"Paul On The Rocks"
By MisterAnimeFan
Part of the DP Love Series
Disclaimer: Did you know that "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic"...actually has its moments? I think there's something wrong with me. Anyway, Pokémon belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak. The fan fiction exists out of fun and enjoyment.
Okay, it's been a while since I last revisited this plot. So let's get back on track now and finish up.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Justin stood in front of Regina's front door. In his hands he held a bag of potato chips. He took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
He could hear the sounds of someone barking at the door. He knew it was Regina's Growlithe. He smiled as he could imagine the small Pokémon with his feet on the door, barking. "I'm coming!" called a voice from inside.
Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing Regina on the other side. "Justin, hi!" she exclaimed, happily. "Come on in!"
Regina then led Justin inside. Everyone turned towards the door. "Hey Justin!" Dawn exclaimed, happily.
"Justin?" Paul asked, surprised.
"Oh! You made it!" Reggie said.
"Hello everyone!" replied Justin.
"We weren't expecting you to come by," mentioned Regina.
"Well, Reggie invited me earlier today, and I figured that I would come by and say hello," explained Justin.
"Wait...you invited him?" Paul asked Reggie.
"Yeah," replied Reggie.
"You don't have a problem with that, do you Paul?" Justin asked, nicely.
"Um...no," Paul said. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Really? That's good," replied Justin.
Secretly though, Paul was a bit apprehensive. Dawn noticed, but she didn't say anything.
Justin then sniffed the air. "Oh, something sure smells good," commented Justin, "Are those hamburgers ready yet?"
"They will be in a few minutes," Regina told him.
"Well alright then!" replied Justin.
"Paul, Reggie, why don't you two set up the table?" Regina asked.
The two brothers kindly got up from their seats and made their way to the dinner table. Along the way, Reggie leaned towards his brother's ear. "So...are you going to let him talk to you?" whispered Reggie.
"If I do, it'll be when I'm ready," Paul replied, softly.
"But when will that be?" asked Reggie.
"Don't worry about it," snapped Paul.
Reggie was still worried about his brother, but he decided to drop it.
A few minutes later, the hamburgers were ready and fully cooked. Everyone grabbed a hamburger and placed it on their plate. They sat down at the dinner table and began eating. "Eat up everyone!" chimed Regina. "We've made plenty to go around!"
Everyone sunk their teeth into their hamburger. "How is it?" Regina asked her two sons.
"Delicious," Reggie replied, happily.
"Paul?" Regina asked.
Paul said nothing, but his eyes were wide-open and he ate rather quickly. Justin smiled as he watched Paul take another big bite of his burger. "I think he loves it," laughed Justin.
Everyone else laughed as well. Paul realized how silly he was acting and calmed himself down. "The...food is really good," he murmured.
"I knew you and Reggie would like it," Regina said. "When you were young and in a bad mood, hamburgers always seemed to cheer you up."
"I can see why," added Dawn. "These burgers are great!
"Indeed they are," agreed Justin, "The meat is very juicy."
"Why thank you, Justin," Regina replied.
Dawn only smiled as everyone around her continued eating. While eating, Dawn looked over and noticed something about Paul. She saw that Paul was sitting right next to Justin, which she could tell was making him just a little bit uneasy. She couldn't help but grow worried about him.
Justin saw this. "Are you alright, Dawn?" he asked.
"Hm? Oh yeah! I'm fine," she replied. Dawn then continued eating her hamburger.
Justin peered over towards Paul, who quietly bit into his hamburger. He really wanted to talk to Paul about his father, but he knew that if he wanted Paul to open up, he had to take things slow.
Secretly, Paul was thinking about the time he raided Justin's entire apartment, to the point of turning his whole bedroom upside-down. He wondered if Justin knew about it. He did attempt to clean it up after searching the place, but he guessed that Justin would find out eventually.
"So Paul," he said, "I hear you're aiming for the Pokémon League."
"Yep," replied Paul.
"That's good. How far along are you?" Justin asked.
"Well...I'm on my way to the Snowpoint Gym so I can win my Icicle Badge."
"And you decided to pay your mother a visitor while on the way. What a good son you are."
"These two are my pride and joy," butted in Regina, "I love them so much!"
"Mom..." groaned Paul.
"Now, now Paul," Justin said, "there's nothing wrong with showing some affection for your mother."
"Oh don't worry," mentioned Regina, "He shows affection...but only when no one else is around."
"Mom!" snapped Paul.
"You know this, right Dawn?" Regina asked.
"Dawn, don't answer that!" ordered Paul.
"Funny, he never shows affection for me," added Reggie.
"Will you shut up?" Paul replied, angrily.
"Take it easy Paul," laughed Justin. "We're only teasing you."
Paul flared through his nostrils as he gnawed into his burger. "Okay, I'm sorry for making fun of you," smiled Justin.
"Oh, don't worry," murmured Regina, "he'll get over it. He just gets embarrassed easily."
"Do not," argued Paul.
"Let's change the subject," suggested Justin.
He focused his attention on Reggie. "So Reggie, you're a Pokémon Breeder, correct?" Justin asked.
"That's correct," replied Reggie. "I raise Pokémon back in Veilstone City. I take care of Paul's other Pokémon when he's not carrying them around."
"Is that right?" Justin asked.
"How are they doing, by the way?" Paul asked.
"Oh, they're fine," answered Reggie. "They love being with me back at Veilstone."
"Oh really? Well, that's good," remarked Paul. "What do you do with the Pokémon anyway?'
"Well, I of course feed them and clean them. I let them roam around and play for a bit."
"You ever battle with them?" Paul asked.
"Sometimes," replied Reggie. "I know you like to keep your Pokémon in shape, so sometimes I have them battle against each other for fun."
