Chapter 9: Time's Running By, A Will to Try!

Breakfast always proved to be quite the mood booster whenever the two got around to it in the morning. Goh and Dawn both enjoyed the scrumptious buffet of all sorts of pastries and baked goods, coupled with tea for the former and orange juice for the latter. In between bites and sips, the two coordinators were already in the midst of their discussion over battle training. Well, when the two could manage to stay on topic.

"Y'know, I still can't get over how great this buffet is~!" Dawn happily confided with Goh, taking a bite of another Oran Berry cobbler, "Vis iff sfo amading!"

Goh snorted at Dawn's attempt to speak with a full mouth as he took another sip of tea, picking up his half-eaten bagel afterwards, "It really is! Though… after all of the room service, the shopping, and… well, everything else, I can't express how thankful I am that you've been covering all of this."

The boy then raised an eyebrow part-way into his next sip of tea, "You've… been covering this at some point, right?"

"Oh, yeah! No need to worry about any of that!" Dawn dismissively waved a hand at her contest partner, earning a suspicious glance from Goh. He knew that Dawn wasn't poor by any means, and the fact that her mother had covered the booking, but was it really Dawn who was paying for all of the room service and their retail escapades? Goh shrugged, turning back to nibbling on his bagel as he opened his Rotom Phone's lock screen to research more contest combinations and appeal moves.

"So, manage to find anything?" Dawn curiously leaned across the table, elbows on the surface of the tablecloth and her chin being supported by her hands.

"Piplup? Rookey?" the two shoulder-traveling Pokémon looked up from eating their bowl-contained meals.

"Well… I have a couple ideas for appeal moves. I just don't know if they're flashy enough, they can function as attacks, or if they'll even work," Goh explained as he scrolled through his phone more and more.

Dawn returned an exasperated smile, "That's a lot of doubts. But I bet we can pull it off! We've got plenty of time!"

The boy nodded with a smile, "Yeah, I guess you're right! Speaking of which, when is the exact date of the contest?"

"Allow me!" Dawn pointed a finger up as she started to tap her Pokétch on her wrist. A few beeps later and she was staring at the tiny calendar on display on the tiny screen, "Let's see…"

Thanks to the small size of the device, Dawn had to pinch and drag apart her two fingers on the screen to zoom in on the specific dates. It was a hassle to even find the week that they were on, causing Dawn to puff her cheeks in frustration and grumble to herself, "Hmmph… how does someone even get a Rotom Phone in the first place… I should get one of those for sure!"

"Uh… find it yet?" Goh asked, picking up the last piece of his bagel and tossing it into his mouth.

"Hold on, I'm- okay, there we go! It's-"

Dawn's smile froze on her face, a dark shadow of dread beginning to seep down her forehead. Her Pokétch arm and her hand operating the device trembled with fright as she saw how far away the contest deadline was from the current day.

"It's… uh… well…" Dawn blinked, then brought her eyes up to Goh, "T-Tomorrow."

The boy's eyes widened, and he instantly gagged, choking on the piece of bagel that he was chewing. He smashed his fist on the table numerous times as he fought to dislodge the article of food, earning concerned glances from the other patrons and restaurant staff. It was an agonizing few seconds, but Goh slammed his hand on the table and managed to gulp down the morsel, breathing in the precious, precious oxygen to satiate his lungs. Dawn's face filled with uneasiness was quickly wiped clean with a surprised look when Goh gave an outburst at the news.

"What?! Tomorrow?! How?!" Goh typed in the website of the Hearthome City Doubles Pokémon Contest, and sure enough, it was displayed that the contest would begin the next day, "Did we really lose track of time like that?! Th-That can't be right!"

Dawn rubbed the back of her head, the situation now dawning upon the girl, "I… guess we did…?! Oh no, we haven't even done any proper battle training yet, and we've only got today!"

Piplup and Grookey watched as the two trainers went through their own motions of panic at the rapidly approaching deadline. Grookey patted Piplup's back, it being at least aware enough that it was likely to get the short end of the stick when it came to the training it would have to endure.

Piplup gave a defeated sigh, "Luuup…"

"W-We've gotta get training now!" Goh exclaimed, chugging down his tea with his entire hand wrapped around the cup.

"Right!" Dawn agreed, tilting the glass of orange juice all the way up towards the ceiling to drain all of the contents into her mouth. Wiping her lips with a napkin, she beckoned to Piplup to come along with her, as did Goh with Grookey. The two little Pokémon also scarfed down their food before getting up and running after their trainers, with Dawn shouting at the receptionist at the front of the restaurant, "S-So sorry! Put it on the room's tab!"

"P-Piplup!" the Penguin Pokémon frantically waddled after its master, waving its flippers around as its tiny little legs carried it the best they could through the hotel halls.

"R-Rook!" Grookey was keen on not missing out on watching this training, as it had ended up missing the last bit of it yesterday. Oddly enough, its trainer and his partner weren't too keen on discussing much about what happened before.

The two contest coordinators made a sprint out of the back of the hotel in hopes of snagging a spot in one of the indoor battlefields that the resort hosted. Much to their satisfaction, it would seem that the Sinnoh League competitors had their fill of revenge matches, and had mostly left the chalked-out arenas uncontested for Dawn and Goh's use. Letting out exhausted gasps from their initial rush, the two breathed sighs of relief. Said relief wouldn't stick around for long as Dawn immediately began stretching one of her arms in order to warm herself up.

"No time, no need to worry! We've just gotta blaze through this training!" Dawn pumped herself up, "Right, Piplup?"

"Pip-Piplup!" Dawn's partner Pokémon chirped, mirroring Dawn's stretches.

"Gah… just one minute!" Goh held up a finger as he doubled over in order to take a few more deep and exhausted breaths, "Okay, Inteleon! Go!"

The boy managed to recover his composure before tossing the Pokéball in his hand, once again popping open to reveal the tall and suave Water-type Pokémon. A sharp look back from the creature gave it the confirmation that it needed; Dawn and Goh were side by side once again, with confident, albeit stressed smiles on their faces.

Inteleon gave a small grin back at Goh. It was evident that the two had made up.

"Intel," Inteleon spoke, glad to see its trainer's mental state improved once again.

"Piplup!" Piplup waddled over next to Inteleon and chirped, using its flippers to mimic courageous fists as it once again had the opportunity to battle alongside its idol. Inteleon nodded at the little Pokémon.

"Inteleon, so sorry to drop this on you, but we kinda lost track of time, and…" Dawn rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "The contest is tomorrow, so we've really gotta get cracking on coming up with contest combinations and appeal moves we can use in the Battle Stage!"

