Chapter 9: A New Friend

I stood, motionless, leaning up against the Center's counter in the lobby. Snivy had just been taken back by Nurse Joy to get checked up and healed from the battle.

I looked away; the memory of Snivy's desperate attempt to keep fighting held me down. No way to ignore it, no way to forget it, no way to even accept it. We lost. Snivy suffered. I had not trained it enough. It clearly was not ready - neither was I.

"That was a great-"

"Aah!" I said, jerking. I looked up to see the source. "Who...Oh." It was Cilan; Ash and Iris stood on either side of him - Ash on his right, Iris on his left.

I angled my face down and to the left; my hat shaded my eyes from everyone's view.

"Sorry," Cilan said. "I didn't mean to startle you. That was a great battle though."

"Umm, Cilan," I answered. "I lost. I don't see what's so great about it."

"But it was your first one!" Ash stated happily. "It's never easy the first time around, but once you train some and plan out your strategy, you'll do a lot better next time!"

"Yeah," Iris spoke up in a sarcastic tone. "This coming from the guy who never really won his first Gym Badge."

Ash stumbled forward a bit and nearly fell. "Come on, Iris."

Unseen by the three, I smiled.

"Ash has a good point though," Cilan stated.

Mario walked through the automatic doorway and leaned against the wall beside the entrance. His cap did essentially the same as mine, covering his eyes with dark gray shade.

"Where's Snivy?" Cilan asked.

"With Nurse Joy," I answered.

Silence befell the room for a time. I sensed everyone but Mario experiencing sorrow toward my loss.

"Listen," I said, being sure to be heard clearly in spite of my hat's position. "Throughout all my travels and training in the Mushroom World, I've encountered a bunch of challenges. Many I've completed immediately; some took a while; and others...I had to come back to them later, once I was more prepared. But I never give up. Not then, not ever, and not now. I'm going to train Snivy to fight against that Pansear, regardless of that monkey's Fire-type attacks.

"We will win next time," I stated, looking up at the three, allowing light to reveal my determined expression. "Count on it."

They each nodded, smiling.

"That's the spirit!" Ash said, a typical fist out in front.

"You really had us going there," Cilan said.

I glimpsed Mario - just as calm-looking as ever. "I guess Mario saw it all coming," I said, half laughing. "Makes sense."

"Wait," Iris cut in. "How'd you get here so fast? We didn't walk that slow, and you already got Snivy to Nurse Joy before we even got here!"

"You'd be surprised how fast I can run," I answered. "And I ran so Snivy would get healed as quickly as possible."

"Well that's one way to do it," Cilan laughed.

"So, Timothy," Ash spoke up. "How are you going to train? The same way as before, with battling us and all?" Pikachu then asked presumably the same question, saying, "Pika-chuuu?"

"I...don't know," I told him. "Haven't really thought about it much yet."

Mario walked around the three and came up to me. He jumped up and over me, landing behind the counter, and was accompanied by a high-pitched "Oommnnnn!"

"I didn't know Mario actually made that noise when he jumps," Cilan said, perplexed.

"He doesn't," I laughed. "That was me."

Mario turned around while rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "He always does that."

"Heh," I answered, still facing opposite of his position. "You're Mario; you set yourself up for it every time you jump, you know."

"Oh," he put his gloved palm over his face. "Mamma-mia."

I made a reverse sniff, laughing inside and nodding.

"Maybe so," Mario said, removing his hand. "But...you know, about your training - with Snivy, I mean. Why don't you think back to the past year-and-a-half or so? It might do you good."

I raised an eyebrow. "What does my training have to do with Pokémon?"

"You'll figure it out." He paused, then continued. "I have to go now."

"What?" I asked, leaning back slightly. "But what about the-"

"I received a message by phone that those experts I hired have finished fixing the Pixelator. The message came during your battle."

"Right," I said, in thought. "But then…if you had a phone, you-oh, yeah. You still can't contact the MK, since cell phones don't get intergalactic coverage."

