Chapter 10: No U-Turning Back, Now!
"Aqua Accelerator!" Goh suddenly perked up in front of the bathroom mirror, the boy exclaiming in his moment of clarity.
"Huh? What?" Dawn raised an eyebrow at Goh after she rinsed her mouth from the toothpaste that was on her toothbrush, "Aqua Accelerator?"
"That's the name we should call our Whirlpool and Snipe Shot combo!" the Pokémon catcher was already giddy from not only the circumstances of the day, but also at the opportunity to slap a new name onto an appeal move that he and Dawn had perfected, "I mean, I can't let you have all the fun in giving names to our contest combinations, right?"
Dawn blinked at Goh before nodding with a chuckle, turning off the running sink water, "Oh, right! 'Aqua Accelerator'… hey, that really rolls off the tongue! See how awesome appeal moves are, especially when you get to come up with names for them?"
The two coordinators were in high spirits, an absolutely vital mood to be in considering that today was the day of the contest, and all coordinators that were participating were expected to arrive well before the competition started. Dawn and Goh managed to get a good night's rest once again, allowing them to speed through their morning routines effortlessly. Even though a sense of urgency was upon them, they still managed to sneak in conversations and laughter between each other as they went from brushing their teeth, to taking turns getting dressed in the bathroom, to gathering what they needed to take to the contest, and finally to enjoying yet another hearty breakfast to power themselves up for the everything they'd need to get through.
Stepping outside after walking past the sliding glass doors of the resort's lobby, a bright, sunny day greeted Dawn and Goh, the sunlight warming the two up even in the early morning. Dawn's cheeks flushed red with a cheery disposition, while Goh took his hands out of his sweater pockets to put them on his hips, confidence beaming from the boy. The girl next to him gave a stretch with her arms, then pumped herself up, "Alright, Goh! Are you ready?"
Goh nodded sincerely, his grin refusing to fade, "I was about to ask you the same thing. Let's go!"
With that, the two set off towards the Hearthome City Contest Hall, walking along the slowly modernizing streets of the Sinnoh Capital of Contests, contrasted with traditional and more rural-styled buildings dotted around lush, green trees. During their stroll, Dawn snapped her fingers, and pointed at Goh, "Alright, quiz time!"
The boy was taken aback at the sudden introduction of a test during the middle of their walk, but quickly recovered, "Quiz? Now? Alright, lay it on me, Dawn."
"Number of rounds!" Dawn pointed a finger at Goh.
"Three! Performance, Choreography, Battle, in that order!" the boy sharply answered the first question.
"Number of judges!" Goh's contest partner held up another finger.
"Four! Contesta, Sukizo, Pierre, and Matilda!" the boy tapped his fingers one by one, "And Matilda's the one we need to watch out for..."
"Great! Now, for your final question…" tugging at her beanie, Dawn perked up when she found the last query for Goh to answer, "How many teams are there in this contest?"
At this the boy froze up, scratching his cheek, "Uh… well… huh. I guess I didn't pay close enough attention to the number of pairings. Guess I was a little too focused on looking at profi-"
Goh stopped himself from speaking further, considering he might have brought up his snooping of Dawn's record once more, "How many are there?"
"Let's see… wow! There's nineteen teams participating!" Dawn gasped in amazement at the staggering number of coordinators and their teams on her Pokétch, "That's… thirty-eight coordinators in total!"
"Nineteen teams? Wait… then how do the brackets work?" Goh asked, realizing that he had overlooked this detail when it came to the research he had conducted; regrettably, he had primarily focused on the individual profiles of his and Dawn's opponents.
"Contests always have fixed brackets, no matter how many coordinators sign up in order to rein in how many performances are actually made. Remember, it's as much of a show for the audience as it is a competition! But nineteen teams… I never would have guessed that many coordinators would be traveling to Hearthome City for the Doubles Contest!" Dawn puffed her cheeks, "I guess I should have known something was up when a lot of people I know were all entering as well…"
Goh looked up before nodding, "Yeah, I guess potentially sitting through so many more appeals, battles, and now dance routines might end up taking a while… I know how long Pokémon Battle Tournaments can last from the few I've sat in a stadium for. What are the brackets like? I remember you mentioning that the first-round eliminations would be pretty harsh."
