ShadowxWing1701: Thank you for your reqviews and words. I also don't know why it's going so slow, but as long as some people enjoy it, I'm happy. I agree about Chapter 29 being the most disturbing one. There are other quite nasty ones, but they tend to draw it from physical pain, blood, and violence. For this one I wanted to try something else, something that messes up the mind instead.

I absolutely agree with the part about many pokémon not being as developed as others. I'm afraid this is simply due to their sheer number, especially Ash's. I couldn't even let all of them have a part in an official battle. Giving them all the same develepoment would've probably resulted in filler chapters and I'd prefer every chapter to be significant to the main story (that doesn't mean I always succeed, but I try). That doesn't make your argument any less valid, but I hope you understand why it would be simply too much for me.

Now let's get back to the story. This chapter isn't as flashy as the last one, but it has its purpose.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.

Chapter 36: Truth

A signal marked the end of the opening battle between Dawn and Robert and while the audience was applauding madly and MC was praising the performance, the coordinators and their pokémon made their to the side of the stage. All of them were exhausted but also happy. Robert used an antidote on Milotic before extending his arm. Despite his clothes being soaked due to the water wave and the goo, he was smiling brightly and Dawn, who was just the same, shook his hand.

"A wonderful battle with most intriguing combinations. We should do this more often but you might want to fix your hair until then," he told her jokingly. He was right, it was a real mess.

"A few years ago, I would become angry and maybe even freaked out because of that remark. Funny, how things can change." She had a hard time catching her breath. "Damn, doing this for ten minutes is pretty hard, especially with the ... oh, sorry about that slime. I ... didn't think it would spread this much. Piplup, please try to wash it away," she said, pointing at Robert, the other pokémon and herself.

She laughed nervously but he just waved it off.

"It's no problem. Clothes can always be replaced, you can't say the same about experience. Milotic, please help Piplup." Together, they cleaned everyone quickly. "Our clothes are still soaked, though. Let ..."

"Leave it to Bellossom. Use sunny day." A shining orb appeared, radiating a warm light that dried their clothes and hair while they were talking.

"Oh well, I wanted to do the same." He shrugged. "Anyway, I hope you had as much fun as I did."

"This battle can even compare to my last battle against Zoey. I must say, you have gotten much stronger since last time." She tilted her head to the side. "I bet you could get past the Elite Four and challenge Wallace for the title of Coordinator Champion."

"Maybe I would if it was an official title." He shook his head. "But under these circumstances, no. I have a lot of respect for those who participate in both gym and contest battles but I'm a coordinator and nothing will change that fact."

"I understand. Even now, I'm hesitant about it. But enough of this, sorry about bothering you," she replied, scratching the back of her head, which made her realize just how soaked her hair was. "Oh boy, it's a real mess, isn't it?"

"It is but I doubt too many people noticed with that battle distracting them. By the way, do you intend to enter the Wallace Cup next year again?" he asked.

"I do. And I hope so do you. It would an honor meeting you again on the stage," she said.

"Yes, it would be my pleasure. Unless I get invited to participate in the opening battle, of course," he added before checking his clothing. "Much better already. I think I'm ready for the worst part of this."

"The interviews," Dawn said with a grim look. "Well, good luck to you."

"You too." They shook hands once more and went their separate ways.

They also recalled their pokémon for now as, understandably, they were even more exhausted. Unfortunately, journalists stopped her to ask questions, a lot of questions. It felt like an eternity until Dawn finally lost her patience and called out Espeon. Even if she asked them to, they probably wouldn't make way for her so she had to resort to other methods.

"I understand you have more questions but my pokémon need to rest and I'm quite tired as well so if you please excuse me. Espeon, teleport to my room." They disappeared while the journalist were begging her to stay. She didn't particularly like them as she knew that they weren't always honest in their articles, something she truly despised.

In her room, she called out Piplup and Bellossom again before embracing both of them.

"You did a wonderful job. I think we were quite successful, weren't we?"They nodded eagerly. "Anyway, I'm proud of you and now with that out of the way, you can relax and enjoy the show. You've done your part most admirably."

