Okay, I'm going to reply to reviews, or whatever, because I keep forgetting to reply to them manually. So sorry… -_-

JapanDreamer09: That's totally fine! I've done it with other stories, too. I can't tell you how it'll turn out between both syndicates, but it shall be interesting, that's for sure. Yes, sorry about everything that you're confused about.

Eeveexme: Aww, thankies! I'm pretty sure you can guess who was talking to Dawn, but it won't be officially revealed until later. XD#

XWhiteChanX: Yes, it's really 'Bianca'. I wouldn't name my Pokemon that, either, I kinda agree with Paul. Yes, it amuses me, too. They're so deluded… Yes, he's too gullible and naïve for his own good. I feel sorry for him sometimes…

Reading-is-4-life: Thanks!

LeafxGary4Ever: YEEEES, YESS THE EYEBROWS! XD

Mina Arellano: Thank you so much! ^/^ Here's the update now, then.

Gemstone Gal: I do, too. But, he'd kill me before I even get in the same room as him. DX

Disclaimer: We both don't own Pokemon.

Chapter 11: Capture Failure

Dawn's POV

"Hey, wait up!" I shouted, running after Paul. His hands were in his pockets, and his head was looking at the ground. "I'm not as fast as you are!"

Paul then stopped, as we got to the official entrance of Pinwheel Forest. He surveyed the area. Pinwheel Forest was completely covered in greenery. All the plants were overgrown, and the trees towered above us. There was one main path, but numerous trainers were dotted around the path.

I wasn't in the mood for battling too many trainers, as my Pokemon would be battered by the time I went to Castelia City, so I took the off road path.

"Where are you going?" I heard Paul ask me.

I turned around, pouting a little. "I'm not going to have my Pokemon hurt for no reason."

Paul looked disappointed (probably because he wants to become stronger), but then agreed with a reluctant grunt. I clapped my hands in glee, and spun around. I side stepped, so not to fall in the wild grass. I had to swat away lots of branches that kept hitting my hair. I cringed when a stinging nettle brushed on my leg.

"Dawn, are you okay?" I stared at him, wide eyed again, because he called me by my real name.

After I composed myself, I answered, "Just a nettle."

"Stay here." He then walked away, leaving me to my own voices. I huffed, as I saw him disappear through the branches. I limped over to a tree stump, and looked ahead of me while I played with my hair.

Is he gradually going to call me by my real name? My heart started to hammer in my chest, but I shook it off. I cocked my head to one side as I thought of what Paul was doing. He wouldn't have left me, would he?

My hands started to feel clammy, and a shiver crawled up my spine. I started to tap my foot down on the grassy dirt in impatience. He really pushes my buttons. I opened my bag, before taking a swig of my water. When I wiped my mouth, I heard rustling behind me. I screamed, falling and landing on my butt. I heard the familiar laughing.

"You idiot!" I screamed at him. "I was really worried, and you only wanted to scare me!" I heard silence. I turned my head to see a Paul, red in the face.

I looked down to see…my panties showing. I shrieked in embarrassment, and pulled my skirt down. I stood up, dusting off the dirt that clung to my boots. I avoided his gaze on purpose, staring into space.

"Uhh…Dawn?" he started.

"Don't bring it up!" I then huffed and crossed my arms.

"Well, I went off to get you this." He handed me…a leaf. A green, scratchy-feeling leaf.

"How would this help me?" I queried.

"It's a dock leaf. You rub it on the area where you were stung, and it relieves the pain," he told me, frowning at my incompetence. I stuck my tongue out at him, and placed myself upon the tree stump again.

I put the leaf on my shin, and rubbed it fast, almost growling. After a while of rubbing, it still hadn't worked.

"You're doing it wrong," Paul pointed out.

"How can you get it wrong? It's a freaking leaf," I countered; annoyed with myself (I didn't realize that I had just insulted my 'rubbing skills'). I don't want to make him think I was a fool.

"Let me do it." His tone of voice was softer, almost alien-like to the usual Mr. Grumpy Pants.

He took the leaf from my hand, and gently rubbed it across my sting. I was wide-eyed the whole time, trying not to make a comment on his demeanor. After he stopped rubbing, he looked into my eyes. I never noticed how…onyx his eyes were.

Suddenly, a Sewaddle fell out a tree, and made us both jump. I stood up, checking for the Sewaddle so I wouldn't have to face Paul. I walked past him, brushing some moss away from a rock that was in my way. I stepped over it, and almost slipped in the process.

I arrived at a…secret passageway of sorts. It looked like a doorway (minus the door) into darkness.

"Hey, Paul," I whispered, motioning him to come over. I heard him trod over, hands shoved in pockets. "Look over here."

"Hn." He grunted, frowning. I glared at him, annoyed that he isn't the least bit more excited. "What?!" he asked rudely, when he noticed my death glares.

"Sor-eee, Mr. Grumpy Pants!" I said. "Anyway, I'm going in."

I didn't stop to let him reply, and I blundered in. I pushed branches away, almost stepping in a puddle, and walked down a small hill. After my stubborn walk, I noticed that Paul was trailing behind me. I didn't know why, but I felt happy that he had followed me.

