HAPPY IKARISHIPPING DAY! Welcome to Kanto!

This is one of my most favorite parts of Safe Travels. I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I have enjoyed writing this.

Thank you all for the love!

Part IV: To the East of the Barrier

17. Brock

Dawn stands at the bow of the SS Aqua, with Piplup in her arms, her gaze fixated on the horizon as the ship cuts through the gentle sea.

It has been months since she and Paul parted ways. Despite her best efforts to focus on her contests, his departure sometimes weighs heavily on her mind.

As the SS Aqua docks in Vermilion City, Dawn wastes no time in seeking out O and Dawn's Ambipom, eager for some familiarity amidst her uncertainty. The sight of O and Ambipom engaged in ping pong does bring a smile to her face, granting her a brief break from the turmoil plaguing her thoughts.

Though reuniting and spending the day with Ambipom warms her heart, it has not provided the solace she is seeking.

With a heavy heart, Dawn says goodbye to Ambipom and O and boards the Jet Zapdos bound for Pewter City the next morning, her mind swirling with memories of her travels from Sinnoh, Hoenn, Unova, and Johto.

.

When Dawn arrives in Pewter City, Dawn's destination is already set. She immediately makes her way to Pewter City Gym to seek solace and guidance from her longtime friend and mentor.

Brock is surprised when she shows up at the doorstep of the gym, but is ecstatic to see her again. Dawn, too, has a warm, familiar feeling spreading from her chest as she greets one of her old friends.

When Brock asks about her journey, she pours out her heart to him, confessing her struggles and uncertainties. Though Brock is surprised to learn of her travels with Paul, she is met with his understanding and empathy. He listens intently and with compassion and offers some thoughts of his own.

"Traveling alone is not easy, Dawn," he says gently. "Especially when you've grown accustomed to having a companion by your side. First, you had Ash and I as partners, and then Paul. It's natural to feel lost on your own."

She shakes her head. "No, it's not that I feel lost. Something just feels . . . incomplete." Dawn's eyes brim with tears, as Piplup snuggles into his trainer's. "What do I do, Brock? This didn't even happen after you, me, and Ash parted ways. And I miss Paul, sure" - the words bubble from her throat without care - "but even my contests? I've lost four in a row. It feels like I'm floundering, like something is holding me back."

Brock places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps, there's some unfinished business between you and Paul," he suggests in a soft, comforting voice. "Maybe it's time to confront those feelings, to find closure and move forward."

Dawn sighs. "Maybe. But I don't know where to start."

Brock smiles reassuringly. "Listen to your heart, Dawn. It will guide you in the right direction."

"Guide me where? I don't even know where he is right now," she admits.

As the words leave her mouth, their quiet conversation is disrupted by the sounds of faint, male voices protesting one another at the entrance of the gym.

Brock and Dawn concernedly look to the source of the noise. After sharing a nod, Brock strides over the battlefield towards the entrance, with Dawn following closely behind.

"What's going on, Jim?" Brock asks the gym guide, who has hurried inside to reach him.

"Brock, there is a persistent challenger demanding entry to the gym. He wishes to battle you."

"Oh!" Dawn cries out with a start, realizing that she is the reason why the challenger outside is being denied entry. "I'm sorry, Brock. Don't let me hold you back."

Brock looks at her and smiles amicably. "Don't be sorry. You can referee the battle if you'd like."

So, despite Jim's protests of instilling patience into the challenger, Brock instructs him to allow the trainer inside.

Dawn's breath catches in her throat as the challenger steps through the doors of the gym, his presence sending shivers down her spine. She can't believe her eyes, unable to fathom that he is standing before her once again.

She has been guided all along.

"Paul . . ." she whispers, her voice barely audible in the large arena of the gym.

To her astonishment, Paul's widened eyes meet hers, a flicker of recognition passing between them. It feels as though they are back on the ship to Slateport as mere acquaintances again.

"Dawn." He swallows. "Hey," he greets stiffly, holding a hand up in greeting.

"Hi." She smiles and waves back hesitantly.

Brock laughs jollily. "Well, look who it is!" Speak of Giratina and Giratina will appear.

Paul's even more surprised. "You're the Pewter City gym leader?"

