Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope you're all well!

Sorry for the later update. I've been busy with work, baby sitting and most importantly, prom! Yes, my prom is in a few weeks' time, and I'm mega excited. I've got everything sorted, so now all I need is for the day to come!

So, here's the next chapter! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope that you enjoy reading it!

Crazy Beautiful Life

Chapter 14

For the Better

Life at Pokémon Tech wasn't so bad, Dawn could say. As the weeks went by, she discovered more about the school, the people in the school but most importantly, small things that happened every day made huge changes that even Dawn could see herself.

She and Paul were steadily moving along, growing closer and stronger in their relationship day by day. On weekends, the two would take a casual stroll through the woodland that surrounded the school, or simply join the others around them, which now consisted of Ash, Misty, May and Drew. Surprisingly, Ash and Paul had managed to settle their differences, and created a civil friendship. Drew, who Ash had known before prior to his travels with May, instantly hit it off with the two boys as if they'd been best mates for years. Of course, nothing had changed between the three girls, apart from the fact that the bond that connected them all seemed to grow bigger and more reliable with every second they spent together. While Misty and Ash spoke for hours on end about their past travels with Brock and Tracey, reminiscing on their battles, arguments and countless Team Rocket encounters, May and Drew still squabbled now and again, but seemed to show a great amount of respect towards each other, especially in helping one another with Coordinating. Paul remained cold and mysterious, but none of them wanted that to change. It was only those who were close to him that could see his true colours and emotions, though many people judged that he didn't have any at all. Small changes like these made huge changes on Dawn, which made her start to think that maybe being sent to Pokémon Tech was a good idea after all.

To Dawn's surprise, Giselle grew distant from her and stopped with the random and unpleasant encounters in the halls. The only mild thing that still sparked between the two was an odd glare now and again, but it didn't bother Dawn at all; she had everything she needed, and minor people in her life like Giselle didn't concern her anymore.

Spring turned into Summer, and before she knew it, half a year had already passed. Regular talks with her mom over the video phone kept Dawn going, and training her Pokémon for Coordinating seemed to pay off too; out of all the Coordinating classes, Dawn was ranked third, first being Drew and second being May.

Back to the present time, an assembly was being held with an important announcement about to be made. As Dawn made her way into the hall, she noticed that a spot had been saved for her next to Paul, along with Zoey, Kenny and another boy named Lucas, who she'd never really spoken to. Glancing towards the back of the hall, she realised why her four closer friends weren't currently with her and Paul, who had had no choice but to sit in seats away from each other. She felt something warm take her hand which caused her to turn around. Smiling gently at Paul, she settled down into her seat and started up a conversation with him.

"Any idea on what this huge announcement is going to be?" she asked him, eyeing Professor Oak, Gary and Giselle all talking briefly beside the stage.

"Most likely nothing important," he said, grunting slightly at all the commotion. "You wait, a huge build up will be made and then everyone will be disappointed."

"Stop being so miserable," she teased him, turning around and poking him lightly on the arm. He glared at her but then smiled, pulling her closer towards him. Then, as if on cue, the Professor, Gary and Giselle all stepped onto the stage, waiting for the students in the hall to stop their conversations.

"Ahem," the Professor said after a few seconds of waiting, causing everyone to turn around towards the stage and a dead silence filled the room. Smiling, he started his speech.

"Now, as you all know, I have a big announcement to make," he said, smiling broadly. "It's something new to the system, and I'm sure that you'll all be pleasantly surprised. This is the chance for everyone to work hard and achieve even more than they first expected! So, without further ado, I shall hand you over to your loyal year group leaders, Gary and Giselle."

The Professor stepped back and Gary and Giselle stepped forward, nodding towards him briefly before carrying on the announcement. As usual, Gary was full of confidence and charisma, while Giselle never failed to smirk and put her hands on her hips, flicking her hair as she eyed the students in the hall.

"To celebrate our achievements and the success of Pokémon Tech, an end of year dance, titled Knock 'Em Dead, is going to be held. It'll be a great way to consider the amount of work and dedication the students of Pokémon Tech have put in over the last few months, and will give people the chance to dress to impress," Gary said, stepping back slightly as Giselle took over.

"You are advised to wear formal clothing, so for girls, dresses, and for boys, tuxedos. Food and drink will be prepared already, any music requests can be listed on the sheet by the main entrance to the building and anyone who misbehaves or dresses inappropriately will be forced to go back to their dormitory immediately," she said in a fake manner, smiling confidently. As Gary took over once again, Dawn nudged Paul with her elbow.