"'Tel…" Inteleon rubbed its chin with one of its long and slender fingers, already concentrating on the best course of action. The outlook, in the Pokémon's opinion, was a little grim. It would take a staggering amount of work to come up with moves from scratch without extended practice, let alone multiple that could be practically employed. Goh caught Inteleon's worries, tapping a figure on the top of his head.

"Yeah… we might have to spend quite a while doing this…" Goh closed his eyes in deep thought.

"Oh, has someone not been keeping track of time? Heh… heh…"

The Pokémon catcher leaped off the ground in shock, his legs scrambling midair as the unprompted voice whispered behind his ear. When the boy landed back on the battlefield's dirt and spun around, he was face to face with a familiar glasses-wearing face, chuckling snidely as light reflected off of the spectacles.

Dawn and Piplup gave unamused and annoyed expressions, "Oh, boy. Another wonderful entrance by Conway…"

"Flattered," the Pokémon maniac crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Even Inteleon was given quite the uneasy vibe from this other Pokémon trainer, a feat that not many could hold, "I-Intel."

"What are you even doing here? Isn't the Sinnoh League over for you?" Goh questioned Conway, "We saw you made it to the quarterfinals on TV."

Adjusting his glasses, Conway chuckled once more, "Ah, so you did? Well, it's been a remarkable improvement since my last time competing! As for my reasonings for extending my hotel booking here, well, that's just going to have to remain a mystery between us all-"

Dawn groaned with an exasperated smile, "Conway, are you really staying longer at this place so you can watch me at the contest?"

Conway faltered, his glasses going crooked on his face before the boy quickly scrambled himself back upright, and fixed the angle of his eyewear, "Th-That's exactly it! Quite perceptive, my dear Dawn~! You continue to impress me, which is quite the accomplishment, if I may say so myself."

"Well, you're gonna have to talk with me and Goh some other time. We're in the middle of training, and yes, we are running a little late, so we can't get distracted right now," Dawn pointed a finger at Conway, accusingly, "Especially by you!"

"Piplup-lup!" Piplup also pointed its flipper at the Pokémon maniac.

Goh was about to agree with Dawn until a thought happened to leap into his head, "Actually… wait a minute, Conway."

The other boy raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

The Pokémon catcher-turned-coordinator motioned towards the empty battlefield behind the group of trainers and their Pokémon, "Me and Dawn need to really get going with our training, and coming up with appeal moves might end up taking too much time! So…"

Conway placed his hands on his hips, and got up into Goh's face, "I see what you're getting at. You want me to have a battle with you and Dawn in order to bring out the best in both of you through the tense atmosphere of combat! Though… I'm not so sure. The Sinnoh League gave me quite the fill of battling, and you might need to do a little bargaining for me to agree…"

"Th-That's right! So, do you think you can help us out?" the boy asked, placing his hands in his sweater pockets and leaning in, "I'm sure Dawn would appreciate it quite a lot. And besides… maybe I can directly hand over a copy of the data on Suicune I've acquired-"

"This Pokémon battle will be a double battle, a classic and contained two-on-two!" Conway was already announcing the rules of the battle that would be unfolding before them as Dawn and Goh hadn't even taken their places on the other side of the field, sharing expressions of befuddlement at Conway's sudden change in demeanor, "If this isn't going to bring out appeal moves, then nothing will! Heh, heh, heh!"

"I wonder what you told Conway to get him to go through with this," Dawn nervously smiled at Goh, "He's usually pretty stubborn for the sake of being stubborn."

The boy proudly tapped a fist on his chest, "Nothing much! Great minds think alike, and there would be no way he'd pass up my data on Suicune!"

"Great minds… I'm not sure comparing yourself to Conway is the best way to go about it, but whatever," Dawn chuckled, "Let's get this show on the road! Piplup, let's get in there and work with Inteleon!"

"Lup! Piplup!" the Penguin Pokémon waddled out to join up with its battle partner, who gave a glance down and returned the gaze of Piplup with a nod and a suave shout, "Intel!"

"Inteleon, we've gotta concentrate on putting these appeal moves to the test! If Piplup or Dawn has an idea, we're going along with it, just as they will with us!" Goh narrowed his eyes at his Pokémon out on the battlefield, both standing by for battle.

"Alright!" Conway adjusted his glasses, unhooked two Pokéballs, and tossed them into the air, "Dusknoir! Slowking! Here we go!"

Two simultaneous flashes occurred as Conway's Pokémon emerged onto the battlefield. One of the creatures bore a pink color with a pale yellow muzzle and underbelly. The most striking features of the Pokémon were the red and white spiny ruffles around its neck, and the large Shelder crown adorning its head. Conway's other battle partner was far bulkier and didn't even sport any legs. Its one dull, yet piercing and ominous red eye slowly switched between gazing at Piplup and Inteleon, its cylindrical head's eye socket narrowing at its opponents.

Dawn grimaced at the sight of both of Conway's Pokémon, "Slowking and Dusknoir… Conway's not holding back at all with his choice of Pokémon."

Goh turned to his contest partner, "You've seen him use those Pokémon before?"

"Yeah," the girl nodded, "Me and Piplup battled alongside Slowking once, and I've seen what the Dusknoir was capable of when Ash fought it in the Sinnoh League when he traveled with me and Brock. It's going to use Trick Room and get rid of our speed advantage right from the get-go!"

"Trick Room?" Goh narrowed his eyes at the Dusknoir as it levitated off the ground with crossed arms, "So our Pokémon's speed is going to be useless. That means… we'll have to rely on the power of appeal moves to even have a chance of making a dent!"

Overhearing the conversation, Conway chuckled, "Ah, so you remember, Dawn. Well, let's hope you can translate that into a victory within the parameters I've set! You both have five minutes to knock out my Pokémon, the same time as a contest battle!"

"Wh-What?! Knock you out?!" Goh stumbled back in shock, startling Grookey who had taken its place at his trainer's feet with his outburst.

"But that's not fair!" Dawn pointed out, "You don't have that imposed on yourself or your Pokémon!"

The Pokémon maniac wiggled a finger, "Tsk, tsk. You both need to learn the hard way that no matter the adversity, you'll have to overcome it. And since you two are spending so much time blabbering about, I guess we'll take the initiative! Dusknoir, use Trick Room!"

