated, but his overly brief self-introduction left her speechless.
She put her hands on her hips, puffed out her cheeks, and glared at Shinji. "What's that? Would it kill you to say a few more words? Honestly... your name is nice enough, but you're just too cold."
Shinji caught a glimpse of her huffing like an inflated pufferfish and found it inexplicably cute.
Knowing his personality wasn't very likable, Shinji paused before uncharacteristically adding, "Um... this Piplup has good potential. It's worth training well."
Hearing this, most of the anger on Dawn's face vanished, replaced by a hint of embarrassment.
She scratched the back of her head and said sheepishly, "Actually... I'm not really a Pokémon trainer yet. I haven't officially received my starter Pokémon."
"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Shinji's dark purple eyes widened slightly, and a rare look of astonishment appeared on his face.
He instinctively looked Dawn up and down, then at the Piplup affectionately nuzzling her cheek.
Noticing his confusion, Dawn quickly waved her hands in explanation. "It's like this: I followed the direction you pointed and reached the lab, where I happened to run into Professor Rowan, who had just returned from a business trip. We went inside together."
"It turned out there was a bit of an accident at the lab. The Piplup and Chimchar intended for new trainers both escaped! That's why I volunteered to come out and help find Piplup."
"Professor Rowan is back too?" Shinji keenly caught the main point, his brow arching slightly.
One of his primary goals for this trip was to visit the Professor.
Dawn blinked, not understanding why Shinji was suddenly interested in that, but she nodded honestly. "Yeah! I just ran into him at the lab entrance. He even told me how to communicate with Pokémon."
"Thanks." Having obtained the answer he wanted, Shinji's goal was achieved. He gave Dawn a slight nod and uttered the word plainly.
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and took out a Poké Ball. A flash of red light followed as he recalled the Chimchar nearby, then turned and began walking out of the forest.
"Hey! Shinji, where are you going?" Seeing this, Dawn quickly scooped up Piplup and hurried after him, her skirt swaying gently as she ran.
"What's wrong with you? How can you just walk away without saying a word? That's so rude!" Dawn caught up and walked side-by-side with Shinji.
"I said thanks," Shinji replied, looking straight ahead without slowing his pace, his voice devoid of emotion.
"..."
Dawn was choked up by his matter-of-fact answer. She opened her mouth but for a moment couldn't find the words to argue back.
Looking at Shinji's back, she felt both annoyed and helpless. Eventually, she gave up on the issue and quickened her pace to keep up, asking curiously, "What are you going to do now? This path... doesn't seem to be the way out of Sandgem Town. Instead, it looks like it's headed toward the lab?"
"Yes," Shinji said sparingly. "To visit Professor Rowan."
"Oh! So you're looking for the Professor too! Then we—" Dawn was about to continue when the words caught in her throat.
Just as Dawn was about to ask more about his purpose for visiting Professor Rowan, they happened to pass the lakeside path of Lake Verity.
Right then, an unusual ripple suddenly appeared on the calm surface of Lake Verity. Rings of ripples spread outward at high speed, and the lake water seemed to be stirred by an invisible force, emitting a faint glow.
This strange sight instantly captured the attention of Dawn and the Piplup in her arms.
"Shinji, look! What's happening in the middle of Lake Verity?" Intrigued by the phenomenon, Dawn stopped and tugged on Shinji's sleeve, pointing to the center of the lake with an exclamation.
Even the Piplup in her arms let out a curious "Piplup."
Stopped by her tug, Shinji looked in the direction she was pointing.
Seeing the disturbance in the lake, his heart tightened at first, thinking another accident had occurred. But when he felt the energy—not malicious, but rather carrying a certain pure emotional resonance—he understood immediately.
It was Mesprit.
One of the Lake Guardians of the Sinnoh region, the Legendary Pokémon that governs "Emotion."
Shinji secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then realized he had actually become tense for a moment because of Dawn's shout.
He lowered his eyes slightly, hiding the strange feeling within—without realizing it, he had already begun to care about this chattering, cute girl.
Shinji's interest was also piqued by Mesprit's appearance. With a thought, the system panel surfaced again, displaying the information of this Legendary Pokémon:
[Mesprit (Genderless)]
Level: 4 (Superior Grade)
Type: Psychic
Ability: Levitate
Potential: Excellent
Base Stats: 58
Moves: Extrasensory, Protect, Teleport, Future Sight...
Mesprit, one of the Lake Guardians, governs wisdom, will, and emotion along with Uxie and Azelf.
In Sinnoh legends, they are Mythical Pokémon created by Arceus to maintain the balance of the world, rarely appearing before humans.
That's right; in the original anime, it was at Lake Verity where Dawn first set out and was chosen by Mesprit, catching a glimpse of its form.
This was the beginning of her connection to the legends of the Sinnoh region as the female protagonist.
Mesprit's strength might seem average, but these three Lake Guardians can open dimensional rifts to summon Dialga, who controls time, and Palkia, who controls space.
Their symbolic significance and uniqueness are extraordinary, and they cannot be categorized by ordinary strength levels.
"Shinji... Is, is that a Pokémon?" Dawn asked in a low voice, both curious and a bit nervous as she looked at the never-before-seen phantom emitting a mysterious aura in the middle of the lake, unconsciously leaning closer to Shinji.
"Yes," Shinji replied, his gaze still locked on Mesprit. "Mesprit, a Legendary Pokémon."
"A Legendary Pokémon?!" Dawn's deep blue eyes widened in surprise. She watched Mesprit without blinking, her fear forgotten, replaced only by novelty and awe.
Mesprit floated above the lake's surface. Its eyes, which seemed able to see through everything, quietly gazed at Dawn, then seemed to glance at the stern-faced Shinji beside her, a meaningful, almost mischievous smile appearing on its face.
Then, its figure began to blur like a reflection dissolving in water, eventually turning into specks of light that vanished into the air. The lake surface quickly returned to calm, as if nothing had ever happened.
Mesprit's appearance was fleeting. Once Shinji confirmed it had left, he withdrew his gaze, his heart relatively untroubled.
While Legendary Pokémon were certainly rare, his current goals were clear and practical; he wouldn't be distracted by this.
He turned and continued toward the lab, his pace as steady as ever.
"Wow! I actually saw a Legendary Pokémon. That's amazing! Right, Piplup?" Dawn was still immersed in the shock and excitement from moments ago.
"Piplup, Piplup!" Piplup nodded along.
By the time she snapped out of it, she realized Shinji was already over ten meters away.
"Hey! Shinji! You didn't wait for me again!" She stomped her foot in frustration, gaining a new understanding of this guy's coldness, yet her feet instinctively hurried to catch up.
For some reason, being around this icy guy, though she was often driven to fits of pique, gave her a strange sense of security.
As for Shinji walking ahead, though his face remained expressionless, a tiny ripple he hadn't even noticed himself flickered deep within.
It seemed... he wasn't as entirely indifferent as he appeared to this somewhat reckless yet vibrant girl.
This quietly growing concern was something even he hadn't fully realized yet.