Another one of my favorite chapters. We begin to wrap up our time in Hoenn and prepare for the end of Part 1.
Thanks for the love! 3
12. Of Heart-To-Hearts and Talents
"T-Two gym leaders?! A double battle!?" he splutters.
Dawn rolls her eyes. If she can pinpoint one important thing about Paul from the months she has spent traveling with him, it would be that he loves to plan his strategies out. He loves to come into a major battle prepared.
Their conversation from the night before Ash's battle against Nando in the Lily of the Valley Conference comes to her mind.
"I'll bet I know how you base your picks," Dawn asserts. "On your opponent's strategy and type advantage!"
Paul faced her, his hard, gray eyes meeting hers. "You bet right," he said, and she was surprised that he wasn't showing any snide to her as he had just done with Ash. "I look at the options and choose my three best Pokémon."
He definitely was not prepared for this.
Maybe Dawn should have worn her cheerleading outfit - it is the first time she has not worn it for his gym battle, and now, things seem to be going off course. Paul actually mocked her earlier today for not wearing it, to which she poked her tongue out and replied that it is in the laundry room of the Mossdeep Pokémon Center.
Paul turns to look at her, a scowl marring his face. "This used to be a Steel-type gym, three-on-three, with one gym leader!"
Dawn furrows her eyebrows. "But the board outside said it's a Psychic-type gym."
One of the gym leaders, Liz, smirks, with her hands on her hips. "Well, we've been here for a year now . . ."
"And our double battle, Psychic-type gym has been well received!" Tate continues with a grin.
"It seems that I'll have to improvise," Paul grumbles, as he reaches into his pocket to grab another Pokéball.
"Hey, hold on."
All eyes flit to Dawn.
"Excuse me, Tate, Liz. Would it be all right if I fight alongside Paul? It's not really an official gym battle, so I can do that, right?"
Tate shrugs. "The more . . ."
"The merrier!" Liz smiles encouragingly.
"Great! Thank you!" she cheers, before she smiles amicably at them before giving Paul a questioning look. "Is it fine with you, Paul?"
Paul sighs, resigned. "This should be interesting." He throws his Pokéball up into the air. "Torterra, standby for battle!"
"Torterra!" the Pokémon roars, landing onto the battlefield with a heavy stomp.
Dawn smiles to herself. "Perfect! Umbreon, spotlight!" She sends out her Pokémon who comes out with a cry.
He nods in approval at her choice of Pokémon.
.
"Ice Beam, Lunatone!"
Paul's jaw tightens, before he growls, "Lunatone knows ice beam?!"
"No need to worry! I got this!" Dawn interjects, before she points at Lunatone. "Umbreon, jump onto Torterra's back, now."
"Ah, I see. Torterra, frenzy plant!"
Her Umbreon is fast - faster than Paul's Espeon, of course, which cost him victory at the Rubello Town Pokémon Contest. He quickly leaps from Torterra's glowing body onto the growing roots, using them as a path as he sprints toward Solrock.
"Solrock, hidden power, quick!"
At the last second, though, the spring in his step allows Umbreon to jump at Lunatone.
Thankfully, Dawn learned her lesson with Light Screen at the Rubello Town Pokemon Contest against Paul and his Espeon, so she chooses a physical attacking move to cut through the barrier put up by Lunatone/Solrock. "Night Slash!"
"Cut through the Frenzy Plant with Leaf Storm!"
When they win the battle, Dawn cheers and instinctively throws up her palm for a high-five, but she remembers that it is serious, grumpy, unfun Paul standing next to her. Embarrassed, she is about to put down her hand, but he surprisingly slaps it back - albeit, awkwardly - with his own flat palm, smirking slightly.
"You guys make a good pair," both twins echo together, causing Dawn and Paul to turn to face them.
"Yes, we do." Paul's unexpected response causes Dawn's cheeks to erupt into flames. Where is this coming from?
.
"Come on, get up, you troublesome girl! We have to get to Sootopolis City!"
It is another morning of Dawn accidentally oversleeping and of Paul rushing her to get ready.
It's nothing out of the ordinary - Paul used to even have Torchic peck her awake some mornings, in the early days of their journey - but he seems a little bit more frustrated today and Dawn chalks it up to his battle with Juan.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she calls out, pulling her beanie over her head and grabbing her knapsack, before she opens the door.
