A/N

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that it took so long to update. I had AP testing this week, and I was busy cramming last minute so I could pass them and get the extra college credit. I still have one more next week, but I've already got a whole page of the next chapter, so the update should be much quicker.

Not much to say about this chapter, except we start to see a little bit of the relationship between Dawn and Paul, well, according to Paul. They also finally head out to the Unova Region! Finally. Haha. Once the next chapter comes out, then things will get super interesting, I promise. I've got a lot of great ideas for this story!

Hey, on another side note, I need someone to help me make a poll. I want to have you guys vote on what Pokemon Aerin should first catch in the Unova Region because I want to see what y'all think from the four or so that I have in my brain.

Whelp, that's about it. Sorry for the freakishly long author's not haha. Remember to review and favorite if you like my story and have any suggestions for me!

Shelby


Hide and Seek

Chapter Five

We finally made it to Canalave City, where Paul dropped off his shiny Gyarados to someone named Reggie; who I learned afterwards was Paul's older brother. Reggie use to be a big Pokemon trainer, until after his defeat against his rival, named Brandon. After that, he become a breeder of some sort, who looked after Paul's Pokemon that he didn't carry around in his party. He was in Canalave visiting Byron the Gym Leader and the Canalave Library.

I actually liked Reggie a lot more than I thought I would. Paul mentioned going to see his brother, and I envisioned an older, meaner version of Paul. But Reggie was the exact opposite of Paul. He seemed to care greatly for Paul's Pokemon, even giving mine the once over,

In Canalave, we bought plane tickets for a flight going out of Sunnyshore City that would take us to Mistralton City, in the western region of Unova. To get to Sunnyshore City, I had myself and Paul ride on the back of Cashmere. We had to stop and rest along the way, but we made it to Sunnyshore a whole day before our scheduled flight. While Paul decided to go train with Volkner, the Gym leader, I took a trip by the Sunnyshore market, where I picked up more poffins and Seals for my team.

We met back later that day for dinner at a small Italian restaurant; my choice, of course. The place was relaxed, enough so that we could have one Pokemon out of our choice. So while we ate our meals, Cryptic was laying by my feet, eating her own plate of food.

"Have you ever been to Unova?" I ask Paul as I take a bite out of the complimentary garlic bread.

He shakes his head. "I've only seen pictures."

"Oh, you're going to love it. The climate is a little cooler, perfect for your frosty attitude."

He raises an eyebrow at me as he puts a forkful of pasta in his mouth. "Well I suppose I will then."

"I'm only joking," I tell him with a smile.

He gives me a small smirk. "I know."

I figure that this is the perfect time to bring up the subject of Dawn Berlitz to him. Whenever I have in the past, he freezes up momentarily, but quickly recovers his composure. Especially when we had that encounter with her and her gang, he acted so differently afterwards, that is until we got to my house. But the whole walk there, he was completely in his head. I think he secretly likes her. It's one of those kid games that the boys use to play, until they grew out of it; the girl you liked, you had to be mean to her. That was how the boys use to show the girl's their affections, even though it hardly worked. That is until they got enough guts to tell the girl.

So I think Paul must still be stick in that school boy phase when it comes to his feelings for Dawn. Who knows, I may be able to get more information out of him about her.

"So, Paul, tell me about you and Dawn."

His eyes grow wide, before he fixes his mask again. "What do you mean?"

"Well, how do you two know each other?" I ask.

"She started traveling with Ash before I met them. Whenever I met Ash, she was there. That's about it."

"Oh really? Don't you think she's pretty?"

He gives me a hard look. "What are you getting at Aerin?"

"You never answered my question." I counter back with a smirk.

He sighs loudly and gives a small shrug of his shoulders. "Yeah, she is, I guess. I haven't even talked to her long enough to be considered an acquaintance with her. Why does this matter to you, anyways?"

"Oh, no reason. I was just curious because when you first found me, you asked me if I had competed with her, so I assumed you two had been friends. So, you've never spoken to her, unless it's with Ash?"

He nods his head. "Pretty much."

"Well that's all I wanted to know," I tell him. Which is true, in a sense. I didn't want to freak him out by asking all those questions, and he might not even realize he has a small crush on her. If I did start bombarding him with questions, he would have shut down immediately. Or, he might have begun to suspect my motives. Either way, this was a good start. At least he thinks shes pretty.

