A/N: Eh, yeah, it's been quite a while… I was on holiday, and then I was reading a beast of a story (see the recommendations section), but now I'm back again, and hopefully with consistent updates again! Anyway, thank you all for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoy! Thanks to anjumstar for a small correction :)

To Guest: Yeah, he's such a sweetie… Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).

Days

The day with the Paras

Paul

Friday, December 6th

"It was nothing like a Contest battle," Dawn spoke quietly, and probably in a well-intended attempt to comfort him, but Paul could only grit his teeth.

She was right, though, it had been nothing like a Contest battle, and yet here he was, having lost. Dramatically. Paul dug his fingers in the sheets of the standard Pokémon Center bed he was seated on, Dawn sitting a respectable distance away. He had been prepared for a Contest battle, but this-

"That," Paul snapped, "does not help."

He had had the advantage, he had the stronger Pokémon, he had the experience, and yet…

Dawn laughed sheepishly, and patted his back in a decidedly awkward manner. Paul tensed up even more. "Sorry. But you had expected a Contest battle, so it's normal that-"

"It was a fucking Paras," Paul hissed, his embarrassment at that quickly being forged in even more anger. It had been a freaking Paras! A stupid bug Pokémon, who had put his Magmortar to sleep and then continued to Solar Beam him to bits. Magmortar had never gotten the chance to attack.

"You were the first one who that strategy was used against, it was just luck and brute strength-" Dawn at least seemed to realize how that sounded and quickly switched tracks. "Your Appeal looked awesome, though. Really."

"You beat the Paras," Paul couldn't help but remind her. He had been beaten in the first Battle Round, while Dawn had faced the Paras after him, and had then proceeded to the Finals and had won her last Ribbon.

"If you hadn't faced it before, I wouldn't have seen its strategy coming and I would've been just as helpless as you," she said.

Paul hardly heard her. They had practiced so hard, because the Appeal had been surprisingly difficult to master; Weavile had had to slow down his attack considerably if Ursaring wanted any chance at being able to slash the Ice Shards, and Ursaring had to get the angle of Slashing just right, to achieve the optimal pretty shiny effect… He and his Pokémon had trained so hard, and then that blasted Paras had come, used Spore and Solar Beam and it had all been for nothing.

Not to mention that it was downright embarrassing.

Paul had to keep in a frustrated sigh, because he was not about to give Dawn any more reason to feel the need to 'comfort' him. Easy for her, she had won. He should have won. It had been a battle of brutality (which admittedly had cost the opponent points) and a smart strategy, and he was good at that. And he had lost. Fuck. He sucked at Contests, even when they were nothing like Contests.

He had to get better. He had to.

Dawn suddenly jumped up from the bed. "I know!"

"Congratulations." The words came out as a sneer, but Dawn didn't seem fazed.

"I know just what will cheer you up!" Dawn's eyes shone brightly and her smile was miles wide. Paul saw trouble coming.

"No."

And because it would only give her more opportunities to try to 'cheer him up' if he continued to sit here in the Pokémon Center room (which they had been forced to share because of the crowdedness during the Contest), he quickly added, "I'm going out to train."

"But, Paul!" Dawn hastily followed him to the door. "This is training, too! It's a very important part of the Contest scene!"

Paul hesitated, looking back at her. Her grin was still in place and she looked very hopeful. "Really, I promise!"

He clenched his teeth. As the previous events had shown, he obviously needed every advantage he could get if he wanted to win the Tournament, and he needed to win that. Paul glared. "Fine. What training is it."

Dawn beamed and Paul got an ominous feeling.

"Just follow me," Dawn said happily, grabbing her purse and thin coat before dashing out of the room.

Paul took his backpack with his Pokémon with him, and with some reluctance he followed Dawn downstairs and out of the Pokémon Center. Dawn excitedly bounced ahead, calling for him to hurry up, and Paul was certain that he had never seen her so enthusiastic for any kind of training.

It soon became clear that they were going in the direction of the Contest Stadium, and Paul's ominous feelings increased when they didn't go to the battlefield part of the Stadium, but towards the shops.

He stopped. "No."

"Aww, come on! Trust me, it'll be fun- And of course it'll be useful, really, I promise! You need this-" She gestured to the shops behind her. "-if you want to win!"

He narrowed his eyes in what he knew looked threatening to other people (Reggie had often called his very unfriendly look) but Dawn wasn't discouraged.

"C'mon, you trust me, right?" Dawn pouted, but still looked too amused, which only served to increase Paul's unwillingness to go through with whatever she was planning.

"No."

The way her face fell was almost comical, but Dawn recovered fast. "Okay, but you trust me more than just some stranger from the streets, right?"

He closed his eyes in exasperation. "I'm not going shopping, Dawn."

"But what's the difference between you and accomplished Coordinators?" Dawn argued her point. "They wear costumes! They use Seals! They dazzle!"

Paul didn't know why he hadn't walked away yet. He didn't want to 'dazzle.'

"You don't even smile!" Dawn continued, gesturing wildly. "And dressing up is much easier than smiling, you know. You just wear the clothes, and put a Seal on your Poké Ball, and bam! You're a real Coordinator!"

Paul was not convinced.

"We can even make you the dark, mysterious guy, you know, and then you won't even have to smile!" Dawn added, sounding slightly desperate, though still grinning.

What kind of ridiculous situation had he gotten stuck in? He looked at the beaming Dawn for a moment longer, and then turned on his heel. Of all idiotic things-

Dawn huffed angrily. "Fine! Then just give up! You are obviously meant to be a loser if you're going to give up at the first sign of having to try something new and getting out of your comfort zone!"

Paul halted, grinding his teeth. Arceus damn it.

"Fine." He had to win. He had to. "Tell me what to do."

Dawn actually looked surprised, and then grinned widely. "You won't regret it!"

Paul doubted that.

Still, it wasn't until much, much later that day, when he was lying in his sleeping bag on the cold ground with a ridiculous costume and stupid Seals in his bag, that he realized that Dawn had actually succeeded in distracting him from his loss.

A/N: Paul is always a bit of a challenge to write, but this was still a fun scene to write. I hope you liked it, and that Paul wasn't (too much) out of character. I love reviews :D

Thank you!

Recommendations:

Pokémon: Locked Away by N-I-N-T. FFN. This is a supercool, multi-chaptered story in progress about the coma theory (Ash landed in a coma after the accident with the bike and all the adventures he had afterwards happened in his own mind). Ash wakes up after ten years, and finds that the real world isn't quite as happy as his dream world, and has to come to terms that he imagined everything… or did he? Features PokeShipping! :D Thanks to PokeshipperByHeart for the recommendation!

Pokémon: dream girl by ameriboo. FFN. Rated M! A quite amusing one-shot featuring EgoShipping for a change, with an embarrassed Gary, a teasing Tracey, and a matchmaking Professor Oak. Anjumstar recommended this to me, thank you!

Harry Potter: Boggart by Alohaemora. FFN. A Boggart shows your worst fear, and Ron and Percy find out theirs have changed after the war. Emotional, heavy and sad, but the Ron and Percy bonding is awesome in this one-shot.

If you want me to recommend a story, whether they're your own or someone else's, send me a message!