But by the time they have hurried to the edge of Mossdeep City, it is too late. They have missed the ferry.
Dawn wonders briefly if this means they have some time to visit Steven Stone's house, which is nearby, but her reasoning is silly - it is not like he will have another Key Stone in hand for Paul.
"Ugh!" Paul frustratedly runs a hand through her hair, before pointing at her. "You got us late, again!"
Dawn scowls bitterly. "It's not my fault you always book the morning ferries!" she argues.
They quarrel for a few minutes until Paul lets out a frustrated groan and summons a shiny Lapras, which gracefully lands onto the water in front of them.
Her irritation forgotten, Dawn stares at the Pokémon in awe, never having seen one in person. "She's beautiful," Dawn breathes. So purple and pretty. "Where did you catch her?"
"Reggie sent it over this morning," he answers softly, their tiff forgotten. He gently leaps onto Lapras, and extends a hand out to her. She climbs onto the Pokémon's back and perches herself and Piplup in front of Paul, carefully to stay put between the shell's spikes.
She pets the Lapras' shell tenderly. "Thank you, Lapras. How did such a grump like Paul catch a cutie like you?"
Paul rolls his eyes while she coos at his Pokémon. "By throwing my Pokéball at it in the Icefall Cave of Sevii Islands."
Lapras seems to enjoy Dawn's attention, though. "Lap!" she responds back happily.
"Lapras," Paul instructs kindly, "Please take us to Sootopolis."
"Lap, lapras."
Dawn and Paul sit for the next half an hour in silence, taking in the breeze of the wind and gentle spray of the Hoenn waters as Lapras swims.
At least, until a familiar feeling of tightness clutches at Dawn's chest.
"Augh," she grunts softly, as her hand flies to her sternum. Panic strikes her as she recalls what happened the last time she felt this way. No . . . it can't be in danger. This time, the feeling is warm, like a strong embrace, rather than the pain she felt previously.
"Dawn." She feels Paul's warm hands clutch her shoulders, holding her upright. "What's wrong?"
"I . . . No need to worry." How can she explain to him that she believes a Pokémon is calling to her? But where does it call her to? She looks at the ocean beyond Lapras, and something inside of her whispers, "Right."
"Lapras!" she gasps throatily. "Please swim east of here. Please."
"What's wrong? What are you doing?!"
"Piplup?" her Pokémon in her lap also questions.
Dawn fishes into her skirt pocket to pull out her PokéNav Plus and open the map application. There is a cavern a mile up ahead in this direction. This must be where they have to go.
She feels a gentle squeeze on her shoulders, breaking her out of her trance. Paul.
"Dawn?" he calls out to her again, this time more calmly. "Are you alright? Where are you taking us?"
"Paul, Piplup, please trust me! I need us to go that way!" She points in the direction Lapras is now headed. "It's not too far off our course and I won't take long. But I need to go!"
"Okay, then," he answers without hesitation, to her surprise, "lead the way." She wants to turn around to look at his face and gauge his reaction, but refrains from doing so.
When they reach an island cavern, Paul takes the PokéNav Plus she has been clutching tightly in her hands. It is not a hard task, considering she is so focused on running into the cave in front of them. He looks at the map app she had opened. Nameless Cavern. Why has she taken them to a place like this? Taken, actually, does not seem to cover it. If she intended to come here, she would have asked Paul to add it to their itinerary.
So, why was she suddenly led to this place?
He and Piplup confusedly share a look before they follow her into the cave. It is cold - a pleasant surprise for Paul, a Sinnohan that loathes the Hoenn sun - and dark, prompting him to enable the flashlight on the PokéNav Plus.
Suddenly, Paul feels a gust of wind lash at his face before sighting a strangely familiar shadow sneak by their silhouettes on the cavern floor.
"Ah!" he hears Dawn gasp quietly. "Thank Arceus, you're alright!" He almost does not catch the words. She appears to be filled with relief upon seeing the shadow.
And then he remembers why the shadow seems familiar.
Paul whips his head to Dawn, his widened eyes stunned. "Was that . . . Was that Mesprit!?" he sputters. "From the Sinnoh myths!?"
Dawn nods, and he remembers what Looker said when they first encountered him near Verdanturf Town.