Cilan gasped. "You're leaving so soon? How come?"

"I've been out of the Mushroom World and unable to contact anyone for..." Mario paused. "What day is it?"

"Hang on," I said quickly, pulled out my 3DS, and opened it. "October 1st. I started my journey on the 28th, so the SBL party - the day we both disappeared - was the 27th." I put the device back.

"So it's almost a week then. Let's see...six days, counting the 27th. Well, I have to get back right away then."

"I understand. It's not very often that Peach is the one looking for you."

"Right, and if she came here the way I did, she'd have to go from castle to-er, umm, Center to Center to reach me."

The right side of my mouth curled up, with me producing another reverse sniff. "Yeah, really."

"Well," Cilan stated, moving a few feet closer. "It was certainly...interesting meeting you here, of all places."

"The same," Mario replied; he looked over to Ash. "Mister Ketchum, I suggest you take some notes when you watch his rematch."

I mouthed his words of "take some notes," peering diagonally up and to the left, wondering why he'd say that.

"Uhh," Ash said blankly. "Why?"

"You'll see."

"Wait, Mario," I spoke up. "How'd you know Ash's last name? We never mentioned it."

"I've seen him in other things," the plumber answered.

"You...oh, yeah, right. The Pokémon anime."

"Mmhmm," he nodded.

Mario turned and headed for the red Nintendo logo door; he paused once he reached it, placing his left hand on it. "Good luck, Timothy. And Ash...you'd better watch out. Looks like you've got another rival." He turned his head rightward, just enough to see Ash. "Be glad he doesn't act like Gary - or, even worse, Paul."

"Eheh," Ash responded, awkwardly smiling, apparently reminded of an unfortunate past. "Yeah...good thing…"

Mario gave a light hearted "Bye-bye!" which equaled his statement and tone when a Nintendo DS is closed while the game, Super Mario 64 DS, is on. His goodbye must have been meant for Cilan and me, as we both recognized it immediately.

Mario faced the door again and pushed through it. Moments after it quit swinging back and forth, a noise - strongly resembling a tower of children's toy blocks collapsing - emanated from the door. Unmistakably, he had used E. Gadd's Pixelator. Mario was now back where he belonged.

A few seconds of silence, and Iris broke it. "That's funny...I thought he would sound...more..."

"Italian?" I asked.

"Yeah, that."

"Mmhmm," I said, nodding and smiling simultaneously. "He gets that a lot."

The time reached six O'clock; the sun would set soon. Two hours of resting, and Snivy had been healed. I made a promise to Snivy then: I would train it personally and help it grow stronger, because I knew it wanted to win just as badly as I did. I'd do whatever it takes - so long as it wasn't illegal - and we'd start training the next day. The training wouldn't stop after just succeeding with this Gym Battle - we both aimed to take on seven other Gyms, and eventually, the Unova Pokémon League.

The rest of the evening, I remained on high alert. I made it a point to keep myself fully intact and aware of what I remembered, as I didn't want whatever had occurred with Team Rocket and the headache to happen again.

Nothing seemed out of place throughout that night, though. Thankfully for me, the room we all stayed in on the second floor kept entirely quiet, leaving me with the perfect sleeping environment.

"It's time for you two to meet."

I awoke sluggishly, my head buried under blankets. "Really?" I sighed, my eyes barely open. "That voice...again? Wait. Meet...who?"

The same, sleep-interrupting voice, and for the third time. I chose to ignore it, given that this day already handed me enough to deal with, and arose from the bed, pushing away the pink covers.

To my surprise, no one else was up. I eyed the window at the right of the room and noticed the sun barely showing itself, with a vibrant palette of red, yellow, white, cream, some blue, and an especially vast amount of pink, all splashed along the sky.

"Great," I sighed once more. "The voice got me up to meet someone at the crack-ah dawn."

Full of energy, I decided to stay up anyway. I tiptoed leftward, opened the room's cherry wood door, and left, without disturbing anyone.