Words couldn't express just how proud she was. Robert proved an extremely powerful opponent and the fact that they were able to stand their ground was impressive by itself. Actually, she wasn't sure whether this battle or the one against Zoey last year was better, but it didn't really matter. Both of them had their own good points and they were certainly among the best. In the end, she even thought that a battle against Wallace wouldn't have been that much better since their levels of power were so close nowadays, although it would've been more prestigious. She let herself sink into a chair and watched Piplup gesturing wildly in front of the other pokémon, probably boasting about his performance. Undoubtedly, he had earned this right for now so she didn't stop him, despite the annoyed look on her face.

While they were enjoying a bit of rest after everything, someone knocked on the door.

"I believe nobody will disagree that this was one of the most exciting battles in the history of contests. And to think that it was the very first one in this hall, it boggles the mind," the MC shouted. "A big applause for the top-coordinators, Robert and Dawn! This was an excellent display of power and beauty."

While his friends were discussing the battle, Ash stood up and tried to go to Dawn's room, giving the others only a short nod. On the way, he heard the people saying a lot of things, mostly praise for the coordinators but also a few dirtier things concerning her wet outfit. Ash tried to ignore it despite wanting to punch those idiots badly and was almost gone, when he heard one last conversation, which made him really mad.

"... looked so good together. I think she should dump that brute Ash and get a worthy boyfriend. Someone with style, like Robert," a woman nearby said, unaware of his presence. "Maybe he will make a move on her soon. Or maybe another one will. We'll ..."

The pokémon who were with him gave him concerned looks but he waved it off. It couldn't make them miss the fury in his eyes.

What the hell does she know about us? By what right does she judge us? Ash had enough and left quickly with the pokémon following. Stupid people, I don't care what they think. Dawn and I belong together, no matter what they say.

"Is it quite sure about that?" He halted, looking around, but he and his pokémon were alone in a corridor. "It belongs to us."

Ash covered his ears but it couldn't prevent the following, sinister laughter in his head. The only things he knew about that voice was that it referred to him as 'it' or 'this one', to Dawn as 'the blue on', to Pikachu as the 'small yellow one' and to itself as 'we' and that it obviously didn't have good intentions. Apart from that, he knew nothing about it and he wasn't sure whether he wanted to.

Soon he realized just how huge the building really was and that he was lost. Even though he met other people from time to time, they couldn't really tell him the way, mostly because they were lost as well. He was already about to give up hope on ever finding her room when he met someone who was working there and was able to describe the way. Finding it wasn't so difficult anymore after that so he was standing in front of the door after only a few minutes. Fortunately, there weren't too many other people around right so he didn't have to worry about crazy fans too much. Maybe that meant that she wasn't there just yet or someone would have noticed and alarmed the crowd. On the other hand, she could have teleported in there without anyone noticing. Determined to find out, he knocked on the door.

"Yes? Who is it?" He immediately recognized her voice.

Usually, she didn't mind fans visiting her after the battle but this time, judging from just how tired she looked at the end, he could understand if she wanted a bit more time to rest. Still, he was sure that she wouldn't send him away.

"Try to guess," he replied.

"Ash! Come in, the door is open." He entered and found her sitting lazily in a chair. "Ah, you've brought Buneary and Shaymin as well. I hope you've enjoyed the show. But you also look tired."

"Well, we got lost while searching for your room," Ash admitted.

"I should have known. Typical Ash." They watched Buneary, Pikachu, and Shaymin asking Piplup questions about the battle and him recreating a few scenes for a while. "I think we did well, right?"

"Are you kidding me? This contest hall will never see another battle like that ever again." Ash said.

"Not until it's my turn." That sickly sweet voice sounded familiar. Ash turned around to see Miranda standing at the door. Even though she was wearing an expensive silver dress, he had the feeling that she considered it casual. "What? No welcoming kiss?"

"What do you want?" he asked with an unusually aggressive voice.

Their pokémon were also staring at her with a mix of anger and contempt in their eyes, except for Shaymin, who didn't understand the sudden, hostile atmosphere in the room. After all, it didn't know the visitor and her past actions.