"What happened at Spear Pillar with you and Looker?" His voice holds an accusatory tone that pricks Dawn with annoyance.
Why is he being so hot and cold with her? She narrows his eyes at him and places her hands on her hips. "You never answer any of my questions."
"So, answer me one question, and I'll answer you one," he proposes impatiently.
Dawn purses her lips as she considers his offer. "Fine," she concedes, before retelling the story of Team Galactic, the Lake Guardians, the Red Chain, and Dialga and Palkia. She also mentions the bond she, Ash, and Brock shared with the guardian trio.
"Wow," he breathes in amazement.
"My turn," she declares quickly, before he has a chance to comment and ask her follow-up questions to her story.
There are so many answered and unanswered questions she has asked him in the past, and there are so many other things about him that she would love to know, but one memory stands out.
Hollow, dark eyes, full of rage and obsession.
"Why are you so . . . consumed with beating Brandon in battle?"
Paul's face turns to stone and as he turns away from her questioning gaze.
She taps her foot impatiently and crosses her arms over her chest. "Well?" she demands.
No answer again. He begins to walk away, inciting a sudden anger with Dawn. She knows the question teetered on personal territory, but it hurts that he still feels a need to be that careful around her.
"Are you kidding me? You won't tell me?" Her voice is incredulous. "I've been traveling with you for months and I still feel like I know nothing about you, while you know so much about me!" It's a half lie, half truth, but not by Dawn's own choice - she truly feels that she knows everything about him, and at the same time, still knows nothing.
"It's your own fault for revealing so much about yourself!" Paul replies harshly. "If you're so upset now, you should have been careful like me."
Unexpected tears prick at Dawn's eyes. "What's wrong with you!?" she shouts, instinctively taking a step forward. "Can you still not really trust me, Paul?" She feels a drop escape her eye. "Forget it," she sniffs softly. Not wanting Paul to see anymore of her crying, she storms off toward the other side of the cave.
"Dawn, wait!" Paul steps forward after her as she stomps away, but Piplup leaps in front of his path.
"Pip, pip, piplup!" he trills angrily, crossing his flippers over his chest.
"It was a personal question!" Paul retorts, holding his hands up defensively. "She could have asked me anything else and I might have answered."
Piplup holds his two flippers in the air and curls them downwards to make quotation marks in the air. "'Lup?'" He glowers at Paul's use of 'might.'
Paul glares back. "Well, what if she asks another question that is too personal?"
"Pip lup pip pip lup!" The Pokémon's chirps echo throughout the cave.
"Her troublesome self will only ask questions that are too personal for me!"
"Lup, lup, piplup!"
"I trusted her when she brought us here, didn't I?"
Piplup twitters and waves his limbs around for a full minute, passionately trying to argue some point, but Paul is too frustrated to express that he cannot not comprehend the Pokémon's response.
"Agh, forget it!" he growls, as he walks around Piplup to follow the way Dawn went.
Piplup sighs, resigned, before waddling behind him.
They find her sniffling and perched on a rock behind a large, strangely-shaped, shallow pool of water. Paul might pay attention to it more if he is not more worried about the girl crying in front of him.
Slowly, he approaches her, while Piplup jumps onto her shoulder. "Dawn, don't cry . . . you know I like RageCandyBars," he reminds her, his voice stiff with uncertainty. The only other girl he knows well enough is Maylene, and Reggie is the one who has dealt with her crying.
Next to Dawn, Piplup subtly forms his flipper into what seems like his version of a thumbs up, his smile encouraging.
Paul is not a fan of it. It is bad enough the little pipsqueak likes to spite him by purposefully wearing a cheerleader outfit along with Dawn (who does not see the mocking faces Piplup usually makes at Paul behind her back), and now he wants to offer suggestions to him?
She huffs, making Paul forget everything else. "I don't even know why you like them when you don't seem to have a sweet tooth for anything else! You don't even like sweet orange juice . . . just sour and with pulp." She noticed something as minute as that? She is more observant than Paul originally took her for. "And that's all I know about you. I asked you one question and you won't even answer that?"
She's being so silly, he wants to tell her. There are so many things about him that she knows, that he would never dream to reveal to anyone else. It is to a point where he feels vulnerable around her sometimes, so now, it does not sit with him to reveal more information than necessary. "I am sorry, but it's too personal," he answers gruffly instead.
