bluebells in bloom and berry gardens
Dawn and Paul have been married for only a few months, but the weight and stress of Paul's new status as Champion is getting in the way of his relationship with his wife. After the last straw, Dawn makes the difficult decision to leave him and makes a life for herself in Kalos, where her father lives. When she returns to Sinnoh after five years, though, she knows that she has to soon disclose to Paul a massive secret she has kept from him during their separation – that they have a daughter together. Written for Ikarishipping Day 2018!
Happy Ikarishipping Day! This was originally supposed to be a oneshot that went on for far too long, so I had to break it up into chapters. This first chapter is a little more summary than plot, but it sets up the course of this story. (And since things have been really hectic for me this week, I apologize for any errors and will fix them as soon as I can.) This weekend will be a little too busy for me, so the next chapter will be up next week.
If you like to listen to the music that inspired and pushed the writing while you read, "Come Back Home" by Lauv was on repeat while I've been writing the whole story.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is copyright © 2018 Turnabout Writer. All rights reserved.
The start of Paul's relationship with Dawn was one without fuss, something that he has always appreciated.
After beating the Elite Four of Sinnoh, and as a final preparation for his championship battle with Cynthia, he had come once more to Kalos to do some training – i.e., finally defeat Brandon, lesser known as his and Reggie's estranged father (though, Paul had no one to blame for that, as Brandon hadn't been aware of the fact until Reggie made it known later on).
The first battle against him, which was his fifth time challenging his father, ended in Paul's defeat. But that was to be expected, of course. This battle had simply been a test run for Paul. The real showdown would happen once he mastered mega-evolution with his Torterra. It would be the key to winning against Brandon and Cynthia.
In order to do that, he had to visit Professor Sycamore. On his way to Lumiose City, though, the troublesome, coordinator girl who travelled with Ash in Sinnoh – her name was Dawn, he recalled, and she recently became a top coordinator – found him near the Rivière Walk, with her annoying Piplup on her shoulder. He learned that she, too, was on her way to Lumiose City to meet Professor Sycamore to learn more about Fairy type Pokémon, as she had learned that her Togekiss was now classed as one. Paul remembers clearly how she nervously tucked her hair behind her hair while speaking to him, which was how his eyes caught the Key Stone outfitted into her bracelet.
"Where did you get that keystone?" he asked her suddenly, urgency in his voice.
She innocently furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, unaware of his restlessness. "From Professor Sycamore."
So, they battled in front of the manor with the berry fields; the old man had taken a liking to Dawn, who had been interested in the berries he grew with his granddaughter, and was more than happy to let them battle there. With Paul's Torterra against Dawn's Mega Loppuny (with her mega stone outfitted into a choker around her neck), he unsurprisingly lost.
"You're close with Professor Sycamore," he stated, his eyes narrowing at her accusatorily.
She simply shrugged, her eyes averting his gaze, as her cheeks tinged a delicate pink. "You could say that I've known him since I was born," she answered, with a wave of her hand. "He taught me everything about mega evolution, since that's the focus of his research."
From there, they decided to travel together to Lumiose City. It was Paul's suggestion, which surprised both him and Dawn. He wanted to battle her more and have her introduce him to Professor Sycamore, which she agreed to. Her irritating behavior would be a small price to pay for mastering mega evolution.
She wasn't as troublesome as she appeared to be, though, and somewhere between finding a Torterrite, learning from and becoming close to Professor Sycamore, and battling and talking with Dawn, he started getting used to her being by his side.
This was made evident to him the moment she left for Sinnoh, when Paul deemed himself and Torterra ready to face Brandon and she finished having her Togekiss learn Fairy-type moves with Professor Sycamore, a year after they met on Route 7.
Immediately, her absence left him feeling hollow. He thought that it would wear off, but after a week, the empty feeling didn't subside, which was how Dawn found him on her doorstep in Twinleaf Town soon after, asking her to accompany him to his seventh battle with Brandon in Snowpoint City (as he had lost the sixth one in Kalos shortly after Dawn's departure).