"That's good."
"It's nice that you take care of your brother's Pokémon," Justin said.
"Well...I'll do anything for my little brother," Reggie said, reaching over and hugging Paul. Paul just shoved him back. "Come on Paul," teased Reggie. "I'm just showing some brotherly love."
"Uh...no thanks," rejected Paul.
"Come on Paul, have a heart," teased Dawn.
"Why's everyone picking on me today?" Paul asked.
Everyone just laughed. However, even though he laughed along with everyone else, Justin couldn't help but notice Paul's indifference towards his brother. He remembered how Reggie told him about his problems with Paul when he was growing up. He still wondered if Paul had problems with his brother as well. But again, he couldn't come right out and ask him. Justin just continued eating.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Later that night, after the table was cleaned off and Justin had gone home, everyone changed into their sleepwear and prepared for bed. "Good night everyone," Dawn told Regina and Reggie, as she made her way to her bedroom.
Regina and Reggie remained in the living room, watching T.V. "So...today was a lot of fun, wasn't it?" Regina asked.
"Oh yeah!" replied Reggie. "Those burgers were amazing."
"I knew you and Paul would like it. And it was nice of you to invite Justin over. But why did you?"
"Oh...uh...I thought it would be nice to repay him after what I did to him yesterday."
"What do you mean? Oh! Right...when you tackled him."
"Yeah."
"Well...that's a good way to show him that you're sorry."
Regina and Reggie then turned back to the T.V. watching "Sinnoh Now." Just then, something popped into Regina's head. "Come to think of it, where were you today Reggie?" Regina asked.
"Huh?" he replied.
"Well...I didn't see you after this morning. You didn't come back until later this afternoon. Where were you that entire time?"
"Oh...ummm...I was at Justin's place."
Regina's eyes popped. "Really?" she asked surprised. "You were at Justin's?"
"Yeah I was," continued Reggie.
At this point, Reggie figured it was best to tell his mother. "I went to apologize to him about tackling him," he began. "I brought up how he and you went to the pancake house. And...well..."
"You talked to Justin about your father?" assumed Regina.
"Yeah...I did."
"I figured as much. When you came home, you were in a much happier mood. I take it that it felt really good getting some things off your chest, right?"
"I guess I know how you felt after you talked to Justin at the pancake house."
"You were pretty upset this morning. I can only guess what was bothering you, but it's great that you feel better now."
Reggie only smiled at his mother. "Of course," continued his mother. "Now I'm worried about Paul. I know he still has his issues with his father as well. There's only so much he's told me and you...and Dawn as well. I really hope that Justin is able to help him."
Reggie saw the worried expression on Regina's face and couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
As Dawn walked past Paul's bedroom, she couldn't help but peer into his room. Paul lied on his bed. He played around with his PokéDex and looked through all the various PokéDex entries. He quickly glanced to his doorway and saw Dawn standing there, looking at him. "Oh! Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to be rude."
"No, it's fine," replied Paul. "Come in if you want."
Dawn slowly walked into Paul's room and sat down at the edge of his bed. "So what are you doing?" Dawn asked.
"I'm just going through some of the PokéDex entries," answered Paul. "I caught some Pokémon today, so I'm just taking a look at what they can do."
"Really? Like what?"
"Mostly Bug-type Pokémon, like I caught a Mothim. He was crafty. He really didn't want to lose."
"Sounds like a worthy Pokémon for your team."
"Maybe."
Paul then continued on fiddling around on his PokéDex. Dawn remained at the foot of his bed, looking at his face as he searched through his PokéDex. "Hey Paul," she squeaked.
"Yeah?" replied Paul.
"Was something bothering you today during dinner?" asked Dawn.
"What do you mean?" Paul asked.
"Well...I noticed that the whole time, you looked very worried," explained Dawn.
"What? Why would I be worried? I feel fine."
"No, you looked uneasy today. You were really quiet and you didn't make any eye contact with Justin."
"Look Dawn, there's nothing wrong. If you think that I still have an issue with Justin or my dad, I don't. Okay? I told you this morning, I got over that. And it had nothing to do with this morning's breakfast either. I got over that too."
"Well...you get over things pretty quickly, don't you?" Dawn asked, sarcastically.
There was a brief pause between the two. Dawn again grew worried for her purple-headed boyfriend. "Paul, are you sure you're okay?" Dawn asked. "You don't have to hide it for me.
"Trust me Dawn," replied Paul. "I appreciate that you're worried about me, but I'm okay. Really, I am."
Dawn only stared at Paul as he continued searching through his PokéDex. She let out a depressed sigh. "Okay then," she murmured.
She sat up from Paul's bed and headed towards the doorway. Paul looked up and saw her sad face. He began to feel a bit sorry. He closed his PokéDex, sat it aside, and spoke up.
"I was thinking about yesterday when I ransacked his apartment," he told her.
Dawn quickly turned back to Paul. "What was that?" she asked.
"Today, I was feeling uneasy because I was thinking about when I searched through Justin's house," repeated Paul. "I was worried if he knew or not."
Dawn thought back to yesterday. While she and Justin were busy talking, Paul was going through his house, turning everything upside-down and messing up the whole place. Paul confessed this to her as they were walking back to Regina's condo.
Dawn only looked at Paul. She could feel that Paul still felt guilty about it. "After I realized what I was doing was crazy," continued Paul, "I tried to fix everything back to the way it was before, but I'm pretty sure he knew what I did. You think he knows?"
"I don't know," replied Dawn. "But regardless, I think the best thing to do is go and tell him, and then apologize. I'm sure he'll be reasonable. I mean, he forgave Reggie, even after he tackled him to the ground."
