Chapter 2
May 6th, 2006
Dawn sat next to May on a small bench. All of them had made it to Petalburg successfully. May's parents and brother were overjoyed to see that both Dawn and Drew had accompanied her back to their home, the more the merrier, according to Norman. Caroline was dotting to both trainers needs and making sure that they had gotten the best out of their stay at their home, doing things such as giving them extra blankets and fluffing their pillows or making sure that they were fed to their fill, simple loving mother duties that Caroline said that were no problem at all and nowhere near tiring, it didn't sound the same when Dawn's own mother said stuff like that. Dawn helped Caroline whenever she could, mostly because she was told to help out at home and since Caroline reminded her so much of her mother, she had to help, and Dawn quite enjoyed that they were very similar.
Dawn shifted in her seat. It had been two days since Max's call and today was the day that Paul had requested his battle to be. She was excited to see him, hoping that he had not forgotten her like she was expecting. Dawn would without a doubt meet anyone from her first journey again, even if it was Ursula or Conway or even Jessie and James along with Meowth. The only people she kept a strong connection with was Ash and Brock who checked in on her a lot, both still took on the older brother role, and with Barry and Kenny who lived in the same town as her. It saddened Dawn that she had barely seen Zoey, but it was kind of expected since she lived on the other side of Sinnoh, in cold weather at that. Norman was standing on his side of the battle field, busily talking to his son who had volunteered to be the referee for the gym battle.
The two doors swung open, lighting the traditional Japanese styled room a little better. Little flecks of dust were illuminated in the light and danced through the air. A tall man walked into the room, he had a scowl on his face, one that he always had, Dawn barely had any memories of him smiling. Just by looking at him she could tell that he was about a head taller than his brother, maybe a little less. His hair was still long as it was before, yet his face changed slightly, it was more mature looking now, but it always had been it was just more adult looking. Max rushed to the little podium at the side of the field once he caught sight of the mauve haired trainer.
Paul walked over to his side across from Norman who smiled kindly at him. "You're Paul Robelldo, correct?"
"Yes." Paul said.
Norman nodded. "Great! Before we start, I hope you don't mind that my daughter and her two friends watch our battle. They were excited to know that you were coming to challenge me." He raised his hand and gestured to the three.
Paul turned his steely gaze onto them. His eyes quickly flicked past May and Drew, not caring that they were there. Though, once he saw the third person sitting there. He started them down, his eyes locked with hers.
Dawn felt herself shrink back slightly, but she righted herself and didn't take her eyes away from his.
His stare turned into a slight glare and he turned back to Norman. "Whatever, I don't care." He stated, "Can we just start this?"
Norman nodded, "Yes of course." He looked at his son who was fidgeting slightly on the small podium. Max instantly stopped moving once he caught his father's eyes and raised a hand into the air.
"This will be a two on two match between Gym Leader Norman and challenger Paul Robelldo of Veilstone city. Only the challenger will get substitutions, the winner will be declared once all pokémon on one side have fainted. Battle begin!"
"Hariyama!" Paul called without hesitation, knowing very well that Norman was a normal type gym leader. Hariyama would be the perfect pokémon choice, not only because of it's trying but because of its great defence and brute strength.
Norman smiled, "Ah a Hariyama. You sure know your stuff but my Pokémon are far more superior. Go Spinda!" Norman threw a pokeball and out popped said pokémon in a blinding flash of red light.
"A Spinda? Pathetic, Hariyama Focus Punch." Hariyama rushed forward, its fist being engulfed by a blinding bright white light. The Spinda was teetering from side to side with no clear way of where it was going.
"Teeter Dance!" A white aura outlined the Pokémon. It started to lean from side to side more, looking like it would fall over any second. Dawn shifted her position; she froze when she saw Paul glance quickly in her direction then back at the battle. She let out a small sigh of relief once he focused on his battle again. She was unsure as to why she felt nervous when he looked at her.
"Focus Punch again." He said calmly. Hariyama raced forward, its hand pulled back, ready to strike. In a matter of seconds Spinda went in a completely different direction then it did before. Hariyama let out a frustrated noise and followed Spinda around. Though thanks to the Teeter Dance, Spinda was moving around randomly, confusing the burly fighting type.
"Dizzy Punch!" Norman called.
