DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon. All characters herein belong to Nintendo. I'm just a fan having a bit of non-profit fun and exercising my lazy imagination...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow, this story is turning out longer than I initially expected. We're definitely more than halfway there, I'll say that much. But I'm sorry this chapter is a little uneventful, compared to previous ones (maybe). It will get better, I promise...

TEN

Barry was in such a rush, Lucas had to remind him that he'd just taken part in a Pokémon battle. At once, Barry remembered his Floatzel's nasty bite wound. The realisation that he'd forgotten about it so quickly, and that he might even have gone chasing after Team Galactic before healing his Pokémon, was quite a sobering thought. He slowed down at once and followed Lucas to the nearest Pokémon Centre, which just so happened to be the one at which Dawn should have been sleeping the previous night, if she had gotten off the bus where she was supposed to.

The three trainers walked into the Pokémon Centre and heads immediately turned. Dawn was still in her Team Galactic uniform, with a couple of Pokémon books in her hand and an energetic Shinx springing around at her feet. When she realised that people were staring, she raised a hand to her head and took off the blue-green wig that Jupiter had made her wear, thinking that this was the only thing making her stand out. When people continued to glare, she nervously wandered to the counter where Barry and Lucas had already given their Pokémon to Nurse Joy.

"I think my Floatzel might need a strong Antidote, too," Barry was saying.

"No problem, I'll get right on that."

The nurse disappeared into the room behind the counter. When she came back, she happened to glance at Dawn, who immediately recognised her – or so she thought. "Hey, didn't I meet you yesterday?" Dawn asked. "That's weird. This place looks sort of familiar, but I don't think I've ever been here."

"Oh." Nurse Joy smiled faintly. "You must be a new trainer."

"Every Pokémon Centre has a Nurse Joy," Lucas explained. "They're all part of the same family."

"Say..." Joy was taking a closer look at Dawn; she had obviously noticed her uniform. "You're not really part of Team Galactic, are you?"

"Uh...I was, but then I – "

"No way!" Barry interrupted with a loud, forced laugh. "It's just a costume! We, um...we're going to a party."

"Oh." Nurse Joy nodded slowly. The fake smile plastered on this boy's face made it pretty clear that he was fibbing, but she decided to play along: the trio were only young, and Joy wasn't in the mood for trouble. "You know, you really should have told your friend to pick a different costume. We've had a lot of trouble around here since Team Galactic set up that horrible place down the road."

The healing machine gave a gentle beep and Nurse Joy went to retrieve its patients, glad of the distraction. She returned to the counter, first with Lucas's Pokémon, then with Barry's, along with a white packet bearing a red cross on the front. "There's your Antidote. Be sure to spray it on your Floatzel's wound before you even think about using it in battle again!"

"It'll be okay, though, won't it?" Barry asked as he fixed his Pokéballs back onto his belt.

"The machine would have given a read-out if there was anything seriously wrong with Floatzel," Joy replied reassuringly. "Enjoy your party!"

"What party? Oh. Thanks!"

With a blush, Barry put the Antidote in his bag and raced out of the door with Dawn and Lucas close behind him. When they were a safe distance away from the Pokémon Centre, Lucas began to snicker. "You do look funny, dressed like that," he said to Dawn.

"Stop reminding me!" she complained, swatting Lucas with her wig. He snatched it out of her hand and threw it into a nearby trash can. "Hey!"

"You won't be needing that anymore. Come to think of it...where are your regular clothes? And you must have had a bag, right?"

"They're all back at that other place," Dawn replied, pointing back over her shoulder with her thumb.

"Don't even think about it! We're not going back for some clothes!" Barry was rummaging through his bag and soon pulled out another trainer belt bearing six Pokéballs. He held it out to Dawn. "This is yours."

"No – "

"Yes, it is!" Barry almost yelled. He ruffled his own blonde curls in frustration. "Sorry. This is gonna be hard work."

Dawn continued to shake her head, but she took the belt and fastened it around her waist, frowning and adjusting it several times. "It's heavy," she complained. "Are there Pokémon in all of these?"

"Four." Barry's gaze fell to Dawn's Shinx, still rubbing itself against its trainer's legs fondly as if it were afraid that they would be separated again. "Okay," Barry said, "here's your first recap lesson. See the Pokéball with the yellow star on it? Take it off your belt."

"Okay..." Furrowing her brow in confusion, Dawn detached the decorated Pokéball with some difficulty. "Now what?"

"Hold it towards Shinx and tell it to return."

Dawn did as she was told, but her cynical tone of voice made it clear that she wasn't expecting anything to happen. She gasped when the Pokémon vanished into the Pokéball. "Neat!" she exclaimed. "But how do I get it out again? It's cute. I like having it with me."

Sensing that Barry was getting too impatient to give a civil reply, Lucas decided to answer this one. "You can throw the Pokéball – "

"Just throw it?"

