Okay, before you say anything, I have some things to say!
I know I'm a bad author for not updating this for almost three months. I'm sorry!
I know these chapters are short and should be easy to write.
I know I probably should've written a longer chapter to make it up to you guys. I know, okay?
So no flames, please.
Anyway, this diary entry is a continuation of the last one. It takes place on the same day.
Enjoy!
-RD :)
P.S. Happy Ikarishipping Day! :D
~Dawn's Diary, Chapter Eight~
After the battles, Conway and I were talking at the Pokémon Center. He was saying something about how a strong relationship increases a Pokémon's power. I wasn't exactly sure, so I said, "Sounds great! Though I don't have much of a clue what you just said." I asked him if it was what I thought it was, and he said yes! So that means my Pokémon will only get better as our relationship gets better! And Conway says it applies to Contests too! That cheered me up some right there. Maybe there's still hope for me.
I decided it would be cool to tell Ash about it, so I ran out of the center. When I found him, he wasn't alone. He was arguing with Paul again! I began to listen to their conversation.
"I still don't understand why you entered this thing!" Ash yelled.
"You wouldn't." Paul had his arms crossed. "It's a good chance to get my Pokémon used to some real combat."
"What do you mean?" I yelled. "Don't you think you're being a little rude to the other Trainers and Pokémon in the Tag Battle?"
"Hmph. I needed Chimchar to be struck by the Surf in our match today, get it?" Ash and I gasped.
"But what if Chimchar would've lost?" Ash asked.
"Then Chimchar would be useless." I could see the sadness in the poor thing's eyes. No Pokémon should have to go through this!
"Paul, if you want to make Chimchar stronger, you gotta work on improving its strong points," said Ash.
"Oh, please! Spending a second on improving a Pokémon's strong points is like babying a spoiled brat. And a complete waste of my time, see?" I could not BELIEVE this guy! How could he say something like that about Chimchar? Conway's words came back to me. Pokémon get stronger by building relationships, too. Not just super training. If Paul couldn't see that, I knew Ash and I would eventually have to teach that to him.
"I assume you treat all your Pokémon that way?" I asked, hands on my hips.
And then Paul said something that surprised us both. "No. This is exactly what Chimchar wants." And once again, we gasped.
"Chimchar, is that true?" asked Ash. Chimchar nodded. "Chimchar, there are other ways to get stronger! You don't have to do it the hard way, you know." Paul began to walk away, telling Chimchar not to listen to us. Even though Chimchar looked pretty sad, it turned around and walked away.
"Poor thing. Chimchar looks so sad."
Ash and I went after Paul. Elekid was about to fire a Thunder attack, but Pikachu stopped it with a Volt Tackle. We showed up, told Paul that he'd done more than enough training, and said we were taking Chimchar to the Pokémon Center right away. Surprisingly, he allowed us! I guess he's not 100% heartless.
We watched Brock treat Chimchar. Holly told us that he was helping Nurse Joy out, and said that at first she thought he was just flirting with her, which apparently made Holly jealous or something. I told her how great a friend he is, and she said that with him as her tag team partner, there was no way they could lose. Of course, Ash said he's not so sure about that. And I plan on winning, too!
We went to the Pokémon Center lobby and confronted Paul there. Well, Brock did most of the confronting. Brock told Paul the high stakes of his training and asked why Paul needed to push so hard.
He said, "Believe it or not, we all want the same thing. I mean it."
"I don't get it," said Ash. Paul then told us the story of how he met Chimchar. He was in the woods, catching a Ninjask, when he saw Chimchar being chased by a bunch of wild Zangoose. The Zangoose were attacking Chimchar, until they cornered it on a cliff. Chimchar apparently went berserk, using a super-powerful Flame Wheel that hit all the Zangoose! Paul said that after seeing that power, he knew that he just had to have Chimchar and he asked it to join him. And ever since that day, they've been trying to recreate that power, but they haven't been able to do it.
Paul said that he still wanted to train, but Brock, Ash and I said it was a bad idea and that Chimchar needs to rest. Then Nurse Joy showed up and convinced him. I'm so glad she did. Who knows what would've happened otherwise!
Brock shuddered a bit, recounting that day. It certainly wasn't one he liked to remember that much. It was such a crazy point in their lives. And Chimchar had essentially been the fuel in Ash and Paul's heated - no pun intended - rivalry. Since Chimchar had switched sides and gone with Ash, Ash had something new to prove to Paul: he could be a better Trainer. Brock figured that Ash was right, considering that Chimchar had evolved all the way to Infernape. But Ash had yet to defeat Paul in a battle.
Who knows? Only time will tell…
Ooh, mysterious! xD Hopefully I won't take forever next time, haha. Thanks to all who read and review! It really means a lot. :)