"Noir," the Gripper Pokémon snapped its fingers imposingly. The light around the battlefield began to distort with confusing and ominous, multicolored light as Dawn, Goh, Piplup, and Inteleon gazed around themselves. It was as if the battlefield they were standing within was now encased in a glowing psychedelic prison, the movements of every Pokémon and trainer within contorting, stretching, and realigning all in a fraction of a millisecond. Piplup hated the feeling. It felt like it weighed thousands of pounds heavier. Inteleon scowled at the aura it now felt penetrating and surrounding it. Even Grookey, on the sidelines, succumbed to the effects, grumbling to itself.

The Pokémon might have slowed down, but Goh was already quick to the draw, "Inteleon, open up with Snipe Shot! Let's create an opportunity!"

"In-Tel!" the Secret Agent Pokémon lined up the silhouette of Slowking with its thumb like a gunsight and fired off the hyper-pressurized shot, its hand recoiling back from the force after taking aim.

Conway smirked, adjusting his glasses once more, "Slowking, send it back with Psychic!"

"Slow-" the Water- and Psychic-type Pokémon effortlessly halted the projectile in midair right before it struck its face, and with a wiggle of its clawed thumb, it mocked Inteleon's gunslinger pose as it fired back the projectile, "-King!"

The Snipe Shot struck Inteleon without giving it a lick of a chance to avoid the reversed attack, sending the Pokémon staggering backwards with its arms up in a blocking motion. Inteleon grunted. It now knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of its own attack, and it did not like it one bit.

"Let's get in there ourselves! Bubble Beam!" Dawn threw her hand out, and watched as Piplup targeted Dusknoir with its Water-type move.

"Piiiip-lup-lup-lup!" Piplup chirped as it unleashed a cascade of devastating bubbles at Conway's large, imposing, and levitating Ghost-type Pokémon. Conway was quick to react, pointing a finger haphazardly.

"Come on, now. You can't just try and prod my defenses like this! You said it yourself; under Trick Room, you can't rely on your speed, nor time anymore! Dusknoir, use Thunder Punch!" Conway commanded his other battle partner, who obliged immediately. Dusknoir smashed its fists together, sending jolts of electricity arcing around its hands. As it pulled its knuckles apart, voltage zapped and conducted in the air between the two conduits before both fists were now coated in electricity. Dusknoir grunted as, one by one, it effortlessly punched through each of the bubbles that were barreling towards it, fighting its way rapidly towards Piplup.

"Oh, no! Piplup, counter it with Drill Peck!" Dawn desperately called out, but it was far too late. Trick Room had turned the hulking and lumbering Dusknoir into a speed demon. Piplup blinked, and it instantly closed the distance, delivering a nasty uppercut into the little Pokémon's gut, electrocuting it, "Piplup, no!"

"Inteleon, use Liquidation! Help Piplup out!" Goh shouted at his Pokémon to assist its battle partner, and it obliged immediately. Its tail quickly whipped forwards, coating itself in swirling water as it shot out at Piplup, wrapping Dawn's Pokémon partner in both its slender tail and the rushing liquid. Dusknoir swung with Thunder Punch once more but grunted in frustration as its electrified knuckles swiped at nothing but air.

"Wait, Goh! Look at Piplup!" Dawn pointed at the results of Inteleon's usage of Liquidation to surround Piplup in the energized deluge of water. Piplup looked around itself, realizing that even when Inteleon had let go of Piplup with its tail, the Liquidation had completely surrounded its form.

"That's… incredible! I've never seen something like this!" Goh wished he had a pen and pad to jot the effects of what he saw, but he dismissed the thought. There was a battle at hand, and Dawn already got an idea, a smile growing on her face.

"Goh, let's try it again!" the girl confidently shouted, earning a raised eyebrow from Conway, "Piplup, head up Inteleon's arm!"

Slowking already began to step forwards, powering up a Psychic attack, but Conway held his hand out in front of the Pokémon.

"Hold on, there, Slowking. I have a feeling I need to see this for myself…" Conway narrowed his eyes with an inquisitive grin, with Slowking powering down its attack, respecting its trainer's command.

"You've got it, Dawn! Inteleon, use Liquidation as Piplup climbs up!" Goh relayed his next order, watching as Piplup dashed up onto Inteleon, starting from its tail that it had lowered onto the ground, serving as a ramp for Piplup to run up. As the little Pokémon sprinted up with its little webbed feet, Piplup witnessed water not only beginning to form around Inteleon's arms, but around Piplup itself. The sudden rush of current got a courageous smirk to appear on Piplup's beak as it ran onto Inteleon's outstretched arm, pointed at Dusknoir.

"Now, Piplup! Drill Peck!" Dawn completed the appeal move with the final decree, "Go!"

"Pip-pip-luuuuup~!"

"In-TEL!"

It was a sight to behold. Inteleon held its arm steady, aiming at Dusknoir, who was already beginning to reposition itself for its next attack. The moment Piplup reached the edge of Inteleon's fingertips, its beak suddenly elongated and began to cycle at an astonishing rate. With Drill Peck activating, the Liquidation siphoned off of Inteleon's limbs and completely surrounded Piplup, the Drill Peck now swirling the water around it and turning the Pokémon into a torpedo composed of water. Piplup shot out like one too. Not even Dusknoir's speed aided by Trick Room got it to dodge in time as the watery missile impacted against Dusknoir's chest, the vicious sound of drilling emanating both sparks and streams of spinning water from the point of impact's center.

"N-Noirrrrr!" Dusknoir strained in attempting to take the combination attack, but ultimately proved unsuccessful, the appeal move blasting the hulking Ghost-type to the ground. The Pokémon bounced off the surface of the battlefield before recentering itself, levitating back up into the air.

"That was so-"

"-amazing!"

Dawn and Goh celebrated their first battle contest combination invention as Piplup landed back on its two feet, waving back at Inteleon with a boastful expression. The Secret Agent Pokémon gave an approving nod back, clearly impressed with the tenacity the little Pokémon was able to exert. Grookey, meanwhile, banged its stick against the ground in excitement at its friends' achievement.

"What do we call that move?!" Goh's eyes lit up with excitement, realizing that he could make an entire Pokédex of contest combination moves.

"Hmmm… how about-"

"My, my. You two are getting ahead of yourselves, but I think I've given you enough leeway to run down the clock! Slowking, use Water Pulse! Dusknoir, Thunder Punch once more!" Conway interrupted the little victory that the two coordinators and their Pokémon were sharing with orders for both of his Pokémon to counterattack. For Slowking, the Pokémon concentrated as it raised both of its hands into the air to conjure a sphere of condensed water, hurling it at both Piplup and Inteleon. Dusknoir reconducted its fists and lunged for the two as well.

