Chapter 7: Sealed Apart
"Ngh…" Dawn hummed as she sat upright on her bed, her arms reaching behind as she stretched. A glance to her left found her faithful partner, Piplup, dozing peacefully next to her. With a smile and a pat on its head, the little Pokémon yawned as well, rubbing its eyes.
"Good morning, Piplup. Guess we'd better wake Goh and Grookey up to get started on some more dance practice, huh?" Dawn mentioned the duties that needed to be fulfilled today, then added, "And maybe afterwards, we'll do a little Pokéball Seal shopping. We gotta make our entrance really pull the spotlight over us!"
"Luuuup…" Piplup stretched as well, then waddled over Dawn to peer over at Goh's bed, which was lacking the boy and his Pokémon, "Piplup?"
Dawn caught Piplup's confusion, and turned her head to her right. Sure enough, her contest partner and his Pokémon were absent, "Huh? Did Goh head out already-"
Snoring came from below Dawn, in between the two beds. The girl peered over the edge, and sure enough, there was Goh. He was covered in his bed's comforters, and had a pillow tucked under his head, with Grookey just waking up and smacking its mouth, a rumble emanating from its stomach.
"What's Goh doing on the floor?" Dawn cocked her head and poked the top of Goh's black-with-little-red-accents hair, "Wakey wakey, sleepyhead."
Goh groaned, and blinked awake. The moment he moved, a sharp pain arced through his backside, and the boy clutched behind himself. Clearly, passing out on the floor hadn't done his body any favors. Combined with the sugar crash, all of the dancing practice the day before, and the awkward position in which he had fallen asleep, the boy could have been in much better condition. He nevertheless arose, rubbing his back groggily.
"Good morning, Dawn. I- argh! My back…" Goh complained.
"Yeesh. Guess it takes a few times of the sugar treatment to not get overwhelmed like that," Dawn crossed her arms, "Even though you got some sleep, you don't look so good… maybe we can ease on the dance practice-"
Goh shot up onto his two feet and began to stretch, determined to forcefully rectify his discomfort, "No way! I'm always up for more practice, any time of the day!"
"Rook!" Grookey waved its stick around, once again unaware of how badly its master had slept, despite its best efforts.
Dawn raised an eyebrow at Goh, flashbacks beginning to play in her head about the night when she had caught Goh about to collapse from sleep exhaustion from catching so many Pokémon. With her arms still crossed, the girl spoke up.
"I'm not buying it. You really didn't sound like you were all there when you got up. I think we'll take it a bit easy on the dance practice for today. Besides, we've gotten our routine down pretty well! We just need to perfect our pose in the middle, and find out a way to add some real flair with an appeal move!" Dawn pointed with her finger, "I'm sure we'll figure out something with Cinderace and Buneary!"
Goh rubbed the back of his neck. Truth be told, he was a little thankful that Dawn had noticed that he had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. A bit of an easier day sounded enticing for him, but at the same time, the boy wasn't sure how much the two could put off on perfecting their training.
"Sounds good! Cinderace will be ready for practice!" Goh took out his Pokéball while he was still in his pajamas, "Well, after I get dressed, of course. You said that you were thinking of some appeal moves to use during our routine?"
Dawn nodded with a bright smile, "Yeah! Considering how well Pyro Ball and Sky Attack ended up working, maybe we can try something else with Pyro Ball as well! Or wait… maybe Blaze Kick too!"
Dawn's contest partner couldn't help but crack a grin at the opportunity to brainstorm. If it was a matter of commanding their Pokémon and cutting back on the extraneous exercise, then he was all for it as long as his back was still killing him.
"Alright, let's go- aaagh!" Goh felt a crack come from his back, the boy doubling over in pain.
"Buneary, let's start off with Bounce!" Dawn called out to her Pokémon as Goh and his partner waited on the sidelines.
"Bun! Bun! Bun!" Buneary began to leap again and again, its little legs proving to be deceptively powerful to Goh and Cinderace as the two watched the little Pokémon manage to bounce into the air around the same altitudes that Cinderace could pull off.
"Here it comes! Cinderace, handstand with a Blaze Kick!" Goh threw his hand forward, Cinderace immediately responding by leaping to the position where Buneary was about to land.
"Cinder-Cinderace!" a brief spin, and Cinderace reared up with its legs, shooting both of its pawed feet into the air as they ignited in a brilliant blaze of orange fire.