And finally, Paul felt at ease. He had never been happier to listen to her mundane chatter and to have her annoying Piplup try to stare him down. He wasn't even annoyed when she came to the Battle Pyramid with a cheerleading outfit, pompoms in her and – surprisingly – Piplup's hands, ready to cheer him on. In fact, her cheers were what rang through his head as he and his mega-evolved Torterra, his last Pokémon, defeated Brandon's remaining two Pokémon, Regice and Regirock.
Though the relief that flowed through him from finally defeating Brandon was indescribable, the proud look on Reggie's face, and Dawn's happiness made him feel surprisingly warm. He wasn't used to such feelings.
And he found himself wanting more of those feelings.
It was the next morning that he showed up at her room door at the Pokémon Center they were at. She was packing, preparing to go back to Twinleaf Town, but Paul didn't want to
"Stay with me," he simply said, but behind his words was a small plea. "I . . . I don't know when I got used to having you around, but if you leave, it will be . . . " He pursed his lips, struggling to find the proper word. "Difficult."
Dawn's reply to his request was to pull him down to her face by his shirt and press her lips to his.
They moved into a small apartment in Hearthome City. Reggie saw it coming all along, Maylene (his wife and Paul's sister-in-law, and Dawn's friend), was happy for them, as well. Johanna was surprised when Dawn told her, but, nevertheless, was happy for her them both, having liked Paul a lot already from when she first introduced them the day he showed up at her door. Dawn decided to keep this a secret from her father, though Paul had rolled his eyes when she told him – he didn't understand why it mattered, since he lived in a different region. Her father would find out eventually, since he was planning to come to Sinnoh soon, and it wasn't as if he would get upset or angered by it; Paul knew that Dawn's father liked him a lot. He met the man in Kalos, before he and Dawn dated. That was why Dawn originally went to Kalos to meet him in the first place (and that was how she knew Professor Sycamore).
That was 6 months ago – 6 months of living with her, and though it was initially strange to have someone living with him and took a little bit of adjustment, in his bed, it was oddly pleasant to have someone to come home to have after travelling days or weeks at a time to prepare and train for his championship match against Cynthia. She would always be there to greet him and bid him with a wide, angelic smile on her face and a soft kiss on his lips. And, of course, there were the nights to look forward to, as well; but even when Dawn sometimes would come home later from working overtime at the Poffin House, Paul was satisfied when she quietly would tiptoe into their dark, small bedroom, lean down over his supposedly sleeping body to kiss his cheek and then fall onto the bed beside him. And he would wake up in the morning before her, before the sun rose, lightly press her forehead, and leave to train once more.
They have had a simple life together, but Paul knows that it will change once he wins this championship match today.
.
Dawn wrings her hands nervously as she watches Paul roughly running his hands through his hair, as he recalls his second Pokémon, Aggron. He has been doing so well from the start, eliminating Cynthia's Togekiss (which Dawn knew was easier for him since he battled her Togekiss many times when they were in Kalos last year) and Glaceon with his Magmortar. But then she sent out Lucario, who easily, and quite quickly, defeated Magmortar and Aggron.
Now they are even with three for three, though Lucario has been severely weakened from Aggron's Aerial Ace – which Dawn didn't know Aggron could learn, but knew immediately that it had to have been thanks to Reggie.
From the Champion's Viewing Box, Dawn sees him pull out another Pokéball and enlarges it. "Honchkrow," he calls out, tossing it onto the battlefield, "standby for battle!"
Honchkrow enters the field with a determined cry, and giving the slightly breathless Lucario a level stare.
"Whoa, I haven't seen that Honchkrow in a while!" the Indigo League Champion (who now only has jurisdiction over Kanto, after protests from Johto of wanting their own champion and not having their decisions in the hands of Kanto), and Dawn's childhood friend, Ash Ketchum, exclaims next to her. It was thanks to him she was able to view the battle from the champion's box in the first place, as his guest. "It looks stronger than when we battled it a year ago, right, buddy?"