As the two attacks began to head for Dawn and Goh's battle partners, the coordinators steeled themselves, as well as their Pokémon. They knew that thanks to Trick Room, speed wouldn't be the answer to this equation. Goh's eyes quickly switched between the Water Pulse that was just thrown and the rapidly advancing Dusknoir. Now, it was his turn to try for an appeal move.

"Dawn, I think I'm ready to try one of my experiments! I hope you're ready!" Goh spoke up, causing Dawn to glance to her left and give a nod to the boy.

"We're ready, Goh! Let's see what you've come up with!" Dawn smiled, "Ready, Piplup?"

"Piplup!" Piplup held itself steady even in the advent of both the incoming Water Pulse and the Thunder Punch-equipped Dusknoir.

"Get Piplup to use Bubble Beam in the air, and scatter those bubbles around the best you can!" the boy laid out his plan for Dawn, who confidently acknowledged the start of the Pokémon catcher's experiment.

"You heard him, Piplup! Let's do our best!" Goh's contest partner cheerfully encouraged her Pokémon, "Bubble Beam!"

"Piiiip-lup-lup-lup!" the little Pokémon chirped once more as it leaped into the air and corkscrewed around, sending the bubbles in not a condensed beam, but rather a spread everywhere around the battlefield, creating a dazzling display, an ocean of bubbles floating in the midst of the ongoing battle.

The Water Pulse and Dusknoir were now critically close by the time Goh grinned, and pointed his finger at Inteleon, "Use Snipe Shot on the bubbles!"

"In-TEL!" Inteleon took aim, and fired. In just a fraction of a second, the Snipe Shot impacted against one of the lazily floating bubbles. The reaction was instantaneous. The attack ricocheted off of the watery orb, redirecting into another waiting bubble. With a similar result, the Snipe Shot began to bounce around the field of bubbles, beginning to split into more and more hissing, supersonic projectiles. Where once a graceful display of bubbles had floated was now replaced with a devastating and blitzing version of connect-the-dots as more and more Snipe Shots began to split apart and pivot into more and more bubbles.

The light of the contest combination stunned every trainer in the vicinity, with the rays of splitting light dancing across Conway's glasses and shimmering across Dawn and Goh's eyes.

Then, the projectiles began to strike.

The Water Pulse was effortlessly swatted from the air, having been pierced multiple times from every angle by glowing and amplified projectiles. Dusknoir's eye rapidly danced around in its socket as it desperately tried to track every Snipe Shot, only for numerous beams to crash into its back. The Pokémon staggered from the hits, its Thunder Punch faltering and dissipating.

The Pokémon and their respective coordinators were in absolute awe at the scene as the faint outlines of the Snipe Shots began to slowly fade away, leaving behind the subtle line-art image of a constellation in the night sky, it too disappearing as well.

"I guess… my experiment worked… heh…" Goh cracked an uneasy smile.

"Worked? I can't even get over what you just came up with!" Dawn jumped in place cheerfully, "And you made all of this up just in your head?!"

"Well, a few calculations on my phone, and-"

"Thunder Punch! Again!"

The coordinators snapped back to the situation at hand as Dusknoir's Trick Room-boosted speed rocketed it towards both Piplup and Inteleon, and delivered a megavolt-powered punch to each of the Pokémon's chests, zapping them with the super-effective attack and sending them onto the ground.

"Come on, my dear Dawn! Don't let him distract you with celebrations!" Conway chuckled, crossing his arms, "And that goes for you too, Goh. Heh… heh… Psychic, Slowking!"

"Sloooooow…" Slowking brought its arms up and telekinetically grabbed both Piplup and Inteleon, hoisting them into the air. The two Pokémon struggled as they were suspended above the battlefield, then froze in fright as Dusknoir positioned itself in front of the two helpless Water-types.

"Back-to-back Shadow Punch!" Conway ordered, light reflecting off of his glasses as he perfectly positioned Inteleon and Piplup right where he wanted them.

"Du-du-du-du-du-dusk!" Spectral fists began to launch from Dusknoir's hands, battering and assaulting the restricted Inteleon and Piplup, struggling to find an outcome where they didn't have to bear the brunt of the full-powered attack.

"Inteleon! Piplup!" Dawn and Goh both called out at the sight of the Shadow Punch onslaught against their Pokémon partners, both growing uncomfortable as Inteleon and Piplup sustained even more barrages of Dusknoir's ghostly knuckles.

Empoleon heaved its massive chest as it recovered from using its most powerful move, Hydro Cannon, for the combination attack that its trainer and his contest partner had formulated. The imposing Pokémon surveyed the destruction that lay not only in front of it in the grass field, but all around as well, surrounding the Water- and Steel-type. Smoldering craters dotted the landscape at every point one could glance at with their eyes.

"Well, I'm not going to lie. I didn't expect us to get that move down so quickly," Ursula had already recalled her Pokémon partner, "Empoleon's quite the powerhouse, isn't it? Certainly a lot more than that little Piplup of Dawn's."

Kenny crossed his arms as he walked over towards Empoleon, patting it on its shoulder and thanking it for a job well done before he too returned his partner to its capsule in order for it to get some much-needed RnR, "That did always kind of puzzle me. Maybe she'd be Top Coordinator already if she'd evolve Piplup. I know me and Empoleon have gotten so much stronger since then!"

Ursula gave an offhand remark, snidely smirking as she faced away from Kenny, "I think she has some bigger issues to work out if she wants to be the best coordinator there is. For starters, actually picking someone with some contest experience?"

"Don't need to remind me," Kenny hooked his Pokéball back in place, "But, yeah. Winning this whole thing should send the message. Guess…"

Kenny sighed.

"I guess this is really going to be the only way I can get through to her," Kenny wiped his forehead of sweat, as he and Ursula had been training non-stop for an extended period of time, "Hold on, a sec. I need a breather."

Ursula blinked, taking the opportunity to offer the boy a planned act of kindness, offering him a water bottle, "Oh, here you go. It's unopened."

Kenny waved his hand at her, politely, "It's all good! I've got one in my backpack anyways."

The coordinator knelt down and unzipped the backpack that sat on the grass, digging through the stuffed contents of the bag. He cursed himself for not heeding to organize all of the stuff within as he sifted through. A few various knick-knacks tumbled out as Kenny kept looking deeper and deeper.

He still busied himself until one little piece of memorabilia fell from the backpack and rolled out onto the ground. Kenny stopped searching as he looked to his right, and down at the little Piplup figurine on the grass. The sight of the tiny gray stone carving of Dawn's partner Pokémon got the boy to tense up, his confident and outgoing demeanor beginning to fade away. The boy gave a long, hard blink at the parting gift that Dawn had left him at the lighthouse before he picked up the tiny stone doll, and stowed it away into his backpack once again.

