It's surreal to me that we've made it to the end of Part 1 of Safe Travels. This Hoenn part was especially challenging to me as I wanted to give a feel reminiscent to the anime, and I hope I have achieved some essence of that. Thank you for sticking out with me so long, and I hope you enjoy the future parts ahead. You can read Part 2, "Of One Variety" in the next chapter - if you prefer to read Safe Travels posted as multiple parts instead of one story, you can read it on AO3.
Thank you so much for your patience and love.
13. Of Distractions and Travel Plans
It is the day before the Hoenn Grand Festival. Dawn has been preparing with her Pokémon, battling against Reggie in the battlefield behind the Rustboro Pokémon Center. He has been giving her helpful tips on her combinations and has even helped her Piplup learn Ice Beam.
"Let's take a break," Reggie suggests to Dawn, after an hour of training.
"Okay!" She calls out for Piplup to get some rest as she recalls him back to his Pokéball. "Hey, Paul," she then addresses their onlooker, who sits at a picnic bench nearby. "Do you want to train with me next? You haven't started preparing for the Ever Grande Conference, yet."
Without even looking in her direction, Paul arises from his seat and steps toward the direction of the Pokémon Center. "I am not planning to participate," he responds in a flat voice.
"Huh? Why not? You have eight badges from the last time you competed in the Ever Grande Conference."
He stops for a moment before he looks over his shoulder. "I'm tired of beating around the bush." Truly, she can hear the weariness in his voice. "I think it is time for me to fight Brandon."
"Oh," she says lamely, unable to hold back her surprise. It feels like a rather sudden decision - he did not leave after the Rubello Town Contest to battle Brandon, so why would he go now?
With a grunt, Paul announces that he is going inside the Pokémon Center to schedule his battle with the Battle Pyramid, leaving Dawn and Reggie behind.
As he walks away, Dawn feels her chest sink in guilt, as the cold realization hits. He has not yet gone to defeat Brandon because of her.
He has stayed here to cheer her on at the Grand Festival.
Reggie seems to gauge the direction of her thoughts and addresses her immediately after her face drains of color. "Paul has fought in many Champion League conferences with the intention to win the Champion title before, but he's not the kind of guy who will fight in the Champion League again unless he really wants to be the Champion of that region. After Brandon, he fully plans on focusing on the Sinnoh league and defeating Cynthia, since it's his native region."
Her guilt is temporarily suppressed by her surprise at Reggie's words. Dawn has seen so much of Paul's tunnel vision focused on beating Brandon that she has nearly forgotten up to this point of his aspirations to beat the Sinnoh League.
"Not that he didn't do well," she starts off, instantly regretting the sentence that is flowing from her mouth, "but do you think he could have done better at the Lily of the Valley Conference if it weren't for . . . " She trails off, almost fearful that her words can be twisted into an accusation.
"My and his loss against Brandon clouding some part of his mind?" Reggie completes.
Dawn nods hesitantly.
"Absolutely." He nods firmly. "Brandon said it himself that Paul needs to control his emotions, and he is right. "
Reggie takes a seat at the picnic table, and gestures to Dawn to do the same. It rained the night before, but the wet, wooden bench does not bother her when she already has so much on her mind. "Though Paul has a lot to learn about himself and the world before he can be Champion of and to Sinnoh, I'm confident that he will be a good one when that time comes." His voice is full of conviction.
Dawn, on the other hand, has trouble thinking of him as a Champion like Cynthia, since he's so closed off and gruff. Dawn does not doubt his power one bit, but he is nothing like the current Champion, who loves and cares for people and Pokemon so much. "Paul is one of the most determined people I know, but I sometimes have trouble seeing it. Being Champion is such a big responsibility."
No, she realizes as soon as the words are out of her mouth, recalling the many moments before and during their journey. The respect that has grown in his heart for Ash and Infernape, his relationship with Luxray, whom he originally disregarded upon catching, his help in putting a stop to Neo Team Magma . . . He does care for people and Pokémon, even if he does not show it outwardly. Even his relationship with her has changed monumentally since that first day on the ship -
Reggie speaks, interrupting her thoughts. "You know, if Paul truly felt like he was being held back by you and wanted to move on to battling Brandon, he would have left right after losing the Rubello Town Contest. He will never admit it, but he's here because he wants to cheer you on and see you win the Grand Festival."
She bites her lip nervously at the reminder of her initial turmoil, her hands falling from the table to her sides. "I wonder the same, but he's been so closed off, especially for the past few days. I can never tell what he is thinking," she confides in a whisper.
"Have you ever confronted him about it?"
"Once, when we saw Mesprit at the Nameless Cavern, he was trying to ask me how I had a connection to it."
