A/N: Wow, thanks so much for all the support, everyone! I'm happy to see that you're still enjoying this story :D Here's the next chapter!

To Guest: I'm glad you like them! And indeed, here's the IkariShipping chapter, I hope you enjoy! Thanks a lot :D

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

Days

The day a costume is designed

Dawn

Friday, January 10th

Dawn clapped enthusiastically as Gliscor and Weavile finished their appeal, the glistering pieces from Weavile's cut Ice Shards fluttering around them. The Pokémon stood in the battle field behind Reggie and Paul's house, and while Dawn was staying at the Veilstone Pokémon Center, she had now been asked by Paul to come and give her opinion about what he had been practicing with his Pokémon.

"That was beautiful!" she complimented them. While the Appeal didn't differ much from the one Weavile had practiced with Ursaring, Gliscor's aerial movements had added an extra grace to the performance.

A grace their trainer still seemed to be lacking, because Paul had barely moved during the Appeal and although he was smiling, it was obviously forced.

Paul walked closer to his Pokémon and to her, his expression relaxing and returning to his usual one. "You did well." He gave both Pokémon an awkward-seeming pat.

Dawn wasn't sure whether to roll her eyes or to smile at Paul's actions.

He turned his attention to her. "What did you think of it? What can we do better?"

"Um." While she should have gotten used to giving constructive criticism to Paul, it was sometimes still strange to put on the spot like this. But she had done it before and she straightened. "The Appeal was very neat. Gliscor and Weavile executed their moves perfectly and the effect was beautiful."

Paul gave her a look that told her to get on with it.

"But… your own performance could use some work," she said. "Your smile doesn't look relaxed and you just stand there… You aren't really participating in the Appeal."

Paul frowned, but nodded.

"You could twirl when you throw out their Poké Balls, or use more arm and hand gestures when you call the moves."

Paul's distaste was obvious on his face, but still, he nodded. "Anything else?"

Dawn shook her head slowly. "No, I think you're doing pretty well for someone who's only been training for a few months."

That didn't seem to improve Paul's mood much. "I need to be good enough for the Tournament."

"You are good," Dawn said. "It's a good appeal and everyone can see that your Pokémon are well cared for and well trained. But in Contests… It's also a bit about flair, about drama- so put a bit of spirit in it and I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Hmph." Paul turned his attention back to his Pokémon. "You did well for now, take a quick rest."

As Paul recalled his Pokémon, something occurred to Dawn. "What are you going to wear? The tuxedo?"

He would have to, unless Reggie had something laying around. They had bought the tuxedo more than a month ago, in Celestic Town, after Paul had lost horribly to a Paras, of all possible Pokémon.

"Yes." A pause. "Is that not good enough?"

"No, no, it's fine," Dawn quickly assured him. "It's probably more than what most competitive Trainers will wear."

Paul caught her implication there. "But less than what Coordinators will wear."

Dawn couldn't deny that. "Yes, it's probably less than what the Coordinators will wear."

Paul nodded, eyebrows furrowed. She knew he wasn't someone for the glamour, that he liked practicality and nothing more, and that charming people was not his strongest point.

A seed of an idea took root in Dawn's mind, though she wasn't sure-

"Well, I suppose I'll try to implement your tips for the presentation…" Paul said, obviously not happy with it.

"Wait, maybe… I might have an idea," she said slowly, as the idea grew more concrete.

Paul's frown fell away, now looking at her with genuine interest. Which was kind of flattering, but Dawn quickly dismissed that thought.

"Well, you could go for the dark, mysterious type…" she started. "Then you wouldn't have to be exuberant, but instead silent and withdrawn." Which he obviously already was. She could see it now… "The tuxedo could still work, it's black, so that's mysterious. You could put on a hat, a broad-rimmed one, black of course, oh, maybe with a feather- well, anyway, so that people wouldn't see your face very well. And then a cape, that shouldn't be that hard to make and to attach to your tuxedo. You'd only have to do a dramatic entrance, with the cape swishing…"

Paul was looking at her oddly, but Dawn continued smiling, seeing her product clear in her mind's eye.

"It'd be easy for you," she continued. "You walk on the stage at a pace, to give the cape the dramatic effect. And you keep your face shadowed with your hat, and you release your Pokémon silently- and when they're finished with their Appeal, you can throw off your hat and strike a pose-!"

Dawn did exactly so, jumping and then landing with feet spread and one hand stretched in the air.

Paul blinked.

She let the pose fall, clasping her hands together. "Hm, or perhaps you should simply take off your hat when you bow, like this." She mimed taking off an invisible hat and bowing from the waist, one foot behind the other.

"I think I like that last one better," Paul finally said, although he didn't look completely comfortable.

"Well, it's just an idea," Dawn said, suddenly feeling foolish for getting carried away like that. But it could work…

"It's… a good idea," Paul said, thoughtfully, not sounding entirely sure. "Do you think it's good enough to beat the… flair of the others?"

Dawn considered that, then nodded almost right away. "With how you're on stage, you're a much better fit for this than for anything outgoing. You would have to work hard to make that look natural, while the silent, mysterious guy… Well, I have no doubt that you could pull that off."

"Alright. Then we'll do that."

