It was a great day out to be traveling. Dawn was back to her regular cheery self. The group was still on the road toward the Lake Acuity. They had been traveling for two days since they left the last town. Nothing eventful happened during the traveling. That was until they crossed paths with Paul again.
"Paul!" Ash called out.
Paul was resting under a nearby tree. He opened his eyes and looked toward the group.
"What are you doing here?" Ash continued.
"That is none of your business." Paul said as he got up from under the tree and walked toward the group. He turned his attention to Dawn. Pikachu quickly ran up to Dawn's shoulder and put on a threatening face.
"So Ash, have you finally got the sense to try and control chimchar's flare ability." Dawn looked around at his friends for help. She never really was confronted by someone like Paul, so she didn't know how to react, especially when the question involves Ash's own personal reasons.
"Hey I'm talking to you. Are you going to respond?" Paul voice echoed command and control. Dawn was greatly intimated.
"A good trainer doesn't have to rely on a pokemon's ability to win a battle!" Ash yelled at Paul, seeing Paul just made him angry. Paul was a little taken aback. He was taught to show respect for his elders, superiors, and women. He couldn't just snap at her as easily as he could at Ash.
"If you would please, stay out of this." Paul replied calmly and tried to focus his attention toward Dawn.
"I'm not done with you yet..." Paul was beside himself to turn, once again, his attention toward Ash. "I'm tired of you always criticizing Ash's pokemon and training methods."
Paul scoffed. In the back of his mind however, he was wondering why Dawn, who would normally stay out of any business between him and Ash would be, not only interrupting, but fighting for him. He turned away from the group, muttered "whatever..." and left.
Ash was still fuming over Paul, he secretly wanted to run into Paul again to battle him as Dawn and beat him with Dawn's pokemon, and not his own, to teach him a thing or two. Dawn was still a little shell shocked from her confrontation with Paul, she secretly wanted to stay away from Paul as long as she is in Ash's body. Brock was wondering the same thing Paul was when Ash defended Dawn from Paul, he secretly just wanted everyone to get along.
"How about we stop here for lunch guys." Brock announced after Paul had faded into the distance.
"Sure just anything to get Paul out of my head." Ash muttered. Dawn felt the same.
Camp was set up and all the pokemon came out of their pokeballs to play. Dawn went over to see all the pokemon and play with them a little. Ash was watching Brock cook lunch still fuming.
"Hey Dawn." Brock voice broke Ash's mental focus.
"What's up Brock?"
"Why did you defend Ash a little while ago. We have encountered Paul before, and Ash is able to take care of himself."
Ash wasn't in the mood for Brock to be investigative, "what's it to you?" he said almost coolly.
Brock frowned a bit. "Nothing I guess..."
Ash walked away feeling bad that he treated Brock so bad, probably tarnishing his image of Dawn.
"Hey Dawn!" Ash looked up to see Dawn calling him. She was sitting on a log watching all the pokemon run and play.
"What's up Dawn." Ash sat next to Dawn and they were both far enough from everyone that they could refer to themselves as they should be.
"Nothing much, how about you? Paul still got you upset Ash?"
"Not anymore..."
"Hmm? What happened?"
"I just feel bad about the way I blew off Brock."
"Maybe you should apologize. I don't want Brock to think bad of me"
"Maybe..." Ash looked off toward the distance. "So how you holding up. You know, being me."
"I get by. How about you?"
"Same here"
"Oh really?" Dawn beginning to tease Ash, "So tell me, remember when I entered May's room and you were talking with her. She said you guys were having 'girl talk' so what did you talk about.
Ash blushed. "N-Nothing happened. We just talked about... her Johto journeys."
"Sure you did, and you didn't run out of the room in embarrassment right?"
Ash was taken aback. "Okay I did, but it was because... because..."
"Because what Ash?" Dawn got really close to Ash's face with a smirk.
"Because of nothing Dawn."
"How about a deal then?" Ash looked at Dawn who now wore a mischievous smile.
Ash remained silent.
"You tell me what you guys talked about, and I will tell you what happened on my date with May."