"Fantastic! Buneary, land with Dizzy Punch!" Dawn quickly gave her next command, to which Buneary obliged, cartwheeling in the air as its ears began to glow white with energy. It was a risky proposition to have the little Pokémon descend on the blazing landing pad. However, Buneary impressed not only Goh, but its own trainer by perfectly landing on top of both of Cinderace's paws with its glowing ears, both suddenly catching fire on contact.
"Cinderace, launch Buneary up!" Goh ordered Cinderace, following the plan that Dawn had explained to him before.
"Ace!" Cinderace shouted as its powerful legs pushed out, launching Buneary back into the air, its ears ablaze.
"Now, Buneary! Spin around with Dizzy Punch and let that energy out!" Dawn cheerfully awaited the results of her newest attempt at an appeal move. Buneary gave a cry as it rapidly rotated in the air like a top, flicking and hurling off stars from the Dizzy Punch as it unleashed all of the stored-up force being concentrated in its ears.
Goh and Cinderace gawked at the shower of stars descending from Buneary, all of which flickered with orange fire. It was as if the two were witnessing a shower of falling stars all originating from this tiny little blur in the sky, spinning and spinning to cause more fiery meteors to fall down.
"Woah…" Goh could only mutter at the wondrous sight.
"Ace.." Cinderace's mouth hung open as Buneary began to descend.
"Earr-earrryyyy~..." Buneary wobbled as it fell back down to the earth, its eyes swirling from the continuous whirling it had done in the air.
"B-Buneary! Hold on!" Dawn shrieked as she ran towards the spot where her Pokémon was about to crash land, and caught her little partner in her arms. It was obvious to Dawn what had happened: Buneary ended up dizzying itself from the move, "Oh boy… that must've not been fun for you…"
Dawn's contest partner and his Pokémon jogged over to the scene, both Goh and Cinderace examining Buneary in Dawn's arms as it shook its head, trying to stop the world from spinning.
"Huh. Getting dizzy while using Dizzy Punch. Kind of writes itself," Goh tapped his foot, his hands in his sweater pockets, "That's an issue."
"Are you okay, Buneary?" Dawn asked in order to make sure that her Pokémon partner was okay, to which Buneary nodded with an uneasy smile, its balance clearly not back entirely.
Then, Goh remembered something in the back of his head, "Hold on a second… I think I might have the solution."
"You do?" Dawn asked, curious about what Goh had to say.
"I think so. Have either of you heard about optokinetic nystagmus?" Goh asked Dawn and Buneary. Both of them blinked at him.
"Opto… huh?" Dawn tilted her head.
"Buneary?" Buneary did the same.
"Ah, well… yeah, that name's pretty overbearing… how about 'spotting'? It's a trick that dancers do to prevent themselves from becoming dizzy from spinning," Goh explained.
"Oh, I know what you mean! It's when you look and concentrate at something and quickly whirl your head around in sections!" Dawn immediately knew what Goh was getting at, "You're right! Buneary can do that and not become- wait… isn't that mainly used by ballet dancers? How do you-"
"Not important, hahah!" Goh nervously laughed, "N-Now how about we try and get that appeal move sorted out, and wrap up our dance prac-OUCH!"
In an attempt to divert Dawn's attention away from possibly discovering what other kinds of dancing Goh had practiced with Cinderace, he struck a similar pose to what he and Dawn were practicing for the big showoff in the middle of their song, only to reactivate his sore back, shooting a pulse of sheer and unadulterated pain coursing through his body. The boy froze like a statue, his temper becoming more and more irritated.
"Cinderace…" Goh's Pokémon trudged on over, and looked over its master. Cinderace shook its head at Dawn, gesturing to the rigid Goh.
"Yeah… looks like dancing is off limits today… but no need to worry! We've totally got this nailed down to an art!" Dawn confidently spoke as she crossed her arms.
Goh, as he was being eased out of his painful and stiff state by Cinderace, chimed in with a noticeable tone of annoyance in his voice, "Yeah. I think that'd be for the best. Ugh…"
The boy sighed and tried to stretch. The pain in his back was subsiding, but getting up on the wrong side of the bed had proven disastrous for his temper for the day. Dawn figured this as well, and an idea popped into her head.
"Hold on… I know exactly what'll cheer you up!" Dawn happily marched up to Goh, causing the boy to back up a bit, "We'll go shopping!"
At this, Goh raised an eyebrow, his irritation not subsiding at this request, "Uh… shopping? I don't know…"
"Oh, come on! I guarantee you'll like where we'll go!" Dawn giggled as she pushed Goh along by his shoulders, heading back into the hotel building to exit out into Hearthome City.