The girl pursed her lips as she looked back at Goh, "Only the top four teams are going to be moving on from the first round of appeals."
"T-Top four? Yeah… that unfortunately sounds about right considering-" Goh was then cut off by Dawn.
"Two ribbons are on the line in this contest, so coordinators are going to have to really go all out even during the Appeal Stage at the very beginning!" Dawn then tightened her hand into a fist, and pumped it in front of Goh, "But there's no need to worry! We'll be just fine if we give it our all! Right, Goh?"
The Pokémon catcher-turned-coordinator gave a quick blink, before chuckling at Dawn's optimism, "Yeah! Just wait till the judges and the crowd see what we have in store for them! I bet even Matilda will be impressed!"
"Groo-Grookey! Piiip-lup!" the two Pokémon riding atop their respective trainer's shoulders rooted and chirped in cheer.
"Okay, okay, 'Mister Brave and Bold'! Maybe we should set our expectations to a reasonable level!" Dawn giggled, earning a laugh from Goh once more as the two continued their walk towards the Contest Hall, which was finally coming into view. Already, there was quite the crowd gathered around the building with signs posted to indicate where audience members were to wait before the doors would open for entry, and for where the performers and coordinators were instructed to venture into the building.
"Oh, there it is! C'mon, Goh! We've gotta go this way!" Dawn excitedly pointed at the walkway designated for coordinators, briefly looking back at Goh with a carefree smile as she ran off with Piplup, "I can't wait to see everyone else!"
"H-Hang on!" Goh called out futilely before breaking into a frantic jog after his contest partner, making sure not to jostle his bag that he was holding, and getting Grookey to hoot in excitement at its trainer picking up the pace and rushing into the large building through the side entrance.
The boy rushed inside through the open doors of the secondary entrance into the Contest Hall, only to find his partner nowhere in sight. Instead, he was faced with an ocean of other Pokémon coordinators, conversing and watching some of the large TV monitors that displayed all of the portraits of the participants at the contest. Lots of Pokémon were also out and about, many sticking to the sides of what was likely their respective trainers.
Goh exhaled. There certainly was quite the variety in Pokémon roaming the contest hall, and it wasn't just species native to Sinnoh at that. He spotted a Lurantis, a Girafarig, and even a Hariyama among many others, as well as a multitude of pre-evolved Pokémon—definitely being brought along for their cuteness factor.
"Goh! Over here!" a hand waved among the crowd of coordinators and staff members as Dawn jumped up and down in order to break over the ocean of people.
"Coming!" Goh tried to shout back over the noise as he worked to slip past everyone, giving him a little nostalgia from when he and Dawn had to dodge pedestrians on one of their first outings in Hearthome City, "Sorry! Coming through- whoops!"
Grookey, once again, was just happy to be along for the ride.
At last, Goh managed to break through the crowd, his hands on his knees as he panted. He held up a hand, still heaving, "I-I'm here!"
The boy then tilted his head back up towards Dawn, who came over to his side, wrapping an arm around his to bring a confident fist up, and smiled back at her friends, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my contest partner, Goh!"
Goh was taken off guard by Dawn wrangling him up by his elbow, stumbling on his feet as he glanced ahead to see everyone who was meeting his eyes. Before him stood six other coordinators: four girls, and two other boys. Each of them greeted him with a smile.
"I was wondering who Dawn would end up choosing for the contest, considering I saw Zoey signing up alongside Nando!" the light-brunette-haired girl wearing a red-bowed headband walked forward, "It's nice to meet you, Goh! The name's May, and I've heard your name mentioned a lot when Ash has sent me messages, so I guess we have a little bit in common, huh?"
"O-Oh, you know Ash too?" Goh deadpanned before giving an uneasy smile. He was beginning to feel in the same position as he was back in Alola when all of Ash's former classmates swarmed him, "I-It's nice to meet you too, May!"
