A/N: And here we have another chapter! As always, I can't thank you guys enough for you continued support of this story. I hope you enjoy this next one!

To cake0108: Yay :D Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).

Days

The day with odd behavior

Paul

Thursday, January 30th

"Hariyama, Force Palm! Ninjask, Fury Cutter!" Paul commanded his two Pokémon standing on the muddy training field behind the Breeding Center.

"Evade!" Dawn called in retaliation, as she had been doing the past half hour.

Ambipom swung Pachirisu up in the air and then tried to dive away from Hariyama, but didn't manage to evade the hit fully. Pachirisu made a few somersaults in the air and neatly landed in the mud, successfully having avoided getting hit by Ninjask's attack.

They had been practicing evasion tactics, and while Dawn's Pokémon had been steadily getting better, Ambipom still wasn't always fast enough to avoid the incoming attacks. Or, if she was fast enough, then Pachirisu wasn't launched well and landed face first in the mud.

Ambipom got up again and Pachirisu hurried over to her, and they waited expectantly for Dawn to give another command. It took her several moments to realize that and she called out, "Alright, c'mon guys, another try!"

Paul ordered another attack and off they were again. As his Pokémon attacked, he looked at Dawn standing on the other side of the field. It seemed as if she was barely looking at her Pokémon, and her reactions had been slow and automatic.

Something was off, but Paul didn't know what.

It couldn't be the Tournament. His own battle had been laughingly easy, and while Dawn's competitive double battle had been more challenging, she had still won. And the Fourth Round – the last normal round before the Quarter Finals – would consist of double battles in Contest style, so Dawn had nothing to worry about.

Unless she kept being distracted like this.

"Switch!" Paul called to Hariyama and Ninjask. As commanded, they switched opponents, and now Pachirisu was suddenly face to face with Hariyama while Ambipom hastily tried to avoid Ninjask's attack.

That, at least, pulled Dawn's attention back to the battle.

"Pachirisu, dive!" Dawn called, and both Hariyama and Paul were surprised when the small Pokémon managed to dive between Hariyama's legs and thus avoided the attack.

Ambipom was less lucky and Ninjask's attack hit her.

Paul only allowed Ambipom enough time to get up again. "Attack, again!"

"Evade!" Dawn yelled.

As Ambipom and Pachirisu again performed their combination, Paul watched Dawn's reactions. This time, Ambipom managed to jump away fast enough to avoid Ninjask, and Pachirisu was nicely launched over Hariyama, and landed stably on the ground.

Paul nodded in satisfaction, and after a pause that was slightly too long, Dawn reacted. "Great, well done, guys!"

Paul was not good with people and emotions, but even he could see that Dawn's smile was only half as enthusiastic as usual.

"Let's call it a day, alright?" she called over to him, gesturing to something behind him, and when Paul turned to look, he saw dark clouds looming in the distance.

A lightning flash lit up among the dark clouds and at that, he nodded. "Alright."

Dawn thanked her Pokémon shortly – was that different than usual? – and then recalled them.

Paul let out a small sigh. He was not good with emotions and feelings, but he could look at the facts. He was certain that Dawn was acting different, and he was certain that it started just after her friend May had visited and they had had that phone call with Ash.

Still, May had not seemed upset as far as he could remember, and so Paul didn't have a clue what would have caused Dawn's mood.

He supposed he could call Ash and ask if something had happened during that call... Paul quickly discarded that idea. It would be strange, and while Ash would undoubtedly want to help him, he was not looking forward to more nosy people in his life (Reggie was already bad enough).

Of course he could also just ask her...

"Are you coming?" Dawn asked, having walked up to him while he had been thinking.

"Yes," he answered. "Hariyama, Ninjask, you did well. Enjoy your rest." With that, the two Pokémon were recalled into their 'Balls.

Low thunder sounded in the distance and Dawn looked warily at the quickly darkening sky.

"I can't remember the weather changing this fast in Sinnoh," Dawn remarked.

Paul could only agree with her. "The weather has been strange these past days." Or weeks. Maybe even months, now that he thought about it.

"Let's go," Dawn said, and after a last frown directed to the sky, Paul walked after her in a brisk pace. When they reached the house, the first light drops had started falling, and the pitter-patter on the roof soon picked up pace as they left their coats in the hall and moved to the Pokémon area.

"Enjoy a good rest now," Dawn said, releasing Pachirisu and Ambipom in the Pokémon area. She was smiling as she watched Pachirisu rush over to the brush to get the mud off of her fur.

Paul released his own Pokémon as well, and made them a snack. Dawn joined him a moment later, and together they fed their Pokémon.

