Dawn is a young trainer aiming to be champion of the Sinnoh region in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl if chosen as the player character or the professor assistant and friend of Lucas if she is not. Akari plays a similar role in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, where she's either a girl transported to the past if chosen as the protagonist or a senior member of the Survey Corps if not. The two never meet in their respective canons.
The two encounter each other in the Pokémon Masters EX story, Together in an Unknown Land. Rei and Akari are in the middle of a difficult pokemon battle when they are sucked into a space-time distortion. This causes them to travel from Hisui of the past to Pasio of the present. They hear two people nearby, and Akari demands to know if they're from a nearby village. When Lucas and Dawn emerge from the bushes, all four reel back in shock upon seeing each other. Dawn cries out that other two look just like them. She then asks if they're Rei and Akari, which shocks Akari again. Dawn also confirms that Adaman and Irida are their and had spoken about the pair to them previously. Lucas and Dawn agree to take Rei and Akari to their friends, with Dawn saying that they'll surely be happy to see some familiar faces. Akari smiles at her and agrees, asking them to take them to Adaman and Irida. The four head off after this.
Later, Dawn says that she's contacted Adaman and Irida, so they should be there soon. Dawn takes note of Akari saying that modern Pasio might be the world where Rei originally came from and asks him about it, though Rei denies that it's his world. When Akari hastily mentions wanting to become a worthy opponent for Rei, Dawn smiles and notes how positive she is. A few days later, Akari chats about Dawn with Lucas when he mentions how he relates to her as being a mentor who was surpassed by her protege. Hearing him talk about his own story with Dawn inspires Akari do grow stronger as well. Some time afterwards, Dawn and Akari are seen battling on opposites sides of the field. When Lucas tells Dawn that Akari feels the same way as him in wanting to become a worthy opponent for their protege, Dawn is happy to hear it. They all share a fierce battle while Cynthia and Barry watch from the sidelines.
Fanon[]
HairclipShipping as a romantic pairing is a rarepair overall, with most art depicting them together focusing on a potential ancestral relation or the parallels between the two instead of any romantic relationship they may have. The ship name was coined on December 2025 by AnonymousOwl54. The name is a reference to the hair clips that both girls wear while Dawn is wearing her original Diamond and Pearl outfit and Akari is wearing her modern outfit before changing into her Survey Corps Uniform.
One of the most common interpretations of these two characters is that they are the same person, with Akari being seen as the older fifteen-year-old version of Dawn, or perhaps alternate universe versions of the same person. Another popular theory is that Akari is actually the ancestor of Dawn as a result of marrying Rei. However, there is a lot of art that focuses on pairing the two girls together, whether romantically or platonically. Some AUs also depict the two as sisters In this sense, the ship is far more popular than its counterpart, BeretShipping (Lucas x Rei), although it's also common to see both duos depicted together in fanart.
During the Arceus Chronicles arc of the anime, while Akari is never depicted, Dawn is shown wearing an outfit reflecting the era of Hisui that bears a striking resemblance to Akari.
Despite the similar appearances of the two that suggest an ancestral relationship, any relationship between the two is unconfirmed. However, this bit of fanon is often taken as canon by fans.
The popular theory that Akari and Dawn are the same person is also often taken as canon, but has been debunked by Pokémon Masters EX, which presents them as separate characters.
Dawn and Akari themselves do not acknowledge any potential relation between them, only acknowledging that they look similar to Rei and Lucas respectively.
The English speaking Pokémon Masters EX Twitter account used Dawn and Akari as an example photo in a post announcing the revamp of the profile feature.
Akari and Dawn are similar in their NPC roles.
Both have a pokemon from the cleffa line.
Both speak in a more polite manner than their male counterparts.
Both are researchers who were surpassed by their proteges.
Despite their similar appearances, there are some key differences between the two.
Dawn is slightly taller than Akari.
Dawn's skin tone holds a pink undertone while Akari's is more olive.
Akari and Dawn have different voice actresses.
Akari has a brighter hair and eye color than Dawn.
In other media, Dawn is sometimes shown with dark blue or grayish blue hair whereas Akari is always shown with slate gray hair.