"Everything is too personal for you," she complains.
He feels a need to provide a peace offering for her to understand that it truly is not against her, and that she is someone he trusts. " . . . I can reveal other information about myself."
She turns her face away. "There's no need," she answers tearfully, but her ears still perk up to listen.
He suppresses the unexpected urge to extend his hand out and touch her shoulder. "My mother was an architect," he answers in a monotone, "and Reggie used to bring me RageCandyBars as a souvenir every time he came back home."
The two facts Paul has just listed are unrelated to each other, so Dawn is surprised that he has shared not one, but two truths about himself.
His use of past tense when speaking about his mother does not escape her either.
"I . . . I didn't know," Dawn says softly. Suddenly, she regrets being so nosy. She makes a mental note to try and make it up to him with a RageCandyBar - especially now knowing why he loves them so much.
Paul's voice is gruff when he answers. "No one does."
Her smile is watery. "Thank you for telling me," she whispers softly. "It must have been difficult for you to share that." Her hands reach out to clasp his, and Paul suppresses a jolt. Her cold hands . . . they feel nice - too nice - in his warm ones.
Unsurprisingly, Paul quickly retracts his hands - though, maybe more so than Dawn would assume. "We should get out of here."
As soon as the words are out of his mouth, a breeze blows over his head. His eyes follow the movement until he can make out the form of Mesprit hovering around him.
"Ah . . . !"
"Mesprit!" Dawn cries out happily, as Mesprit nuzzles the crook of her neck, and she pats it back lovingly. "You just wanted to meet again, didn't you?"
Piplup leaps up as Mesprit moves to float over him. "Pip, piplup!" he also cheers.
As quickly as the legendary Pokémon comes, it disappears, filling the cavern with silence.
Dawn's stomach growls loudly after that, so Paul suggests they get out of the cave and get to Sootopolis City.
.
Paul has been trying to strategically recover from his loss to Juan - he originally went into battle unprepared for the unconventional gym battlefield with two stages, and, Dawn has to admit, lost spectacularly.
When Paul was informed of Juan's rules of using the special water battlefield, he had to substitute Electivire and Torterra, his two trump Pokémon. They would have been too large to move around the floating platforms, so he made a last minute decision to call in Luxio and Espeon for the double battle, effectively messing up his strategy.
Reggie, who has come to visit and support Paul in his rematch, tells Dawn that he struggled with Juan too -
"Juan? I thought Wallace was always the gym leader before." Dawn props her elbow onto the bistro table and leans forward.
Reggie laughs sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm getting old. Juan used to be the gym leader before Wallace. He was his teacher and then handed his gym down to his best student, before taking it back after Wallace became Champion."
Meanwhile, Paul, who has been scrawling into his notebook, clenches his jaw, seemingly frustrated by their chitchatting. "If you're going to talk badly about someone, you should do it when they are not in hearing range," he snaps.
Dawn glares at him sharply. "You think I was talking badly about you?"
Reggie appears unfazed, simply chuckling to himself.
Paul exhales softly. "I . . . I don't know." He goes back to writing on the page, holding down the page as the sea breeze threatens to push his thin notebook close.
Dawn rolls her eyes. Here they sit, at the waterfront behind the café where they just ate lunch, and instead of taking in the beautiful view, Paul has his nose buried into his strategizing. Yet, the curiosity gets the better of her as she cranes her neck to get a peak at his notes.
Electivire - Luxio
Froslass
Torterra - Espeon
Gastrodon
Honchkrow
Wartortle
Dawn watches, amazed, as Paul's pencil moves across the opposing page to sketch an image of Juan's two gym stages. Along with the drawing, his memory is impressive - Dawn would have not been able to remember the exact locations of the floating platforms and terrain changes.
"You draw so well." The compliment slips from her mouth unthinkingly.
Reggie looks on proudly as well. "Our mother was good at drawing, too," he shares, though his voice has dropped to nearly a wistful murmur.
"Oh yeah, you said she was an architect, right?"
As a suddenly blanched-face Paul sucks in a breath, Reggie cannot mask his surprise. "You know about that?" the older boy asks.
Paul turns his face away to stare at the waterfront, for the first time since they have been here, and Dawn wonders if she made a mistake by bringing his mother up.