"...yeah, I guess I could do that," replied Paul. "But...if I go over to his place and I apologize to him, he's going to want to talk to me about my dad and whatever problems I'm dealing with."
"Well...maybe it would be best if you did talk to him," suggested Dawn.
"Dawn..." groaned Paul.
"Just listen to me," she pleaded. "I was talking to your mom this morning. She's only worried about you. I'm worried about you. I know you keep telling us that you're okay and that we shouldn't worry, but there's no need to hide it for our sake. Your mom and I both know that you still have some issues with your dad that you don't want to share with anyone else. I understand, but she and I both think it would be best for you to talk to Justin."
For a moment, there was silence between the two. Paul only stared at the edge of his bed. Dawn grabbed Paul's right hand and continued. "Paul, you shouldn't keep everything to yourself. If you do, it'll only get worse and worse, until something bad really happens. It'll interfere with your life in more ways than one. I don't want that to happen to you, Paul. I really don't."
"Dawn...it's just not that easy, okay?" Paul asked. "Not that Justin's a bad guy, but I don't know a lot about him. How can I trust him?"
"Well your mom and brother could trust him," mentioned Dawn. "Look how much happier Reggie and Regina were after they talked to him. Paul, please. It would be really good if you talked to Justin."
Okay, okay," replied Paul, softly. "I'll go to Justin's place tomorrow and talk to him for a bit."
"Well...if you want, you can talk to me and then I'll tell him-"
"No!" snapped Paul. "I want to do this myself. The only thing I want you to do is to make sure mom and Reggie don't find out about this."
"What? Why?"
"Well...I just don't want to know yet. They're going to make a big fuss out of this and they're going to pressure me to talk to them. And besides, mom didn't tell me that she talked to Justin until afterwards. Reggie didn't tell me until afterwards."
"I guess that makes sense. Okay then, I won't tell your mom or Reggie."
"Promise?" Paul asked.
"I promise," agreed Dawn.
Paul then lifted his pinky finger towards Dawn. Dawn noticed it and remember the previous two times that the two did "pinky promises." She giggled quietly and lowered Paul's pinky down. "I have something better in mind," she whispered.
"Oh yeah? What?" Paul asked.
Dawn only leaned forward and planted a kiss on Paul's lips, surprising him and making his eyes pop. Paul quickly closed his eyes and kissed her back. The two kissed for five seconds before breaking away from each other. "That'll work too," Paul said, smiling.
Both of them blushed as they quietly laughed about what had happened just now. "Good night Paul," whispered Dawn.
"Good night Dawn," he whispered back.
Dawn got up from Paul's bed and made her way to the door. Before leaving, she quickly turned back to Paul. "Paul," she said. "When you go tomorrow, you only have to talk to Justin about whatever it is you're comfortable talking to him about. Okay?"
"Okay," Paul replied, quietly.
Dawn then left Paul's room, closing the door behind her. Paul turned his PokéDex off and planted his head into his soft, feathery pillow. He looked up towards the ceiling, thinking about Dawn. Immediately afterwards, he began thinking about Justin and what will lie ahead tomorrow. He eventually drifted off and fell asleep.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
After having breakfast next morning, Paul went to his room and changed into his regular street clothes. As he did, he mentally prepared himself for what he knew was going to happen later on in the day. He already knew what Justin wanted to know about and what he might ask from him. He wanted to be ready to deal with it.
Fully dressed and ready to go, Paul took a deep breath, grabbed his things, and made his way towards the front door. "See ya mom!" he shouted.
"Where are you going today?" his mother asked.
"Going to go back out to Eterna Forest and train some more," lied Paul.
"Oh Paul, I think your Pokémon are strong enough," Regina told him. "Why don't you just relax at home for today?"
"I just want to get ready for my next gym battle," he replied.
"Well okay then," butted in Dawn. "Good luck, Paul!"
"Be careful!" Regina added.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine," he replied.
Paul then walked out the front door and closed it behind him. "I swear, all Paul thinks about is training his Pokémon," muttered Regina. "I mean I understand why, but it would be nice if he spent the day with his family."
Dawn didn't say anything. She knew where Paul was really going.
Instead of heading towards Eterna Forest, Paul instead made his way towards Justin's condo. As he made his way up to Justin's condo, he once again imagined what Justin might ask him. Eventually Paul arrived at Justin's doorstep. Much like Reggie did yesterday, Paul was a bit hesitant to knock on the door. He began thinking about how Reggie and Regina felt after they talked to him. "You know...do I really need to talk to Justin?" Paul asked himself. "I could just lie to Dawn and say I did. Then tomorrow we can just leave this place and head for Snowpoint City. Yeah...that could work."
But immediately, he thought back to last night, when he and Dawn kissed each other. He began to feel guilty. "No...I can't do that," he thought. "I promised her that I would do this. Besides, chances are mom won't let me leave if I don't."
Reluctantly, Paul took a deep breath. "Alright...let's get this over with," he muttered quietly. He reached up and knocked on the door. He stood there, waiting for a response. Twenty seconds had passed and he didn't hear a sound. Paul knocked again and waited. Still no reply.
Paul raised an eyebrow, confused as to why Justin wasn't answering the door. "Hello?" he called. "Justin? Are you in there?"
Paul knocked on the door again. He waited and waited for a response, but still nothing. Paul only shrugged his shoulders. "I guess he's not home," he figured. Paul raised his arms up and put his hands behind his head. He thought about what to do now. "Hmm...well, I guess I can go train my Pokémon some more at the Eterna Forest."
Paul then made his way down the stairs of the Eterna condominiums. He stopped by the Pokémon Center and switched out some of his Pokémon.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
LATER THAT DAY...
Justin was walking through the Eterna Forest, taking in the sights and sounds of the grass- and bug-type Pokémon surrounding him. He then took a deep breath, smelling the crisp air of the forest. "Nothing like a good walk through the forest to ease your mind," he muttered to himself.