I gasped, when we arrived at a beautiful lake. The azure coloured water glistened as the sun shone down on it. Many aquatic Pokemon frolicked around the grassy bank, and many Pokemon were swimming in the water. Huge willow trees grew around the area. I then gasped suddenly, spotting the most graceful flock of Pokemon that I had ever seen. They were swans, with white, fluffy feathers. They had two big blue tufts of feathers, and a yellow beak. I couldn't see the legs, as they were swimming around, occasionally ducking into the water. It was beautiful.

"Swanna..." I muttered in awe. I wanted one. Imagine that beauty in a contest! Paul grunted something, standing bored next to me. "I want to catch it."

"A Swanna? They're just pretty, not strong," Paul pointed out.

"So? Who says they need to be strong to be on my team? I don't have a flying-type yet, so this could work." I smiled, my eyes set on a particularly graceful one in the very middle of the lake. I brought out a poké ball.

"They are beautiful, aren't they?" I nearly shrieked at the new voice, but didn't. I saw Paul flinch out of the corner of my eye, which surprised me slightly. He was way more in tune with what was going on around us than me! "But do you really want to capture that beauty in a poké ball?" We both turned, and saw N standing right behind us, which was majorly creepy since we didn't hear anything. At all. His Zoura sat atop his head, whereas the Oshawott held onto his shoulder.

"I-What are you doing?" I asked, watching as he picked up a nearby stone. He tossed it into the air, catching it, before turning, and throwing it into the middle of the lake. "No!" I gasped as the Swannas flew away into the air, startled.

I ran out from behind our willow tree hiding place, ready to throw Snivy's poké ball. N wrapped his fingers around my wrist, stopping me, still watching the Pokémon fly away. When every last one was gone, N's hand released me, and fell limply to his side. My blood boiled.

"What was that?! I was going to catch one!" I pointed my finger accusingly. "You ruined it!"

"Ruined it?" N tilted his head to the side. "I didn't ruin it. I just saved them from a terrible fate."

"Wha...?" I asked, my anger turning to confusion. "A terrible fate? What made you think that?"

"Dawn wasn't going to hurt it," Paul said, coming to my defense. "She wanted to add it to her team."

"See, that's what I hate about you humans," N growled. "You treat Pokémon like items that are owned, and don't consider their opinions and choices. You called Swanna an it." N looked up at Paul. "The Swanna Dawn was eyeing up was a her. That proves how ignorant you are." Paul growled.

"N, you're not making sense!" I cried out, frustrated. N sighed.

"Try looking at it from the Pokémon's perspective." N pointed at me. "You're a beautiful young woman. How would you feel being locked away, only to be used when wanted by a man?" I blinked, and looked down. I've never considered it that way... Suddenly, I felt a sudden breeze, and shivered.

"My poké balls!" Paul yelled. My eyes widened, and I brushed my hand along my belt. Gone. Wait, whoa, what happened?! Where's Eevee and Snivy and Piplup?! A ghostly Pokémon that looked eerily like a coffin floated next to N, several ghostly hands holding our poké balls, my three and Paul's four.

"Thank you, Cofagrigus," N said. "You may leave." The Pokémon dropped out poké balls into N's hands, and disappeared. N continued to throw our poké balls into the air. Out came my three, and Paul's huge Torterra, Munna, Galvantula, and Tepig. N knelt down towards Piplup, who was shouting angrily at the boy. Eevee shrunk behind Snivy, while the grass-type stood boldly towards N. Looking slightly pleased, he nodded, and turned towards Paul's Pokémon. The three Unova Pokémon seemed to surprise N, but Torterra was a different story.

Slowly, N reached a hand up towards the grass-types face, petting it gently on the head, running his finger down a scar under Torterra's eye. I wondered why I never saw that before...

N turned abruptly, and tossed our poké balls back to us. Quickly, we returned our Pokémon, leaving only Piplup out.

"It is my mission to free all Pokémon from trainers," N said firmly. "They aren't just tools for battling. They're much more than that. I made an oath to free them from the abuse they endure everyday."

"But not all trainers are abusive towards Pokémon!" I shouted, scooping Piplup into my arms. "It's like what you said before, one man may want to lock my beauty away." I smirked, using his words against him. "But there are many others who would treat me right!" He blinked, like he wasn't used to someone twisting his words around. Slowly, he shook his head, looking at us sternly.

"Every Pokémon will be freed. Except yours'. For some reason, your Pokémon are happy to be with you. I don't mind Pokémon being around you, Dawn." He turned towards Paul. "You, on the other hand, are another story. Your Pokémon won't say anything, but something is telling me you don't treat them right."

"Shut up! You don't know anything about Paul to determine whether or not he treats his Pokémon right!" I exclaimed, defending him. N raised an eyebrow.

"I see," N muttered. Paul suddenly jerked me back.

"Go find a mental institution, freak," Paul growled menacingly. N's eyebrows shot into his hairline as he took a stumbling step back. You could see the pain on his face. Paul abruptly turned, and began dragging me away.

"Paul!" I hissed, looking over my shoulder at N. His eyes were shaded, and I think his shoulders were trembling slightly. "That was mean!" Paul muttered something that I almost couldn't hear.

"He deserved it."

Woah... So N was mean, and Paul was mean... I felt sorry for N, but he can't just go around picking fights, or trying to get his stupid message across. It's not right. I still couldn't believe that N stood by Ghetsis for so long before he realized that he was a horrible man. ¬.¬

I wrote up until that blue line (kinda like a checkpoint), and then Amy wrote the rest.

Please: Review, review and review! ^.^