"As of now, yes, though my dad is actually the gym leader. It's a long story."

At that moment, a loud growl roars from Dawn's stomach. Her cheeks tinge pink as Brock and Paul turn to look at her in amusement.

Brock grins. "How about I make us some lunch and I'll tell you the whole story."

Dawn is excited. "Yes! Oh, man, Paul, you'll love Brock's food! He's an amazing co - " She breaks off. "Um, sorry," she apologizes hastily - for what she is apologizing for, she is unsure.

Paul shakes his head at her and then, to her surprise, smiles very slightly. "Don't apologize." Suddenly, his face falls and his eyes narrow. "You changed your hair clips."

Dawn is surprised, feeling a blush rise to her cheeks, as a hand slides up to fidget with one of her hair clips self-consciously. "Yeah, May got me pink ones."

Paul nods gruffly, almost as if he is embarrassed. He turns to Brock. "Lunch sounds nice, thank you."

Brock lets out a small, "Huh," and smiles to himself, before he looks up at Paul with a grin. "Great! I'll start on lunch, then."

.

"So, has your training brought you to the Pewter City Gym as well?"

Paul rubs the back of his neck with his palm, nervously eying the crowd of Brock's siblings in the other room. They are surprisingly calm as they quietly devour their lunches - which Brock claims to be a rare sight. "Yeah, I have been fighting gym leaders across Kanto. I wasn't planning on fighting the Pewter Gym today, but I was passing by and thought I should try my luck."

Passing by, huh? His casual statement strikes Dawn as odd, considering he insisted on entering when Jim told him that the gym leader was not available for battling. She sneakily glances at Brock, whose face shows no indication of doubt, with the exception of his slightly narrowed eyes.

Paul reveals what he's been up to - he watched Ash compete in the Unova league and tried to meet him, which was unsuccessful. He then defeated some of the Frontier Brains and took on the Dragon's Den Challenge in Johto - though it took some time to defeat the elders, due to the recent monsoons in Johto causing flooding in the caves down there.

"Oh." Dawn looks surprised by the revelation, remembering her recent time of despair in Johto. She wonders silently to herself if he saw any of her contest losses.

Surprisingly, Paul is as eager as her to switch the topic. "I have never fought the Pewter City Gym before. I had no idea you were the gym leader," he admits sheepishly.

Brock informs Paul that he is temporarily taking over for his father, who, along with his mother, has gone off to Johto to train with the Indigo Champion Lance. He has been juggling the gym duties, taking care of his siblings, taking night classes at the Pokémon Academy in Viridian City, and studying for the Pokémon Medical School entrance exam.

Brock suddenly gasps, his dropped fork clunking onto the plate. "That's it!"

"Huh?" Dawn's voice is a muffle as she chews through her food.

"You need to do the same!"

She swallows down the last bits of food in her mouth. "Uh, I need to study for the Pokémon Medical School entrance exam?" she jokes, though is still confused by what Brock is trying to get at.

"No, no." He shakes his head insistently. "Take a Pokémon Contest class at the Pokémon Academy!"

Dawn stares at him as if he has three heads, like a Hydreigon. "Why would I need to take a class, Brock? I'm already a Pokémon Coordinator."

"Ups and downs are common, and even if you feel like you've gone to basics to refresh your memory before, it never hurts to review again. Sometimes, you need to relearn the fundamentals. Like maintenance. And, who knows? Maybe you'll learn something new, too."

"I agree," Paul speaks up quietly, much to Dawn's surprise. "It is something to consider. I also think teaching may help, too. I'm sure it helped give you some reinforcement when you taught me about contests."

Brock nods appreciatively in agreement. "Paul might be onto something there."

Dawn is a little hesitant and, frankly, embarrassed at the idea of having to go back to the basics, but she cannot fault their logic. "If you're both insisting, I'll give it a try."

.

As Dawn acts as referee to Paul and Brock's battle, the elements of combinations Paul orders his Pokémon to carry out do not escape her, and Brock's, notice.

Upon seeing Paul command his Phanpy to dodge by spinning, Brock finally comments that he sees a lot of Dawn's influence in his battling style.

Paul does not respond, his eyes trained intently at the battlefield instead.