He found his water bottle and took a swig of it, closing his eyes as he did so. Upon opening them back up, Ursula was standing beside him, one of her hands on her hip.

"What's the matter? It's like you've seen a Mismagius or something," Ursula cocked her head to the side. In truth, she had gotten a glimpse of the little Piplup idol that slipped from Kenny's backpack, and immediately connected the dots. She smelled another opportunity.

"It's nothing," Kenny dismissed, standing back up after he deposited his bottle of water, "How about we get some lunch now?"

Ursula brought her hand up from her hip, crossing her arms over her chest, "Kenny, I can tell something's off. Whatever it is, just spill it. I'm not going to yell at you like Dawn."

The contest coordinator narrowed his eyes, "I said it's-"

"Give it a rest. You want to be in tip-top shape for the contest if you want to have any hopes of winning and exposing that fraud for who he really is. But winning requires trusting each other, and we can't have your mind preoccupied with whatever's bothering you and expect it not to hurt your focus, and with it, our chances. So, just tell me," Ursula huffed, "You have my promise that I won't laugh or anything."

Convinced by the faux demeanor of Ursula's concern, her contest partner exhaled as he gripped the strap of his backpack with his hand tightly, his knuckles becoming white from the pressure, "It's… just… about the time me and Dawn parted ways with one another, only to meet again after all this time in the contest hall where you found me."

"Oh?" Ursula asked, suppressing her sarcasm for the sake of gaining more dirt. Kenny continued at Ursula's acknowledgment.

"Y'see, I… noticed how much Dawn was choosing to travel around with Ash and Brock, and I figured that there'd be a good chance she'd travel with them even after the Grand Festival. So… I told Dawn that I would challenge Ash to a battle, and if I won, I'd want her to come with me on a journey. Just the two of us, together," Kenny kept his arms at his sides, the memories clearly opening up wounds that even the boy had figured were long healed, "And, well, I ended up winning. But instead of meeting me at the lighthouse like I asked, Dawn left me a letter saying that she'd chosen to go with Ash anyway to cheer him on at the Sinnoh League."

The peach-haired girl's mind began to run over what the boy had told her. It was taking extraordinary willpower to not scoff at Kenny admitting that, despite him being victorious in the battle, his friend had chosen to reject his proposal. Ursula hated Dawn, but when she took a moment to think about it, she really couldn't blame her for what she did, considering the position Kenny had put her in. Nevertheless, Ursula held her tongue and moved to console Kenny.

"Ouch. That… really must have hurt," Ursula grimaced, "You really do like Dawn that much, don't you?"

Kenny hesitated for a moment before nodding, putting a hand on his forehead in shame, "Y-Yeah. I… ugh… I should have gotten it through my head so much sooner to stop calling her 'Dee Dee', even when she said she'd gotten over it at the Grand Festival."

Dee Dee. Now that rang quite the humorous and gleeful memory of Ursula's little play back at the Daybreak Contest. Kenny continued.

"The funny thing was… I was so sure that Dawn would have ended up hooking up with Ash when she got on that boat, so I kind of accepted it. I mean, he's been there to watch her contests in person, and she's witnessed so many of his gym battles and cheered him on at the league, so-"

"But now she's with some new guy you've never seen before. Rough."

Kenny's pupils shrunk at Ursula's comment, the boy staring back up at her. In response, Ursula put her hands on her hips, and leaned forward.

"Come on, Kenny. I appreciate you telling me what's on your mind, but… you've been suspecting this too from the beginning as well, and it's obvious," Ursula narrowed her eyes, "Goh's her boyfriend, and likely asked to be her partner. How else would you explain Dawn choosing him, considering the dolt's probably never even seen a contest before? At least Ash's been in a couple of contests."

The boy grit his teeth behind his pursed lips, "Yeah. It really is that obvious when you stop to think about it for a few seconds."

Kenny tightened both of his hands into fists at his sides, "Y'know, if Dawn would've been there with Ash, I guess I would have understood what was going on-"

"I know what you're getting at, Kenny," Ursula nodded along, feigning understanding and solemnity with Kenny, "That's why this is so important to you. I understand now."

In truth, Ursula couldn't have cared less. Not that it mattered. The seeds that she had planted in Kenny's head were already beginning to sprout. Winning the contest and beating Dawn along with her pathetic partner and Pokémon were one thing, but managing to turn one of her friends against her even more?

A cold, bitter sense of enjoyment danced around Ursula's icy heart. She would have cared less if Kenny had actually convinced Dawn to ditch that nobody and be with him instead. The way things were going, he'd make an even bigger fool of himself and push Dawn further away, truly giving her no options left for comfort. For Kenny to believe this line of logic Ursula was slowly feeding down upon him was the cherry on top. She would beat Dawn, deprive her of her final ribbon to qualify for the Grand Festival, and watch as she'd obviously reject Kenny yet again. And maybe, just maybe, she'd even witness the breakup of her rival and Goh if they actually were together.

The girl smiled. Not at Kenny, but at her plan coming to fruition. She hadn't felt this good in a while.

Ursula placed a hand on Kenny's shoulder.

"Just stick with me, and everything will work out," Ursula giggled, "Now, let's go get something to eat."

The auburn-haired boy returned the grin, "Thanks, Ursula. You're the best."

"You have no idea," the coordinator chuckled in her mind.

"L-Lup…"

"In… Tel…"

"Are you two alright?!" Goh called out from his side of the battlefield along with Dawn.

Both of the Water-type Pokémon heaved on the ground, completely battered from the onslaught of Shadow Punch the two found themselves on the receiving end of. Though despite this, both Dawn and Goh's Pokémon partners were still in the battle. Inteleon and Piplup glanced back at their trainers to give encouraging expressions to convey that yes, they still had fight left in them.

Any hope or optimism would soon be dashed, however, when Dawn eyed her Pokétch. The time limit that Conway had set for the battle only had a minute remaining. The girl's eyes widened at the revelation of the sands in the hourglass about to fall through.

"Goh, we don't have much time!" Dawn relayed the information to her partner, "We need to give it all we've got!"

"Heh, heh… looks like your little breakthroughs and appeal moves are just not enough!" Conway smugly grinned, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Then, light began to emanate from around the battlefield. The ominous and distorted panels of Trick Room flashed back into reality once again. Duksnoir and Slowking witnessed the deconstruction of their greatest boon in battle beginning to dematerialize around them, their much more sluggish speed now becoming a factor once again as the two struggled to maintain the speeds they had moved at once before.