"Why so aggressive? My only intent was to congratulate Dawn on her marvelous performance. Is that such a bad thing to do?" she asked, smirking when he lowered his head. "Always these ... prejudices. Anyway, I really enjoyed the battle and I'm sure you've caught the eyes and hearts of many others as well. You might get a lot of attention in the future."

"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Isn't it obvious? It's a wonder you aren't this slow in battle." She let out a girly laugh before proceeding. "A lot of coordinators will regard her as worthy of their ... attention, even more than before. They will make advances and she will surely find someone she likes, a fellow coordinator, not a brute like you. You wouldn't understand. You're not one of us."

It was hard to imagine how furious he was at this moment. Miranda was not only insulting him, she was questioning Dawn's loyalty and dedication to him. He couldn't remember a time he had ever been this close to hitting a woman. No, right now, she wasn't a woman but a demon to him. However, he managed to restrain himself from doing that and attacked verbally instead before Dawn was able to reply.

"You know nothing about us and I don't appreciate you spreading lies. I know she'd never do something like that and that's all I have to say to you. Now get lost before I do or say things we would both regret." Dawn barely recognized him, there was so much venom in his voice.

She went between them and turned to Ash.

"She's not worth it." Then she turned around and faced the fellow coordinator with an expression similar to Ash's. "You will leave this room immediately. I have some talking to do and I don't want you around. Go! Now!"

Although Miranda was surprised at the hostile reaction, she retained her composure and even winked at Ash.

"Looks like it's already happening. Have fun." She laughed and walked away extremely slowly.

Dawn still didn't trust her and turned to the pokémon. Please wait for us outside. I want to talk to Ash in private." They weren't exactly happy, especially Piplup but complied nonetheless. "Espeon, I almost forgot. Please make absolutely sure that this ... person doesn't eavesdrop on us."

The psychic type simply nodded and left the room along with the others, closing the door behind her with psychic. Ash was a bit nervous. Whatever Dawn wanted to talk about, it had to be something serious. She was just about to start, when they heard a high-pitched scream from the other side. They immediately rushed to the door and opened it to see their pokémon lying on the floor, laughing. Espeon had an overly innocent expression on her face, which instantly raised suspicions.

"What happened here?" Dawn asked, looking around.

"Just as expected, she ignored my warning and tried to eavesdrop. I made her do a little dance in front of the others. I'm afraid it wasn't quite her style so she ran away quickly. It was almost like she felt humiliated." Her trainer knew that she had done this completely intentionally but to her relief, she smiled.

"Good job. I was afraid you hurt her but hurting her pride is fine. Actually, she really needed that. Keep up the good work." Ash was still looking confused as Espeon hadn't talked to him but instead of explaining, Dawn just dragged him along. "Time to talk."

They went to the other side of the room and she just stood there for a while, thinking of how to begin. The longer it took, the more nervous Ash got so she finally took pity on him and spoke up.

"First of all, I really hope you don't believe that bitch. I would never leave you, not even for Wallace himself. I love you and nothing will ever change that," she reassured him.

"I never doubted you. She just said it to provoke me and undermine my confidence. I guess she's afraid of meeting me at full strength," he explained.

"Good. But there's still an important matter I'd like to discuss." Please don't interrupt me. Now he was really curious. "You've been acting strangely lately. When I heard about the surprise, I thought it was the reason, but now it hasn't stopped. You're unusually aggressive and easy to frighten. I heard you talking to yourself. You're even more protective of me than usual. That's just to name a few things I noticed about you. But then again, you might have noticed a few things about me as well and I'll tell you what's been bothering me lately first."

She wasn't quite sure where to start so she decided to start with the most pressing matter. She took a deep breath.