The Pikachu on Ash's shoulder looks at Paul in awe, before nodding his head to agree with Ash. "Pi, pika, pi!" Pokémon are normally not allowed to be out of their Pokéballs in the Champion's Box, but for Ash, Cynthia allowed for the exception.
Dawn's eyes don't leave the battlefield as she speaks, watching Honchkrow flying around Lucario. "Honchkrow trained with my Togekiss a lot when Paul and I were in Kalos." Dawn has to hold back a giggle as she remembers how after a fierce, first match between the two Flying-type Pokémon, Honchkrow suddenly became so smitten by Togekiss (and how irritated Paul was by it). Thankfully for Paul, Honchkrow never backed down whenever he would battle Togekiss, though.
"Hmph . . . I hope he has more powerful Flying-type moves on that Honchkrow than Dark-type moves – Flying-type moves are super effective against Fighting-types, while Dark-type moves aren't," a quiet voice speaks up.
Dawn's head tilts towards the man with long, red hair sitting near her. Her eyes take in his perfectly still form with his arms crossed over his chest, seated next to his girlfriend, the former Champion of the Silver League (as Lance officially named it when he split the Indigo League into two).
Lyra smirks at her boyfriend. "Silver, you should know this from when we were rivals. Paul and Cynthia's Pokémon are close equal in strength, and both trainers are equally determined to win; type matchups mean almost nothing in a battle like this."
"Lucario's typing gave him the advantage against Aggron, though," Ash points out, leaning over Dawn to better see Lyra.
Silver slightly scowls in response, betraying the appearance he has maintained of focusing entirely on the battle unfolding below them. He doesn't see Ash in the best light – from what Lyra told Dawn, Silver's father "cheated" on his mother with Ash's mother (but it wasn't really cheating since they were never together in the first place) – though Ash doesn't seem offended by it. It made Dawn think what a small world this is.
"Yes, but – "
"It wasn't Lucario's power, but his speed that gave rise to his two victories against Paul's Pokémon."
Dawn's eyes widen, and she feels her cheeks start to warm. She turns around and looks up to see the tall, Pokémon professor standing above of them with a smile.
"Flying is super effective against fighting," he continues, "but its evasiveness will be what helps Paul to deal with Lucario's speed."
"Professor Sycamore!"
Why is he here, in the champion's box? Dawn questions in her mind exasperatedly, holding back a groan. She truly, truly envies this man's relationship with Paul's, and vice versa — Paul confides in him about things that he won't with Dawn; and there is a paternal love Sycamore has for Paul that Dawn has never received, among other things.
"Pika, pika!"
The professor chuckles at the excited cry. "Hi, Pikachu, it's nice to see you again, too!"
Ash arises from his seat to shake his hand. "Hiya, Professor!"
"Hi, Ash, it's been a while, hasn't it?"
A flash of irritation runs through Dawn, so, she tunes their conversation out, and her eyes are back on Paul. Honchkrow has landed a successful Brave Bird on Lucario, knocking it out. Yes! Cynthia recalls Lucario, thanking it with a small smile, and then sends out her next Pokémon, her Milotic. Suddenly, the center of the battlefield opens up to reveal a large pool of water and Milotic gracefully leaps in with a cry, her body slinking into the water so beautifully. Paul, too, recalls Honchkrow, who is suffering from the recoil, switching him in for Electivire. He'll need Honchkrow to deal with Cynthia's Spiritomb.
"Dawn," she hears him greet her happily from next to her (when did he sit down near her?), so she begrudgingly shifts her body towards the man, accepting his hug and returning his customary kiss on the cheek.
"How are you here in the Champion's viewing area?" she asks him, trying to keep the frustration out of her voice – her mother would not appreciate it at all.