Assuming the voice to not be myself gone insane, I stopped in the lobby and searched; no one but a coffee-drinking Nurse Joy. I thought for a moment, and then asked Joy if I could use the backyard of the Center for some training. She agreed to it, but requested that I not let it get too loud, so as to not bother the guests that were still asleep inside (which did not just include my friends, since there were other people here). I almost asked if anyone new showed up last night, yet chose against it. "Just a dream," I thought. "Nothing more."

The field behind the Center was sized almost identically to the battlefield the Striaton Gym used - 30 feet long, 20 feet wide – and ran parallel to the Center. Pine trees stood watch on all sides excluding the Center's side, barely allowing the paved street beyond the Center's grounds to be seen. The perfect place to practice.

"Snivy, come on out," I said plainly, throwing a Poké Ball up; liquid-like white light poured Snivy out onto the grassy terrain. We now stood at the exact center point of the field.

"Snivy," I said to it, sitting down and crossing my legs together. "Mario mentioned that I should think back to my own training that got my combat skills where they are today. He thinks that will help me train you, somehow. Any ideas how that could be possible?"

It shook its head, eyes closed. "Sni-vy snivy..."

"Oh yeah, right. You don't really know how I trained." I paused, recalling the basics. "What usually happened was that Mario, and-or Luigi, would perform a movement, attack, combo, or whatever, and I would copy it. Pretty simple sounding, right?"

Snivy nodded.

"Well...it was a lot more difficult than that sounds, but the concept is easy to get. I just...don't understand how my training, as rigorous and tedious as it sometimes got...is supposed to help you get stronger."

Snivy moved its left arm toward its head and tapped it a couple times, grinning. "Sni-sni vy."

I began chewing my fingernails, and for the moment, had no answer to the riddle. The Mushroom World had almost nothing to do with the Pokémon World. Mario's fighting style and my own did not mix well with Pokémon - Meowth learned that lesson quickly.

"Wait." I removed the fingers from my teeth's grasp. "It's so simple. How could I not have figured it out earlier? Snivy!" I directed all my attention to it. "I've got it!"

"Snivy?" it asked, tilting its head slightly.

"After I train with the others for a bit today and help you get a bit stronger, I'll perform pieces of my fighting style in front of you. And then you'll try and copy it. That's what Mario meant!"

Snivy's razor-like eyes widened; it then squinted slowly and said, "Sni-sni vy vy snivy?", as if to say, "You really think that would work?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Snivy, I think this could work. It might take time, but...I'm sure you're adaptable enough to pull it off, right?"

It held its head up high and answered, "Vy-sni-sni vy!"

"I thought so." I smiled - the psychological trick succeeded, even for a Pokémon.

My stomach growled and hissed, chewing and eating away at itself, alone and void of common consumables.

"Oh," I said, seeing that Snivy heard the rumble. "Awful early for breakfast, but...okay. I think I saw some food over on a wheeled table in the center of the Center's lobby. Snivy, you want any? I know you were fed by Nurse Joy yesterday evening, and I know I fed you before we all went to bed, but...do you?"

It shook its head, dismissively stating, "Snivy sni-vy."

"Alright then."

Wasting no time, I returned Snivy to its Poké Ball, got up, and jogged to the sliding glass doors; thankfully for me, they opened without hesitation. I already had reached the point of hunger to where a sickened feeling erupts in it. I needed some sort of nourishment. No doubt.

Someone stood in the doorway.

A girl, barely shorter than me yet appearing to be 15 or 16 (though she was actually 14). She had a considerably large amount of slightly dark blue hair, which reached the middle of her back. She wore a mini dress with a black, sleeveless, v-necked top; a white undershirt; and a red scarf wrapped around her neck, with some of it lying along her torso. Her dress ended in a pink skirt which ended around two to three inches from her knees, and was separated from the black top of the dress by an invisible zigzag line all around the waist. A somewhat triangular, golden-yellow hair barrette sat along either upper side of her face, causing a straight clump of hair to come down the side of her face on both sides, with each clump ending in three points; both strips of hair reached to just over an inch from her shoulders. These barrettes were partially hidden by a white beanie on her head which had a pink Poké Ball symbol - tilted clockwise at a 45 degree angle - on its front.