"Told you not to be so miserable," she whispered, squeezing his hand. He grunted and squeezed hers in return as he thought about the announcement over and over again in his head; a dance. How original. The whole idea seemed completely pointless, but maybe that was just him. He wasn't really one for getting dressed up, and he definitely wasn't one for dancing. Dawn on the other hand had a large grin plastered on her perfectly happy face. He glanced at her slightly and smiled at her excitement. He knew his girlfriend loved getting dressed up, with her contests and everything, so a school dance was obviously the perfect idea in her head. And, needless to say, he knew that with whatever she wore, she'd look beautiful. Noticing that their speech had ended due to the sudden burst of chatter that broke through the silence, the Professor dismissed everyone from the assembly and started talking to the fellow teachers such as Professor Birch and Ivy.

"Okay, we're definitely going out this weekend to buy our outfits, girls!" May chirped as she, Misty, Drew and Ash approached Dawn and Paul. Dawn smiled brightly and became involved in an instant conversation about dresses, hair, makeup and a ton of other things Paul wasn't too interested in. Ash and Drew both looked at each other confusingly and decided to join Paul, who too looked completely and utterly lost.

"Just brilliant," Drew said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Not only do I have to buy a stupid tuxedo, but I have to find myself a date too."

"That shouldn't be too hard," Paul said, smirking slightly. "I mean, if May doesn't say yes, there's plenty of other girls who'd happily go with you."

"Who said anything about asking May?" Drew asked instantly, becoming defensive. A slight blush could be seen on his cheeks, which only made Paul smirk even more. Ash, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious and not concerned to the whole situation. Shaking off Paul's comment, Drew turned his attention towards Ash and quirked his eyebrow.

"What about you, Ash?"

"What about what?" he asked dumbly, pretending he didn't know what was coming. Noticing Drew and Paul roll their eyes at each other, he chuckled awkwardly and sweat dropped, putting his hand behind his head.

"Don't play dumb, Ash," Drew said frustratingly, flicking his hair. "Misty. You gonna ask her or not?"

"You must be ridiculous!" he denied, going red in the face. He realised the girls were only a few feet away from them, which made him go red even more.

"Still in denial as ever, Ashy-boy," Gary said, joining in on their conversation.

"In denial about what? I'm not in denial about anything, I'm just… not that great when it comes to girls, yeah?" Ash said, scowling at his fellow peers.

"So you do wanna ask Misty then?" Paul asked, glaring at him.

"I'm not saying anything!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms. "Besides, it's easy for you to say! You've got nothing to worry about!"

For once, Drew happened to agree with Ash. Paul smiled faintly and nodded, sporting a quick glance over at Dawn.

. . .

"Oh, Dawn Berlitz?" Nurse Joy asked timidly, stopping Dawn in the hallway. "I have a letter for you. It's from your manager in Sinnoh."

"Oh, thank you, Nurse Joy," Dawn said, taking the pink letter from her hands. "I wonder what it could be about…"

"All I know is that it's urgent," said Nurse Joy, smiling brightly at her. "Enjoy the rest of your day," and with that, she returned to the main office, leaving Dawn alone in the hallway.

As Nurse Joy left, Dawn made her way back to her dormitory, eyeing the letter in curiosity. Why on earth would her manager need her at a time like this? Countless ideas swam through her mind, but none of them seemed to click. Taking a seat on her bed, Dawn was glad to see that May and Misty weren't present, which most likely meant they were at lunch with the others. Biting her lip, Dawn opened the envelope to reveal an even lighter pink letter with a gold star at the top of it. Taking a deep breath, she read the letter in great detail.

Dawn,

It's been a while, hasn't it? I feel terribly sorry for you, being stuck in such an awful place being the person you are, but I have some great news that I'm sure you'll be extremely pleased and relieved to hear about!

The Unova region, a region based far away from Kanto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, is known for its modern society and unique tradition. A regular event held in Nimbasa City, a popular area in Unova, are Pokémon Musicals; fun, talented and spectacular shows that allow contestants to dress up their Pokémon and enter them in dancing competitions. Many props and outfits are available for the shows, which highlight the most flattering and best features of a Pokémon.

Now, you're probably wondering what any of this information has to do with you. In fact, this information has a lot to do with you, Dawn. The people of Unova, or more likely, the people of Nimbasa City, have seen your latest and past designs for Pokémon, and are utterly speechless of the beauty and detail put into your hard work. Thus, your designs are absolutely perfect for the Pokémon Musicals held, which means a great offer has been made for you.