He looked to his right and saw a Slakoth sleeping on a tree branch and Beautifly fluttering through the sky. He only smiled as the calmness of the forest.
But the peace was soon disrupted when Justin felt the ground shake. All of the Bug-type Pokémon suddenly sat up and turned towards the commotion. "What on earth was that?" Justin asked, surprised. "An earthquake?"
Just then, a piercing buzz noise echoed through the forest. Justin covered his ears to protect them while the small Bug Pokémon cowered in fear. Then the ground shook again. He was now curious as to what was going on. He walked towards the source of the buzzing noise. "Must be some wild Pokémon fighting with each other," he hypothesized.
Eventually, he found what was causing the tremors and fire attacks. Indeed, it was two Pokémon fighting, but they weren't wild Pokémon.
In front of him stood Paul and his Torterra battling the Mothim Paul caught yesterday. Mothim vibrated his wings rapidly, causing the loud buzzing noise to pierce through the air. Paul covered his ears while Torterra winced in pain. Justin remained hiding behind a large tree and watched the action unfold.
"Torterra, shake it off and use Frenzy Plant!" Paul shouted.
Torterra glowed bright green as he slammed his feet into the ground, causing another tremor. Giant roots appeared from under the ground and lunged towards Mothim. Mothim quickly evaded the roots and continued his Bug Buzz attack. "Try Stone Edge!" Paul shouted.
Three blue rings emerged and surrounded Torterra. The rings then changed into large chunks of stones. Torterra's eyes glowed green and he fired the sharp stones at Mothim. Mothim tried his best to avoid the stones, but one stone managed to hit him in the abdomen, ending his Bug Buzz attack. "Good job, Torterra!" Paul shouted. "Now finish him with Giga Drain."
Torterra stomped closer to Mothim. Three green glowing beams materialized from the three mountains on Torterra's back and extended towards Mothim. Mothim quickly recovered from the Stone Edge attack and countered with Air Slash. Torterra was thrown off-guard, making Paul worry a bit.
Mothim followed it up with a Psychic attack. Torterra was hit with a strong telekinetic force, which froze him in place. "Oh no," worried Paul. "He's using Psychic!"
Torterra tried everything, but he couldn't move. Mothim had him right where he wanted him! Mothim mustered up as much strength as he can and suddenly...he levitated Torterra off the ground! Paul's eyes widened as Mothim kept Torterra in the air. Even Torterra was amazed at what power Mothim showed!
Justin watched nearby, who was shocked at Mothim's power as well. "My, my!" he thought. "That is one strong Bug!"
Mothim then formed another swirling ball of energy, this one much bigger than before, and fired it at Torterra. The Air Slash attack was so strong that the force blew Torterra away! Torterra flew towards Justin, who quickly ducked just in the nick of time. The tree he hid behind disintegrated into splinters as Torterra's massive body mowed over the trees, completely obliterating them to splinters!
Paul's jaw dropped at the devastation. He couldn't believe what had just happened. A small Pokémon like Mothim completely wiped the floor with one of the strongest on his team! Paul turned towards Mothim, who was on the ground, panting. The Psychic and Air Slash combo really took a lot out of him. "How did you...?" he began to ask. He was too dumbfounded to finish his question.
Paul instead ran towards his Torterra. "Torterra!" he called out. "Torterra, are you alright?"
Paul suddenly stopped when he finally saw a cowering Justin, panting heavily and clutching onto his chest. Justin lied against the tree stump, completely horrified. "What the...? Justin? What are you doing here?" Paul asked. "Are you following me?"
"I could have been killed..." whimpered Justin.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Eventually, Justin managed to calm himself down. He sat down on the tree stump while Paul attended to his Torterra. The Mothim remained perched on a nearby tree branch, resting.
Paul knelt down to his fallen Torterra and sprayed a Full Restore on him. Torterra only grunted in agony. "It's okay Torterra," he muttered. "Neither of us knew Mothim was that powerful."
Paul looked up and saw only tree stumps and a collection of fallen, broken trees. "I knew Mothim was crafty, but...wow!" he exclaimed.
"Wow indeed," agreed Justin. "Who knew, right? I almost thought that my head would be wiped clean off my shoulders!"
Paul looked at his Torterra once more. "It'll be a while before Torterra can move again," Paul said.
"Well in the meantime, why don't you still down next to him?" suggested Justin. He scooted off to the right of the stump and made room for Paul. Paul took him up on his offer and sat down next to him.
"So...what are you doing here?" Paul asked again.
"I didn't mean to intrude," replied Justin. "I woke up this morning and I decided to go hiking in the forest today. Running into you was just a mere coincidence, I assure you."
"I see, so that's why you weren't home this morning," mentioned Paul.
"You were at my home this morning?" asked Justin.
"Yeah, I...wanted to talk to you about something," answered Paul.
"Is that so?"
Justin was starting to become a bit excited at what Paul might tell him. "What is it you need to talk to me about?" he asked.
"Well..." began Paul. "About yesterday..."
"Yes?" Justin asked.
"Reggie told me that he paid you a visit. Did he really?"
"He did. He wanted to apologize for tackling me the day before," explained Justin.
"Oh! Well...did he say anything about...you-know-who?" Paul asked.
"You mean your father? Yes, Reggie and I did speak about your father. He told me quite a few interesting things."
"Like what?"
"He just talked to me about the time before you were born, when it was just him, mom, and dad. He also told me about when he left the family and how it felt after he did."
"Really? That's it?"
"Pretty much. Much like your mother, your older brother still had some personal issues with him."
"Yeah, I figured as much. Our dad was a real scumbag! He put his own selfish wants before the rest of the family and he walked out on us."