"Ever since that ... incident on your birthday I have been suffering from nightmares. It may sound silly to you but they're really scaring me, especially the last one. I won't bother you with the details, it basically tried to make me believe that this life was just a dream. And the reality in that nightmare wasn't very pleasant. Even worse, from time to time, it feels like I'm waking up again and it's making me lose my mind." Seeing her like this made his almost lose his mind in turn and he tried to embrace her but she prevented it. "No, let me confess first. That second part started when the nightmares ended, which was after I asked Alakazam to prevent it somehow. Right now, I'm wondering whether it's a result of that mind crush she told us about. Anyway, I even went to Fullmoon Island and tried to look for a cresselia or at least a lunar wing. The only thing I caught was that cold and I haven't been able to do anything about the matter ever since. I didn't tell you about it because I thought it would just distract you. After all, you had so much to prepare for. Now I know I was wrong. It distracted me instead and probably made you worry as well. Besides, if I have to die during Shira's attack, I want to do it with a clear conscience. I'm sorry."

Finally, she let him hug her and they stayed in that position for a few minutes. Then he pulled back and also took a deep breath. At least she wouldn't laugh at him because of his nightmare problem, not after her confession.

"Nobody is going to die. I will protect you, no matter the cost. To be completely honest, I've also suffered from nightmares quite a lot. After a few days I had enough and asked Reuniclus to help me find a way to prevent them and it seemed to work although now I'm not sure whether it was his or Alakazam's achievement," he told.

"She told me that they were working together," Dawn clarified.

"I see. So they knew about our situation all along. Anyway, ever since that day, I keep hearing voices. Well, it's actually always the same voice. It taunts, threatens and ridicules me. It said that it would take you away from me. I'm ashamed to say that it really worries me and that's the reason I didn't tell you. It seems so ... childish and I was afraid that you would laugh at me. It was also one of the reasons for the surprise, I wanted to forget about those problems at least for one day." He sighed. "It worked, but now it's back and worse than ever. I fear for my sanity."

"These problems seem connected. I mean, it's unlikely that timing is just a coincidence, isn't it?" He nodded. "At least we can work together now. That way, we should be able to solve them for good. What do you think?"

"I think you're right." He didn't sound very confident, which was highly unusual for him but suddenly, his expressions brightened. "What am I thinking? Of course you're right. We'll find the source of the trouble and crush it. And you know what? It feels much better not having to hide it anymore. So much pressure ... just gone. It really put a strain on us and our relationship."

"Yes, I feel so relieved. We should have done this much earlier. And who knows? Maybe my performance would have been much better?" She doubted that, though. Once she was focused on a battle, there were very few things that could get her attention and those problems weren't among them.

"At last that's out of the way. I always told you how important communication is," he bragged, earning an incredulous look from her.

"You? I said that!" she replied.

"Try to convince me." He went behind a chair.

"Alright, now you've done it!" she shouted, following him.

All their worries and problems were forgotten for a moment and she just kept chasing him around the chair for a while, sometimes changing the rotation until Dawn went on her knees after a few minutes, panting heavily. Ash immediately stopped and kneeled next to her, only to get tackled to the ground by her.

"Gotcha!" she shouted, laughing.

"What a cheap trick," he complained but laughed with her nonetheless.

However, her breathing was still far from normal and she had trouble getting up again.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned about her condition.

"It wasn't just a trick," she said, standing up slowly. "I'm exhausted. Only ten minutes, but moving like that costs so much energy."

"You wouldn't be this tired if you had focused on Piplup's movements more," he teased.

"Shut up," she replied, sticking out her tongue. "It just shows my dedication. Pity this one s ruined," she added, looking at her dress.

"Yeah, stupid slime. Did you make it yourself?" he asked.

"You know exactly I'm only good at designing them, not making them. Mom did that for me," Dawn admitted. "Anyway, I'll go back home and change. Let's meet at the pokémon center later."

"Alright." What was intended as a short kissed ended up much longer than anticipated, yet it also had to end at some point.

With a better feeling than before, they left the room again to find their pokémon waiting around the door with concerned expressions. Relief washed over them when they realized that their trainers were looking much better than before the argument and offered them genuine smiles.

"Let's go home for now," Dawn said to hers. "I really need to get out of this. The slime may be gone but it's still getting more and more uncomfortable."