"You guys, too, huh? Even I saw Uxie once at Lake Acuity."
Dawn is about to tell him about Ash and Brock, too, but he beats her to it.
"Honestly, I still am in shock that Paul willingly told you about our mother." Reggie purses his lips. "I know you think he is closed off, but you should understand how big it is that he has shared this with you."
"No . . ." Dawn feels chastened by her own guilt, as she lowers her eyes in shame. "That's my fault. I pressured him to share something about himself with me, since I felt like I didn't know him at all."
He shakes his head. "Not at all, Dawn. He could have told you anything else, but instead he chose to share the most personal piece of info he has to offer." There is something in the tone of his voice that strikes Dawn as odd, but she cannot put her finger to it. "He must really trust you to tell you about our mom."
Dawn bites her tongue from protesting. How can she express to Reggie that though she feels the same, she also feels far from the opposite? How can she tell him that since that day in the cavern, she has been seeing remnants of the old Paul - the Paul she knew even before they started traveling together - coming back to her Paul right now? Does Reggie see it, too, the way Paul has been pushing her away and putting up those old walls?
So, she chooses to stay quiet and nods. "If you say so."
Reggie's eyes are glazed over, though, lost in thought. "Since Paul trusts you enough to tell you about our mother, I trust you enough to get something off my chest that Paul would never fess up, even to me."
"Um, sure, go ahead." She leans in closer, pushing her elbows against the table to prop herself up, the nosy side of her curious to hear what Reggie has to share. She is sure that her equally as nosy little Piplup is probably straining to hear from inside his Pokéball as well.
"When my mother died, I had to suspend my journey to raise Paul." Though Paul is nowhere in sight, Reggie's voice is low. "That's why I never went back to beat Brandon and became a breeder instead. He was only a kid at the time, you know."
Dawn gapes. She knows that their mother has been referred to in past tense, but hearing it from Reggie still tightens her chest. "Reggie, I'm really sorry - "
"Thank you, Dawn." His smile is tight, and Dawn opts against pushing her sympathy any more. "I've never held it against Paul, though I really think he blames himself for it."
Dawn is unable to suppress her curiosity at a moment like this. "Do you think that's why he is so obsessed with beating Brandon?" Piplup is probably facepalming in his Pokéball at her insensitivity.
To her surprise, Reggie stiffens. "No," he answers curtly. His eyes darken with a gloom that Dawn fails to understand. "That, you'll have to hear from him yourself."
She frowns, confused by his hostile reaction. Yes, her curiosity got the better of her, but her question should not have come across as that insensitive. She should apologize, but his reaction concerns her more. "Paul says it's too personal to reveal."
Reggie looks away. "If he told you about our mother, it's only a matter of time before he tells you about our fam - um, fairly simple history when it comes to battling Brandon."
Huh? But Dawn knows their history with battling Brandon, and it is pretty simple. Reggie lost to Brandon, who told him to work on finding a unique battle strategy. Paul had watched their battle as a novice trainer, and later decided to battle Brandon at Snowpoint City and lost, twice.
And now, he is determined to beat Brandon in battle, for only Mew - and Reggie - know what reason.
.
Later on, Reggie and Paul sit in their room as Dawn is out running errands, making last minute preparations.
"I still can't believe you told Dawn about Mom. You hate bringing her up."
Reggie's tone is kind, but Paul still takes it the wrong way.
He slams a hand against the desk. "It just came out, okay?" he answers frustratedly, ignoring the stinging from the impact. "It won't happen again."
"Actually, I think it should happen again," Reggie responds calmly, a hand reaching over across the table to pat Paul's reddening palm softly. "It would be nice for you to have someone to share these things with besides me."
"No, thanks. Let's just keep this between ourselves."
"Come on, Paul. I share these things with Maylene."
Paul's cheeks redden. "Reggie, Dawn is not my Maylene," he whispers harshly, embarrassed by the insinuation. "You've forced Maylene into the family at this point."
Reggie crosses his arms over his chest and leans back in his seat. "Maylene is just my good friend - she is not my girlfriend or anything." Yet, Paul adds mentally. "Dawn, on the other hand, you've been getting very close to."
With a sigh, Paul bows his head in defeat. As much as he wants to refute Reggie's claim, he cannot deny it. "I hate to admit it, but I'm getting used to her," he mutters.
"Finally, you admit it!" Reggie grins, a strange glee alighting his eyes. "You say it like it's a bad thing!"
"Of course, it is!" he protests defensively. "She'll distract me." Paul has already admitted more than he should to Reggie - but he cannot explicitly tell his brother that he believes that his closeness for Dawn will eventually spiral out of control.
"Has she distracted you thus far?" he asks knowingly.