"The Trick Room! It's down!" Goh gasped, adopting a confident smile once more before wiping the grin off his face. An idea had been brewing in his head, just as other contest combinations had been simmering as well. However, there was one in particular that resurfaced; observations that Goh couldn't shake from his head had to be revealed now.

"Dawn, I think we can do this, but… I'm not sure you're going to like my idea!" Goh grit his teeth, hoping that Dawn would trust the Pokémon catcher in this critical moment.

"Of course I trust you, Goh!" Dawn reassured the boy, "What's your idea?!"

"Dawn…" Goh gave Dawn the most stoic expression he could muster, "We have to try the Whirlpool and Snipe Shot combo again."

The pupils in Dawn's eyes shrunk. Piplup and Inteleon turned back towards Goh, unsure if what they had heard really came from Goh's mouth.

"Wh-What?! You can't possibly be thinking of that move out of anything!" Dawn tried to reason with Goh, "It didn't work when we tried it out! Piplup nearly got pulverized when Whirlpool turned into a cannon for Snipe Shot!"

The boy shook his head, "No, Dawn. It did work, and you along with Piplup were the reason it did!"

Time was running out, but the conversation continued. Dawn noticed that the tone of Goh's voice wasn't filled with apathy or blind aggression as it was before. He was his usual collected and analytical self.

Goh continued his explanation as seconds ticked away, "I didn't realize it until now, but we managed to make the move work where Kenny had failed! His mistake was holding the Whirlpool for as long as he could! While in our case-"

The girl gasped the moment she realized the pieces were clicking together, "Piplup stopped holding the Whirlpool and got out of the way… y-you're right! It powered up the Snipe Shot before sending it out! So then we have to-"

"Aim it!" the two coordinators shouted with smiles at the same time, the final piece of the puzzle falling into place, Dawn now diverting her attention back to Piplup, "Alright, Piplup! Let's give it one more try!"

"P-Piplup!" Piplup hesitated for a split second before picking up on Dawn's determination, nodding its head.

"In-tel," Inteleon, on the other hand, still had its doubts as it glanced at its trainer.

"Inteleon, trust me! And trust Dawn and Piplup too!" Goh's mouth beamed, "There's no need to worry!"

Dawn snidely smiled at Goh's cribbed quote. Piplup did as well.

Then, Conway outstretched his arms, declaring himself to be the center of attention now, "Dusknoir! Slowking! Prepare yourselves!"

"Noir…! King!" Both Pokémon steeled themselves beside each other, ready to withstand whatever Piplup and Inteleon had in store to throw at them.

The first order was given. Dawn pointed a finger into the air, and shouted with all her might, "Piplup! Up into the air, and use Whirlpool! Angle the bottom towards Dusknoir and Slowking!"

"Inteleon, help Piplup out with your tail!" Goh quickly relayed his instruction, to which Inteleon dashed for Piplup in the blink of an eye, wrapped its tail around the little Pokémon, and hurled it into the air.

Goh and Conway both had to admit. The sight of such a small Pokémon conjuring a massive vortex of water above its head would never lose its incredulous appearance.

"Pip-LUUUUUUP!" Dawn's Pokémon partner chirped with ferocity as it held its flippers above its head, the gigantic swirl of water forming on top. The Whirlpool roared with unbridled power as even through the air and suspended above, Piplup turned to face its webbed feet down below, angling at the two opponents.

"Now, Inteleon! Snipe Shot through the top!" Goh thrust his hand out, watching with determination as Inteleon bounded into the air over the Whirlpool. It somersaulted over the battlefield, and halfway through, it fired its move as it was upside-down, easily piercing through the event horizon of the cyclone.

Both Dawn and Goh watched with anticipation as they could visibly see the glowing blue projectile begin to dance around inside Piplup's Whirlpool, screaming and accelerating as the last few seconds of the battle clock began to tick down. The Snipe Shot distorted and began glowing violently as it was constantly amplified more and more, until it swirled towards the center of the vortex and, in a fraction of a second, angled at the bottom of Whirlpool and straight at Piplup's face.

"Piplup, NOW!"

Within the moment the little Penguin Pokémon heard its trainer call out, Piplup twisted its body, corkscrewing away from the bottom of the Whirlpool as the Snipe Shot was ejected from its chamber.

"Dusknoir! Slowking! Protect!" Conway gave his final order during the final second that ran down.

The cannon fired. Whirlpool blasted apart as the Snipe Shot screamed out from the bottom, an immense thunderclap shaking the entire indoor battle arena as the sound barrier was pierced. First came the impact of the hyper-accelerated projectile, a blinding flash erupting from the position of Dusknoir and Slowking. It was as if everything had deafened in the world when the Snipe Shot struck home. Then, came the blast. The foundation of the ground was smashed from below, sending arcs of energized water searing from the impact zone. The shockwave nearly blew Conway off his feet as the Pokémon maniac firmly planted the soles of his shoes on the ground, an arm coming up over his face to prevent bits of dirt and pebbles from damaging his glasses.

Both Piplup and Inteleon found themselves catapulted back from the blast, the two managing to land on their feet to witness the result of their combined efforts. The two coordinators that had orchestrated the attack toughed out the shockwave, arms and hands held in front of themselves to shield from the harsh wind.

"R-Roook!" Grookey clung tightly to Goh to keep itself from being blown away.

Then, the attack came to an end. Dawn and Goh both opened their eyes once again, and Piplup, Inteleon, and Grookey as well. The sight before them was nothing short of incredible. The Whirlpool had turned into sparkling blue bits of mist and water that slowly floated down, along with blue energy crackling in the air. A long, piercing contrail surrounded by a ring of vapor indicated where the Snipe Shot had traveled in milliseconds, connecting down into a dust cloud where Slowking and Dusknoir once stood.

As the cloud cleared, both Pokémon were found struggling to maintain their protective force fields from their respective Protect moves, the two turning around and gasping at the destruction that lay around them. Everything that surrounded the two Pokémon was devastated. The dirt around them hissed with steam; the smooth and polished battlefield was now replaced with debris and rubble. If one were to have examined the terrain around Slowking and Dusknoir, it would have been unrecognizable from the battlefield before it.

Then, the last second finally ran out.

Conway's, and Dawn's, Pokétches beeped.

The indication of the timer's expiration did nothing to alter the reactions of the trainers.

"I-Incredible… such power!" Conway gawked at the sheer damage just two moves could inflict when properly combined together.

"It… worked! It actually worked!" Dawn ran towards Piplup as the battle ended, scooping up her Pokémon and hugging the tiny creature, "That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen you do!"