Brock's rock-hard, defensive strategy, with the help of his Sudowoodo, Geodude, and Steelix, usually would be no feat for Paul, except for the fact that he mega evolves his Steelix. Paul wins, but just by a margin. He truly underestimated Brock as a trainer in Sinnoh.

After Brock treats Paul's Pokémon in preparation for his battle with Dawn, Brock asks both him and Dawn to agree on a battle format.

Dawn suggests a one-on-one, not wanting the battle to drag into the evening.

"Cool. I'll battle with Phanpy, then."

"I'll battle with Pi - Huh?" She feels a shake on her trainer's belt, before a Pokémon releases itself from one of her Pokéballs.

"Metang!" Dawn's Metang, given to her as a Beldum by Steven in Johto, hovers to the battlefield with an excited, determined cry.

"Oh, come on! You never want to train with me, but now you want to battle?" she laments, a face slapping to her forehead.

She was hoping to use Piplup for the type advantage, but she supposes that Metang will do the job as well, even if he is lower in experience and level than Phanpy. Plus, he looks so happy that Dawn does not want to break his heart by denying him the opportunity.

"Tang!" Metang happily cries in agreement, as Piplup hangs his head low in disappointment.

Metang is sharp-witted, alert, and attacks with power, but it is Dawn who feels more uneasy as the battle unfolds. They lose horribly to Paul and Phanpy in a matter of minutes.

Dawn is quiet as she recalls Metang into his Pokéball.

"Dawn, your . . . " Paul starts speaking, prepared to offer her some constructive feedback, but trails off as she bows to him.

"Thank you for the battle." Her voice is nearly a whisper, as shame creeps over her and hastens her manner of speaking. "I should get going if I want to get a room at the Pokémon Center."

There is no way she would impose on Brock for the night in a house full of his siblings. He has to take care of them, and she would hate to have him play host for her.

She turns to Brock and bows again. "Thank you for today, Brock - I'll come visit you again tomorrow."

Without even waiting to hear Paul and Brock's replies, she almost robotically whips herself around and walks out of the gym.

Paul and Brock share a nod of understanding, before Paul chases after her.

"Hey," he calls out gently, as he walks beside her. "Are you okay?"

Dawn stops in her tracks and lets out a sigh. She is unsurprised - secretly gleeful, even - that he has followed her.

"I've lost that battling rhythm I formed with you," she admits in a whisper, "and I guess that also shows me that I've lost that rhythm with my Pokémon . . . I feel like such a failure."

Paul takes a few steps back to her, seeing that she is no longer walking. "What's gotten into you, Dawn?" he wonders aloud. "You're giving up after losing a few battles and contests? I've seen and learned what you're capable of. And it's not what I've seen from you as of late."

Though her head originally was lowered to avoid his gaze, Dawn's eyes now snap up to his. "Did you watch the Wallace Cup?" She feels heat rise to her cheeks as she waits for his response.

His face turns to stone. "Yes. I've watched all of your Johto contests. And your performance has been absolutely pathetic," he says disapprovingly. "It's like you weren't even trying."

Her hands bunch into fists as she takes a step towards him. "Excuse me, your rudeness. I may have lost, but I did my best," Even though she does agree with him, her anger bubbles within her as her voice rises defensively.

He crosses his arms over his chest and arches an eyebrow at her, and she realizes then that he has grown a few inches taller since Unova. "Then why didn't I see the runner up of the Sinnoh Grand Festival on that stage?" he counters calmly. "The coordinator who won the Rubello Town Pokémon Contest? My teacher. Where was she?"

Dawn stays silent as the anger tightens in her throat and she wills the tears pricking at her eyes to stay back from falling.

"You need to stop letting your emotions get in the way," he continues. "It's selfish and unfair to your Pokémon."

Paul's face is hard, his voice is cold, but his eyes carry an unspoken pain. Dawn briefly wonders why he is so moved by her coordinating experience, until the words ring in her head once more, suddenly accompanied by the memory of his rage-filled battle against Brandon. He must be speaking from that experience.