"That's horrible indeed. And it sounds like you still have issues with him as well."
Paul could feel his body tighten up. He knew what direction Justin was trying to take the conversation towards. He felt like the conversation was awkward enough. He was trying hard not to make eye contact with him. He knew that he promised Dawn that he would open up to Justin, but yet something kept him from doing so. "You know Justin," he said, "with all due respect, I think it would be best for me to just forget about dad and just move on."
"Oh really?" Justin asked. "Are you sure that's the best thing to do? I mean, I promise I won't tell anyone, not even Reggie or "
"I'm positive," answered Paul. "I mean I'm happy that it made my mom and Reggie feel much better, but me...I rather not talk about him anymore."
Justin only looked at Paul. He was a bit disappointed that Paul still didn't want to talk, but he didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. "Very well then," agreed Justin. "If that makes you feel better, then we won't talk about your father."
"Seriously?" Paul asked, surprised.
"Yeah, it won't do any good for me to try and force it out of you. While I do think it would be best for you and me to talk about this, I'll nevertheless respect your decision."
"Wow...you are pretty understanding about this."
"Yes well...anyway, let us talk about something else."
Justin looked all around the forest. He could see Torterra, still hurting from the previous battle with Mothim. "That Torterra of yours must be really powerful," he said. "Granted, he fell victim to a vicious Psychic attack, but I bet Torterra can be just as powerful."
"Yeah, Torterra is one of the best Pokémon on my team," replied Paul. "Torterra is the one Pokémon that has always been with me ever since I first started my journey, from Kanto to Johto, from Hoenn to right now in Sinnoh."
"Oh, so this isn't the first time you're going to challenge a Pokémon League?" asked Justin.
"No, I've challenged many Pokémon Leagues before coming back to Sinnoh," answered Paul.
"But something confuses me. You grew up in Sinnoh. Wouldn't it make sense to travel Sinnoh first and then take on the other Pokémon Leagues?"
"I guess, but Reggie didn't start his journey in Sinnoh either. He went to Kanto first, and then worked his way back to Sinnoh. He won all the badges from each region, even Sinnoh and challenged the Pokémon League. Unfortunately, he could never make it pass the final round of the conference. And after he failed beating one of the Battle Brains, he decided to hang it up and become a Pokémon Breeder."
"Interesting, Reggie didn't tell me this."
"Well I don't blame him. I wouldn't go around talking about my failures either."
Justin then thought to himself. "That's right, Reggie is older, thus he started his journey before Paul did. Hmmm...I wonder..."
Just then, Torterra grunted a little bit as he lifted himself off the ground and stood on all four feet. "Feeling better?" Paul asked.
Torterra only turned himself around so that he faced his trainer. He nodded his head, but Paul was still unsure. He took out Torterra's Poké Ball and retreated him back inside. "I think it would be best to carry him," he said. Paul also retreated Mothim back into his Poké Ball. "Leaving already?" Justin asked.
"Yeah..." replied Paul.
"I'll walk with you," offered Justin.
"Oh no really, that's fine."
"No, no. I was about to head back myself."
Justin got up from the stump he was sitting on and joined Paul on the walk back home (much to Paul's chagrin).
The two walked side-by-side of each other on the dirt road. Paul kept his eyes on the road in front of them, refusing to make eye contact with Justin. He hoped that Justin wouldn't start a conversation with him. But, of course, Justin wouldn't have it.
"So Paul, any plans for tonight?" Justin asked.
"Well...I want to see if Dawn wants to do something tonight," Paul replied.
"Oh...you mean like a date?" Justin asked.
"Umm...yeah, kind of," Paul replied, blushing.
"Oh come on now," teased Justin, "There's no need to be embarrassed about it Paul."
"I'm not embarrassed!" snapped Paul. "It...just feels weird that...I have a girlfriend. I mean, she is the first one-"
"And the only one, right?"
"Umm...yeah."
Justin eyed Paul suspiciously. "Oh...that didn't sound too convincing," worried Justin, "I'm not sure you really love Dawn as much as she loves you."
"No! That's not true! I love her! I really do!" protested Paul. "This is just new to me, that's all."
"Oh don't worry Paul, I understand," sympathized Justin. "I remember my first girlfriend. She was a Pokémon doctor. It was the first time I fell in love with someone. I didn't know what to do either. She was such a beautiful girl. I didn't know how to express my feelings, even after we became a couple."
Paul turned towards Justin, surprised to find himself interested in what Justin was saying. "Much like you," continued Justin, "I thought the idea of serenading her and writing poems was corny and childish. It just felt weird to be thinking of myself doing that. I didn't know what else to do other than take her out to fancy places, hugging her and kissing her."
"Is this guy reading my mind or something?" Paul asked himself.
"I can imagine that's how you feel right?" Justin asked.
"Yeah, he's reading my mind."
"Well...kind of," replied Paul. "I don't know. It's hard for me to do all that lovey-dovey stuff. I'm just not used to it. How did you manage to do that for your girlfriend?"
"I couldn't really give you any advice," answered Justin. "About a few months afterwards, we grew apart from each other. It turns out she was having feelings for another man."
"Oh..." Paul murmured. Awkwardness surrounded the two. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Oh don't worry about it," Justin replied, cheerfully. "It was for the best. And I'm fairly certain that won't happen to you or Dawn."
"I hope it doesn't."
"It won't, I'm sure. You see, Dawn and I were talking about you when you two visited my home the other day."
"Really?"
Secretly, Paul was worried if Justin knew about him searching the place. He tried to keep things on topic. "What did you guys talk about?" Paul asked.
"Well I asked Dawn what it was that she loved about you," said Justin.
"Really? What did she say?" Paul asked.
