A/N: Thank you for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing this story! And it's just little bit later, but here's a new chapter! I hope you enjoy!

To Guest: Yes, he's trying so hard. And who knows, he might just get involved :P Thank you very much for reviewing!

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

Days

The day with Dawn's rematch

Paul

Monday, January 6th

"Togekiss, Air Slash!" Dawn yelled, pointing her hand at the opposing Machoke. Paul nodded in approval as the attack hit and Maylene's Pokémon fell back a few steps. Dawn was using the type advantage for all it was worth and there was no Contest-like glamour in this full-power attack.

She was doing well. Already Maylene's Medicham had fallen to Dawn's Togekiss, and now she was making short work of Machoke. Yes, there was quite a chance their partnership would pay off today in Dawn finally gaining her Gym Badge. Her challenge of Roark hadn't gone so well a few days ago, but this was a much more promising start.

That was a good thing. Not just because the Tournament was in less than a week, but also because it would be a tangible thing, proof, that working together was beneficial for them both. Paul was glad for it, because while he was convinced that their partnership was working, Dawn seemed to have her doubts.

At least, that was how he had interpreted her behavior these last few days. She had been acting… odd, ever since they had started travelling together again. He couldn't say what exactly was different, but she seemed more withdrawn at some moments and yet louder and cheerier at others.

But still, he was happy to see that she was now doing so well in this battle. He wasn't sure what he would have done if she had decided not to continue their partnership. Of course that was an useless thought, because she was still here. Whatever was bothering her was probably none of his business anyway, and she was a grown woman, she could handle herself.

On the field, Togekiss used some quick maneuvers to evade the boulders Machoke was throwing. He hadn't managed to land a proper hit yet, but the current flurry of attacks kept Togekiss too occupied to launch an attack of her own.

"Machoke, follow with Rock Tomb!" Maylene called.

This time, Togekiss was too slow to evade all the rocks, but Dawn didn't let that deter her. "Push through! Get in close and use Air Slash again!"

Yes, she had definitely improved. She would be a fair match if he had to face her in a competitive battle, but he was certain he could still beat her.

When it would come to a Contest, however…

"Machoke is unable to battle!" the referee called.

There was not much elegance in this battle, just ruthless attacking, and she was winning. She had learned well. He allowed himself a small smile, which turned thoughtful as another thought occurred to him. What were the odds of meeting and travelling with the daughter of his mother's best friend without either of them knowing?

(He didn't want to consider the odds of having an one-night stand with said daughter, and then also somehow ending up travelling with her.)

Johanna had been absolutely delighted to meet him in person. He had seen a few glimpses of her via the video phone, but it had been Reggie who had done most of the talking before. Though, at this meeting, he hadn't done much talking either, as it had been mostly Johanna telling him stories about his mother and their friendship and even showing him some pictures.

"Lucario, we can still win this!" On the field, Maylene's Lucario materialized and let out a battle cry.

It was Maylene's last Pokémon, while Dawn was still on her first one. Togekiss was floating close to the ground, obviously exhausted, but still determined to continue battling.

"Alright, let's do this, Togekiss! Just a little more!" Dawn encouraged loudly and Paul saw the Pokémon float a bit higher, puffing out her chest. He himself was never much for that kind of yelling, but it seemed to be effective.

Lucario charged at Togekiss with a Metal Claw. Togekiss evaded and evaded again, trying to find room for another Air Slash, but without much success so far. The Pokémon was tiring quickly, despite Dawn's loud encouragements to keep going.

She would have made a good rival, if her heart had been in competitive battling.

If things had been different, if his mother hadn't died, would he have known Dawn better? Would their mothers have introduced them, would he have grown up seeing her frequently, would they have been friends, or rivals? Or wouldn't they have cared about each other, like they had grown up now?

Paul shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts and tried to focus on the battle. It was useless thinking about what ifs.

But thoughts and memories long buried had been unearthed by Johanna's stories, and Paul was forced to consider them before he could put them back to rest. It didn't change anything, though. His mother was still dead. And despite the reportedly great friendship between Johanna and his mother, Johanna hadn't kept in touch with her friend's family after her passing. Things might have been different, but they weren't.

"Togekiss!" Dawn's panicked voice called his attention back to the battle, and he saw the Jubilee Pokémon fall. Lucario was barely breaking a sweat.