Thankfully for Goh, it was a shorter walk than it was to get to the tailor's shop the day before. Compared to the aforementioned store's hardwood and chic architecture and interior, this store featured loads of glass and white paneling, quite the contrast to the traditional, yet bustling style of Hearthome City. The logo was proudly displayed on the front of the store above sliding glass doors, depicting numerous symbols hovering over the top of a Pokéball.
"And here we are! The Hearthome City Pokéball Seal Shop!" Dawn proudly presented the retail destination in front of Goh, "The one stop for all of your Pokéball Seal needs!"
Goh took a hand out of his sweater pocket and scratched his cheek, "Wait, Pokéball Seals?"
"Uh-huh! They're stickers that you can place on your Pokéballs in order to make your Pokémon's entrance into the contest arena super spectacular! You can make bubbles, fire, lightning, light, smoke-"
"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second," Goh held his hands up at Dawn's explanation, this incredible revelation now being just bestowed onto him, "You can customize your Pokéballs?! As in, the effects they can make when you send out your Pokémon?!"
"Yeah! They're a Sinnoh staple, and are a must-have in the arsenal of a contest coordinator!" Dawn giggled, "You seem pretty interested!"
"Are you kidding?! Customizing Pokéballs?! I have to see this for myself!" Goh gleefully charged into the store, with Grookey scampering after him.
Dawn and Piplup chuckled nervously to each other, with the coordinator sighing, "I… have a feeling I might finally see what it's like on the receiving end of a shopping spree…"
"Lup…" Piplup agreed.
Within the retail place, Goh's eyes lit up with stars at the sight of neatly arranged stickers adorning shelves and hangers, the boy moving in complete disregard to his aching muscles and back pain. As of now, his joy and excitement overpowered his strain. Goh hopped from shelf to shelf, checking out all sorts of different seals and stickers.
"Woah, so just putting these things on Pokéballs can make them shoot out fire when you send out your Pokémon?! Amazing, this one apparently makes a waterfall descend! How do stickers accomplish such things?!" Goh immediately began to pick packaged stickers off of shelves, completely ignoring the remarkably high prices that came with each seal, "Stars, mist, flowers, electricity?! How did I never know that these things existed?!"
"Grook! Grook!" Grookey was more than pleased to see its master rushing around in joy after he had been crippled from his poor sleeping condition.
"Definitely fire for Cinderace! No, wait! Swirling fire! That's definitely the one!" Goh gleamed at the numerous packs he plucked from the wall.
"Enjoying yourself?"
Goh turned towards Dawn's voice, the girl beaming with a smile at seeing Goh's attitude recover.
"Yeah! All of this is so amazing! I have to know what kind of technology makes these stickers capable of producing such effects!" Goh clenched his hands into fists and rapidly shook them up and down together.
" I'd bet Conway would know the answer to that… " Dawn rolled her eyes subconsciously before replying to Goh, "Whatever it is, I'd bet there's so much more for you to see! Speaking of which, I'm going to head off to another section. Just meet me by the check-out line when you're done!"
"Alright, I will!" Goh waved as he ran off further into the store, dashing by numerous other aisles and annoying some of the other customers that were browsing around. As Grookey now perched on Goh's shoulder, figuring that it might as well stay on top if it wanted to keep up with Goh, its trainer's mind ran wild for ideal seals to get for his Pokémon. All of his Pokémon. Goh still couldn't believe his eyes.
Dawn walked off with Piplup, looking to find her own seals for her team of Pokémon in order to give them some new flair for their entrances. Goh, on the other hand, was still glued to the section he was in. As he delved deeper and deeper into the store, he began to notice the prices that were displayed beneath the seal packs increase drastically.
"Man, these are actually getting pretty pricey… I'd bet that these seals must have amazing effects to justify those price tags," Goh muttered to Grookey as he scanned further down the aisles, until his eyes were caught by an extraordinary display.
Surrounded by a glass display with small streams of water sliding down the panes of clear panels was a singular pack of seals. The display read: "Ever Grande City Waterfall Pack" . A small television was set up, looping a demonstration of the seals in action. An extravagantly dressed boy in a royal blue tuxedo gave his Pokéball a hurl on the TV display. Rather than a Pokémon emerging, the Pokéball produced a massive torrent of water straight down onto the stage, as if a waterfall had descended from thin air. The water kept pouring until, as if it were a set of curtains, the falls pulled apart in the middle to reveal an Azumarill, standing and waving at the audience cheerfully.