You will be able to travel to Unova to pursue a new career; to design outfits and props for the Pokémon Musicals held in Nimbasa City. It will be triple your current salary, but most importantly, it means that you can have the chance of getting out of Pokémon Tech for good.

I have no doubt that you will even consider turning down an offer like this, Dawn. What more could you possibly want? Your designs will be made global, you'll be earning much more than you do now, and in time, you'll become an even bigger star than you already are.

You know my number. When you've made your decision, just make the call.

Choose wisely, Dawn.

Dawn stared at the letter in disbelief. She didn't know what she was feeling right now. The offer seemed too good to be true. She'd finally be able to get out of Pokémon Tech and carry on the way she was, but instead with even better opportunities…

But is that what I really want?

Sighing heavily, Dawn hoisted herself up from her bed and headed for the door. Fifteen minutes remained until lunch ended, which meant she had enough time to call the one person who could help her in a situation like this; her mom. Taking a seat comfortably in the empty room, she waited anxiously for Johanna to pop up onto the screen.

"Dawn!" Johanna said in surprise, beaming at her daughter. "How are you, sweetie? Is everything okay?" she asked, instantly noticing her daughter's odd behaviour.

"No, not really, mom," Dawn said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I've got a letter from my manager… it's about a job offer. But, it's not just any job offer… it's pretty much a once in a lifetime opportunity. To travel to the Unova region and design outfits for Pokémon out there for an event that's native to Unova, called Pokémon Musicals."

Johanna took in the information and sighed before continuing.

"I see. Tell me more about this offer, honey."

Dawn nodded and skim read the letter quickly, picking out the bits of important information.

"Well, it's triple my current salary," she said, watching Johanna's eyes widen at hearing this. "And it means that my outfits will be made more global, which then means that… well, I guess it benefits me at the end of it."

"Hmm," Johanna said, showing a confused look. She eyed her daughter and could notice the confusion she was feeling; it wasn't every day that Dawn was unsure on what to do.

"Is that what you really want, Dawn?"

Dawn looked up at the screen and paused; she had no idea. If the offer came up any earlier, she would've easily accepted it as it would get her out of Pokémon Tech, and she was willing to do anything to leave, yet now, something was holding her back. Over time, she'd grew to like Pokémon Tech, and now, she didn't know if she wanted to leave.

"I don't know, mom," she said exasperatedly, running her hand through her hair. "I know it sounds crazy, but… for some reason, I'm not so desperate to get out of this place anymore," she said, smiling subtly. "Over these past few months, I've learnt so much, and I've grown extremely close to a lot of people. I mean, you know about me and Paul… I've never had what I have with him with anyone else before, and every day I feel like we grow closer… you know? He's made me realise what I turned into, mom," she said, holding back the tears in her eyes. "I was too wound up in fame to notice it before, but then Paul came along, and he brought me back into the real world. He made me realise how much I'd changed due to fame, and now… I don't feel like that person anymore. I feel better. I feel like how I used to be, when I was out travelling with Ash and Brock, carefree and… me."

Johanna fought hard to hold back the tears that were desperate to fall. Listening to Dawn made her so proud. She'd finally got her true daughter back; her strong, kind, committed and independent daughter.

"I'm so proud of you, Dawn," she choked, wiping away the tears that were now present on her face. "You've finally realised who you truly are. And that person is a strong, independent and beautiful, young woman. You're more like the person you used to be Dawn, except now, you're even better. You've changed for the better, and you should be proud of yourself, honey, just like I am."

That was it; she could no longer hold back her tears. Dawn had now joined her mom in crying and smiled brightly. Happiness filled her body, and realisation hit her, hard. Her mom was right; she'd changed for the better.

"Thanks, mom," she said, noticing that Piplup had followed her into the room and was now looking up at her confidently. Holding him in her arms, she looked at her mom with dignity and smiled to herself; she knew what she was going to do.

"I'm not going to take the offer," she said, smiling brightly. "I don't need it. I'm perfectly happy with what I have."

"I'm glad, Dawn," Johanna said reassuringly.

"As for the others… I think I'll keep this quiet for a while. I'll tell them about it in my own time, but for now, I just want to enjoy myself. I'll let my manager know what my decision is sometime this week."

"Okay, sweetie," said Johanna, standing up from the seat. "I'd better be going. There's a lot of stuff around the house that needs to be done!" she chirped.

"Okay, mom," said Dawn.

"No need to worry?" Johanna asked, eyeing her daughter.

Grinning, Dawn nodded confidently.

"No need to worry."

But little did she know, things were about to change… for the better? Maybe not.