A/N: Wow, you guys really surprised me with your response, thank you so much! I'm very happy to see that people are still enjoying this story. And see, here's a quick update :D
To cake0108: Thank you! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).
Days
The day with sand
Dawn
Tuesday, December 10th
Dawn hurriedly followed Paul through the rain, almost having to run to keep up with his pace as he lead them through Eterna City. But with this weather, Dawn wasn't going to complain about Paul's speed; her umbrella hardly seemed to do anything to stop the icy cold raindrops from hitting and soaking her. They shouldn't have complained about the drought, it was obvious that the powers that be were now having their revenge.
While Dawn had already been in Eterna City several times, she had only visited the Gym once and with this rain, she would rather not take a longer route to find it. Though, on second thought, she wasn't sure if it really mattered, since they were already soaked through by now.
Paul lead them through the straight streets of the city until they came upon a grassy plain, where a building covered in greenery stood. There was no one to welcome them when they entered in what seemed to be a hallway, but Paul confidently strode on. They went through a door which lead to a garden, and in the middle of that garden stood a building with a glass roof. It was only when they stood in the greenhouse-like building that Paul finally paused, and Dawn took the time to shake some of the water out of her hair.
"Ah, finally!" she breathed in relief, running her hands through her wet hair. Paul grunted in response and awkwardly tried to wring his clothes.
Dawn looked around the inside garden. She remembered that in the middle of this greenery was the battlefield, though when she had been here years ago, the roof had been open and the weather a lot more pleasant. A Bellossom noticed them, nodded at her, and then hurried off.
"Gardenia will be here soon," Paul concluded when he saw the Pokémon run off.
"Right!" She nodded, and with sure steps she walked off towards the center of the garden to find the battlefield, Paul following her suit. She was not as confident as she was pretending to be, and her nervousness was rising now that the battle was drawing nearer.
Her experience with competitive battling was rather limited, and it had been years since she had been in a real competitive battle. Of course she had been training with Paul, and they had had some mock battles, but she had never managed to get close to winning.
Dawn fidgeted with her uncomfortably wet jacket, before shrugging it off. It was warm enough here anyway, and she rolled her shoulders to relax her tense muscles. She had practiced, she had strong Pokémon, she knew-
"You're ready, Dawn."
She almost jumped at Paul's voice and quickly turned back to him. He looked rather uncomfortable and she grinned at him in what she hoped was a convincing way. "Sure!"
Paul nodded, before shifting uneasily. "You have practiced enough and your Pokémon have trained well," he said decisively. "You can do this."
She blamed the temperature in the greenhouse for her warm cheeks, and she floundered for a moment. She was saved from responding by the appearance of Gardenia.
"Hello!" she greeted them cheerfully. She seemed to recognize Paul and nodded at him, before turning with an enthusiastic smile towards Dawn. "Nice to meet you, I'm Gardenia, the Gym Leader of the Eterna Gym and grass type specialist. You're here for a Gym battle?"
Gardenia hadn't changed much from the woman Dawn remembered from her youth, although she now wore clothes that were slightly more befitting for the weather outside. Only slightly, though, because her bare stomach was still visible under the several layers of green and orange clothing.
"Yes, that's right," Dawn said, taking Gardenia's outstretched hand. "I'm Dawn Berlitz, from Twinleaf Town."
There was a flash of recognition on Gardenia's face. "Hey, you're a Coordinator, aren't you?"
Dawn's chest swelled with pride and she nodded with a smile. "Yes, that's right!"
"You're here for the Wayland Tournament, then, I bet," Gardenia said. "Don't think you'll beat me easily, I've prepared for types like you."
Her grin was almost predatory, and Dawn shifted uncomfortably while smiling back as if Gardenia had made a joke. From the corner of her eyes she saw Paul crossing his arms, and that didn't make her feel better.
"Let's get started, then. One on one." Just as Gardenia said so, a woman with short black hair and round glasses appeared from the greenery.
"Ah, there you are, Yoko," Gardenia said, "Alright, then we're ready." She looked at Dawn, a challenging glint in her orange eyes. "Are you, Dawn?"
"Absolutely!" She grinned, excitement overtaking her nervousness, and then moved to her side of the battlefield.
"This will be a one-on-one battle between Gym Leader Gardenia and Dawn for the Forest Badge! The first Pokémon to faint or forfeit loses!" the woman named Yoko called out as she took her place as referee. Paul sat down on a nearby bench and Dawn felt the pressure of his eyes following her every move.
"I'll go first," Gardenia said, throwing a Poké Ball on the field. "Ferrothorn, go!"
Dawn blinked, before easily deciding on her Pokémon. Don't hold back, Paul had said, and she wasn't planning to. Full power ahead.
"Quilava, spotlight!" They had a huge advantage over the Ferrothorn, and Dawn grinned. "Flamethrower!"
"Avoid it and use Sandstorm!" Gardenia called out, before laughing. "Hah, I love a challenge!"