Piplup's face grew red, the Pokémon trying to play off its achievements and the praise it was now receiving in a meager attempt to look humble, "Pip-Piplup~"

"That was amazing, Inteleon!" Goh leaped at the back of his Pokémon, wrapping his arms around the tall and slender Water-type with a hug, Grookey dancing in celebration beside them. Inteleon blinked, the Pokémom smiling back at Goh and giving him a pat on the head. Truthfully, it was just thankful that Goh had recovered from his emotional turmoil. Pulling off this move proved it.

"Both of you did great. Now, take a good rest," Conway held out both of his Pokéballs, and recalled Dusknoir and Slowking, "I thought that my defeat against Ash had given me a new equation in my battle formula, but this… contest combinations might just be the key to my double battle strategy!"

As the two coordinators showered their Pokémon in praise, Conway gave a faint smile, tilting his glasses up to his nose and reflecting a little light off of them. He saw little reason to remain, and turned to walk off.

"Just one minute!"

A hand grabbed his wrist, and got the Pokémon maniac to turn around and face the girl that was dragging him back into a conversation, "Conway, we can't thank you enough for letting us have a battle with you! It really helped us and our Pokémon bring out our appeal moves!"

"Er… you're, uh, welcome, Dawn! Heh…" Conway nervously chortled at the girl.

"Yeah, I guess we really just needed to be in the heat of a battle," Goh chuckled, rubbing the back of his head before he took out his Rotom Phone, "Guess you'd like the Suicune data now? A promise is a promise."

Conway raised an eyebrow, then looked back at Goh with shimmering glasses, "In light of the mood… perhaps it'd be unwise of me to really portray that I've done this solely for that information on Sui-"

"Well, alright, Conway. If you insist-"

"Y-Yes! I need that data!" Conway's enthusiasm jumped through the roof as he held out his Pokétch while simultaneously grabbing Goh's hand that held his phone. He forced Goh to tap his Pokétch with his Rotom Phone. The transfer was instantaneous, with a little beep to indicate the download was successful.

"Heh, heh… My double battle strategy has seen a significant boost, and I now have the data of a Legendary Pokémon! What a spectacular day!" Conway chuckled to himself as he began to walk off, "Let's see… so purifying water by running on its surface… so that wasn't a myth…!"

Dawn and Goh shared exhausted and exasperated smiles with one another as the Pokémon maniac trudged away, with the girl speaking up, "Guess we'll see him at the contest too, considering he's sticking around to watch…"

"Pip-Piplup…" Dawn's Pokémon sat down on its rear, exhausted. Grookey approached Dawn's partner, patting it on its shoulder with a cheer. Inteleon stretched, working out its aching joints. Goh got the message, and returned Inteleon back inside its Pokéball as the red ray connected from the capsule.

Then, Goh smiled back at her, rubbing the back of his head, "Hey, Dawn? Thanks for trusting me, there. Truth be told… I wasn't sure that my theory would have held up, but I really appreciate you giving me a chance. Even after everything that happened yesterday."

"Of course I trust you, especially since you're no longer down in the dumps!" Dawn giggled before she responded again, "So, how about we take a little break, then get right back to training? I have a feeling we're going to steal the show at the contest!"

Goh chuckled, his cheeks growing rosy from Dawn's contagious optimism, "I think for once… our future's looking bright~!"

The day had progressed. More and more refining had been done for Goh and Dawn's training, as well as small refreshers for the previous rounds of the contest that had already been practiced. A few new tricks were learned here and there that could serve to enhance either the appeal move for the Performance Stage, or for the routine in the Choreography Stage.

Meanwhile, day had turned to night. The two coordinators' Pokémon were either resting within their Pokéballs, or dozing off on the beds in the hotel room. However, one boy in particular wasn't resolving to catch some shut-eye just yet, even when the big day was just around the corner.

Goh laid down on the well-maintained grass of the hotel property, gazing up into the night sky through a clearing of trees. His heart slowed to a steady pace as his eyes darted to and fro, hoping to make out the constellations he knew could be found when looking up from Sinnoh, as well as hoping to catch the elusive tail of a shooting star.

The boy exhaled peacefully, reaching a hand out towards the starry night. He grasped it closed, reminding himself once again in his mind, "It's my future. And it's in the palm of my hand."

Then, a little rustling of footsteps walking on grass approached him.

"Heya, Goh. Admiring the stars?" Dawn peeked around the corner of a tree, approaching the stargazing boy, "They're wonderful when the clouds are clear."

Goh blinked before turning towards Dawn at the sound of her voice, "Yeah. I'm trying to find the Sinnoh constellations."

The girl slightly tilted her head to the side in a puzzled look before she snapped out of her expression, giving the boy a warm smile, "Mind if I join you?"

The boy smiled, "Not at all."

Goh expected Dawn to take a seat a little bit of a ways from him, but instead, the girl walked up next to him, and layed down side by side, inches away. Goh opened his mouth slightly in surprise at her close proximity, but brushed aside the thought as Dawn giggled, pointing up at the twinkling stars, "Oh, I already see one. My mom told me that's Arceus's Ring! You can tell from those two curves next to each other."

Goh shifted his head, squinting his eyes before realizing that he missed the formation of stars, "Huh, whaddya' know? Good find!"

"Thanks," Dawn beamed a grin, "I used to do a little stargazing sometimes when I was traveling around with Ash and Brock. Sometimes we'd sleep outside, and it was the only way I could get myself to sleep out in the wilderness."

Dawn's contest partner chuckled, nodding his head at Dawn's story, "Yeah. For me…"

The boy blinked, his expression becoming a bit more solemn, "Hey, Dawn? Can I tell you a little bit about myself?"

"Huh? Oh, of course you can, Goh. No need to worry at all!" Dawn reassured Goh, earning a relieved exhale from the boy as he began to speak up.

"Y'see… I used to gaze up into the night sky so much when I was younger. I was… super shy back then, and watching the stars… It comforted me. I felt like they were always around, even when I didn't have any friends back then, despite Chloe trying her hardest to be mine," the boy's smile quivered, "It wasn't until just recently that… I began to make new friends as well."

Goh couldn't help but chuckle, "Back then, when I was little, I only wanted Chloe as a friend; she was the only person who looked out for me, the only person who I could accept. I never understood why I didn't want to play with the others, why I didn't want to make other friends, and why I got so upset when my teacher kept asking, even though she just wanted to help. But the truth is, it's been the happiest time in my life to meet so many new Pokémon and people, and to actually make a bunch of new friends as well!"

Dawn blinked. She realized that none of this was really about the stars.

