Lake Verity lay to the northwest of Sandgem Town. It was one of the lakes symbolizing the abundant water resources of the Sinnoh region, standing alongside Lake Acuity and Lake Valor as the three great lakes.
It was said that this place had once been a volcano long ago. After an eruption formed a massive depression, water gradually accumulated over countless years, eventually becoming the lake it was today.
After half an hour of pedaling, Dawn finally reached the forest entrance on the outskirts of Lake Verity.
Her expression was a little tired, yet filled with determination. After pedaling for so long, her legs were already starting to give out—it looked like they were definitely going to be sore tonight.
At that moment, the sound of brakes rang out, and Rowlet, sitting in the basket, was almost flung out.
Lumiere stopped his bike beside Dawn. Seeing her state, he couldn't help but feel a bit impressed.
"You're really brave. You dare come to a place like this without even having a Pokémon."
Dawn brushed aside her sweat-soaked hair and turned to reply, "Because if I want to catch a Pokémon, I have to come here!"
"But if you don't have a Pokémon, you really shouldn't be running around in the wild—especially forests. They're dangerous."
"But it's only by coming into the wild that I can get a Pokémon!"
"..."
Lumiere fell into brief silence. Something about the conversation felt off, yet he couldn't quite tell what was wrong.
If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't think about it. Shaking his head, he said, "Stay behind me. Don't run around. I'll find Piplup. And here—take this."
As he spoke, Lumiere took a Poké Ball out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"This is…?"
"This is Piplup's Poké Ball. With it, you'll be able to catch Piplup. Professor Rowan asked me to bring it to you."
"Thank you."
Dawn nodded lightly and placed the Poké Ball into her shoulder bag.
After that, the two of them rode together toward the forest, while Rowlet continued wobbling around in the bicycle basket.
Moments later, a man wearing sunglasses rode up on a motorcycle. His sunglasses seemed specially made—they could even be used like binoculars.
Watching the two of them enter the forest, he let out a faintly disdainful laugh. "Just two little brats. But what kind of Pokémon is in that basket?
"A Snorlax? Way too small. Maybe it's just a stuffed toy. Kids really are kids—still playing with things like that. I'll grab it later and use it as decoration for my bike!"
With that, he continued following them on his motorcycle, though he slowed down considerably. After all, he needed to let them find Piplup first before making his move…
Dawn and Lumiere rode through the forest together. With company, it didn't feel quite as exhausting.
During this time, Dawn suddenly asked, "Are you from Jubilife City?"
"Uh… I guess you could say that."
"A while ago, Jubilife TV reported that a red Gyarados appeared at Lake Verity, but the investigation team didn't find anything."
"Just a shiny Gyarados. If you don't have the luck, there's no point thinking about it."
"True. Then have you heard the legend of Lake Verity?" Dawn asked again, clearly trying to keep the conversation going.
"What legend?" Lumiere asked knowingly.
"They say there's a legendary Pokémon living in Lake Verity. I heard it's Mesprit, the legendary Pokémon that represents emotion."
"Really?"
Dawn smiled, looking very proud. "Of course it's real. When I was little, my mom brought me here to play and told me about it. Supposedly, one of my ancestors even became companions with Mesprit!"
"That's amazing."
Lumiere was a little surprised. It seemed that the ancestor who had captured a legendary Pokémon must have been Akari.
"Of course! That's why when I was young, I really wanted to see Mesprit just once. I even secretly brought my mom's Pokémon here a few times. In the end, I didn't see Mesprit, and my mom chased me all the way here and scolded me badly.
"Hehe."
Dawn readily revealed her embarrassing past without hesitation. Maybe she felt Lumiere was easy to talk to, or maybe she was just deliberately filling the silence.
"You really are bold," Lumiere said, not knowing what else to say.
Dawn's personality felt quite different from the Akari he remembered.
Akari was shy on the surface, strong on the inside, emotionally intelligent, and utterly ruthless when swinging a Heavy Ball at the back of someone's head—stronger than Pokémon themselves, the type who would make an ideal girlfriend.