"She told me-"
Justin suddenly broke out in soft giggles, annoying Paul. "What did she say?" Paul asked, again.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just funny. She compared you to an ice cream cone with a hard chocolate shell."
Paul let out a groan. "Really, Dawn? An ice cream cone?" he complained.
"No, no. What she said made sense," clarified Justin. "She said that because you're hard on the outside, but once you break through, you're actually really sweet."
"That doesn't really help," groaned Paul. "She compared me to an ice cream cone!"
"Oh come on Paul. You have to admit, that's a pretty cute thing of her to say. But nevertheless, she told me she loves you because of how sensitive you can be under that tough exterior you're building up."
"What? I'm not sensitive!" protested Paul.
"Take it easy Paul. Girls love sensitive guys."
"But I'm not sensitive! Guys can't be sensitive."
"Oh sure, you say that now. But I imagine you act much differently when it's just you and her, right?"
Paul didn't answer him. He only turned back to the road and walked faster. "Hey Paul, wait up!" Justin shouted. Justin ran to catch up to Paul. Paul still refused to look in his direction. "Geez, it's really easy to make you mad, isn't it?" Justin asked.
"I don't like to be called sensitive," replied Paul.
"Alright then, I'm sorry for calling you that," apologized Justin.
The two continued walking down the road silently. Paul took a deep breath to try and calm himself. "Seriously, I didn't mean to strike a nerve with you," continued Justin.
"It's alright," Paul replied. "I just hate being called sensitive. It's like being called effeminate."
Hearing that made Justin remember yesterday when Reggie was talking to him. Reggie mentioned how he hated it when his father called him effeminate. He wanted to bring it up, but he though it would be best not to. "I see. Well, I didn't mean any harm," he said. "Nevertheless, I want to ask you something about Dawn."
"What?" Paul asked, sounding tired and annoyed.
"What is it about her that makes you love her?" Justin asked.
"Why do you want to know?" replied Paul.
"Well considering the answer I got from Dawn, I'm curious to hear what you have to say about her. What made you fall in love with her?"
Paul thought to himself for a moment. He debated if he really wanted to tell Justin. "Uh...well, she's very pretty," he replied, blushing.
"Yes, she is quite a cute thing, isn't it?" laughed Justin. "But I'm sure there's more to it then just she's pretty."
Paul let out a sigh. "Don't second-guess yourself," advised Justin. "Just let it all out and don't force anything back."
Paul decided to take his advice. "She makes me happy," Paul blurted out. "I don't know. Ever since she and I spend time together, I've felt much better about my life. She's a great girl who's nice, friendly, and a good listener. She's one of the very few people who's actually willing to put up with me."
"I see," replied Justin.
"It's interesting," continued Paul, "Before I thought she was absolutely annoying. I hated how happy-go-lucky she always was. She thought that life was fun and that everyone and everything would turn out great no matter what happened. She saw the best in everything."
"In other words, she saw her glass as half-full and you saw the glass half-empty."
"Yeah...yeah, I guess you could say that. I did see my glass half-empty. Before Dawn, I never really had an interest in making friends or falling in love. I thought it would just get in the way of training."
"Yes, that's something I've noticed about you. It seems that day in and day out, you seem to be focused solely on making your Pokémon stronger and training hard and furiously. I must ask, why do you work and train so hard?"
"Because, I want to be the strongest Pokémon trainer in the world!" answered Paul. "I want to be the one trainer that no one can defeat!"
"Well, that's all fine and good, but you train in a way that I have never seen anyone train before. You literally push your Pokémon to their limits. You just come off as being...a bit obsessive."
"What's wrong with that? I want to be strong, so that way when I go to the Sinnoh League, I can crush the competition and become the Champion!"
Paul then stopped in his tracks and pumped his fist. "Then, everyone in the entire world can see that I am the best Pokémon trainer in the world! I'll show them! I'll show them that I'm not weak!"
Paul's fist remained clenched as he envisioned himself and his Pokémon team at the Pokémon League, standing in the middle of the battlefield, while thousands of people up on their feet cheer and holler. He could imagine Cynthia, the current Pokémon League Champion, handing him the Sinnoh League Championship trophy. He would accept the trophy and lift it high up in the air.
Justin could see the determination in Paul's eyes. He was happy to see Paul worked up about his goal, but at the same time, he felt that there was another reason why Paul wanted to be champion so bad and yet he wasn't telling him. He had a feeling what that reason is, but he couldn't come right out and say it.
Nevertheless, he felt that this was his only chance at getting Paul to talk. So, he took the risk. "Paul...I think there's more to it than that," he said.
"Huh?" Paul asked, snapping out of his fantasy.
"You say," continued Justin, "that you want to prove to the whole world that you're not weak, but I think there's someone else that you want to prove yourself against."
"What do you mean?" asked Paul.
"Perhaps there's another individual who made you feel inadequate, and so you want to prove to him that you're not."
"Oh...I get it. You think this has something to do with my dad."
Paul lowered his fist and threw his hands up in the air. "It always comes back to him, doesn't it?" he grumbled.
"It just that it makes sense. You said that you had very few friends while traveling, so there is really no one else who would say you're weak. And when I spoke to Reggie yesterday, Reggie told me about how your father pressured you two to become a strong trainer, but you two never managed to meet his expectations. So I just figured that out of all the people you want to prove wrong, it would be your father."
Paul only stared at Justin. Then, he turned his back towards him. Immediately, Dawn's words from last night crept back into his mind and refused to leave.
"Paul, you shouldn't keep everything to yourself. If you do, it'll only get worse and worse, until something bad really happens. It'll interfere with your life in more ways than one. I don't want that to happen to you, Paul. I really don't...look how much happier Reggie and Regina were after they talked to him. Paul, please. It would be really good if you talked to Justin...you only have to talk to Justin about whatever it is you're comfortable talking to him about. Okay?"