"You did amazing, Togekiss, you deserve a good rest," Dawn said with a grateful smile, and then recalled her Pokémon. After a short hesitation, she pulled out another 'Ball.

"Alright, Piplup, time to finish this!"

Paul frowned. It was a good choice, no type disadvantage at least, but during their preparation they had chosen Piplup as the third choice. Quilava should be up now, especially against Lucario, with its weakness to fire moves.

Dawn shot him a quick glance, and he responded with a questioning frown. She straightened, determination overtaking her features.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"

Maylene didn't allow any time for doubt and they were straight back into the battle. Piplup evaded without Dawn's command, letting out an indignant squeak.

"Piplup, let's make this battlefield ours! Hydro Pump on the field!" Dawn called, and Maylene frowned warily. Paul, too, was unsure what Dawn was getting at.

It was always impressive to see such a small Pokémon call forth these kind of elemental powers, and while avoiding Lucario's attacks, Piplup had soon turned the sand into slippery mud.

Paul's lips twitched in sudden realization.

"You okay, Piplup?" Dawn yelled at the heavily breathing water type.

"Piplup!" he called, jumping away as Lucario went in for a Force Palm. He needn't have bothered, though, because the slippery mud made Lucario slip and the attack landed about a meter next to Piplup.

"Lucario!" Maylene called, and Paul was satisfied to hear some panic in her voice.

"Alright, Piplup, belly drop and let's go! Bubble Beam and Hydro Pump!"

The blue Pokémon ran and then dropped forward in the mud, gliding at high speed towards Lucario while firing off several water attacks. At Maylene's command, Lucario tried to retaliate, but with the added speed from the mud sliding, Piplup had no trouble evading the attacks.

Paul smiled slightly, seeing that Lucario kept missing and was tiring from the onslaught of attacks he didn't always manage to dodge.

"Keep it up, Piplup!" Dawn encouraged loudly, almost jumping in place as she cheered on her Pokémon.

Lucario was working hard, but with the mud and Piplup's speed his attacks kept only grazing the Penguin Pokémon at best.

Hydro Pump, run, evade, slide, Bubble Beam, Hydro Pump, abort the move then slide away, run, stumble, slide, run, Bubble Beam, run, evade, slide, Hydro Pump-

Lucario fell.

"Lucario!" Maylene yelled.

A moment passed, and then the referee's voice rang out. "Lucario is unable to battle, challenger Dawn Berlitz and her Piplup are the winners!"

She had done it. The realization seemed to take some time to come to her, because Maylene was already walking on the field to recall Lucario when a slow smile appeared on Dawn's face.

"We did it! Oh wow, we did it!" Dawn burst out. A muddy and wet Piplup came running at her and she met him halfway to excitedly hug the Pokémon. "We did it!"

"Congratulations, Dawn," Maylene said, walking closer. "You've improved a lot since our first battle."

Dawn laughed and accepted the Badge with a big grin. "Thank you so much! I still can't believe it! This is so amazing"

"Pip, pip, luuup!" the Pokémon cheered.

"Piplup really wanted to battle you again, since we lost against you in our first Gym battle," Dawn told Maylene, still grinning widely.

Well, that explained it. A sentimental reason, but it had worked out well enough.

Again the excitement took hold of Dawn and she released her other Pokémon to celebrate with them. Paul walked onto the field, intent on congratulating her.

"We did it!" Dawn practically bounced to him and – to his utter surprise – hugged him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Before he could process what was happening, let alone react, she had already let go, skipping back to her Pokémon and twirling Buneary around.

Paul watched rather flabbergasted, and Maylene seemed to be the only one aware of the odd smile on his face.

A/N: Thank you very much for reading! So Dawn is now all set for the Wayland Tournament, and Paul is just confused about her behavior :P I hope you liked this chapter! Please let me know what you thought about it, your comments keep me writing!

Thank you!

Recommendation:

Star Wars: Hindsight Is Not Perfect, and its sequels The Dangers of Foresight, Sharing Outsight, Warmth of Resight and The Inevitability of Oversight by Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet. FFN. This is an in-progress series of stories that has Darth Vader travel back in time, to his nine years old body, to change the galaxy's course. Of course a traumatized Sith Lord might not be the best choice for that… A serious time travel AU, really well done albeit slow moving, but check it out!

Recommendations are welcome!