The Ferrothorn was damn fast, because it flung itself out of the way of the flames, before kicking up a sandstorm.
Dawn heard Quilava cry out, but the sand that now whirled around made it impossible to see what was going on. Time to light it up…
"Flame Wheel!"
It was impossible to see if the move had hit, but she didn't hear the Ferrothorn react and she clenched her fists. She needed to get a hit in, that was all she needed…
"Powerwhip!" Gardenia called out, and a moment later Dawn heard Quilava let out a cry.
"No," she whispered quietly. "C'mon, Quilava, Flamethrower again!"
The sand continued to obscure the field, and Dawn felt panic rise in her throat. The constant barrage of sand would hurt Quilava, and if Ferrothorn kept evading her attacks-
"Keep firing away, Quilava!" she called out. She could see the occasional red and yellow flames through the sand, but nothing that indicated that they had actually hit the target.
"Time for our ace!" Gardenia yelled.
"Evade it-" Dawn started, but couldn't even finish her sentence before she felt a shockwave shaking the ground. She herself stumbled, and she gasped when she heard Quilava cry out in pain.
"Oh no, oh no… Quilava, are you okay?!" her voice hitched when she yelled, and worry squeezed her throat when she heard no response. "Quilava?!"
Still there was no reply, and Yoko cleared her throat. "It appears that Quilava is unable to battle. Gardenia of the Eterna Gym is the winner!" At that, she released a Zubat. "Clear the air for us, please."
The sandstorm was quickly blown away by the Zubat, revealing Quilava lying on the grass with closed eyes. Dawn rushed onto the field to her fallen Pokémon, who opened his eyes when she sat down next to him.
"Oh, Quilava, I'm sorry," she said, stroking his dirty fur. Quilava cooed softly in response.
"Bulldoze," Paul commented, and Dawn looked up to see Gardenia nodding at him.
"True," Gardenia said, looking at Dawn with mixed sympathy and smugness. "I can't let every trainer with a fire type beat my Gym so easily."
"Right," Dawn said, blinking quickly. Some sand had gotten in her eyes, she swore it did. She turned her attention back to Quilava. "Don't worry, you did great."
She recalled him and then got up. "Thank you for the battle, Gardenia," she said, putting on her brightest smile and nodding at both the Gym Leader and the referee.
Gardenia smiled cheerfully and maybe even a bit relieved. "You're welcome, and feel free to try again!"
She nodded, even though right now that felt like the last thing she wanted to do. How could she have lost?!
Without another word, Dawn turned and left. It was only when she stood outside in the rain that she realized she didn't actually know where the Pokémon Center was.
Paul walked past her, and Dawn strode after him. With some surprise she noticed he wasn't walking as fast as before.
"Well, that went awful," she said. She tried to sound nonchalant, but frustration seeped in her voice anyway. Damn it! She should have had this-
"You panicked."
"I know," Dawn snapped. "I could have won, I should have created a wall of fire, or for Arceus's sake, I should have used Swift-"
"Yes, you should have done that," Paul said, and she glared at him. "But Gardenia had prepared for battles like these, she said so herself. She probably has more tricks up her sleeve. We underestimated her. We will make a new plan later."
Paul's words were far from the comforting or encouraging things her former travelling companions might have said, and Dawn wasn't sure how to react to it. He was right, but...
"You did better in our practice battles," Paul said, and all the good mood he might have created disappeared immediately.
"Well, thanks a lot," she bit out.
He simply raised his eyebrows at her, and for a moment Dawn wondered how he could look so composed when standing in the pouring rain.
"I meant..." he said slowly. "You can do much better than this, and we both know it."
Dawn blinked. "...Thanks."
Paul only nodded.
A/N: Dawn and Paul are so much fun to write! Thank you for reading, and I hope you liked it! And I hope I managed with the battle… Please let me know what you thought about it!
Unfortunately, the next update probably won't be quite as fast, because it'll soon be July and then I'll be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo to work on this story. I'm not sure if I'll be able to update in between, but otherwise you can expect new chapters in August.
Thank you all!
Recommendations:
Pokémon: Mad Season by N-I-N-T. FFN. This is a collection of one-shots featuring Ash, Misty and often Brock, and also often featuring PokeShipping. It has everything: AUs in which they're police agents, Misty pretending to be Ash's girlfriend, and Brock revealing what happened with Professor Ivy. So, definitely recommended! Thank you, PokeshipperByHeart, for recommending this to me :)
Pokémon: Childhood by TabathaEvans. FFN. This is a chilling one-shot, putting the events of the Hoenn games in a realistic perspective and what scars it might have left on the main characters. Very nicely written and worth a look.
Harry Potter: Human Spirit by Alohaemora. FFN. This an in-progress story about the life of our favorite werewolf: Remus Lupin. It follows his childhood and youth, and further into adulthood (although we haven't gotten there yet). Very beautiful, and it'll both make you cry and laugh.
Recommendations are welcome!