The sun pokémon teleported her along with her other pokémon into the bedroom, where the coordinator finally got rid of the outfit and put on her usual, more comfortable clothes. After all, her part in the Wallace Cup was basically over so she could just watch the battles and cheer on her friends. For a moment, she even thought about using her cheerleader outfit but in the end, the attention would have been too much. Besides, Ash didn't need it, being more than capable of winning without and there were still the pokémon. Pikachu and Buneary had their own outfits for those occasion and loved using them.

As soon as she was done, Espeon teleported them in front of the pokémon center of Vermillion City, where Ash and their friends were already waiting. It was a hearty, albeit hasty reunion as most of them were already hungry and tired of waiting. May knew a good place for dinner and they all followed her. While eating, they mostly discussed the opening battle but also talked about their recent achievements. Apparently, May already had four ribbons whereas Serena had only two. Since there was still a lot of time left, she didn't have to worry about it, though, and remained calm even when Drew started taunting her again. By now, Dawn was the only one surprised by the hostility between them, at least until Zoey explained the situation to her.

When Drew listed his most powerful rivals at this Wallace Cup, he didn't mention Solidad again, much to Ash's surprise.

"What about Solidad? Isn't she participating?" he asked. The others reacted by rolling their eyes, sighing or laughing. Dawn seemed slightly embarrassed by his question. "What?"

"Have you forgotten? She's pregnant so no, she 's not participating," Drew told him with an amused grin.

"Really? Who's the father?" Their reactions were even stronger than before.

"Ash!" Dawn whispered into his ear. "You were at the wedding!"

"What? Oh, OH! Now I remember." he scratched the back of his head. "How could I have forgotten? Sorry."

His friends kept laughing at his expense for a while until they had enough but they reminded him of his mistake a few more times before they were done with dinner.

The next part of the Wallace Cup was the introduction of every participating coordinator, which would take a while due to the large numbers. Ash, May and Drew left the group to prepare for it as even though it wasn't their turn until later, they had to stand ready the whole time. As a result, Dawn, Misty and Zoey had to go to their seats without them. After some waiting, a familiar man appeared.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Dawn. Misty, Zoey, I don't believe we've met yet." Dawn recognized him as Nathan Sorlan but her friends had no idea who he was. "Please forgive me my rudeness, I'm Nathan Sorlan, head of Sorlan Corporations."

"Pleased to meet you." They shook hands. "By the way, how come you know our names?"

"You're a famous coordinator, Zoey. And Misty is one of the most promising gym leaders in Kanto. You may not know but I love pokémon battles of every kind so naturally, I also know the most powerful trainers. Try to take it as a compliment. But I digress ..." He turned to Dawn. "This time, I'm a mere messenger. Wallace would like you to join him, at least for a while. Robert should be already there."

At first, she wasn't sure since it would mean leaving the others on their own but both girls made her stand up.

"I know you want it. You have to seize such an opportunity," Zoey told her.

"We'll be fine," Misty assured her.

"Alright, alright. Take care, I'll be back soon." She wanted to go but realized that she had no idea how to get there. "Can you ... show me the way?" she asked Nathan bashfully.

"No problem. That's why I'm here. Please follow me." She did as she was told and together, they left the hall for now. "By the way, I loved that battle. But I'm sure you're hearing it constantly right now."

"Thank you. I did my best," she replied, slightly embarrassed.

"No need for false modesty. Even though Robert made the bigger combinations, you were able to use all of them against him, making him cancel them." They went up a few stairs. "Wallace was also pretty enthralled by that aqua jet. He said it reminded him of your beginnings."

Dawn didn't really know what to say so they walked the rest of the way in silence. Two guards were standing at the final door but upon seeing Nathan, they let them through immediately. The room behind was an elevated platform, from which the guests had a perfect view on the stage. Of course, not just anyone could get here, only friends of Wallace, rich people who could afford it, and, in this case, police officers were present. A lot of them recognized her and just had to congratulate her on her performance, which got annoying with time. When they were finally done, Wallace himself shook her hand lead her to a sat to the left of his. To the right, Robert was already sitting.