The girl wore pink boots reaching a good six inches past her ankles, while the black socks underneath reached an inch past the boots. On her right wrist, a thin, black, plastic bracelet with two light purple beads existed, while on her left wrist, she wore a digital, pink wrist watch. She carried a yellow bag on her back with multiple zipped-up pockets and a shoulder strap for each shoulder. Her nose was noticeably small, and the girl's eyes were shaped akin to Ash and Iris - anime styled. Her eyes were also profoundly blue.

"Oh, hello," she said when she saw me. "I thought I heard someone talking out here. Was it you?"

I gave no answer.

"It was you, right?" She leaned forward a bit and looked around, both hands held together behind her. "Well, there's no one else out here, so it must be you."

I remained silent.

"Are you okay?"

Still, I said nothing.

"My name's Dawn. What's yours?" Receiving no response, she put her hands on her hips and leaned forward once more, frowning. "What's the matter? Can't you talk?"

I couldn't get over the first thought I had when I saw her: there was something different about her. Exactly what difference this was, I could not tell. No one person, creature, or being I'd ever met during any of my travels produced this thought. Sure, some creatures and people had a fervent, unique quality to them, but it all fit within the realm of the world I happened to be in. This girl, "Dawn," did not.

"Helloooo," she said, waving the arm with the bracelet in front of me. "You there?"

I blinked twice and slowly shook my head. "Huh? Oh, hello."

"You okay? You seem kind of...well...out of it."

"No," I answered. "I'm fine. I just..."

"Just...what?"

"Noth-it's nothing. Never mind."

"Well, what's your name?"

"Timothy." I walked in through the doorway, remembering the front doors' automatic mechanism. Dawn moved to my left side, letting me in.

"Nice to meet you. I umm...I'm sorry if I'm in your way or something."

"Oh, no, you're not in my way."

"'Kay, good." She smiled. "Who were you talking to?"

"Uhh, a Pokémon - my Pokémon. It's, well, in my pocket and all now, so..."

"Oh, I see." She paused and looked with half-shut eyes at me. "You look like you could use some breakfast." She pointed her right thumb behind her shoulder and aimed it toward a hallway to the left. "There's some food in the lobby if you want some."

"How did you...that's where I was headed, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"I didn't. You just looked hungry is all."

"Well, I am. But I don't know how you knew that, either."

She shrugged. "Me neither. I just...knew."

I looked around the room, eyeing the spiral staircase straight ahead that lead up to the second floor, the same question filling my mind: how did she know I needed to eat?

"I have an idea," she spoke up, removing the fight for an answer in my mind. "I'm about to get something to eat, too, so...why don't we eat together?"

"Togeth-" I blinked twice again. "But we just met."

"I know. But I've been traveling for a week now, and nothing has really happened yet. I'm kind of...bored."

I nodded. "Been there..." After a pause, I told her, "Sure, I'll sit with you."

Dawn and I walked diagonally forward and leftward, and headed through the hallway, soon reaching the lobby. We then went over to the silver cart, entirely ready to eat. The cart had many more options than I originally spotted - pancakes, maple syrup, bacon, muffins...all typical breakfast items that I would eat back home, along with obligatory plates; forks; butter knives; plastic cups; thick, washable, pink napkins made of some kind of linen; and glass pitchers with various juices. The pancakes were only half the size of a dinner plate, yet over half an inch thick, and outrageously fluffy.

Just as Nurse Joy called out for us to do then, we helped ourselves to what we wanted. Dawn got pink, strawberry lemonade and two pancakes with some syrup and butter, while I got red, raspberry lemonade; four pancakes drowned in butterless syrup; and six juicy, extra-crispy, greasy strips of apple wood-smoked bacon. Nurse Joy then said she needed to go wake up her Pokémon assistant and left through the Nintendo door.