Finally, Paul places his hands onto Dawn's shoulders. "You've been too dependent on me, Dawn, and you can't be. You have to stop acting like you need me or anyone else. Learn to rely on yourself, because your Pokémon rely on you, too. You are responsible for them at the end of the day, and you don't want their hard work to go to waste."

The weight of his words hit her with guilt. She feels a pang of regret, knowing she has been letting her Pokémon down by not giving her best. She blinks rapidly, fighting back the tears that threaten to spill over.

Dawn has cried in front of Paul, but this time, he knows it will not be as awkward for him to deal with. He keeps his hands steady on her shoulders while Dawn bows her head in shame, her forehead presses against his chest. Boldly, Paul follows his instinct and rests his chin at the top of her soft, silky head.

Instead of crying, however, Dawn surprises him after a moment when she pulls away with a deep, shaky breath and nods, determination hardening in her eyes. "You're right. I've been letting my emotions control me, and it's not fair to my Pokémon. I need to do better."

Paul looks at her, impressed by her resolve. "That's the Dawn I know," he says, giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

"Thanks, Paul. I needed to hear that." Dawn manages a small, grateful smile. "So, I guess this means I really should go to the Pokémon Academy now, no matter how embarrassing it feels."

He shrugs. "No need to worry. I'll be there with you." He's not smiling, and though she doesn't expect him to, his words warm her heart.

Their conversation ends with the sound of flapping wings overhead. They both look up to see a Wingull descending gracefully towards Brock - who is standing outside the gym now - perched atop his outstretched arm. He does not seem to notice Dawn and Paul standing a hundred or so feet away.

Paul's brow furrows in confusion. "Peeko?" he murmurs questioningly.

"No . . ." Dawn mutters. The Wingull is familiar, but it's someone else's. Her eyes widen as recognition hits her. "That's Holly's Wingull!" she exclaims in a whisper, a smile spreading across her face. "I wonder what she is doing here."

"Holly?"

As Brock exchanges a few words with the Wingull, Dawn quietly reminds Paul that Holly was Brock's tag team partner in Sinnoh.

"Looks like they've grown close," Paul remarks, watching as Brock strokes Wingull's feathers affectionately.

Dawn nods, a sense of warmth filling her heart at the sight. "It's nice to see Brock happy." She suppresses a giggle at the memory of Croagunk always jabbing Brock and pulling him away from the women he has fawned over in the past.

Just then, Holly herself appears, jogging towards the gym with a determined expression on her face. She spots Brock and rushes over to him, greeting him with a bright smile.

Brock's face lights up as he sees her. "Holly, what are you doing here?" he asks, his voice filled with genuine curiosity.

Holly's smile widens as she reaches him. "I wanted to surprise you!" she exclaims, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "I missed you, Brock."

Brock chuckles warmly, reaching out to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I missed you too, Holly. It's great to see you."

As they watch Brock and Holly disappear into the gym, Dawn feels a gentle nudge. She turns to Paul, and to her surprise, he's holding out to her a Rage Candy Bar from his pocket, and he's already chewing on a broken piece.

"You finally found them?" she asks, as she tears off a piece of the cake-like candy from the bun in his hand.

"Yeah, I stocked up in Mahogany Town."

Dawn suppresses a shiver at his mention of the town, recalling a bad memory of her time there. "Thanks, Paul," she replies, for both the candy bar and his decision to accompany her to the Pokémon Academy.

Paul nods, before he suddenly looks up at the night sky, a wistful expression crossing his face. "The first time Reggie ever brought back a RageCandyBar for me, it was because I asked him to. I read about it in a magazine and wanted to try it. It just became a habit for him from there."

Dawn swallows the last of her snack before speaking softly. "Really? I had never even heard of a RageCandyBar until I met Ash and Brock. They aren't sold in Sinnoh."

He does not take his eyes off the sky. "Reggie once told me they were our mom's favorite. She would crave them when she was pregnant with me."

If that reveal was not enough to surprise Dawn, Paul's hand reaches out and intertwines it with her free hand.

She tries to shake off her feeling of shock - after all, when will a moment like this come again? - and focuses on the feeling of her hand in his, as well as the sound of Paul's soft breathing.

As they admire at the stars, she wonders if he will catch the sight of her cheeks reddening in the night sky tonight.