"Wait a minute, May… that's right!" the honey-blonde-haired girl with the gray fedora, sleeveless black sweater, and short red-and-white skirt leaned in a little closer, "You're Goh, the boy who was on the boat with Ash when Chloe came to Lilycove City! Chloe's talked a lot about you too!"
"Has she? Hah… I wonder what she's been telling you all…!" the boy began to get more and more embarrassed as, rather than him having to introduce himself to everyone, he'd already turned out to be quite the celebrity.
"Yeah, kinda wish she joined the idol troupe too… but I can't complain at all! It's nice to meet you too, Goh!" the girl in the turquoise hoodie that matched her equally turquoise hair blinked, then giggled, pointing at Goh and Serena, "Hey, you two are matching! That's so totally cute!"
Goh and Serena blinked as well, sizing each other up before gasping, pointing at each other's fashion articles and the notable similarities of the black, gray, and red hues between them, both exclaiming, "Y-You're right! What are the odds?!"
Dawn gave a chuckle, "Look at that! Are you sure you're not an idol in disguise, Goh?"
Steam erupted from the boy's head as everyone, including Piplup, shared a hearty laugh at the boy's expense.
"Now, now. Let's give Goh some space. I, for one, think it's wonderful that a newcomer has decided to grace us with his presence, and we should be treating him just as one of us," the tallest member of the crew, an older boy with long, black hair and an exquisite outfit, set aside his mini-harp, "After all, new coordinators can really surprise us veterans with their completely new perspective and creativity. It's a pleasure to meet you, Goh. My name is Nando-"
"WOAH!" Goh immediately broke out of his stupor of embarrassment as he gawked at Nando's musical instrument, "I-Is that a Mew design on that harp?! That's so cool!"
"I…uh… yes, it is! This harp has beena family heirloom for generations! I'm flattered that you've taken such an interest in it!" Nando, despite his calm and collected demeanor, now found himself on the receiving end of the gallons of praise Goh was beginning to throw at him.
"Well, Nando might be optimistic about your performance, but with you having never been in a contest before… well, the name's Drew, and I'll be looking forward to whatever you'll come up with on appeals. But I hope you know it's going to be a rough contest for newcomers!" Drew, the green-haired boy in the purple jacket, crossed his arms, "In environments like this, newbies get eaten alive."
"Oh, cut it out, Drew. He's going to do great!" May pouted at her contest partner, "Besides, we've gotta get a few more rehearsals done! See you all later!"
With this, May began to push Drew away from behind, startling the boy before he waved back to the group, "I guess I'm going this way now!"
The coordinators all collectively shared a laugh as Serena, Lisia, and Nando all started to converse with Goh, even as the boy was still trying to find out everything he could about Nando's Mew-shaped mini-harp. As Dawn smiled at the sight of Goh managing to overcome his initial uneasiness over meeting her friends, especially after the talk the two had the previous night, a hand tapped on her shoulder. She turned to face whoever was trying to garner her attention, and instantly had her spirits lifted even higher after coming face to face with one of her best friends.
"'Sup, Dawn. I hope you didn't forget about me!" Zoey gave a friendly point to Dawn's eyes, "So glad you managed to find a partner!"
"Zoey! It's so good to see you again after all this time~!" Dawn and Zoey grasped each other's hands, and giggled just as they did back at the Sinnoh Grand Festival, "How's everything going with Nando?"
Zoey closed her eyes and smiled, "Honestly… it's been great. A lot of this has been such a load off my chest that I can't even think about how to thank him. The fact that he still reached out to me after how I treated him at first… he's really quite the guy!"
"I'm happy for you, Zoey! And as you can see, I got a partner of my own as well! Just… he seems a little busy right now," Dawn gave an exasperated smile as she thumbed towards Goh, apparently now describing his ultimate goal in regards to catching Pokémon, stunning the two girls and boy he was talking with, "But it's been such a great time to train and practice with him! And I originally kind of did this just to help him slow down on catching Pokémon so he didn't overdo himself."
"You can overdo yourself on catching Pokémon?" Zoey raised an eyebrow.
"Apparently you can, in Goh's case," Dawn giggled, earning a snort from Zoey. Then, Dawn's friend broke her smile as she came closer to Dawn's ear, making sure no one else was within earshot.
