At the back of Ace's gym, a teleport warp – probably powered by an Abra somewhere – teleported us right back to the lobby so we didn't need to go through the whole gym again. It's a smart convenience, especially after an arduous gym battle. In this case, both Ace and Aaron rushed to the Pokémon Center after their long, epic exhibition battle. Kenny rushed to be with them, while Cynthia and Steven stayed behind to check on the Devon Corp drone and escort stragglers out. I lingered at the battlefield, too. On my shoulder, Piplup growled at Paul's Electivire. The young Frontier Brain noticed me, so I walked over to him.

Paul had grown a lot since his rivalry with Ash. His purple hair remained shaggy and partly in his face, and he wore a bigger version of his old traveling outfit, plus black gloves with grip on the palms and fingertips for more dexterous Pokéball maneuvering. He was almost a full head taller than me now, but his tone was as rude as ever. "Do I know you?"

Piplup squeaked with indignation, but I beat him to snapping. My head inflated as I yelled, "Excuse me! How rude! We've known each other for an annoyingly long time, mister. Ash is one of my best friends, he beat you in the Sinnoh League, and I'm ready to do the same—right here, right now!"

Paul scoffed. "Please, Miss Top Coordinator, you're hardly worth a battle, especially after the showdown between an Elite Four member and the guy who'd be one of Sinnoh's strongest gym leaders."

A Pokémon trainer nearby added, "Yeah, that battle was so perfect, it's gotta be fake!"

Before Paul or Electivire could agree, I whirled on the dumb kid who spoke up and started yelling at him. Cynthia clamped her hands on my shoulders. "I'll handle this, Dawn. You may want to check on your friends. I believe one of them was unable to attend the exhibition battle."

My hands flew to my mouth as I remembered. "Conway's in the Pokémon Center! Oh bother, I should go visit him."

Piplup sighed. We warped to the front of the gym and ran across the gold-patterned roads to reach the Pokémon Center. Conway was up and vibrant. He spun around and held his arms out. "Dawn, my dear, you've come to see me!"

I dodged his embrace. "Nope." I mean, I did, but he didn't need to know that. His ego was already fatter than his Slowking's crown.

On the other hand, Ace curled up in one of the plush orange seats, his head in his hands. Kenny sat next to him while Aaron crouched at Ace's feet, both boys consoling the Hearthome City Gym Leader.

I walked over to the boys. "Why so glum, Ace? You won the battle."

In the final showdown between their Drapion, both Ace's Drapion and Aaron's Drapion had fainted at the same time. Since Crobat had used U-Turn to return to his Ultra Ball earlier in the battle, the drone declared Ace as the winner.

Ace looked up at me, his vivid turquoise eyes shining with tears. "No, I didn't." I didn't interrupt him, and he explained, "When Aaron and I brought our Pokémon to Nurse Joy, it turned out that Crobat had fainted. The drone, obviously, didn't register that, so I won by default. It wasn't a real victory."

Aaron placed a comforting hand on Ace's knee. "Cheer up, love. Whatever the battle's outcome was, I would've paid for our dinner at Seven Stars, anyway."

"That's not the point, Aaron."

Kenny added, "Besides, you were ahead for most of the battle."

"A trainer can make a comeback."

Aaron and Kenny looked up at me, waiting for me to say something comforting. I wasn't good at comforting people, including myself. I relied on friends like Zoey and Ash to do that for me. I wanted to call Ash; he would've likely watched the exhibition battle and would know the right thing to say. But it would take too long, and Ace didn't know Ash, so it wouldn't be as meaningful. I was there, and I needed to toughen up.

I planted my hands on my hips. "Ace, Gym Leader of Hearthome City," I declared, confident enough for both of us, "there's no need to worry. Maybe this battle didn't go the way you wanted it to. And I get that it sucks, especially since this battle was your exhibition battle, a way to celebrate you becoming Sinnoh's newest Gym Leader. But you have plenty of opportunities to battle and prove yourself to challengers, other Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, or any other strong trainer out there. You'll battle Aaron officially again someday, and until then, keep your chin up."

Ace smiled at me, so charming it hurt. "Thanks, Dawn."

I nodded. "Also, if anyone tries to tell you that you didn't deserve that win or that you and Aaron scripted or faked that battle, then Piplup and I will pulverize them to a pulp."

Ace's face fell. "People think that?"

"That Piplup and I will pulverize them? Why not? I'm an excellent coordinator and a very strong trainer."

Kenny tugged my string bracelet, the twin pearls gliding along my wrist. "No, silly Starly, the other thing you said."

Aaron glowered. "I refuse to acknowledge a Pokémon trainer who'd make that accusation. I—I won't battle them, ever! All their honey will be sour, and they'll have Burmy in their beds and Wurmple in their sandwiches."

Ace looked between us. "It can't be true, right?"

Conway swaggered toward us, adjusting his glasses with a cocky smirk. "It's true, Gym Leader. Your battle's been watched by just about everyone in the Sinnoh region, and a lot of trainers think it's not real. There's even an entire article about it on the conspiracy website 'Deoxys Denial Debunked'—the double negative is irritating but means that—"

I reached up to squash his head down. "We know what it means, Human Pokédex."

Kenny grinned at me. "Hey Deedee, your nickname is one 'dee' short of being a conspiracy website!"

Aaron frowned. "What's messed up is how fast that article sprang up."

Ace buried his face in his hands. "How can I be a gym leader if people don't trust me as a Pokémon trainer?"

"You can't," a low voice said. I spun around. Paul strode toward us, his hands in his pockets. Electivire trailed behind him, as menacing as ever. "Until your name is cleared, you're not an officially recognized gym leader. You can't hand out gym badges, and a trainer who beats you as you are now won't be able to use that win for eligibility to take part in the Sinnoh League. Basically," he said with a sneer, "you're a fraud."