He shakes his head a me. "Whatever."

Before boarding the plane the next morning, I flew out to Jubilife City around six that morning to purchase some new clothes for the trip. Plus, I needed a bigger bag for traveling. By the time I flew back to Sunnyshore, Paul and I had around thirty minutes to get to the airport. We ate breakfast on the go and boarded a bus that took us a little bit out of Sunnyshore where a small airport was located. The wait wasn't very long, since only people without flying types used them. And, nowadays basically everyone was a trainer.

The plane ride was suppose to take around eight extremely long hours. I've only been on one plane ride once when I was little; and only because my mother said if we were going to visit family over in Kanto, we would take a plane. My dad was all up for us taking some Pokemon, but my mother would have nothing of it. It was a smart decision because in the end, it stormed the whole ride over there.

"Paul, do you think they have a blanket? I'm freezing," I said as I shiver in my window seat. The plane was currently flying over an ocean, one I forgot the name of. I'm pretty sure it didn't even have a name. The clouds were thin and stretched far apart. From my view, I could see Gyarados, Mantine, Octillery, and schools of Remoraid, Magikarp, and Luvdisc. Once and awhile, either a Kingdra or a Walford would pop up near the surface and cause me to swoon - mostly the Kingdra though.

Paul waves over a flight attendant who came back in a few moments with a fleece blanket. "Here you go," he said as he hands it to me.

"Thanks."

The blanket was warm, and I finally stop shivering. Paul was busy typing away on his laptop - my guess would be documenting some potential battle strategies. He may already be searching and planning some of the new Pokémon he's going to catch in the new region. Whatever he was doing, he was doing intently. I decide to watch a movie. After grabbing the remote I pick some comedy movie, and the screen on the back of the seat in front of me begins to play the title.

By the time the movie ends, the sun is beginning to set. I look out the window and begin to see one or two Unova region Pokémon swimming near the surface.

"Attention passengers, we will be arriving in Mistralton City in about five hours, which will be around four o'clock tomorrow morning. In a few minutes, we will be shutting off all the lights and movies, and blankets and pillows will be passed out to the passengers that want to sleep. For the others who do not, please let the other passengers have their peace. Thank you."

I turn toward Paul, who is still typing away on his laptop. "Are you going to bed?"

He shakes his head, but doesn't elaborate. I want to sigh, but I just turn to look for the flight attendant handing out pillows. I reach for one, but Paul has to grab it for me and hands it to me without looking away from his screen. I try to peer and see what he's been doing for the past three hours, but he just turns the screen so that I can't see it and gives me a stern glare.

"Oh, stop being so secretive," I scold.

He smirks but closes the laptop screen. "I like my secrets to be kept secrets."

"Such an introvert."

"Such an extrovert," he retorts in an angry tone, but the way the left corner of his mouth tilts up lets me know he's only teasing me again. Which, he started doing a lot since we left my house. At least he's talking more, which is a plus. I thought he would be stoic the whole time we were together. Not to say that he still isn't stoic, but if I do something incredibly stupid (which happens a lot) then he makes fun of me for it.

If anyone else could hear our conversation, they would automatically assume that Paul was being a complete ass to me. But I know him slightly better than that, and he isn't an ass just to be an ass. I think Ash thinks that Paul is a complete ass too, which again, is understandable. But Paul and Ash are complete opposites, and I think that Paul isn't quite used to someone like Ash yet. I'm a almost in the middle of the two, personalities wise - but leaning more towards Ash. Plus, no one likes losing, especially if it's to someone that they don't agree with; another reason that Ash and Paul continue to butt heads constantly.

I wonder if things will be like that when we get to Unova. I know Dawn said she and her gang was going, but they never said when. They could have already gotten there, or they might not be coming for a week, or even a few weeks. It would be nice to see them again because Dawn always has the newest and coolest techniques. Mine, well, it takes me awhile to come up with something incredibly stunning, just because being all girly and pretty isn't really in my forte. I've gotten a lot better since I took that break though.

"Well, if you're going to be like that, I guess I'll get some sleep," I tell Paul, as I adjust the pillow and blanket that I've wrapped around me.

"Night."

"Good night."