"So… you saw that Kenny partnered up with Ursula, right?" Zoey whispered, "How do you feel about that? I would have thought that he'd know better than to team up with someone like her, considering… well… his offer he made a while back."
Dawn sighed, exhaling through her nose.
"Yeah. I saw," the girl half-heartedly replied, "I've had my suspicions as to why Kenny agreed to pair up with her, and… don't tell anyone else, but so has Goh. None of this sits right with me, and I'm sure it has to do with my outburst at him during the sign-ups."
"Outburst? Oh, I'll give him an outburst alright when I see him. Your friend should never-"
Dawn gripped Zoey's wrist.
"Zoey, please don't. I… don't want to make anything worse than it is," Dawn looked down at the ground before she brought her head back up, "But, hey, I shouldn't be thinking about that right now. What I need to be thinking about is trying my hardest along with Goh to win!"
Zoey chuckled, "There's the Dawn I know!"
"Well, well, well! I'm surprised you're still trying to become Top Coordinator after you broke your promise to me back at the Grand Festival!" an abrasive, snobbish voice came from a magenta-haired girl with comically oversized and lensless glasses, "So how about you at least try and do better this time! Come on, Jameson!"
Jessilina, as quick as she entered the conversation, turned away in a huff with her lavender-haired contest partner, who seemed to be looking worse for wear. As the two trudged off, Jessilina's contest partner seemed to be demoralized and moaning about a bottle cap, or something like that. Zoey rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah, I forgot she's back. Never really understood what her problem was after all this time," Zoey waved a hand in front of her head dismissively, "Well, good luck, Dawn, and tell Goh I mean that for him as well. See ya later!"
"Bye, Zoey!" Dawn nodded before turning her attention back to Goh, who was devastated at the Mew harp being whisked away as Nando went off to rejoin his contest partner.
"B-But I needed to know the metallurgy…" Goh hung his head low as Serena and Lisia bid him their farewell and headed off deeper into the Contest Hall.
Dawn walked up to her contest partner, and with a finger, gently hooked Goh's chin and brought his face back up, "Alright, Goh! It's about time we head to our changing room to get ready!"
The boy took a deep breath before returning Dawn's confident expression, "Right!"
"Piplup! Rook!" the coordinator's Pokémon sounded off.
"Let's see, right! Here it is," Goh pointed out the door in the hallway that was designated for the two of them, "Alright, let's get ready inside. The opening ceremony is going to begin sooner than later!"
"No need to worry, Goh. We've got plenty of time!" Dawn smiled, reaching for the door.
"My, my. Plenty of time? That's quite the dangerous phrase, coming from you."
A chill raced up Dawn's spine, and Goh stumbled backwards against the wall. Piplup gawked in horror, and Grookey hopped off of Goh's shoulder before he managed to stumble too far, happily cheering at a familiar face who was chuckling and adjusting his glasses.
"C-Conway?!" the two coordinators shrieked in complete and utter shock.
"P-Piplup?!" Piplup had absolutely enough of Conway's surprise entrances.
"Surprised to see me? I told you I'd be coming to watch you perform," Conway chuckled, the light finally ceasing to reflect in his glasses.
"B-But what are you even doing here of all places?!" Dawn was still trying to get her heart to stop racing, "I thought you'd just be in the audience!"
Conway nodded with a sly grin, "That's right, but I find that there's no harm in wishing you good luck before you head out there. I wouldn't be able to do that without a backstage pass, now would I?"
"Figures," Goh sarcastically remarked, stuffing his hands into his sweater pockets, "Just… kinda wish you'd stop appearing like that. It creeps me out!"
"That's Conway for you- oh, wait a minute! You being here is actually exactly what I needed!" With a quick motion, Dawn approached Conway, causing him to raise an eyebrow, "Since you're the only one I know that isn't actively competing in the contest, can you do me and Goh a huge favor and watch Piplup and Grookey for us?"
"Wh-WHAT?! DAWN?!" Goh's surprise at Conway's sudden appearance paled in comparison to the reaction he gave to hearing Dawn's request.