The boy was sold.
He looked at the price tag, and grimaced. The pain began to return in his back.
"Wow, that's quite a bit… but that waterfall effect… that would be great for Inteleon, don't you think?" Goh glanced back at Grookey, still on his shoulder.
"Ah-Ahrook!" Grookey rooted in agreement.
"Well, I guess we'll be going for quality over quantity on this shopping trip!" Goh confidently made up his mind, "This one's mine-"
Another set of fingers gripped the pack of seals.
Both boys turned to face each other. Goh was staring directly at a familiar-looking boy with a green-and-white T-shirt. It was Kenny.
No one had to tell Goh that his day was very likely to get much, much worse.
"Huh. Whaddya' know? I didn't think you'd know what seals even are," Kenny raised an eyebrow, letting go of the sticker pack, "Let me guess. Did Dawn drag you inside?"
Goh exhaled through his nose, his eyes narrowing. He hated to admit it, but Kenny was right about that. Not that he had to know.
"No. But I'd be out of my mind to pass up on customizing Pokéballs, considering how useful it'd be for the contest, and for catching Pokémon," Goh let go of the pack as well, crossing his arms.
"Oh, so you catch Pokémon? Is that really all you do?" Kenny chuckled, "Man, Dawn's really in over her head. I'd almost feel sorry for her if it weren't for the fact that I'd get to watch you fail spectacularly on stage."
Goh stuffed his hands back in his sweater pockets, "You know, as much as you care about what Dawn thinks, you've really hurt her."
At this, Kenny narrowed his eyes at the boy in front of him, crossing his arms, "Please, the guy who knows nothing about contests is now trying to lecture me about someone he knows nothing about. Give me a break!"
Goh's nostrils flared, "Know nothing about?! What do I have to know about Dawn to realize that partnering up with someone who's mistreated your friend again and again is a real low blow?"
Kenny's eyes darted away from Goh. Behind his lips, his teeth grinded.
"Answer me, Kenny. You know what you're doing is wrong, so why are you cooperating with Ursula for this? Did you ask her? Or did she ask you?" Goh's head tilted up, "No matter the answer, you can't blame Dawn a single bit about what she probably thinks of you now. And the sad thing is…" Goh exhaled, "She was concerned about Ursula using you to get back at her."
Kenny felt a migraine coming on from listening to Goh talk.
"But I don't think it's just that. For you, Ursula is an opportunity to prove Dawn wrong for not picking you to be her partner," Goh turned around, "That's my theory, anyways. I might not know as much about contests as you or Dawn, but my theories are rarely proven wrong."
Dawn's contest partner glanced back at Kenny, "For your sake, and Dawn's, you really don't want this one to be proven right."
"Why don't you just can it, already?"
Goh was about to leave, but against his better judgment, he stopped in his tracks, an ear turned towards Dawn's childhood friend.
"You actually make me sick. All of this talk about 'theories' like you're some kind of scientist when you're some schmuck that Dawn picked up because she was desperate to get a partner-"
"Maybe you should take the hint from her choice. If anything, your attitude at the Contest Hall reaffirmed her on that decision, Kenny," Goh fired back.
"I said, can it!" Kenny spat, "In any case, you are no one special in all of this, so you can drop that academic talk! If there's something I'll be proven right in, it'll be Dawn realizing that her quest to become Top Coordinator would be going a lot better with my help than yours. And she needs all the help she can get, considering how she's been performing after all this time since the Sinnoh Grand Festival."
"What are you going on about?" Goh turned around, raising an eyebrow.
Kenny chuckled, "Aww, don't know? How are you going to ever convince me that you know a single thing about her, let alone anything about what you're performing in?"
The boy in front of Goh gave a snide expression, "I feel bad for Dee Dee. Really. Because I'm not going to defeat her and prove her wrong; you'll be doing that for me. She herself isn't gonna lose, because it'll be you who screws up everything for her."
Kenny, his smug demeanor returning, reached for the waterfall seal packet, "Count on it."
The boy plucked it off of the rack and walked past Goh down the aisle. He soon disappeared further into the store.
This was the moment she had been waiting for.
What were the odds? What were the chances of her and Kenny stumbling across Dawn and that other kid who had occupied Kenny's mind ever since Ursula had witnessed Dawn's meltdown against him for speaking the truth? That truth being, Dawn was desperate enough to get someone who'd never competed in contests before to be her partner in a competition that was attracting the best coordinators from not only the region, but from around the world. It could have been desperation, or something else going on between Dawn and this "Goh" boy.