"May already told us everything that happened that night. You made me look like a wimp." Ash looked away.
Dawn took this time to get closer to Ash and whisper almost seductively in his ear, "I bet she didn't tell you everything."
That comment sent shivers down Ash's back. Dawn was bluffing, nothing that could ever be implied from that happened, but Ash didn't know that. Dawn was hoping that Ash would be curious of what happened, but instead a slight look of fear appeared on his face.
"Dawn... am I still a virgin?"
Dawn backed off him almost instantly, with her mouth agape in shock and surprise which was then changed into a look of anger. "How dare you! How easy do you think I am!"
"Hey there!"
Both Ash and Dawn turned to see a red headed coordinator look upon them.
"Zoey!" Dawn ran up and hugged her, overjoyed that her rival and teacher had come to say hello. She forgot everything about her previous conversation. "How have you been!"
"Um... Ash?" Zoey was felt awkward with Ash hugging her. Ash however noted that she turned red when Dawn hugged her.
Dawn realized what she was doing, and let go of her instantly. "Oh sorry Zoey, I just... overreacted to seeing you again." Dawn made an effort to laugh it off.
"So Zoey, what are you doing here." Ash tried to veer the conversation away from Dawn.
"Well I'm just on my way toward the different contests, I just happened to run into you guys. Oh I saw you in your last contest on TV Dawn. You did wonderful, I noticed your new combinations."
"Thanks, I try" Ash smiled and and scratched the back of his head.
"So then how about a quick contest battle, just for practice" She was holding up a pokeball.
"Uh..." Ash looked to Dawn, should he do it? All of Dawn's pokemon went to Ash's side and looked competitively at Zoey, especially piplup. It just so happened that Brock walked up to the group.
"Hey Zoey it is nice to see you again. Food is ready, and there is more than enough for you to join us if you want."
"Well I am a bit starving. Okay after the meal, then we will contest battle." Ash noticed the way Brock seemed to glare at him. It made Ash feel a bit ashamed of himself.
"Brock..." Brock turned around letting Zoey and Dawn go ahead without him. "I just wanted to say sorry. I was just feeling a little bit upset over Paul."
Brock smiled, "Apology accepted, let's go eat."
The group went over toward the camp and sat themselves down to eat Brock's cooking. They began to talk while they ate. Zoey tried to drag Ash into talking about contests, but contests weren't Ash's forte.
"Oh come on Dawn, the way you act it's as though you have given up on contests." Zoey groaned at Ash.
"I'm sorry, I guess I'm not in a contesty mood right now." Ash shrugged, Dawn was silently seething at Ash.
"Well you better get into the spirit. We have to contest battle after this. So tell me, what have you been planning to do with your new pokemon you told me about, a swinub right?"
"It's a mamoswine now it is also very disobedient right now." Dawn broke in. "It goes into a rampage whenever it is given orders. However." Dawn continued, "I would love to see some ice shard and ancient power combinations after it's been trained a bit more."
Zoey scoffed at Dawn. She took offense to that. Zoey was alienating Dawn from her conversation about contests.
"Excuse me?"
"What?"
"Please, I know more about contests than you know." Dawn blood was boiling.
"Pssh, just stick your foolish gym battles." Ash would have taken offense to that statement if it wasn't for Zoey and Dawn's fighting overshadowing that comment. Brock was as speechless as Ash.
"I just don't appreciate the way you try to keep me out of the conversation."
"Gym battlers can't also be coordinators." Zoey glared at Dawn. What was up with Ash. He was never this interested in contests before, and now fighting to prove that he is? What happened to him?
"Well then how about instead of battling Dawn. You battle me." Dawn got up from the table and was glaring at Zoey.
Zoey wiped her mouth with a napkin. She set it down, and got up. "Your on."
This chapter was intended to progress from the may dawn arc I had going. In retrospect, this isn't one of my better chapters. I really didn't touch much on Paul, because... I don't like him. But I didn't disrespect him either. Zoey got a little more attention and all that. But yeah. This chapter took me forever to write, maybe that's why it sucks compared to the rest. Or maybe I'm just being a little self conscious.