"P-PIPLUP?!" the Penguin Pokémon doubled over in sheer, unadulterated alarm.
"Uh… me? Watch your Pokémon?" Even Conway was unsure if Dawn was really in her right mind. Granted, he was a responsible Pokémon trainer, but to actually ask this of him?
"Please, Piplup and Grookey won't get the opportunity to really watch the whole show unless they're in the audience, and they can cheer us on from there!" the girl reasoned to the Pokémon maniac, "I know we've been asking you for a lot of favors, but can you please help us with this one too?"
Conway looked at Dawn, then at Goh, the latter of whom was clearly just as shocked at Dawn's request as he was. Fixing his glasses, Conway adopted a much more collected manner, mulling all of this over in his head. Even though he'd unlocked countless strategies about battle, and knowledge in all sorts of fields of practicality, he still remained far from understanding the enigma that is Dawn.
In an effort to at least lower Goh's stress and better present himself in front of Dawn, Conway gave a small smile and nodded, "Alright. I'll take Piplup and Grookey with me into the audience, and I'll give Piplup back if you two manage to make it to the Battle Stage."
"Thank you so much, Conway! I really appreciate it!" Dawn cheerfully smiled.
"LUP?!" Piplup looked up at its trainer, the Pokémon feeling like it was about to succumb to a heart attack.
"Rookey!" Grookey tapped its stick on the ground, thrilled that it would be able to watch the contest from the stands.
"Alright, you two. Let's not take up any more of their time," Conway scooped up both of the Pokémon and began to walk off, "Don't lose sight of victory!"
"PIPLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!" Piplup shrieked for Dawn.
"Rook!" Grookey cheerfully waved at the two coordinators.
Dawn and Goh both shared exasperated smiles.
"You… really think they're going to be fine?" Goh gave a glance at Dawn.
"Piplup and Grookey? I'm more worried about Conway, honestly speaking!" Dawn rubbed the back of her head, giving a tiny laugh, "Now, how about we get ready?"
Dawn opened the door, and grinned as she came into the changing room. The chamber was fully furnished with two sets of mirrors and a partition to separate the room into halves to give some privacy when the two would change into their contest outfits. A couple of seats and a couch along with bountiful shelves of accessories and beauty products rounded out the room.
"Oh, wow! This is perfect!" Dawn cheerfully held her hands together upon noticing a clothes rack that had both of the coordinators' respective outfits, "And our costumes are here, all neat and tidy!"
Goh pulled his hands out of his sweater pockets and took a hold of his tuxedo, bringing it to his side of the partition, "Alright, Dawn. Just give me a bit, and I'll be looking sharp!"
Dawn giggled, unhooking her dress off of the rack and bantering with her contest partner, "Not as sharp as me, Goh!"
Behind their sides of the partition, the two coordinators began to slip off their daily clothes to don their contest outfits, with Goh's white-and-blue tuxedo slipping on, piece by piece, and Dawn's white dress with red accents being fitted over her body. Looking in the mirror, Dawn gave a smile and a curtsey, smiling at the reflection that greeted her.
"No need to worry! You're looking great, Dawn!" the coordinator confidently assured the gorgeously dressed girl in the mirror before fixing the bows to her hair, glancing back at the mirror to tie the ribbon that would be flowing from the back of her head, "Agh… I don't know how I managed to do this the first time. I kinda wish Goh was helping me-"
The girl suddenly flustered up as she shook her head, "Wh-What am I thinking?! Get your mind out of the gutter!"
It took a little bit, but the accessory on the back of her head, and the large bow on the back of her dress with its two long, trailing ribbons, were finally affixed to her costume. Looking herself over in the mirror, she brought her hands up in front of her face and clenched them into fists. Dawn gave the most confident grin she could've mustered in her life and exhaled through her nose sharply.
"This is it! Me and Goh are going to wow the crowd!"
Dawn then heard Goh's voice call over the partition, "Hey, Dawn? I'm ready when you are!"
"O-Oh! Just one sec!" Dawn slipped on her white-and-red high heels before stepping out of the partition, "Done!"