Dawn was smiling, still, but it was not her usual smile. Something was definitely up.

"You've been acting odd," Paul stated without further thought. He closely watched her reactions – slightly widened eyes and drawn lips before her expression relaxed in something neutral and seemingly innocent.

"Acting odd?" Dawn repeated, sounding a bit surprised and curious. "Oh, I hadn't noticed. I feel perfectly fine, don't worry."

If Paul had been less convinced of his case, he would have left the conversation at that.

"You were distracted during our training just now, and that wasn't the first time," he said.

Dawn shrugged, and didn't offer a better answer.

Alright, maybe she didn't want to tell him what was wrong- well, that ought to be fine, but the least she could do was admit that something was wrong. They were training partners, and her behavior was affecting their training! Besides, maybe he could help, or-

Really, he didn't want to rationalize why he wanted to know so badly.

"You're acting odd," Paul stated. "You've been acting odd since that phone call with Ash, when your friend May came over."

Something like shock flitted across her face. What? Had she really thought he was so unobservant?

"Did something happen then?" he pushed on.

"Nothing happened!" Dawn was quick to deny… too quick, and her previous 'confusion' was nowhere to be found.

"So you admit that you have been acting odd since then," Paul said, using a tactic Reggie had often used on him when he was younger.

"Well, I mean..." Dawn glanced around, as if looking for a suitable explanation, and finally sagged and let out a sigh. "It's just..."

Another sigh, and Paul asked, "Did something happen during the phone call?"

Dawn smiled slightly, maybe even wryly, he wasn't sure. "Ash and Misty are expecting a baby," she said.

That was a curveball he hadn't seen coming.

Should he have seen that coming? Ash was married, and married people often had children, but it was just too… strange to think of his childhood rival having children.

Paul stared at Dawn.

And why would Dawn get so upset about it-?

A thought occurred to him and he froze inwardly. The puzzle pieces fit together perfectly, including a piece that he had never been able to fit anywhere; why Dawn had slept with him at Ash's wedding. He had always thought it was the alcohol, but… But maybe it had been frustration. Frustration that the man she loved was marrying another woman… That made much more sense. And to hear that they were expecting a baby – that must have twisted the knife even deeper.

"You're in love with Ash," he blurted out.

It was not a sentence he had ever expected to say.

Dawn's utterly flabbergasted expression made him rethink his words. That expression at least didn't seem faked.

"No!" Dawn sounded completely shocked. "No, no..." Amusement crept in her voice and she shook her head, now smiling. "No, I'm not in love with Ash, that's not..."

She shook her head again and stared at him. "Sometimes I have no idea how your mind works."

Maybe he should feel embarrassment, but the odd light feeling in his stomach certainly didn't match with his earlier experiences. He pushed it back down and kept a dignified silence.

Dawn's amused look dropped and she sighed, her gaze falling to the ground.

Sensing an opening, Paul tried to speak in the gentlest manner he could. "So… what is it, then?"

Dawn sighed again and just when Paul thought she wasn't going to answer anymore, she said. "I suppose I'm jealous. I mean... It's stupid, but Ash and Misty have everything I want to have, too, and their announcement just reminded me how... how far away that is. I mean, I've never managed to have a proper steady relationship…" Another sigh.

Paul shifted his weight from one foot to the other, contemplating his next course of action. Her answer fit the pieces of information he had and it was an explanation he was far happier to accept than Dawn being in love with Ash, so the question of Dawn's strange behavior was solved.

That still left him with the problem that his questioning had caused Dawn's good mood (faked or not) had disappeared in thin air. For the sake of their partnership, he should at least try to make her feel better.

That was how he rationalized his next words, anyway.

"You'll find someone," Paul said, and he wondered why he now felt so odd. "You're..." What? What was Dawn? A good Coordinator, yes, but Paul knew that that was not the correct answer here.

"You're very nice," he decided on. He nodded mentally to himself; that was a good answer, and a genuine one, too.

Dawn let out a laugh and Paul had trouble pinpointing if it was a happy laugh or if there was something else to it, too. "Thanks, Paul."

At least that sounded genuine. Paul nodded in acknowledgement of her words.

The smile stayed on her lips and Paul was sure it was a real one. Dawn asked, "Now, what do you say that I quiz you over some new Appeals?"

Right. Back to business. He nodded and as he followed Dawn out of the Pokémon area, Paul realized he felt better now, for whatever reason.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, it was a chapter that didn't need a lot of changing, so it was an easy one, too. I hope Paul seemed in character, he's always difficult haha. I hope you liked it and please review!

Thank you!

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