"Especially friends… like you," Goh stopped himself for a second as he tried to complete his sentence, "When you said that no matter if we won or lost, that you were still happy enough for me to be your contest partner, even after what I put you through yesterday… Dawn, I can't express how happy I was to hear that, especially at my lowest point."

"Goh…" the girl's eyes shimmered as she turned her head towards the boy laying down on her right. He was smiling back at her. Dawn shut her eyes and returned the boy's grin.

"I really meant it, Goh. And I'm so glad that I eventually convinced you to try all of this out with me. As well as sticking to your promise of taking a break from catching Pokémon," Dawn then looked away from Goh with a guilty expression, "Not that I really ended up making your time with me stress-free. Ugh…"

Goh chuckled, "It's like you said, Dawn. No need to worry about any of that."

"Hah! I see you're finally taking my advice to heart!" Dawn giggled, trying to hide the faint blush on her cheeks when Goh repeated her catchphrase with sincerity, "Now you get it!"

The two shared a laugh before both Dawn and Goh began to simmer down, the two bringing their attention back to the stars. A minute passed between the two as their thoughts wandered about, whether at the stars or back to the person laying beside them on the grass.

Dawn then gave a little sigh.

"Goh… I have a story of my own from when I was little. But when I tell it, you need to promise me that you won't laugh, okay?" Dawn spoke without a smile.

"I won't laugh," Goh stated.

The girl nodded, then began, "One day, when I was little and in kindergarten, I chased around the two class pets, Plusle and Minun. As the class was cleaning up, I scooped both of the little Pokémon up and nuzzled them since, well, they're adorable. I guess they didn't like that too much, and they gave me a zap, frizzling my hair and making it sparkle with static."

A smile returned to her face along with a chuckle as she rubbed her arm, "After that… Kenny and Leona said that I had 'Diamond Dandruff', so that ended up sticking with me throughout kindergarten. And school after that. It was just… super, super embarrassing, and I've never been able to live it down until recently. I've gotten over it, but not hearing that nickname in such a long time when Kenny called me it at the Contest Hall really took me off guard."

"Diamond Dandruff… D-D… Dee- oh. So that's where 'Dee Dee' comes from," Goh put together the pieces, a thumb on his chin, "Yeah. I think I've been in a similar situation before, but no one I'm friends with has called me by my 'nickname', if you could even call it that. It's really just an insult."

"You had one too?" Dawn asked.

"Kind of. A long time ago in school, I tried to make some friends by approaching a group of boys, for once trying to overcome my shyness. It… didn't go well, and they came up with a nickname for me," Goh began to speak, with Dawn noticing the tone of pain in his voice, rather than embarrassment.

"Wh-What was the name?" the girl inquired.

"Goh Away."

Dawn's eyes widened, and she could even feel the pain that was inflicted on Goh's heart, "Oh, wow. That's so… direct. I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. But I'm not trying to downplay your nickname either. I guess I'm just a little thankful none of my friends would ever call me by that," Goh drummed his fingers on the ground.

"And they should never! 'Dee Dee' is one thing, but that- yeah! That's not even a nickname! It's a straight-up insult!" Dawn felt furious just listening to Goh's story, knowing that little kids could come up with something so cruel.

"It's okay, Dawn, really. I have real friends now, like Ash, Chloe, Horace, and-" the boy pointed a finger at Dawn's nose, "You."

The girl calmed down as her eyes crossed at the sight of Goh's finger, and she chuckled, "Well, I'm glad that I can call you a friend too. And… listen to me talk about the whole 'Dee Dee' thing."

"Of course, Dawn. The same goes for hearing me out too," the boy then nervously smiled, "Y-You think, maybe… we could hang out some more after the contest?"

"Well, look at you, always thinking ahead. How about we actually try our hardest, first!" Dawn clenched her hand into a fist in front of her face, grinning at the boy who lay down beside her, "But, yeah. Of course, Goh. That sounds wonderful!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Goh gave a toothy grin, the two laughing under the night sky as their hands came back down to rest beside each other, only inches apart. Another moment of silence followed, with Dawn mulling over everything that she and Goh had been through in the last few days. Team Rocket, all of the training, the smiles, the fight...

The girl shut her eyes for a second before opening them once more, softly speaking up at the stars, "Goh, I think I figured it out."

The Pokémon catcher turned his head over to his left, eyeing his contest partner, "Huh? What did you figure out?"

"I think I might know why I've been... struggling," Dawn continued, trying her hardest to keep a smile on her face. Goh caught Dawn's gaze, and didn't say a word. His expression conveyed his desire for Dawn to tell him, so she did.

"Ever since I've been traveling by myself, without Ash or Brock, sometimes it's just felt a bit, well, lonely. They were there to congratulate me for my victories... and comfort me in my defeats. But when you're journeying alone, you really have to rely on yourself and your Pokémon for so much..."

Dawn tightened her hand into a fist.

"Goh... am I weak for relying on my friends?" Dawn asked, her heart aching once more, "I feel like... I'm just so much worse without the people I love to be around watching me. It's gotten me to think about whether or not I really can become Top Coordinator on my own, and if the only reason I did so well when I began my first journey was because my friends were there at every step of the way."

Goh sat up from laying down on his back, and glanced down at Dawn. He spoke with a straightforward prose.

"No. Having your friends to cheer you on isn't a weakness, and anyone who says it is truly doesn't understand friendship in the slightest," the boy spoke as firmly as he could, "Even if you feel like you're performing worse without your friends around, the conclusion can't be definitively made. Maybe that really is the case, or maybe you're just in a bad streak of contests. I mean, you've been traveling by yourself for such a while; that takes immense bravery and determination to even do that in the first place!"

The coordinator's eyes shimmered as she listened to every word her contest partner spoke to her, "Goh..."

"So, no. You're not weak. You're one of the bravest, and kindest people I've ever met, and quite frankly... I wish I could've been your friend sooner, and I'm so happy that I get to hang out with you for once. I mean it," Goh nodded, his determined expression refusing to waver. Dawn's eyes wandered back to the grass, eyeing around before she met Goh's pupils once more, her smile returning to her face.

"Thanks, Goh. I really needed that," Dawn gave a closed-eyed giggle, "Are you sure you've been too shy make friends before?"

"A-Agh-" Goh haphazardly and embarrassingly chuckled, rubbing his hand on the back of his head, "C-Come on, you're gonna make me blush."

The two shared another laugh as they reverted their gaze back to the night sky. Now pointing out different formations of stars and constellations, there was a warm and fuzzy feeling that began to grow in both of the contest coordinators. Sure, the two had spent lots of time with their other friends, but this time… well, maybe it was just a little different.

Whatever it was, it felt…

…nice.