"Paul? Are you listening to me?" Justin asked, trying to grab Paul's attention.
"Okay, fine!" snapped Paul. Paul turned around and practically yelled at Justin. "Yeah! You're right! My dad's the one who I want to prove myself against! He always told me that I was a weak trainer! He never liked how I always lost the practice battles against him or how wild Pokémon always got away from me! In fact, the night he left the family, he told me that I failed him as a trainer and as a son!"
Justin was a bit shocked at how angry Paul sounded. Then again, he could imagine what it was like recalling those bad memories. "There! Are you happy now?" Paul asked, angrily. "That's what you wanted to hear, right? Now can we please just shut up about him?"
Paul panted after that little mini-rant. He then grabbed his bag and hurriedly stomped away down the dirt road, leaving Justin. Justin was simply amazed. He hadn't gotten such an angry response in such a long time. He recalled that when he was talking to Regina, she only cried her eyes out. With Reggie, even though he was visibly furious, as least he tried to keep himself under control. Paul flat-out snapped. "I knew it," thought Justin. "Paul is the one hurt the most by his father. But, at least I finally broke through. I better capitalize. This could be my only chance."
Justin then ran after Paul. "Paul, wait!" he called out. He thankfully managed to catch up to Paul, who was still fuming. "Look, I told you enough, didn't I?" Paul asked, angrily. "I don't see what more you need to know. My dad never liked me. He told me that I would never become a great trainer. Even when I was little, he never once praised me. That's why when I become the Sinnoh League Champion, he'll have no choice but to admit that he was wrong about me."
Justin really wanted to get a word in edgewise. He would like to ask him a little more about growing up, him spending time with his brother, and learning a little more about after the father left the family. But he realized that Paul was still angry and that talking to him more wouldn't get him anyway. Paul looked like he was done talking anyway. Paul turned to Justin. "Is that all you want me to say?" Paul asked.
"Ah-yes, that's all," Justin murmured.
"That's pretty much all you need to know. He hated me growing up. He hated me when he left the family. And he hates me even to this day."
"I see, and I understand. I must say that was truly an awful thing for your father to say to you."
"Well...now you understand why I hate him so much and why I want to prove him wrong. And now you know what everyone in the family has against him. So there's really nothing else for you to try and learn."
"I get it. From now on, I shall no longer talk about your father ever again with anyone else."
Justin raised his right hand and swore to this promise. "I promise."
Paul looked at him cautiously and raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Because last time you said you would stop talking about him..."
"I mean it this time, honest."
Paul carefully examined Justin's face and checked for anything that would make it seem as if Justin was lying. But Paul didn't notice a thing. "Well...okay then," he said. The two then continued on their way.
Eventually, they left Eterna Forest and were out on Route 205, walking on the wooden pathway over the lake.
Justin then patted his pockets. "Oh no," he said, worriedly. He then began digging through the insides of his pockets. "What is it?" Paul asked.
"Don't tell me that I-oh great," sighed Justin.
"What?" Paul asked, again.
"I lost the keys to my condo!" answered Justin.
"You what? When did you lose them?"
"It must have been when Torterra flew over my head. They must have fallen out my pockets without me noticing."
"Well we better go back and find them!"
"No, that's alright. I'll look for them myself.
"But..."
"Just go on home before your mother gets worried."
"Seriously, I'll help you look for them."
"No, no. It's okay. Just go ahead without me. I'll find them myself."
Justin then took off back into the forest, leaving Paul behind. "Justin, wait!" Paul shouted. But it was no good. Justin continued running back into the forest, not looking back at Paul. Paul found his behavior odd. "That's weird," he murmured to himself. "I figured he would want my help. But okay, whatever."
Paul then walked away from the forest and continued down Route 205. Along the way, he took many deep breaths to try and calm himself down after the little episode he had a few moments ago. If he went back home looking tired and upset, he knew everyone would pester him, asking what's wrong. And he didn't want mom or Reggie to know that Justin was involved. "I really got to cool myself down," he said to himself, as he rubbed the sides of his head.
Just then, his eyes were drawn to the lake right besides the wooden walkway he was walking on. Paul could imagine the water being very cold. Normally, he would think that suddenly jumping into the water would be a silly and dumb idea. However, something in his brain took control of his body. Paul dropped his bag on the wooden walkway and he jumped into the water, despite still wearing his clothes.
A nearby fisherman heard the loud splash and looked up to investigate. "Huh?" he asked. "What was that?"
Paul suddenly resurfaced, shaking his head and throwing water droplets everywhere. "Wow is that water cold," he shivered.
"Hey! What are you doing, you numbskull?" the fisherman shouted, angrily. "You're scaring all the fish away!"
"Sorry!" Paul shouted, as he waded his way back to the walkway. "I tripped and fell in!"
"What? What kind of clumsy oaf are you?" the fisherman asked.
Eventually, Paul reached the walkway and pulled himself back up. His hair and clothes were completely soaked. The fisherman walked over to him. "You okay?" he asked.
Paul got onto his feet and ran his fingers through his hair, wringing some of the water out. "Oh yeah, I'm okay," he answered. "Actually, I feel a lot better than I did before."
"Right...well, you better run home and change your clothes before you get sick," advised the fisherman.
"Yeah, I probably should do that," agreed Paul.
Despite that, Paul grabbed his bag and quietly continued to walk back to Eterna City. "Oh yeah...that's some fast running there," the fisherman said, sarcastically. Paul took no notice.