Spinda danced around for a bit with a shining fist before finally hitting Hariyama right in the stomach. The much bigger Pokémon barely moved other than leaning back a little. Of course, Dizzy Punch was a normal type move and didn't cause as much damage to the bulky fighting type.
"Focus Punch once more." At this close range, and the Teeter Dance starting to wear off, Hariyama finally landed its first blow onto the normal type, sending it flying backwards. Dawn leaned forwards slightly, once again Paul glanced over in her direction. "Arm thrust." Paul grumbled. Hariyama's arms had a glowing white aura around them. It raced forward and repeatedly hit the Spinda. After just a few hits, the normal type was knocked out.
"Good job!" Norman chuckled, "You did well Spinda, return!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out another pokéball, "Alright Go Slacking!" A giant sloth like Pokémon appeared. It was lying on its side and let out a tired sigh. "Slacking, Yawn!" Slacking parted its jaws wide and yawned, letting a pink bubble fly out of its mouth and race towards Hariyama.
"Dodge, then use Force Palm." Paul sighed. Hariyama stretched an arm out; a blue orb appeared in front of it. Haryiama raced forward, the bubble floating in his direction. "Haryiama I said dodge!" Paul shouted angrily. Haryiama froze, it turned around at glanced at Paul, a bewildered look on its face. Paul closed his eyes and reached into his pocket. Dawn stared at him, her mouth agape. There was a loud thud heard, followed by a snore. Paul pulled out the pokéball and returned the pokémon without a second chance. "Pathetic." He grumbled and pulled out a different pokéball, "You better not disappoint me too, Electivire." He threw the pokéball into the air and the said pokémon came out, letting out a terrifying loud cry. Piplup, who was quietly playing with May's Glaceon and Drew's Roserade, quickly looked in the direction of the battle at the sound of the electric type's cry, a startled look placed upon its round face. Piplup stopped its paying, recognising Paul and his Electivire immediately. "Brick Break then use Thunder Punch." Paul said.
"Vire!" Electivire shouted and raced forward, aiming for the lazy normal type. Sparks shooting from both hands, Electivire chopped Slacking's shoulder causing it to lose its balance slightly. Electivire swung its other arm around and hit Slaking right in the stomach, "Once more!" Paul shouted with a little more enthusiasm than normal.
Dawn raised a curious eyebrow at him. "Paul excited? Impossible." She whispered. This caused Paul to glance over in her direction once more. She took a sharp breath in and waited. She was lucky that he wanted to see the outcome of this battle. Electivire rammed its fists into the normal type's stomach repeatedly, ending the quick battle.
"Good job Slaking return." Norman said. He placed the pokéball back into his pocket. "Congratulations Paul," He smiled and once again, Max scurried up, but this time, carrying a case. He handed it to his father and smiled. Norman walked up to Paul and opened the case to him, "This is the Basic Badge. Now you're closer to entering the Ever Grande Conference."
Paul took the badge and turned around. "Thanks." He huffed then left the gym without another word.
Dawn waited a few moments, unsure if she should act on her idea or not, deciding she then sprung up from the bench. "I'll be right back guys, promise!" She smiled and followed after the violet haired trainer. Piplup noticed it's trainers departure and raced after her, abandoning Glaceon and Roserade.
May glanced at Drew, "Maybe we should follow her just in case..."
Drew thought for a moment and nodded, "I don't trust her to be by herself with him, even if they knew each other before." Drew shrugged, "I don't know why but that's how I feel."
Dawn looked around and spotted him pass by a pair of twins who were playing happily with their small pokémon. She raced down the dirt path in order to catch up to him. "Paul!" She shouted. The man stiffened and picked up his pace, obviously not wanting to be seen by whoever was calling him though he did suspect who it was, he didn't bother looking behind him, not interested in the girl at all. "Paul, wait up!"
He defiantly knew who this was. Even if they haven't seen each other in four years, how could you forget that annoying voice? Paul stopped the other thoughts and memories of the annoying blue haired girl and clenched his hand into a fist.
"Paul, finally you stopped." Dawn huffed from behind him. He cautiously turned around and looked her up and down; she had changed a lot since he had last seen her, obviously. She was taller and had filled out. Her hair had changed too, her bangs had grown out a bit and were sort of swept to one side, her eyes shimmered as she stared up at him; he scowled at that.
"Do I know you?"