"Yeah. Doesn't matter how or where; it'll return to you. Or you can press that button on the front. Or you can even just tell the Pokémon to come out, and it should listen to you."

"But not now!" Barry cried, flapping his arms dramatically. "It needs to stay in its Pokéball! Put it back on your belt, Dawn. Now, how are we getting to Mount Coronet?"

"Flying!" Lucas answered. "How else?"

"But there's three of us, and only two Pokémon that can carry us. Dawn's Noctowl has gone AWOL."

"Then Dawn will just have to fly with one of us. My Pidgeot's a bit bigger than your Staraptor, Barry."

"But...!" Barry was about to complain that Dawn had been his friend for much longer, but he realised what a silly argument that would have been. With a frown, he released his Staraptor and jumped onto its back. "Just make sure she reads those books, Lucas!"

"Right, right. Pidgeot, we need you!" Dawn shrank back a little when she saw Lucas's fierce-looking Pidgeot, but Lucas ushered her forward. "Go on."

Dawn awkwardly climbed onto the bird Pokémon's back and Lucas followed, sitting directly behind her. She squeaked in fear as the bird Pokémon rose to its feet: clutching the books to her chest, she only had one hand with which to steady herself. When Pidgeot took off, she reached back to grab Lucas's hand for support. Although he felt a little strange, he leaned forward and put his hands closer to Dawn's legs, making it easier for her to hold onto him if she wanted to. Barry was already ahead of them, and Lucas found himself thinking, I hope he doesn't look back and get the wrong idea. Then again, Barry had only talked about Dawn as a friend and nothing more. What reason would he have to be jealous? Lucas cringed. Not a good time to be thinking about stuff like this.

"Pidgeot, follow Staraptor. If we get separated, just head west." Pidgeot cawed its understanding and flexed it wings, soaring even higher. Dawn felt her stomach lurch violently. "I think you'd better get reading, Dawn," Lucas added with a sigh.

Before she could even think about navigating through what was inside the books, Dawn had to find a practical way to actually read them. She fidgeted a lot and almost dropped them both, but finally tucked one under her leg while she flipped through the other with just one hand – she was still clinging to Lucas with the other. Several times, she took a breath to ask a question, but decided against it each time, thinking that she wouldn't even understand the answer. The books that Barry had hurriedly chosen weren't for beginners. One was just a lengthy list of Pokémon techniques, their types and their effects. Dawn attempted to memorise some of them, but there were far too many. She switched to the other book and found that this one made more sense, with its explanations on different types of Pokémon and their various strengths and weaknesses. She could even say that it made for interesting reading – and a welcome distraction from the knowledge that she wasn't on solid ground. She was so engrossed that she wasn't even aware of time passing until Lucas broke the silence with a whisper.

"There it is. Right ahead."

Dawn raised her head and frowned at the burning sensation in the back of her neck, the result of looking down for far too long. She had already relaxed her grip on Lucas's sleeve – now she let go, just for a moment, to rub the painful spot. Gazing ahead, she saw Mount Coronet looming in the distance. It was even bigger than she'd expected, making the other mountains that surrounded it look like tiny Digletts in comparison. Its top was invisible, nested deep in the clouds.

"Have you been reading this whole time?" Lucas asked.

"I must have been. I don't think I fell asleep."

"You'd know if you did," Lucas said with a laugh. Glancing over Pidgeot's shoulder at the jagged mountains below, Dawn realised what he meant and she shuddered. Fortunately, Lucas changed the subject. "So, do you think you're ready for a Pokémon battle?"

"I think I understand how it works," Dawn replied, "but...how am I supposed to know which Pokémon I have on my belt? Or what their types are? Or what they can do?"

I guess she's not ready for a Pokémon battle, Lucas said silently. "I'm sure we'll have time to find out when we land," he muttered, although he doubted it – up ahead, Barry and Staraptor must have been drawing close to their destination now, and Lucas knew that Barry wouldn't want to hang around.

The air was becoming thick with low-lying clouds and fog, making it increasingly difficult to see. Dawn had given up on reading and was concentrating on trying to keep warm, while Lucas was beginning to panic: Barry's Staraptor was suddenly nowhere to be found.

"I know you can't use Defog while we're on your back, Pidgeot," he said. "We'll have to drop altitude to get our bearings."

Dawn felt her stomach turn over again, in the opposite direction this time, as Pidgeot began a gentle descent. As they moved out of the worst of the fog, an outcropping of rock appeared in front of them, too close for comfort, and the bird Pokémon had to swerve to avoid it. Dawn tightened her grip on Lucas's arm. "Where are we supposed to land?"

"Hey! Up here!"

Lucas recognised Barry's voice and looked around, trying to pinpoint his friend. He was looking for someone on the back of a Staraptor, but when his gaze finally found Barry, he saw that he had reached a landing place already: he was waving from a snow-covered ledge a little further up the cliff. Without being told, Pidgeot flapped its wings as hard as it could, fighting its exhaustion and rising steadily until it was at the same level as Barry's landing ledge. Dawn slid onto the ledge with Barry's help, followed by Lucas.