We chose to sit at the booth closest to the hallway we came in through, meaning the booth to the back-right of the lobby, if viewed from the entrance. Dawn sat with her back to the hallway, while I sat on the opposite end, facing her. She kept her yellow bag by her left side.

Dawn evidently withheld her true hungry self before, since she began eating long before I did.

Every time Dawn took another bite of pancake or swallow of her drink, she kept looking straight at me. Continuous, consistent, and constant, she never seemed to quit staring. I'd glance down at my food, enter another mass of squishy pancake or crunchy bacon into my gullet, and then look back up; again and again, she wouldn't stop. Eventually, it creeped me out to the point where it had to end.

"Why do you keep staring at me?" I asked her, having just swallowed.

"Bec-" she paused and gulped. "Because you remind me of someone."

"I do?" I asked, slicing off a piece of chewy goodness and chowing down.

"Yeah." She took a sip of her drink and put the glass down. "You match the description of someone that some people have given me. But," she smiled, looking away. "You couldn't be him."

"Oh? Why not?" I stuffed the last piece of the second pancake into me, and then thought, in disbelief, "Man these pancakes are good." I gulped down a good portion of the remaining drink.

"It...never mind." She focused back on me. "It's ridiculous, really."

"Try me." I began cutting the third circle of gooey fluff, and during Dawn's next statement, barely managed to get it in my mouth.

"Well...okay." She snatched up the last sliver of the first pancake she worked on and finished it swiftly, swallowing a few drops of pink lemonade with it. "You remind me of what the most recent SBL champion looks like, from what I've heard anyway."

"Oh really?" I said, still chewing, trying desperately not to laugh.

"Yeah," she said, nearing a sigh. "I wish I could meet him."

One snort from me then, and I immediately lost my ability to breathe. Already my face turned red, with me gasping for air and gripping my throat.

Dawn stood up. "Are you okay?"

She almost removed herself from the booth to either help me directly or go get Nurse Joy, yet I held up a finger, halting her. Latching onto my glass, I attempted to stream the liquid raspberry drink into me, yet realized the glass was hopelessly empty and slammed it down on the table.

"Here, take mine!" Dawn handed off her cup without hesitation.

I forcibly poured the drink into the clogged passageway, which soon overflowed and wasted half of what I chugged onto the table. Despite putting pillows to shame with its soft appeal, the mapley pancake and what remained of the drink sluggishly and painfully sank down.

Gradually, the color in my face returned to normal as I sucked in a heap of air.

"Are you alright?" Dawn leaned forward, a frowning, eyebrow-lowering expression overcoming her face.

"I'm...fine," I answered, breathing deeply.

"You sure? You're breathing awfully hard."

"Yes, I'm fine. Here, you can have this back." I gave her the glass, picked up some napkins we had set aside, and began using them for the mess. "These napkins are pink? That's odd."

"Well every Pokémon Center has its own color theme. It matches the cross on its Nurse Joy's hat."

"Oh, I thought those different cross colors meant something..."

She sat back down slowly. After a moment, she asked, "What did I say anyway? That made you choke?"

"The last thing you said, about wanting to meet the SBL champion."

She folded her arms; with an offended look, she protested, "Wha-it could happen!"

"Tch," I responded, smiling. "Suurrrre it could."

"I can dream can't I?"

Placing my left hand over my mouth, I laughed without opening, with the airy laugh coming mostly from my nose.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. You just have no idea how ironi-oh no, not another one." The left hand covered my face. "You're not one of those fangirls that flops over famous people like the SBL champion are you?"

"Wha...of course not!" Her arms folded in tighter. "I just want to know how he does what he does, that's all.

"Oh," I sighed, uncovering my face. "Whew, good."

"What...do you mean?"