Eventually, he arrived in Eterna City. He headed towards the Eterna Condominiums and climbed up the stairs to his mother's condo. He grabbed the spare keys from his pocket and opened the door. He looked inside and saw Dawn on the couch, brushing Buneary's ears. Dawn heard the door opening and turned to Paul. "Oh hi Paul! Welcome back!' she greeted. She then got up from the couch.
"Hey," Paul replied. "Where's mom and Reggie?"
"They went out," answered Dawn.
Dawn walked up and hugged Paul tightly. "So...how did it go?" she asked. Before Paul could answer, Dawn suddenly backed away when she felt Paul's wet clothes. "Paul, what happened?" she asked. "Why are your clothes wet?"
"Well, I went out to Eterna Forest and I accidentally fell into the lake," explained Paul.
"Oh no. Well, I don't want you to get sick! So get out of those wet clothes and take a nice hot shower."
"Yeah, I better do that."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
MINUTES LATER...
Paul did as he was told. He went to the bathroom, shed his wet clothes, and took a hot shower. He walked back into the living room with fresh clothes on. Instead of his usual purple jacket and gray pants, Paul wore a simple gray T-shirt and black baggy jeans.
As he walked into the living room, he let a sigh of relief. "I feel a lot better now," he remarked.
"That's good," Dawn replied, as she continued to brush the fur on Buneary's ears.
Paul sat down on the couch next to her. He watched as Dawn groomed her Pokémon. "So, it's just you and me, huh?" he asked.
"Yep," Dawn replied, happily. "But Regina and Reggie should be coming back in a few minutes."
"Where did they go?" Paul asked.
"They took Growlithe and Mightyena for a walk around the city."
"I see."
Dawn then noticed Paul wearing new clothes. "Hey, I never seen you wear clothes like that," she said.
"Oh umm...well, my other set of clothes are wet, so I decided to change into this," explained Paul.
"They look good on you," complimented Dawn.
"Thanks. So, you just stayed here by yourself, brushing your Pokémon's fur?"
"That's right. I want to get her ready for the next contest."
Paul then noticed that Buneary was feeling a little glum. "What's wrong with her?" Paul asked.
"What's wrong with who?" Dawn replied.
"Buneary," clarified Paul. "Why does she look sad?"
"Oh! It's probably because she hasn't seen Ash's Pikachu in a while. She kind of has a crush on him."
"Speaking of Ash, what's he been up to?"
"Oh! Ummm...I-uh I-I don't know," Dawn replied, nervously. It's-uh it's been a while since I talked to him."
"Maybe you should call him or something," suggested Paul, "just to let him know that you're okay. You are friends, right?"
"Ummm...y-yes, of-of course we are!" stammered Dawn. "And I'll definitely drop him a line the next time we go to a Pokémon Center!"
Paul was growing suspicious of Dawn's stammering.
Dawn decided to quickly change the subject. She put down the hairbrush she was using and turned to Paul. "But enough about that," she said. "Tell me...how did it go?"
"What do you mean?"
"How did it go between you and Justin?" clarified Dawn. "I mean you talked to him today, right?"
"Umm...yeah, we did," answered Paul. "I ran into him while I was training in the Eterna Forest."
"Eterna Forest?" Dawn asked, confused.
"He wasn't at home, so I figured I go to the Eterna Forest and train for a bit. He just happened to be there."
"Oh. So...did you tell him anything?"
"I didn't really say much to him. I did tell him about how my father called me a failure of a son the night he left and how he never showed me any praise as a trainer. That was pretty much it."
"Oh. Okay," Dawn said, solemnly. Secretly, Dawn was hoping for something more, but she knew that Paul was only willing to tell Justin that much. Paul could tell that she was disappointed by looking into her eyes. "I know you wanted me to tell him more-" he said.
"No, no! It's okay!" Dawn said, frantically. "That's good enough for me. I said you only had to tell him whatever you felt comfortable with talking to him about. And you told him enough, at least I think so."
"Yeah..." Paul murmured, quietly.
For a moment, it was silent between the two. "So," spoke Dawn, "do you feel much better now that you talked to Justin?"
"A little bit," Paul replied. "But it was really us talking. I just screamed at him how much I hated my dad...and that was pretty much it."
"He didn't tell you any advice?" Dawn asked.
"No. but I figured all he wanted was for him to know what I had against my dad. Hopefully, what I said was enough."
This time, it was Paul's turn to change the subject. "But hey, let's get our mind off that," he suggested. "Dawn, you want to do something tonight?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Dawn asked.
"I mean you want to go somewhere tonight, you know, just you and me."
"You mean like a...date?"
"Yeah...kind of. I mean, that's what couples do right?"
"Oh! Yeah! Right! They do!" stammered Dawn. Her face blushed. This would be the first actual date that Paul and Dawn would go on, making her a little excited but also nervous. "Umm...oh I know! There's a festival happening tonight in the city square!" remembered Dawn. "You want to go?"
"The festival? Ummm...sure. Let's go!"
"Okay! Let me just get ready!"
Dawn quickly got up from her seat and headed to her room to change outfits. Buneary quickly followed after her. Paul smiled. He could tell that she was excited.
As Dawn was in her room, trying to find the right outfit, Paul thought back to earlier today. He couldn't help but wonder about Justin. "There's something about that guy that seems...off," he thought to himself. "Why is he getting into our personal business? What does he have planned?"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
TO BE CONTINUED...
A/N: Phew! Finally it's done! It took me a little more than two months, but it's done. I waited to make this as long as possible to make up for the long time you guys had to wait. Thank you for your patience and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
Next time: It's Paul and Dawn's first date! Which means Ikarishipping fluff! But whilst the two have fun at the festival, little do they know that Justin has something planned for the two of them, as well as for Reggie and Regina. Even though he said he wouldn't interfere with their lives anymore, he has a little plan to test the bonds between everyone!