As for Dawn… how should he put it? Hard to say. He'd just have to observe more later. She'd inherited the looks, but as for everything else, it didn't seem like much had carried over. Still, everyone had their own strengths.
A patch of blue suddenly appeared ahead through the trees. Dawn shouted excitedly, "I see the lake!"
Stepping out of the forest, the lake reflected the blue sky and white clouds like a flawless mirror. It gave off a strangely calming feeling, one that made you want to pull out a fishing rod and cast a line.
"This place is perfect for fishing!" Lumiere's instincts as a seasoned angler kicked in instantly.
A Magikarp broke the calm, leaping out of the water and sending ripples across the surface before splashing back down, and everything returned to tranquility.
"Goo~"
Rowlet suddenly changed into a Pikachu outfit and flapped its wings, trying to fly over. The little princess wanted to eat fish today.
Before it could fully take off, Lumiere pressed it down with one hand.
"Don't go. You can't just electrocute fish like that. If you want to eat fish, I'll take you fishing another day. I guarantee we won't get skunked."
"Goo…"
With no choice, Rowlet obediently sat back down. Looks like the fish was out of reach…
Dawn stretched her arms wide, showing off her slightly developed figure, then shouted, "Alright, let's start looking for Piplup!"
"Okay."
The two of them began searching. Based on Lumiere's judgment, Piplup was most likely hiding in the lake rather than having gone somewhere else.
The reason was simple—it had already been attacked by a flock of Starly near the shore once. Subconsciously, it would treat the shoreline as a dangerous area.
Moreover, Piplup wasn't a wild Pokémon. It was a starter specially raised by Professor Rowan for beginners, so it lacked some of the survival skills needed in the wild.
In an unfamiliar place like this, hiding in the water would feel much safer than staying on land.
They split up to search, but didn't go too far apart. After all, Dawn didn't have a Pokémon—if danger arose, Lumiere would need to rush over immediately.
Lumiere walked to the edge of the lake and looked down. Rowlet stood on his shoulder, the two of them wearing the exact same expression.
At that moment, a red Magikarp noticed the movement by the shore and suddenly swam over, staring blankly at them.
Magikarp: "..."
Lumiere: "..."
Rowlet: "..."
Everyone knew that Magikarp were generally pretty dim Pokémon. Whenever they saw something unfamiliar—or food—they liked to swim over and take a look.
It was said that in ancient times, people used this very method to catch Magikarp, then sell them by weight for dirt-cheap prices. Only particularly large ones were worth a bit more…
"What are you staring at? I don't have any food for you."
Hearing this, the Magikarp frowned, suddenly twisting its body and slapping its tail, splashing lake water straight into Lumiere's and Rowlet's faces.
Useless thing. No food? Get lost!
Seeing that expression, Lumiere and Rowlet were furious. Damn it—no way they were letting this slide!
"Pika—chu!"
With a flash of Thunderbolt, the Magikarp's eyes spun as smoke rose from its body and it sank into the lake. However, it left behind a red scale floating on the surface.
"It even dropped loot…"
Lumiere wiped the water off his and Rowlet's faces, picked up the scale, and tossed it into the tailoring machine. Then he changed Rowlet into a new outfit.
Its feathers instantly turned red, a crown appeared atop its head, and a short fish tail trailed behind it. Two golden whiskers extended down from either side of its beak.
[Pokémon: Rowlet (Magikarp Style) ♀]
[Type: Grass + Flying (Water)]
[Ability: Swift Swim (Speed increases when it rains, allowing you to swim freely)]
[Moves: Splash, Tackle]
[Status: Living Doll (Cannot evolve, has no true ability, cannot learn other moves)]
[Affection: 100 (Your bond is practically overflowing)]
"This should be fine. It's a bit weak, but it shouldn't be a problem."
"Rowlet, help look around the lake for any sign of Piplup. I've heard there might be Gyarados here too—check if they've dropped any scales while you're at it. You know what to do if you find any."
"Goo~"