Dawn beamed. "Great! We should start looking for a hat, but I'm sure the stores here have stocked up on Contest clothing. And the cape, well, I could make one for you, easy, we'd just have to find the right fabric. I know there's a fabric store in the city, I can just hop by on my way back and then-"

She faltered when Paul started frowning again. "What?"

He shook his head, obviously making an effort to relax again. "Nothing. No. It's…" He shifted his weight from one foot to another and seemed to have trouble looking her in the eye for a moment. "Are you sure you want to help me? I am your rival, after all."

Dawn creased her eyebrows in confusion. "Of course. We had a deal, didn't we? I'd help you with the Contest part and you'd help me with the competitive battling part." She shrugged. "Besides, I like designing outfits, and a cape is easy to make."

Paul's expression was hard to place, but after some indecisive moments he straightened. "Thank you."

Inexplicably, Dawn found herself flushing a bit. "Well, yeah, no problem."

An awkward silence followed.

"Do you want to train?" Paul offered, seemingly unaffected by the tension.

Thrown by the topic change, Dawn shook her head. "No, no, I already trained, I should go to the shops, for fabrics, for your cape and some of my own stuff…"

Paul nodded slowly. "Can I help?"

Dawn couldn't help but smile at the mental image of Paul walking through a fabric store. "Well… I'll work on the cape, and you can find yourself a hat."

This nod was even slower, and Dawn's amusement grew. "If you aren't sure, you can take a few hats and we can look at them together, to see which one fits your outfit the best, and we can return the rest."

"Alright." Another nod, more determined. "So a black, broad-rimmed hat?"

"Yup." He couldn't go wrong with that, right? "Uh, but not a typical cowboy hat, okay? I was more thinking along the lines of an Aura Guardian kind of hat."

"You want me to dress up as an Aura Guardian?"

Dawn's eyes widened at the mental image. "Oooh, that would be really cool… But no, that would take too long to make." She shook her head and sighed in dejection. It would definitely be a fitting look for Paul, and he wouldn't need to smile then. "Sorry, the Tournament is the day after tomorrow, a cape is doable, but not the whole thing."

"No, that's okay." Paul actually seemed a bit relieved.

"Okay." Dawn glanced at her watch. "I'll go get the fabric now, and then I'll have it done by tomorrow and you can try it on."

"I will try to find a suitable hat." A short pause. "Will you come by tomorrow again?"

Hadn't she just said that? "Of course, probably in the afternoon. Maybe we can train, after you're done with practicing your Appeal."

"That sounds good," Paul said.

When he didn't say anything more, Dawn took that as her cue to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Good luck with the hat."

Paul grimaced but nodded. "See you tomorrow."

With purposeful steps Dawn turned back towards Veilstone and began the walk back to the center of the city, where the shops and Pokémon Center were located. It was still early in the afternoon, and she already knew where to find one of the fabric stores in the city, since she had been considering making something for herself.

Of course that was now too late, what with the Tournament starting in a few days, but maybe she could make something in time for the finals? Assuming she got that far, of course.

Despite the time the walk took, it was pleasant enough and Dawn enjoyed the warmer than usual weather. She was sure that before long the real Sinnoh winter would return and then these kind of pleasant walks would be over, unless one wanted to become a snowman.

The closer she came to the center of the city, the more crowded it became. There were already a lot people here for the Tournament. Yesterday, she had spoken with Kenny, and this morning she had seen a glimpse of Ursula this morning in the Pokémon Center.

Dawn reached the fabric store and entered the welcoming warmth of the building. She smiled as she scanned the aisles, knowing that it was for the best that Paul hadn't come along. And for herself it was probably for the best, too. No need to tempt fate, after all.

Although, she was doing pretty well with keeping the secret a secret so far. After much thinking, worrying, angsting and working herself into knots, Dawn had finally come to the decision that she would tell Paul after he finished the Tournament. This was a very important competition for him, and he needed to be focused.

Plus, she wasn't even twelve weeks pregnant (but close, though), and the chances for something to go wrong with the pregnancy were the highest in that period. So that was a good reason to keep it a secret for a bit longer.

Having made that decision had calmed her and made it easier to act natural around Paul. Sometimes it was even as if everything was perfectly normal again. Well, as far as normal went with Paul. Still, Dawn smiled in satisfaction. This meeting with Paul had gone well, she had not even thought of her secret. And she wasn't going to start now.

And if that was an ostrich policy, well, she was ignoring that as well.

Her hand ran over fabrics of black and several shades of grey, considering. She didn't have Paul's size, she realized. She'd have to text him for that.

Dawn nodded to herself decisively. She picked a dark grey fabric and took the sample to the counter. She had a costume to make, Pokémon to train and a Tournament to win.

A/N: Thank you for reading! This chapter was pretty much completely rewritten, because my first draft just consisted of Dawn's thoughts. This is more entertaining, I think. And the Tournament is coming closer! Anyway, please review, your comments keep me going!

Thank you!

Recommendation:

Hobbit: Tactics of Persuasion by Reptile Princess. FFN. A short multi-chaptered story about Tauriel and Kíli, featuring the three times he tried to get out of his cell, and the one time he nearly succeeded. Just a funny and sweet romance.

Recommendations are welcome!