Adventures Beyond!

Chapter 58: Hot Cross Buneary

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Metro City, Sinnoh

"Here we are..." Stepping out of the train station was a familiar Lopunny, who quickly stretched her legs. Looking behind her, she gave a light smile at the Buneary following her, "So, you're really going for it, huh?"

Dawn nodded, "How else would I get stronger? The Ion Cup is just free training. Not only that, but free money too."

Susanne was pretty surprised when Dawn came to her with the plan of going to Metro City and participating in some tournament with a cash prize. She didn't even know what Dawn planned to use the money for. That's even assuming she won the tournament. Regardless, the prospect of money wasn't exactly something she was against.

"You know... I'd love some of that money..." Susanne mused, lightly scratching her chin.

"What makes you think I'd give you any of it?"

"I don't know, maybe you owe me for housing you for as long as you stayed in Sapphire and not leaving you out to fend for yourself."

"Since when was I paying rent!?"

The Lopunny quickly put a paw on her cousin's head, a faint giggle making its way out of her mouth, "You do know I'm messing with you, right?"

"I wouldn't know... I've been through some crazy stuff these past few months..." The Buneary explained, "Having to pay rent would make sense."

Susanne crouched down so that she was eye to eye with her smaller relative, "Dawn, I'd never charge a relative for anything. Especially you. You remember what I said back when you were doing that Battle Royale... Thing?"

Dawn's cheeks went a faint shade of pink at her comment. She clearly remembered what she said, "Yeah, yeah, I remember..." Her eyes drifted down to the ground.

"Good, now gimmie hug!!"

"What?"

"You heard me."

The first-stage Normal type was quick to turn herself away, not willing to partake in any kind of physical affection, "I'm not doing that."

Against her wishes, Susanne snatched Dawn up, pulling her to her chest, "If you're gonna live under my roof for weeks on end, then you're gonna give me a hug when you leave. There's nothing wrong with a family showing their love for one another."

Unable to push her cousin away, the Buneary let out a dramatic sigh, giving in.

Metro PKMN Center, Sinnoh

Dawn watched as the sliding doors of the Pokémon Center opened for her. She clenched her paws. This was it. She would be staying at this Pokémon Center until her departure after the tournament. Something did seem to be constantly eating at her, though. A simple question. What next?

At this point, her reason she was still traveling and on the move was because there was always a reason to keep moving. At first, it all started when she wanted that rematch against Jacob, but from there, everything changed. After Forest Grotto, when she did get her rematch, she didn't know where to go from there. But after the Battle for the Grotto, she knew she didn't want to stay there for any longer. So she found herself wandering different areas, until she remembered that her cousin lived in Sapphire Town. Before she knew it, she was living there until her eventual spotting of the Ion Cup poster.

Her journey had quickly gone from one of revenge and personal pride to one with no aim. At least this time, participating in the Ion Cup, she had a purpose for being where she was. If she was being honest with herself, maybe setting out from Casteel wasn't just about battling Jacob again. Maybe it was just about finding any reason to get away from it all. For a meaningless distraction.