"By the grace of Diantha, of course." He winks, and, in spite of her dejection, Dawn can't help but crack a smile – Augustine Sycamore has always been such a charismatic person. "Like I assume Ash was to you, Diantha was kind enough to bring me here as guest."
"You're not sitting with your best friend?" she teases.
He rolls his eyes. "Johanna can survive without me. Plus, who else is going to keep Sophie company?"
Dawn raises her eyebrows in surprise – Sophie is usually holding the fort down whenever he's away from the lab. "I didn't know that you brought her. I want to see her, later. Oh, and you have to introduce me to Diantha, too!"
"Yes, Johanna wanted to go to dinner, after all of this is said and done. She loves Sophie. And of course, I will. I already told Diantha that you're a huge fan of her acting, and she's very excited to meet you!" And that immediately warms her heart. There is the man she has known for a very long time, always knowing her and her likes and dislikes very well . . .
" . . . after all, how could I miss seeing my dear protégé fully master mega evolution and become Champion of Sinnoh?"
That breaks Dawn out of her thoughts. She wasn't paying attention to the conversation before, but the tail end of his words that she catches cause the small glow of joy she was feeling now subsides. Yet he told me he wasn't able to attend the Grand Festival the two times I asked him to, she thinks sourly, though a feeling of hurt claws at her chest. As much as she loves Paul, she is supposed to be the one who is closer to the professor, not him! The petulant and childish thought of I knew him first crosses through her mind, as she watches Paul grit his teeth as he struggles to land a hit on the Milotic swimming in the water. He has to be careful not to paralyze it, which is probably his main concern.
As he has read Dawn's mind, the professor comments, "He could have Electivire hit Milotic with a Thunder Shock, but there's a risk of paralyzing it, which could prove to be quite dangerous."
"That's right," Dawn answers, nodding to herself, "Milotic has Marvel Scale for her ability, so if she does manage to hit Electivire through the paralysis, it could mean that none of his attacks do enough damage, which would be the end for it and maybe for the rest of Paul's team."
But Paul is a smart, astute man who doesn't fail to surprise them. To everyone's surprise, he orders Electivire to use Bulldoze, a Ground-type move, on the battlefield. His calculations must have been correct, because the force of the shock waves crash into Milotic with double power underwater, causing her to spring out of the water and cry out in pain.
"Augustine!" a gruff voice calls out from a few rows behind, startling Dawn, the professor, and Ash. They all turn around to see Professor Rowan and Professor Oak. Huh? What are they doing here? Did they come as plus ones as well? She also makes a mental note to speak to Oak after the battle.
"Excuse me," he says abruptly, arising from his seat and making his way to the back, and Dawn sees the beads of sweat gather across his forehead. Mom did say that he is still intimidated by Professor Rowan.
"Man, Dawn, it must be so great to be so close with the professor!"
"Yes," she answers back Ash absentmindedly, watching the Kalosian greet his old mentor and shake hands with the Kantonian professor, struggling to hear their conversation.
"You're late!" Professor Rowan scolds to the youngest professor, as they give each other a one-armed hug.
Professor Oak rolls his eyes. "Oh, leave the poor boy alone, Nathaniel."
"Wild Charge, now!" she vaguely hears Paul command through the speakers in the viewing box.
"Hey, come on, Professor Rowan! Not all of us Pokémon Professors are former champions, you know. Some of us need to find another way in."
Ah, that's right! Professor Rowan and Professor Oak were champions some time ago. Professor Rowan was the champion until Cynthia defeated his successor, while Lance defeated Professor Oak at an early age. Then, a few years ago, split the Indigo League into two to create the Indigo and Silver Leagues – Leaf, Ash's childhood friend from Pallet Town, and Lyra, were the respective champions for the leagues, until Leaf was defeated by Ash recently, and Lyra was defeated by Silver two years ago, which caused a strain in their relationship for a while. (Dawn has heard a rumor from Paul, though, that Silver wants to step down from his position . . .)