I selected another piece of pancake and chewed, saying, "Nothing. Just-hang on." I swallowed. "Look, in the interest of my health and, well, living...I'll let you in on a little secret."

I leaned in and held up a hand to block my mouth from the rest of the room, letting only Dawn see and hear the mouth speak (despite no one else actually being in the lobby). Dawn angled herself forward to listen.

"Secretly, I actually am the SBL champion."

Dawn burst into laughter and fell back into the booth; she laughed so profusely as to tint her complexion red.

"What?" I asked, laughing with her. "How is that so crazy?"

"Well," she drew in some air and was now in a giggle. "You...well, for one thing, the way he was described, he sounded taller than you."

"Wha-" My eyes rolled, my head momentarily facing upward. "Why does everyone jump to the height thing? Mario isn't much taller than me, and he's an adult!"

She still giggled, shielding her mouth with her right hand and occasionally looking away.

"Look," I told her. "The way the Lakitu cameraman angles the camera makes all the participants look taller than they really are, especially the shorter ones. How else could Ness, someone who used to be 13 years old in Smash Bros., be so tall? And Pikachu is comparatively huge sometimes!"

"Well," she paused, trying to calm herself. "Even then, the odds of that person being in the Pokémon World at a time like this? You can't expect me to believe that."

I folded my arms. "Oh really? Well, I happen to have a piece of hardcore proof right here with me."

"Oh you do?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, I do. And it's right here." I unfolded my arms and held up my left hand. "Remember how he fought? With fire and all?"

"Well I've only heard about him, but yeah. So?"

"So, watch this. I have that exact ability. See?" I snapped my fingers, fully intending to light up my hand with its hypnotic blaze.

...But nothing happened.

"Wow, that's really...impressive." She began giggling again.

"What?" I held up my hand in front, examining it all around. "Oh." I caught a glimpse of some leftover pink lemonade from the spill, apparently attached to the back of the hand. "Hang on." Whisking away a napkin, I dried up the area at once. "It doesn't work if my hand is wet."

I swiftly snapped the fingers once more, and instantly, the hand lit up as usual.

Dawn jerked back in her seat, saying, "Wha...what? But...how...what?" She scooted a few inches forward in her seat, stood up, and leaned over the table, her hands pressing on top for support. "How are you...that..."

"It's just a sort of gift of mine," I answered, smiling. "A gift I had to work for for a good while, but still. It wasn't easy to learn, but now it comes naturally, just like everything else I do."

"That's...amazing! How does that not hurt you?" The strips of dark blue hair along the left and right sides of her face - as well as her scarf - began to dangle precariously out in front as she leaned forward and hung over the flames.

"Well, I'm not all that sure. It's like my body produces whatever is needed for that fire on its own now. It's...a part of me, somehow."

"Wow," her eyes widened, glittering bright in the light. "That's...awesome!"

"Umm-wait, Dawn! Your hair!"

"Oh!" She instinctively raised her right hand off of the table and held the rightward strip of hair up and away from the flames. I cut off the fire entirely, relieved that her hair wasn't caught in it.

Dawn spoke in a hushed tone, looking at me, "That was clo-"

Her left hand, situated on a pink napkin and the only thing keeping her upright, slipped in toward her, the napkin sliding with it. She attempted to keep propped up by grabbing my left hand with her right, yet missed entirely, and flopped face-first into my last, syrup-soaked pancake.

I bit my bottom lip. "You...okay?" I asked, looking down.

The mush latched onto her as she ascended off of the plate, creating an awful sound of "Ssscchhlaap!" when her face finally lifted.

"I...think so," she answered, rising up to face me.

I bit my lip harder, barely avoiding a snort. The entirety of her face was completely covered in syrupy-brown, pancake-ridden goop; every few seconds, strips of unfinished, gooey bacon would plop back onto the plate from whence they came.

"Dawn," I said, scarcely withholding my inner laughter. "You've got a little something, right-" I held the palms of my hand in front of me - making it appear from my angle that they pointed to the left and right extremities of Dawn's face - and finished the sentence: "There."