"I'm glad to have chosen you two for the opening battle," Wallace said after sitting down as well. "It was marvelous, truly marvelous. It doesn't matter what others keep telling me, a battle between too equally skilled individuals surpasses any other."

They could only guess that he was referring to the previous opening battles. His opponents certainly weren't bad but it was still an one-sided affair so they weren't too thrilling. Of course, they felt honored by his words although they didn't really know how to reply to such a compliment. Instead, they watched the introduction, which had just begun and was featuring the participants of the classic Wallace Cup. The names of the countless young boys and girls were still unknown to the people but that's why they were here. They wanted to make a name for themselves, to show that they were worthy of a victory here. And one of them would.

Dawn used the distraction to have a closer look at her idol. He was wearing a huge ornate, white and green cape, which covered everything but his head. For some reason he didn't look as confident as he used to. No, there was a tiredness in his eyes that she couldn't explain. Something was bothering him greatly. He seemed to notice her and spoke up without taking his eyes off the stage.

"You haven't changed your mind about the challenge, have you?" he asked.

"Of course not. Don't worry about it. I'll try to give you a fight you deserve," she promised and he laughed softly.

"I don't doubt you will. Who knows? Maybe you will defeat me and take my place." Before she could protest, he continued. "Look at the young coordinators down there. Undoubtedly, some of them will become very strong and maybe one day, one of them will claim his or her title as a champion from you. Who knows? The future ... is unpredictable. When I created the Wallace Cup, I didn't know it would become this popular but I gladly accepted this change. I did all I could to turn it into the event it deserves to be. It became my legacy. And I certainly won't let it be destroyed by some pathetic, dim-witted ruffians."

His voice rose sharply during the last sentence but then he sighed and leaned back a little.

"I apologize for losing my temper, I got a little carried away." His eyes looked more tired than ever. "I would prefer to judge the performances myself but the police thinks I would be an easy target and that I'm much safer up here. It's bothering me, but I trust Mr. Wright's judgment and have utter faith in him. He'll protect the good people."

Robert and Dawn could understand him all too well. His greatest creation was threatened by a bunch of criminals and there was nothing he could do about it, having to rely on people he didn't even know instead. Why Shira would even attack the Wallace Cup was beyond them. Whatever the reason, he had to take precautions, no matter what he thought of them, for the safety of the people. No, they certainly didn't envy him right now.

"There's still something I'd like to know," he suddenly said. "Why do you wish to battle me so badly? Is it because of your mother?"

Dawn looked puzzled, wondering what her mother had to do with this.

"Not exactly. What do you mean?" she asked, eager to know the answer.

"You don't know? Oh dear, in that case I'd rather not be the one to tell you. That should be your mother." He looked somewhat embarrassed as if he had just told her something she wasn't supposed to know.

That was something Dawn definitely wouldn't forget. Her curiosity would make her keep asking until she knew the answer as it sounded like it also affected her. She'd find out the next morning, when Johanna would pay her a short visit.

To Dawn's right, Max Wright and Thomas were watching the show with a bored expression. Clearly, they didn't want to be here and it would be wrong to get angry at them because of their problems. They were Shira's victims just as much as she was.

"Dan would have loved to be here," Thomas muttered.

"That's exactly why I've chosen you to accompany me. I don't need distracted fools," Max replied.

Unbeknownst to him, Thomas also quite enjoyed contests, only the introduction bored him to death. A least the next two days would be more exciting and if didn't Shira lie, they would also be safe. It was the fourth day, the day of the double appeals, that carried the risk. Unfortunately, the prisoners hadn't been able to tell them anything useful so they didn't know how she was going to strike or whether this was just a distraction so they just had to be prepared for anything.

Dawn had enough for now and slowly stood up.

"I'd like to return to my friends. They 're already waiting for me," she told Wallace, who nodded.

"I understand. Feel free to visit me here anytime." They shook hand once more.

She also said goodbye to Robert and the other people before going back or at least trying to find the way. At the exit, she looked back briefly and saw Robert standing up as well. She could only guess that he also wanted to return his friends. It didn't matter, she had to find her own seat. As long as she could watch Ash's introduction, missing the others wouldn't be too bad.