As the girl walked out, so did her contest partner. Gone was the gray-and-red sweater and the black pants. Once more, Dawn found herself gazing upon the very handsomely dressed boy, the flaring bottom of his white overcoat giving the bookworm such an uncharacteristic, yet somehow, seemingly natural spark of coolness. With a hand on his hip, and another gloved hand running over his hair, the boy gave a boastful and smug smile with closed eyes and a head tilted to the ceiling.
"Just like I said, Dawn. I look good in anything!" Goh grinned, still striking his pose, "Especially in this!"
The girl rolled her eyes with a smile once more, and chuckled at her friend's disposition before approaching the boy, suddenly fumbling with his upper chest as she snidely remarked, "You'd look a lot better if you did your bowtie correctly."
Goh's arrogant expression faltered as Dawn fixed his bowtie by making sure the two ribbons actually descended from the accessory, which he had neglected to remember in his haste to get dressed.
"There we go!" Dawn chuckled, poking the ribbon and Goh's chest, stepping away to look the boy over, "Now you actually look good! Almost as good as me!"
At that last sentence, the boy blinked and once more came face to face with Dawn in her contest dress. Yet again, Goh was reminded of just how pretty Dawn really was, and the Pokémon catcher couldn't help but freeze up in front of her for a split second before rubbing the back of his head, looking away as his previously confident expression had fled like a Latias, "Y-Yeah. You look good too."
"Thank you!" Dawn felt some ego beginning to return before motioning Goh to follow her into the hallway, "They're about to start with the opening ceremony, and before you know it, we'll be on the stage for our appeal! Are you ready?"
Then, Dawn suddenly gasped, holding her hands to her mouth, "W-Wait, you don't have stage fright, do you?!"
"No! Not at all! I performed in a Pokémon circus once!" Goh snapped out of his stupor, waving his hands in denial before he began to calm down and put some more thought into it, "I mean… well… maybe I'm just getting Butterfree in my stomach. Why now? I… actually don't know for once."
At this, Dawn giggled, "That's just the pre-contest jitters! You'll be fine!"
Fully dressed in their outfits for the contest, the duo exited their changing room, pumping each other up for their performance as the hallway was now bustling with other coordinators. They too were now in their costumes and dresses, all standing by with seal-covered Pokéballs at their sides.
Dawn and Goh both glanced down at their own Pokéballs, bristling with the special stickers that they had fitted on earlier. Their confidence rose once more.
"Can't believe we're finally going to do this," Goh looked at Dawn with a grin, "You think we'll do well?"
"After our training, we're going to do more than well!" Dawn adjusted one of the bows in her hair.
"Hah! So you actually decided to go through with this, huh? Give me a break!"
Dawn's contest partner raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar voice coming behind them, while Dawn herself instantly whirled around with her mood souring at the sound of Ursula. When Goh turned, it was his first time actually coming face to face with the peach-haired girl. Her contest outfit was shockingly simple and humble compared to the boastful and nasty personality Goh had heard of, the girl sporting a soft black top with flowering sleeve ends and a frilly red flamenco skirt.
"Oh, surprised to see us here?" Dawn sarcastically taunted, crossing her arms, "Guess you'll have to go through us after all!"
"'Us'? Come now, Dawn. I can't even tell which one of you's going to be the downfall of the other," Ursula then pointed at her rival in the white dress, "Let's see… still trying to compete for Top Coordinator after all of this time, and yet you've been on a downwards spiral for so long… guess that explains why you're desperate enough to wrangle some nobody just to get into the contest. Guess no one really wanted to be your partner!"
"Kinda bold words. I could be saying the same thing about you," Goh stung back, pointing at Ursula.
Ursula scoffed, "Oh, please. Who gave you permission to speak?"
"I don't think anyone needs any permission for you to be put in your place, Ursula!" Dawn confidently joined in alongside Goh.
Kenny had been awfully silent throughout this whole time. More and more arguments and snap-backs were shared between Dawn, Goh, and Ursula. Then, Kenny broke his sealed lips as his eyes met Dawn's.
He sighed.