"Very funny," she responded sarcastically.

"Here," I said, reaching in and grabbing the same napkin she slipped on. I handed her the cloth. "You might need this," I told her, busting into uncontainable laughter.

Dawn retreated from the table and sank into the seat; at once, she shut her eyes and hurriedly wiped away the slimy, sticky soup. The napkin became saturated with syrup; she barely managed to remove it all. Once it was sopped up and she put down the cloth, it became clear that she was blushing - and rather excessively, almost reaching to her forehead. I ceased laughing immediately.

"You okay?" I asked, my heart crushed to dust.

"N-o," she said hoarsely. Dawn glimpsed the two strips of hair that hung out in front of her, and grabbed both of them. "Aah! My hair!"

I saw that, as she ran her fingers along the two clumps of hair, they truly did turn into clumps. The syrup-and-pancake mix had collected and molded around the hair, stickying both offshoots up and hardening to keep each strip stuck in the same, immobile position. They remained at a small angle away from her face.

"Ooh," I said, inhaling air through my teeth, head tilting back, left eye squinting. "That's...not gonna come out easily."

"Oh, y-ou th-ink!?" she snapped harshly, yet still with a hoarse voice. She looked around the room erratically and continued in the same tone. "Ohhh, I've g-ot to g-et this fixed."

Dawn grabbed her bag, stood up, and shifted over and out of the booth. Strapping the bag on, she turned around. "I'll...be r-ight back." She furiously glared at me, eyes blazing. "A-nd you'd b-ett-er be h-ere!"

Nurse Joy walked through the Nintendo door. Dawn turned right as Joy reached the counter and fast-walked by, going straight through the hallway, most likely heading to the staircase, as there was only one room on the first floor.

"What happened?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Nothing," I answered.

"Well, something happened." Joy frowned. "I've seen a lot of people here, and she looked like she...was about to cry."

My eyes opened wide as I sank into the booth, placing a hand over my mouth and nose. "Oh, crap," I sighed deeply, closing my eyes for a moment. "I made her cry."

"DANG IT!" I slammed my fist on the cushioned seat, fixating my view on the hand. "I knew getting comeback training was a bad idea! Now look what I've done!"

"What did you do?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Just being myself," I sighed, peering at the high ceiling. "I didn't mean to hurt her."

"Do you know her?"

"Well, probably not for long."

"Do you want me to-"

"No, I have to fix this myself. Just..." I waved my right hand, angled away from me. "Just...go do whatever it is Nurse Joys do. She'll be back in a bit, hopefully."

"Well, alright. There is one Pokémon that I wanted to check up on this morning. I'll leave once she comes back - if she does."

"Right, thanks."

5 minutes passed.

5 more minutes.

10 more.

Another 10.

No sign of her.

After the first 20 minutes, Nurse Joy left for the Pokémon she mentioned, leaving me alone. I sat there - my chin resting on the palm of my left hand, my elbow firmly propped up on the table - for the remaining 10. I never had the heart to keep eating, not even if it was fresh off the cart.

Finally, footsteps - heavy ones, likely created from boots. I quickly shifted my focus up and removed my hand and arm from their place.

Dawn treaded in with her right fingers latched under her right shoulder strap and her left arm at her side. I got up and stood in her path once she came close.

I began speaking. "Dawn, I-"

"Just forget about it," she said and walked closer. "I was going to go Nacrene City later today anyway." She then went around me, saying, "I'm just gonna go now."

"No, wait," I responded, placing a hand on her left shoulder.

She halted abruptly, turned, looked at the hand, and then back at me.

"Uh-sorry," I said, removing the hand. "I...just..." I sighed, swallowing. "I...I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have laughed at you earlier. That was really, really stupid of me."

"Well, I shouldn't have yelled at you, either," she frowned.