"Whew," Lucas breathed, brushing a sheen of nervous sweat from under the rim of his cap. "I don't want to do that again any time soon." Seen as he spent most of his time travelling with Professor Rowan, it was rare that he had to rely on his Pidgeot, and he had never had to make such a risky landing.

"Pidgeot must be so tired!" Dawn said, gazing at the bird Pokémon in concern.

"Well, it can rest now." Lucas withdrew Pidgeot straight out of the air.

"My Staraptor's pretty worn out, too," Barry said. "I guess that's two Pokémon who won't be battling. Dawn?" He looked at her expectantly.

"She needs to know what Pokémon she has."

"What?" Barry stared at Lucas as if he'd just asked him a riddle. "Well, how am I meant to know?"

"I thought you'd battled her before."

"Sure, but I don't remember every single Pokémon I battle against! I know she's got a Prinplup – unless it's evolved since then – "

Dawn groaned. "Do I really need to battle? I've got such a bad feeling about this."

"You can be our last resort," Barry said with a false smile of confidence. He patted Dawn on the back, a little too hard. "Come on, I found a way in." He pointed at the sheer cliff face. There was a cavern in its side – a dark and unwelcoming one. "It's either that," Barry said, sensing his friends' lack of enthusiasm, "or we start climbing."

Dawn took just one look at the hostile cliff face that rose vertically into the air, disappearing into the clouds, before she made a hasty beeline for the cavern. "Scary cave, here we go!" She halted at the entrance. "Who's got some light?"

"Maybe your Shinx can help us," Lucas replied. "It's an electric-type Pokémon."

Dawn pressed the button on the front of Shinx's Pokéball and watched in awe as the Pokémon materialised at her feet. She bent down to ruffle its fur. "Hey, Shinx. We could use some illumination here."

The star-shaped end of Shinx's tail began to glow until it was giving out as much light as an average torch. Holding its tail aloft over its back, it scampered into the cave and used its sharp claws to climb onto a high rock. The extra height allowed the light from its tail to shine even further.

"Hey, Pokémon are amazing!" Dawn remarked as she ventured into the cavern. Her voice bounced off the stone walls repeatedly. "Come on, what are you waiting for?"

Just like Dawn's comment, Barry's sigh echoed throughout the cavern as he began to follow his friend. Lucas glanced at him. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'll never get used to this," Barry replied gloomily.

"What?"

"Dawn."

"Why not?" Lucas watched the girl as she pressed on through the cave with Shinx following her closely, always staying on a high ledge. The light bounced along with it as it moved, creating an effect that was somewhat dizzying. "She seems sort of happy, don't you think?"

"That's 'cos she has no idea what's going on," Barry whispered under his breath.

Lucas was about to tell Barry that he was being a little harsh, but he supposed that it was true. And Dawn was getting a little far ahead, taking Shinx and its light with her. The two boys began to quicken their pace, worried that they were going to end up stranded in the dark if they didn't catch up. Then they heard something that made their blood run cold. It was the sound of a girl's shriek. They automatically yelled Dawn's name in unison and broke into a sprint. The first thing they encountered was a switched-on flashlight rolling anonymously along the floor of the cave, while the glow from Shinx's tail was darting around wildly like a moving strobe light a few metres away. When Lucas grabbed the torch and focused its beam, he saw Dawn struggling against someone, her hands pinned behind her back. Shinx had its teeth buried in the tail of a familiar-looking leather coat.

"Hey...I think it's that detective guy!"

"Let go of her!" Barry shouted at once. "She's not one of them!"

In desperation, Lucas shone the flashlight straight into the face of Dawn's captor. He was right: they'd somehow crossed paths with Looker again. "The two strong trainers?" Looker asked, squinting in the intense light. "But what do you say? This isn't a member of the Team Galactic? But, her uniform – "

"I know. It's a long story, but she's a friend of ours." Barry remembered that Looker was working for the International Police and a chill danced over his skin as he imagined Dawn being dragged off to prison. "You gotta believe me! She's not with Team Galactic!"

"He's right," Lucas added. "Don't you remember Dawn? She was with me when I first met you in Jubilife City. And again, in Veilstone City, that time when I called you a weirdo."

"Of course." Looking decidedly puzzled, Looker let go of Dawn but kept a hand on her shoulder while he studied her face. Despite her indignant expression, he couldn't deny that he recognised her. "Forgive me, my friend. Your dress reminds me of the Team Galactic crooks."

"Do I know you?" Dawn grumbled, flexing her sore wrists.

Thinking that she was only being uppity in response to what he had just done, Looker smiled half-heartedly. "I hope that you will forgive me soon. But for now, we must continue this chase." Sensing that something was hanging from the hem of his jacket, he turned and gazed down at Dawn's Shinx. "But first," he said, in that same hushed tone of voice of his, "I humbly ask that you remove your Pokémon from my coat."