"Y-Yeah, Paul told me recently. Sorry."
To her surprise, Reggie smiles fondly. "No need to apologize. I just didn't expect it to come out of Paul's mouth. I don't know how much he told you, but our mother was the head architect of the Pokétopia Project and used to draw on napkins all over the house."
"Pokétopia?" Ah! Dawn recalls the night the ship passed by Pokétopia and the information Paul knew. Her eyes lock with his as she gazes at him pensively. "That's really cool," she replies absentmindedly.
Reggie smiles softly before clearing his throat and declaring that he wants to teach Luxio Wild Charge for the rematch, so they leave their table and walk to the grassy terrain in front of the water. With the help of Dawn's Grovyle, they are able to repeat the move until Luxio can master it.
When Reggie instructs Paul to now have Luxio practice against his Bibarel, Dawn decides to return to their bistro table. To her surprise, she finds that Juan has taken Reggie's seat and has been watching their training intensely.
"Oh, hi, Juan. Staking out the competition?" she teases good-naturedly. The scrape of the iron bistro chair against the brick courtyard flooring pierces the air as she sits down across from him.
He chuckles. "I hope it doesn't cause any inconvenience. I couldn't resist - the grace in Luxio's movements anchors me here. The elegance with which he performs resonates with the coordinator in me."
Dawn finds herself agreeing with a nod. "I know that Luxio is Paul's Pokémon, but I won the LaRousse contest on this circuit with Luxio - he was a dream to work with and responded wonderfully in the contest." Truly, he was so wonderful to perform with. Paul was right when he said that Luxio has a natural inclination for contests, and Dawn meant it when she said she would love to perform with him again someday.
"I've witnessed your performance in the Sinnoh Grand Festival." This causes a blush to spread across Dawn's cheeks. "Surely, your duo must have shone brilliantly on that stage. I must catch the televised replay! . . . Have you secured five ribbons from this circuit?"
"Yes, I do." In contrast to Juan's grace, she clumsily reaches into her backpack and pulls out her ribbon case. She turns the case towards Juan, who pinches the lid open.
His eyes sparkle as they take in every ribbon and his hands clasp together in delight. "Ah, your talent is truly exceptional. I notice the Rubello Town Pokémon Contest Ribbon as well. Impressive."
Suddenly, the case in her hand weighs a hundred pounds heavier, and all she can manage is a meek smile in response.
"So, you must be gearing up for the Grand Festival now, am I correct? Can you feel the exhilaration of showcasing your skills on such a splendid stage?"
Dawn hesitates for a moment, and it does not escape Juan. He kindly does not press her on it, but it feels rude not to answer.
"I am excited, but . . . to be honest, I am also scared to lose again," she admits quietly.
At that moment, Paul's eyes meet hers from across the grounds. She offers him a small smile, which he returns with an expressionless nod, and she suppresses a frown.
"Dawn." When her eyes meet Juan's, she is surprised to find his expression fierce. "There is no disgrace in tasting defeat; it is a crucible that tempers one's strength. You see, I found myself partaking in three Grand Festivals, each an arduous journey, before the sweet victory graced my path." He smiles, his eyes suddenly wistful. "Perhaps, your journey is meant to find that sweet victory in Hoenn. Perhaps, elsewhere. In the grand performance of your Pokémon journey, absorb wisdom with every step, ensuring both you and your cherished Pokémon revel in the joyous voyage."
Dawn opens her mouth to answer, but a bright glow shines brightly in front of the water.
"Ah, how wonderful!" Juan exclaims, uncharacteristically knocking over his chair as he quickly stands. "Luxio is evolving!"
From the white light growing in form, Luxray emerges. He stands tall and beautiful - it is awe-inspiring.
"He's grown into a beauty," Juan murmurs next to Dawn, his gaze on the newly evolved Pokémon unwavering.
But Dawn's eyes are not trained on Luxray anymore.
For the first time in days, Paul appears to be relaxed and pleased.
There will be no update next month. Instead, in April, I will be posting both the last chapter of Safe Travels Part 1: In Abundant Relations, and the first chapter of Part 2: In One Variety (which will also be linked at the end of the last chapter of this story). This will also give me some time to play catch up and finish writing the second and final chapter of Part 2. Thanks for your patience!
See you then!