If Ursula's suspicions were correct, it only gave her more to work with.
When she and Kenny stepped into the Pokéball Seal Store, Ursula didn't make a plan for both of them to arrive at the shop at the same time as Dawn and Goh had. Truth be told, she hoped to have run into Dawn and Goh earlier as she and Kenny got to work on combining their talents to show off what they could do in the Performance, Choreography, and Battle Stages. But as fate would have it, Ursula spotted the girl in the white beanie and the boy in the gray sweater.
A grin slowly crept across her face.
Another stroke of luck occurred. She witnessed the two separate to go about their own shopping adventures.
The grin morphed into a devious smile.
Kenny remained unaware of the duo's presence, and Ursula wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Her eyes subtly tracking the commotion that Goh was making from his excitement over Pokéball Seals, she caught a glimpse of a poster advertising a specialized seal that would produce a gorgeous waterfall upon the Pokéball's activation. Goh happened to be approaching the same aisle.
She innocently tapped her finger on her chin, as if in deep thought, "You know, Kenny. I just saw a seal that would be fantastic for Empoleon!"
"Yeah?" Kenny asked, putting down a seal packet he was already examining.
"It's a special seal that makes a gigantic waterfall come crashing down! Imagine how great that'd look with Empoleon… and I think it's limited! Might want to hurry before it's snagged by someone…" Ursula pointed at the aisle where the seal was located.
"A waterfall? Hmm… good thinking! I'll be back," Kenny assured his contest partner as he walked off.
Ursula waved a little goodbye to Kenny before leaning against the side of an aisle, watching the boy turn a corner, and slip from view. The moment he was out of sight, Ursula produced two Pokéballs from her clip. A little toss in the air and her two little and faithful Electric-type cheerleaders sprung from their capsules.
"Pla-pla! Mye-Mye!" Plusle and Minun cheered, free from the confines of their Pokéballs.
Ursula knelt down to get closer to the two Pokémon, "Well, aren't you two awfully pleased to be outside! And I have just the activity in mind…"
The girl motioned over towards the aisle on the other side of the one she was behind, "You two remember Dawn and how much she loves your cheer routines? Well, I just happened to run into her in the aisle behind me! I'd bet she'd love to see your newest one~."
"Pla?! Mye?!" both of the Cheering Pokémons' faces gleamed with excitement and joy.
Ursula snickered, "Don't keep Dawn waiting~!"
The girl stood up as she watched Plusle and Minun spring up into the air, and land on top of the wall dividing the two aisles from Dawn and Ursula. With Minun chittering to Plusle, asking if it was ready, Plusle responded positively. The two little Pokémon hopped down into Dawn's aisle. Ursula turned an ear towards the wall to listen to what was about to occur.
"H-Huh? A Plusle and Minun…?"
"Pla!"
"Mye!"
"Pla-pla-pla!"
"Mye-mye-mye!"
"Plaaaaaa~!"
"Myeeeee~!"
"H-Hey! Get off of me! What are you two-"
BZZZZZZZT
An ear-piercing shriek was heard coming from over the aisle wall. It was music to Ursula's ears.
The girl walked around the corner to drink in the scene that lay before her. Dawn frantically patted down her hair as it sparkled yellow and blue from the static electricity that came from Plusle and Minun's cheer routine. The onlookers in the aisle witnessing the situation took it upon themselves to look away and back off at the sight of Dawn's clear annoyance at having her hair ruined.
Plusle and Minun, upon seeing their trainer approach, hopped off of Dawn's shoulders, and landed on Ursula's, perched comfortably on top.
"Plusle, Minun, you two really have an unbeatable cheer! Wouldn't you agree, Dawn?" Ursula spoke with a snide grin on her face, "And what's with the reaction? Thought you'd gotten over your Diamond Dandruff problems~?"
Dawn had finally managed to clear her hair of the embarrassing complexion, and turned her head towards Ursula, "Oh, don't get the wrong idea. I totally have. But surprising me like that after all this time is something else entirely."
Fixing up her white beanie, Dawn frowned at the other competitor, "Figures you'd be petty enough to do this to me again."
"Oh? Whatever do you mean? I think it's a bit rude to not compliment my dear Plusle and Minun's cheer, wouldn't you two agree?" Ursula rubbed her hand against the ears of Plusle and Minun, who both chittered in agreement, puffing their cheeks, "They were just trying to get some practice in before the contest!"