"Alright, Dawn. I… can respect your decision to choose Goh over me," Kenny began, earning a surprised reaction from his childhood friend, "But you have to know that out of anyone, I really want you to become Top Coordinator. Now, I'm trying to help you get back on track. Even if that means I have to defeat you for you to see the errors you're making."
At this, Dawn was taken aback. She had definitely heard him correctly, yet couldn't believe her ears at this point. Kenny had admitted that Dawn's choice of Goh over someone like him wasn't his decision to argue against, even though he was still trying to prove to her that she would eventually regret it as having been the wrong decision.
Goh was about to fire back, but what Kenny said had actually caused some internal conflict to boil within himself. The boy pondered. His theory of Kenny using Ursula as a means for revenge might have started to develop some cracks. The boy wanted to give a snide response, but he held his tongue. Even against Kenny, it would have been in poor taste, especially since Dawn still considered him a friend who had lost his way.
On the other hand, Ursula immediately panicked. The coordinator could not afford her partner to be making concessions to Dawn at this time. She elbowed Kenny with a faux-playful expression, giving a sarcastic chuckle, "Kenny, are you a part of my team, or theirs? Remember all the training we've done! I can't have you running over to them, now can I?"
Kenny held up a hand at her, dismissing the girl and causing a hint of shock to escape from her, "Dawn, whatever the outcome of this is, I just want you to know that I was trying to help you from the start."
The girl shook her head, "No, Kenny. I was trying to help you from the start. No matter how me and Goh do in the contest, I'm still holding out hope for you to realize that."
Goh felt bad. Even though he didn't necessarily agree with Dawn's tone… he could feel her heart aching. He knew how his opinion of Horace had changed after years. Maybe from his point of view, this could turn out to be the same thing.
Then, Dawn took a breath, and tapped Goh's shoulder. Catching the attention of the Pokémon catcher, the girl helped bring the boy's mind back to what was important.
"Well, it seems we're in for quite the fight, so let's get ready and get at it!" Dawn brightly proposed to her contest partner.
"You're right, Dawn. Guess we shouldn't 'take up their time' anymore," Goh nodded, and gave a quick laugh, "So, I think we'll just have to see who eats whose words! Because even after everything we've been through together…
"Our future's bright!" Goh held his open hand out towards Dawn before snapping it shut, "And it's in the palm of our hands!"
Dawn blinked before smiling at Goh, proud to see the boy's confidence completely return after their catastrophic fight days before. His upbeat and headstrong demeanor had finally made a full comeback, and now, she truly had no need to worry.
Kenny and Ursula gave each other a glance before puffing their cheeks up in laughter.
"Oh, man! That's so lame!" Kenny sputtered in his chuckle.
"And I thought 'No Need to Worry' was grating! Imagine saying that!" Ursula wiped a tear from her eye, "Come on, Kenny. I think we've gotten your point across. Now let's go win this thing."
Together, the two rival coordinators to Dawn and Goh walked off. Even with a smile plastered on Ursula's face, she was absolutely fuming internally. Both Dawn and Goh seemed to have gotten their act together, never mind them actually showing up for the contest. Along with that moment of weakness from Kenny… Ursula gave a quick glance towards her contest partner, uneasy; she was not about to have her plan come crumbling down. Just then, Kenny responded to her.
"Right," Kenny clenched his fists and tapped his cheeks with his palms, "Gotta focus on what's important."
The two disappeared from view down the hall, leaving Dawn and Goh behind to stand amongst the crowd of coordinators. Rather than be demoralized, the two were simply dumbfounded.
"So… that's Ursula, huh?" Goh blew a raspberry, scratching his head, "She… really seems like quite the work of art. Or piece of work…"
"Yep. That's Ursula," Dawn gave an exhausted sigh, "And the way she was talking about Kenny's side in all of this… she is definitely trying to turn him against me as a friend."
Goh gave a tiny acknowledgment to the situation with a nod, the boy rubbing an arm. Dawn quickly caught on to this and jumped to reassure her partner, "But that's no reason for him to be acting that way towards you, Goh. I chose you to be my partner, and I don't regret it one bit."
The boy blinked, then returned Dawn's warm smile, "Thanks, Dawn. I won't let you down!"