Speaking of the current Silver League Champion, the devil himself snaps his fingers in front of Dawn's face, breaking her out of her thoughts, and then clicks his tongue disapprovingly. "Curiosity killed the Delcatty. Satisfaction did not bring it back," he taunts in a murmur. "You may hear something you won't like through eavesdropping.
A blush rises to Dawn's cheeks, but she stubbornly crosses her arms over her chest, looking away haughtily. "Just because you're the Champion of Johto and Lyra's boyfriend, that doesn't mean I'll let you make fun of me."
He shrugs. "I'm not making fun of you. Just warning you."
She will admit to herself, though, that she gets a kick out of the fact the Silver League Champion's name is Silver.
The professors begin a conversation about Professor Sycamore's research and how he plans to start working on his dissertation soon, so Dawn refocuses her attention on Paul.
It's at a good time, too, as Milotic uses Mud Bomb on Electivire. The viewing box erupts in surprised murmurs – Milotic knows Mud Bomb? Dawn isn't fazed, though, especially when the dust that clouded over the battlefield from the attack clears up to reveal a fainted Electivire. She grits her teeth. The recoil damage from the moves his Pokémon have is proving to be very costly.
Cynthia quickly switches out Milotic for her Garchomp, and, serendipitously, Paul sends out his Lapras at the same time. It lands right in the water that Milotic was just in. The rest of the battle between the two Pokémon moves fairly quickly, most likely due to Garchomp's speed. Paul opens up the battle with a Confuse Ray, but as soon as Garchomp becomes confused, she snaps out of it, and immediately leaps to use Brick Break upon Cynthia's orders.
"Lapras, no!" Paul shouts, as his Pokémon crashes into the water.
Lapras resurfaces with a pant, but just barely – he has taken a lot of damage, and Dawn sees the sweat gather on Paul's forehead. He wipes it away swiftly, and nods at Lapras, who is looking back at him.
"Now, Lapras! Use Sheer Cold!"
A light blue light emanates from Lapras's body, before he releases a wave of light blue energy that freezes the pool of water, including Garchomp's arm, my to Cynthia's surprise.
It is Paul's last-ditch effort that works like a charm – or was this planned all along? Dawn isn't quite sure. Whatever the case may be, his strategy seems to be going against Lyra and the professor's words. Type advantage seems to be Paul's strength here.
Cynthia recalls Garchomp for her Spiritomb, so he sends Honchkrow back out. The frozen battlefield has no effect on either of them, as their battle takes place in the air. Spiritomb is easily defeated by Honchkrow's Night Slash, but, like everyone thought, it's a trap – Spiritomb's Will-O-Wisp has left a burn on Honchkrow, and because of the recoil damage from his Brave Bird earlier, he faints too.
With that, Paul is down to his last Pokémon, Torterra. It defeats an already weakened Milotic with frenzy plant, but not before she hits him with a nasty Ice Beam as Cynthia used the frozen pool to her advantage by having Milotic slither on it like a serpent.
Now Cynthia, too, has one Pokémon left, Garchomp.
"He has come a long way," Professor Sycamore states wistfully.
"Huh?" Dawn looks beside her to see the young, black-haired professor looking at the battlefield with a smirk.
"It's time that he prove himself completely capable of mega evolution."
"My apologies, Professor Sycamore, but Paul isn't the only one with a mentor in mega evolution."
Dawn and the professor look to their left to see Hoenn's Champion, Steven Stone, smirking at them, his arms folded over his chest.
"Oh, Steven!" Dawn exclaims, standing up and extending a hand for him to shake.
He smiles good-naturedly at her. "Don't take this the wrong way, Dawn, but in the same way you're obligated to cheer for Paul, I'm obligated to cheer for Cynthia's victory."
Dawn chuckles. "Of course. We can cheer all we want, but the final battle will tell us who is stronger."
"Garchomp, Dragon Rush, now!"
"Stone Edge, Torterra!"
Steven tilts his head to side to give a crooked grin. "Indeed."