"Arrgh… I don't have time for you, Ursula. Bye," the last word was spoken with a sassy affront as Dawn turned her back.
"So, Dawn? Is it true?" Ursula raised an eyebrow and spoke up in an attempt to keep Dawn caged in the conversation, "Did you end up hooking up with that Goh guy?"
"What are you going on about? Of course he's my contest partner. You can see the pairings up-"
"That's not what I meant, Dawn. And you know that."
Dawn tilted her head in a moment of confusion at whatever Ursula was trying to get at, "What? What are you-"
Then, it hit her.
Dawn's eyes instantly narrowed at Ursula, who kept that smug expression on her face, "N-No! That's not it at all!"
Ursula shrugged her arms with a close-eyed smile, "Then why on earth are you trying to wrangle in some guy who's never competed before in a contest to be your partner? Let alone a contest as important as the Pokémon Doubles Contest? Isn't this supposed to be one of the last ribbons you need to secure a spot in the Sinnoh Grand Festival?"
"Why I picked Goh is none of your business in the slightest, especially when you're already getting the wrong idea about him, just like Kenny was!" Dawn balled her hands into fists at her side, leaning forward to further express her anger.
"Hmph. You're probably telling the truth. Though why you'd still pick Goh is completely beyond me. Aren't you trying to become Top Coordinator, still after all of this time? Seems like an odd way to go about it," Ursula sighed, "But I digress. You're really becoming such a lost cause to live up to your mom's legacy-"
"You keep my mom out of this, " Dawn spat at Ursula.
"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" Ursula coyly giggled, "Wouldn't blame her. I'd be pretty disappointed in my daughter to learn that she'd traveled to three other regions to compete in entire contest circuits, and hadn't become Top Coordinator yet."
The sounds of the rest of the store began to drown out as Dawn felt her heart churn in pain at Ursula's words. Her feet were glued to the floor, refusing to move away from the conversation that was hurting her so much. Whether it was morbid curiosity or terror, Dawn continued to stay put against her better judgment. Ursula began to tap through her phone.
"My, my… Hoenn Grand Festival… semi-final finish… Unova Contest Finale... sixth place? Johto Wallace Cup… eighth place?! Hah! What happened to you, Dawn? You were the runner-up in your first Grand Festival in Sinnoh. I've never heard of someone performing worse and worse as time went on!" Ursula taunted as she scrolled through Dawn's profile upon tapping her digital portrait on the Doubles Contest team roster, "Forget bringing along some boy who's never been in a contest before, I think he should worry about you being the weak link, because whatever experience you've had has clearly been all for naught!"
Before Dawn could retort, Ursula turned her back, a hand coming up to her mouth as she flashed a crooked grin at her, "Maybe you'll be just like Kenny at the Sinnoh Grand Festival and get knocked out in the Performance Stage at the Doubles Contest! AH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH~!"
"Pla-hah-hah-hah~!"
"Mye-nye-nye-nye~!"
The chorus of Ursula, Plusle, and Minun's laughter burrowed into Dawn's mind, the echoing torment reverberating inside again and again, even long after the three had exited the store aisle and vanished from view. Dawn could only stare at the floor, goosebumps dotting her arms as a chill crawled up her spine. She was still trying to process everything that had been said to her, and the question remained whether she could even do so right now.
Dawn's eyes blinked purposelessly, the sounds of the seal store returning to her ears. She choked when she opened her mouth, looking around herself to see if anyone had seen what had taken place. She was alone in the aisle, likely from the shoppers that cleared out when Plusle and Minun gave her a shock.
"Piplup?"
The sound of Dawn's Pokémon waddling up from behind her got the girl to turn around, witnessing her companion returning after she had instructed the Pokémon to split up from her in order to snag some seals that it had thought would be of use. The girl knelt down to her partner, who noticed the distressed look on Dawn's face and the quiver in her voice.
"H-Hey. There you are," Dawn could barely speak smoothly as she looked at the bundle of seals Piplup had picked out, "Oh, you got some seals? Well… that's great."
"Lup…?" Piplup asked, it too now becoming concerned.
"I-It's nothing. Just had a run-in with someone unpleasant. How about we look for Goh?" Dawn suggested, to which Piplup nodded in agreement. Anything to get its master to cheer up.
The two walked out of the aisle with their seal packets, and looked around. As Dawn searched for Goh, Piplup could still feel the loose grip of Dawn's arms around it. Whoever she ran into, it must have been a horrible experience for her.