Dawn scrunched her face up and crossed her arms, glaring at the older trainer something she did a lot two years ago and clearly still did. "Of course you do! It's me Dawn!" She took a calming breath and sighed. She stared at him awaiting an answer. Paul looked her up and down for a moment. She felt herself tense up slightly under his intense stare.
"I don't remember you." He stated in a bored tine.
Dawn slapped a hand over her face and sighed, "What was the point of even coming out here to watch your battle? I thought it would be nice to see you after four years, and even after I went through the trouble of getting here from LaRousse in a matter of days just to surprise you!" She glared at him.
"Surprise me?" Paul stared down at her, she almost reached his shoulders and it physically hurt him to have to look down so far just to make eye contact. "I think it's hard to surprise someone who doesn't even know you."
She huffed and her cheeks puffed out slightly, making her look more like she did as a twelve year old. "You must be an idiot if you've forgotten me." Dawn stated as a matter of factly. "We've met countless times back in Sinnoh; your biggest rival was my best friend who I was always with. The guy you lost to in the quarter finals in the Lily of the Valley Conference. You actually had a proper and civil conversation with me before your battle started. If you have actually forgotten me then you are without a doubt a moron."
Paul raised his eyebrows slightly before frowning at her. "I really hate prissy people like you. I can't stand your uptight, overbearing personality. I'd rather not develop a neck problem looking down at you so I'm going to leave; I'd rather throw myself in the volcano than deal with you."
Dawn stared at him in utter disbelief, "You know what, just to spite you, I'm going to travel with you. Lead the way." She waved her hand and adjusted the bag on her shoulder.
"Dawn!" The said trainer looked over her shoulder and saw May and Drew hurrying after her.
"Hi!" Dawn said, her cheerfulness quickly returning. "I'll be traveling with Paul now, to catch up with him and stuff, plus I checked and saw that the next contest is in Verdanturf Town." She smiled with a shrug.
"I'm coming with you." May stated. "I'm not letting you travel with Paul by yourself."
"I'm not either." Drew added. "Plus May and I know the region well and we can help you two get through it quickly."
Dawn looked behind her and noticed that Paul had already walked quite a distance away, she let out an annoyed grumble. "We better hurry then, he's not one that travels with people a lot. He's not a very friendly person in general."
The three made a dash, mostly Dawn, to catch up with Paul. "My friends May and Drew are coming too, just so you know."
Paul glanced at her. "I don't want any of you coming."
After walking for a while, Dawn couldn't deal with the silence. The only time she heard people talking was when May and Drew argued over something and Paul yelling at them to shut up, she had no idea what the two were arguing over. She cleared her throat and decided to pick up a conversation. "So Paul, how many badges do you have?" She had lost her anger towards him and spoke in a regular tone.
"Five."
Dawn frowned, "Wow, I just arrived in Hoenn this week, I guess I came a little late." She laughed a little. "May just won her fifth ribbon and can now enter in the Grand Festival, where I don't even have one." She gave a pointed look at May who simply gave her a smug grin. "Anyway where are we going to next?"
"Fortree City, but that doesn't concern you. You're not coming."
"I am coming, you can't make me leave."
"The leader's name is Winona." May said from behind, ignoring the rest of Paul's sentence. "She's a flying type gym leader, though Fortree is pretty far from here. Right now we're on Route 104, so the fastest route would be to go through Petalburg Woods, Rustboro City, through the Rusturf Tunnel, then pass through Verdanturf and Mauville City."
"I already know that." Paul stated, glaring over at May. "I've traveled through Hoenn before." May glared right back at him.
"Wow." Dawn sighed. "Guess we're going to be training and traveling most of the time huh Piplup?" She asked her partner who she had released from his pokéball a while ago and was holding in her arms. "That's okay; we definitely need to win in Verdanturf!"
"There's also one in Mauville." Drew answered this time. "There are about twelve contest halls throughout Hoenn which hold a contest every so often. They try not to double book any on the same day but usually in the same week or so." He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a paper. "Here's a list of all the contests," He passed it over to Dawn. "You can check and see which contest is when."
She scanned the list. There was a map within the paper that had twelve red dots on them, indicating the various contest halls and their dates for the contests right next to them. "Alright I'm ready! We're gonna do our best, right Piplup?"
"Pip piplup!" He agreed.