"No, you had every right to yell. I mean, just a moment before, you practically saved my life, and then I turn around and laugh at you for embarrassing yourself, and 'cause of what? You slipped because I was leading you to the point where you didn't believe I could be the SBL champion, and then I foolishly left my hand on fire while you leaned in to see it. I should've known that wouldn't end well, especially with all that hair you've got."

"I didn't really save your life though. You could've taken that cup yourself...or you could've just gotten something else to drink."

"Or I could've done the Heimlich on myself."

She leaned forward. "You can do that? How?"

"Very carefully."

She smiled, and then frowned again, looking down and away. "I still shouldn't have overreacted so much."

"Dawn, you didn't overreact. And...aren't you still mad at me?"

"Not really," she said in a hushed tone, holding her hands together out in front, between her legs.

"Not even a little?" I held my left hand up and drew its thumb and index finger close to each other.

"No."

I made them almost touch. "Maybe just a smidge?"

She shook her head subtly, humming with denial, "Mmm-mmm."

"Come on, not even a liiiittle bit?" I squinted my eyes, leaning in. "Eehh?"

She smiled, quietly saying, "Okay, maybe just a little," and made the same motion with her right hand's thumb and index finger.

"I thought so," I said, folding my arms, sadly smiling back. "Listen, Dawn, I want to make it up to you."

"Oh, no, you don't-"

"No, Dawn. I do." Arms unfolding, I breathed deeply and prepared myself. "I've come across too many times where I messed up and couldn't fix it. Too many..." I trailed off into past events, with one especially troubling me. "And...I...have that chance now. Please, Dawn, I need to do something. Anything. Please let me."

"I..." She glanced all over what she could see of our half of the lobby, moving only her eyes. "I...can't think of anything."

"Come on," I pleaded. "There has to be something."

"Sorry. I really can't think of anything."

I turned and faced the squashed pancake still lying on its plate, and pointed, focusing my view back on her. "Do you want me to throw that pancake in my face? I'll do it."

"No," Dawn answered. "That'd be a waste of Nurse Joy's napkins."

"Yeah...I guess so. But..." I sighed. "I have to do something. Oh, I know!" I held up my fist next to my head. "I can punch myself, and really hard too!"

"No," she said, nearly laughing. "Don't do that."

"Or I could go hit someone you don't like?"

"No..."

"Really, I-"

"No," she smiled. "Don't."

"Well, I'll do anything. Anything at all. Trust me, I don't bite."

"You sure bit your lip pretty hard..."

I frowned. "I'm sorry. Really, I-"

"It's fine. No need to worry. I just..." She clasped her hands together down in front once more. "I finally figured out that you really were that person I wanted to meet, and then...that...happened."

I sighed again, glancing down. "Yeah..."

We stood in the same spot for a solid minute. I tapped my right fingers on the table halfway through and kept it going, while Dawn twiddled her thumbs, still keeping her hands down between her legs.

"Wait," I broke the monotony, tapping no more. "That..."

"What?" Dawn asked.

I paused, grinning. "You said you were bored before, right?"

She nodded.

"Well...do you have any Pokémon with you?"

"Mmhmm." She nodded once more.

"Then let's have a Pokémon battle!"

"A...battle? Now?"

"Yeah, in the backyard of this place. One Pokémon versus another."

"Hmmm..." She placed her right hand along her mouth and chin, her big blue eyes facing up. "Alright, that could work." She looked straight at me. "It's a deal."

A sense of excited relief washed over me; I let out a deep, cooling sigh. "Okay, good. Then...let's go!"

After we cleaned up the slew of food still lying on the table, we both walked by the counter, through the 15-foot hallway, and straight to the sliding glass exit. I glimpsed Nurse Joy in the operating room behind the see-through wall, seeming to be holding something yet it was unclear exactly what. I pressed on, however, not the slightest bit curious. Not once did I think about Ash, Cilan, or Iris, either. I didn't even consider how going through with this battle would give Snivy valuable experience. All I could think about was that I had a shot at reconciliation despite having failed miserably at it in the past.

Finally, a chance to fix my mistakes.