It wasn't long until the two reunited with Goh and Grookey by the registers. Something was amiss. Goh too had a downtrodden expression on his face, which was even more alarming to Dawn and Piplup considering how excited he was when they entered the seal shop. In Goh's hand, and in Grookey's as well, were just a few seals. Something had gone wrong with Goh as well.
"Oh, there you two are," Dawn spoke up as Goh and Grookey turned around at the sound of her voice, "What's the matter?"
Goh exhaled out of his nose, stuffing his free hand back in his sweater pocket, "It's… nothing important. I just, uh…"
Goh narrowed his eyes. He was there when Dawn needed someone to vent to that one night, and now Dawn was asking for her turn to help Goh out with what was infesting his mind. But… Goh wasn't so sure. Dawn was clearly in distress already, so the boy rationalized that he didn't need to add to her troubles.
In the pit of his stomach, he knew that this wasn't a healthy decision, but the two were so close to finishing their dance practice and starting their battle training. It was the final stretch, and distractions were the last thing that Goh wanted Dawn to have.
The boy smiled at her, "I'm just excited to get back to our training, that's all."
Dawn looked at the ground once more, then leveled her eyes at Goh. She gave a smile, "Alright, Goh. Now, how about we get these seals and try them out?"
Ursula felt amazing. It had been such a long time since she had run into her rival, and to see her freeze and withdraw back into a nervous shell was priceless. She hummed to herself, stroking the ears of her beloved Plusle and Minun. It was just a matter of time before Kenny would be done with his run-in with that other boy that was partnered with Dawn. It didn't matter how the interaction would go between the two. She had already thought of her responses for each outcome.
"Alright, you two. Both of you were the best! Now, back inside~" Ursula hummed as she recalled Plusle and Minun back into their Pokéballs.
Right on cue, Ursula's contest partner emerged from an aisle, slightly startling himself as he nearly ran right into Ursula. The boy quickly calmed down, and adopted a confident and upbeat expression, "Well, I got it."
Kenny flashed the premium seal in front of Ursula, "This'll be amazing for Empoleon's entrance!"
Ursula giggled, "I'm so glad that you managed to get it! You didn't happen to have any trouble, did you?"
Kenny chuckled, flicking the seal into the air and catching it as it came back down, "Not at all."
Ursula's bright smile hid the sinister grin she bore in her soul, "Hey, I just wanted to say again… thanks for agreeing to be my partner. And… for disregarding all of the bad rap I seem to attract."
The boy rubbed the back of his head, "Well… I think you've proven my assumptions about you wrong. You've been really nice to me and my Pokémon all this time. I guess… I really appreciate that."
Ursula closed her eyes, tilted her head, and continued to smile, "Aww, I'm flattered~."
Kenny blinked, then looked away. He witnessed Goh and Dawn together, exiting the seal store. So Dawn was here too.
"Y'know, Ursula… I still don't know why you're helping me with all of this, considering that I am Dawn's friend in the first place," Kenny ran his fingers around the seal packaged in plastic.
Ursula put a hand on Kenny's shoulder, causing the boy to blink, "Look, you're right about Goh. Why would your friend choose that guy over their own childhood friend? I don't like Dawn, but even I can admit that isn't right. And I think your cause is noble."
"Huh? Noble?" Kenny asked, the unease festering within him refusing to go away.
"You're exposing a fraud, and there's nothing I hate more than frauds and people who win off of flukes. That boy is going to drag Dawn down even further than she's fallen and tarnish her reputation even more. I know that's what you're thinking, and I'm going to come out and say that you're one hundred percent right about that," Ursula picked her words carefully, continuing as she saw Kenny's mood begin to improve, "And once we see Dawn fail because of Goh, or we knock them out ourselves, Dawn'll realize what a horrible mistake she's made, and, y'know, actually trust someone who's known her for years."
The girl knew that every word she spoke was exactly what Kenny wanted to hear, evident by his returning determination. Rather than fidgeting with the packaged seal, he held it in between his two fingers, a wall between them.
Kenny smiled back at Ursula, "Thanks. I… don't know how I could possibly repay you for helping me with all of this."
Ursula giggled with a hand raised to her mouth, "Being my partner is enough. Without you, I can't compete in the first place. Now let's get these seals rung up and go get something to eat. Lunch is on me."
"Now you're speaking my language," Kenny chuckled, walking ahead of Ursula with the glimmering seal in hand.
The girl smiled.
Boys were just so easy.
Not too many words were exchanged between the two as the rest of the day rolled on by. And roll on by it did. It was as if Goh had blinked, and afternoon became night. Dawn and Goh still managed to get their dance routine down, and had made surprising progress despite the distressing encounters that both had to endure at the seal shop. Cinderace and Buneary had noticed their masters' downtrodden dispositions, but had interpreted this by doubling their efforts to nail their parts of the dance together in order to help their trainers cheer up.
Granted, it had in a way; Dawn and Goh both noted their Pokémon's renewed determination and vigor to completely nail the routine. Conversations about what kinds of ideas for appeal moves and anticipation for the battle practice were shared, but the voices between the two were more subdued. Each one figured something was wrong with the other, but neither had the will to be the better person this time around.
As Dawn lay asleep in her bed, Goh was awake and scrolling through his Rotom Phone. Dawn hadn't bothered to remind him of the importance of getting a good night's rest this time around. The boy tapped on numerous pictures of the contestants and scanned through the profiles of almost each and every one of them. He looked through prolific contestants, focusing on the incredible time that all of the coordinators present had put into their contest careers.
It dawned on Goh how fierce the competition was for this contest.
The boy sighed.
Kenny's words echoed in his mind once again.
Goh flicked the profiles away after he had looked into Kenny's record. A tragic Performance Stage loss at the Sinnoh Grand Festival was seemingly made up for by his fourth-place semi-final finish at the Grand Finals in Galar. Ursula's record was even more impressive. She had come second in that same contest, and second place in the most recent Kalos Master Class, the pinnacle of the Pokémon Showcase Circuit. A remarkable improvement from her defeats in the Sinnoh contests that Goh noticed as he scrolled further down her record.
Goh dropped his phone onto his chest, the illumination of the flat screen on the comforter glowing as the Rotom Phone lay face-down. The boy had to get some sleep.
"No need to worry, Dawn always says…" Goh murmured to himself as his eyelids began to get heavier, and heavier-
Dawn.
The boy picked up his phone, and tapped on the last profile for the night. Next to his portrait, which contained absolutely no information about previous contests participated in, was his partner's data. The phone took a few seconds to load, and the reason quickly became clear. Dawn had a massive record, rivaling that of May's. The boy scrolled to the bottom, and slowly built his way back up on her recorded contest participations and results.
"Wow… she was the runner-up in her first ever Grand Festival…?" Goh's voice conveyed how impressed he was, "That's like… if Ash's first Pokémon League he'd ever fought in was a second-place finish."
Goh began to scroll up more and more. It appeared that Dawn now went into the Hoenn contests. Her progress still remained solid; about the same amount of contests participated in, a steady collection of ribbons needed to qualify for the Grand Festival of Hoenn, and then-
"Wh-What? Fourth place?" Goh blinked at the green number. Neither gold, silver, nor even bronze.
Goh's thumb swiped up on the screen. The record of Dawn's ventures in the Unova contest circuit began to come into view. Sixth place was Dawn's ranking in the Unova Contest Finale. Goh let a silent gasp escape his mouth.
The boy rapidly scrolled faster and faster. Johto. More and more contests. He scrolled to the top of Dawn's recorded performances in the region. Goh's eyes widened. He refreshed the statistics page to make sure that he wasn't seeing some sort of bug with the display. The result of the Johto Wallace Cup was unchanged.
Dawn had come in eighth place.
"This… can't be correct. How… why…" Goh muttered to himself again, stealing a glance at Dawn, who was sound asleep in her bed next to his.
Was Dawn… performing worse?
Goh shook his head. There had to be an explanation. There was always one. But… he couldn't wrap his head around the possibility of his contest partner becoming entrapped in a downward spiral… and now she picked him to be her contest partner?
The fact that Dawn, even in the downtrodden flow of her contest performances, still chose him to be her contest partner, just to help him break his unhealthy routine of catching too many Pokémon, made an overbearing wave of guilt wash over the boy.
None of this made sense to Goh.
"She chose to help me… while sacrificing her chances with a better partner for the contest," Goh rationalized, drowning himself further and further into despair.
Once more, the auburn-haired boy's snide remark pounded inside of his head.
"I'm not going to defeat her and prove her wrong; you'll be doing that for me. She herself isn't gonna lose, because it'll be you who screws up everything for her."
Goh gritted his teeth and tightened his loose hand into a fist.
He had to get better.
He was not going to be a weak link.
"Not if I have anything to say about it."