The tips of Paul's ears feel hot. He hates when Reggie acts like this. "I could have defeated Brandon by now if I weren't traveling with her for her contests," he counters.
Reggie arches an eyebrow. "So why didn't you leave her after the Rubello Town Contest?"
Paul is silent.
"Admit it, Paul. She's been helping you learn new things and you enjoy her company. She's far from a distraction."
Looking out the room window, Paul watches Dawn feed her Umbreon a poffin on the field, as the twilight bleeds into evening, marked by Umbreon's rings glowing a soft blue.
Over the past few days, he nearly lost against Kenny, having to resort to a cheap play, he was not prepared for the Mossdeep Gym, nor the Sootopolis Gym, losing to Juan once, and, most importantly, he has been wasting time, losing sight of his goal to defeat Brandon, while aimlessly spending time with Dawn throughout Hoenn - as baffling as his sudden carelessness has been, it has opened his eyes to what no longer should be.
"No." His voice is tinged with regret. "But . . . she eventually will become one."
As the next few days unfold, though, Reggie might argue that Paul has been a distraction to Dawn.
Not because he is a distraction and she is distracted by him, but because if anyone had any evidence of losing with the other's presence, it is Dawn, as she loses - albeit, gracefully - the Hoenn Grand Festival in the Top 8.
.
"You're Sinnohan, right?"
Dawn tilts her head quizzically at Steven. "Yes . . ."
A few days after the Grand Festival, Dawn and Paul stumbled upon some familiar faces while checking out the Devon Corporation building from the outside. Running into Steven was not a huge shock, as his father is the CEO of the company, but what surprises Dawn and Paul both was seeing Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion, beside him.
Of course, Paul could not resist asking Steven for a battle, seeing as he is planning to fight Brandon and Steven is scheduled to fight Wallace soon for the title of Hoenn Champion. Though Steven ended up beating Paul after using mega evolution, he was impressed by the risky moves Paul made.
Now, as Paul discusses his strategy for Brandon with Cynthia, Dawn and Steven sit in the Pokémon Center canteen, deciding to give them some privacy.
"Excellent! I have gathered some Mega Stones from Sinnoh that I believe you might find beneficial."
Dawn's breath hitches. She was not prepared to think about using her Key Stone, let alone think about what Mega Stones she would need.
"I can provide them to you tomorrow or so . . . I must warn you, though, they're quite rough, and the stones need to be smoothed down. I believe I mentioned the same for the Key Stone as well." His tone is apologetic. "Unfortunately, I didn't have time to do it myself."
"Um, actually, Steven, can I ask you something . . . off the record?"
His brows raise in surprise, but thankfully, he humors her anyway. "Sure, go ahead."
"You said that the reason behind giving a keystone as a prize for the Rubello Contest was so that you could introduce mega-evolution to coordinators," she whispers, suddenly finding interest in a scuff on her pink boots.
He nods. "Yes, that's correct."
"So, the final round . . ." She bites her lower lip and sneaks a peek at Paul, who talks to Cynthia on the other side of the Pokémon Center.
"Ah." Understanding dawns his face. "You're worried that you and Paul did not have a fair fight."
She hesitantly looks up and nods at him.
"There is no need to fret, Dawn," he assures smoothly. "I'm not sure if Paul informed you, but every participant in the Champion League nationwide was aware that I would be awarding a Keystone. Although trainers were invited to compete, our confidence lay in the belief that a coordinator would be the one to claim the prize, given the distinct spirits of trainers and coordinators." Dawn holds her tongue at the assumption as she thinks of her old friend, Nando, who embraces the spirit of both - maybe she will discourse with Steven over that another day. "You may have observed that many trainers struggled to execute some of their combinations during the contest."
"Yeah, most of the trainers were unprepared or had some of their performances fall flat. Only a few made it very far."
"See? Paul was the most prepared, benefiting from your guidance, and he made it as far as he did on his own that night. But in the end, the student couldn't defeat the master."
Though Dawn knows it is not Steven's intention, his words feel like a taunt. "I wasn't planning to participate," she confesses sheepishly, "but he threatened to withdraw if I didn't. He would have won if I wasn't competing against him."
Steven is pensive for a moment, before he laughs gently.
"Um, what's so funny about that?" She blushes a bright red, embarrassed that a candidate for Regional Champion is laughing in her face when she is expressing vulnerability before him.
"I apologize, I'm not laughing at you." He shakes his head amusedly. "I just find this all terribly ironic."
"W-What do you mean?"
"You're concerned that Paul had the odds stacked against him, but based on what you're telling me, he planned to level the playing field by compelling you to participate."
.
The end of Dawn and Paul's journey together in Hoenn is decided by one phone call, all too quickly.
Nurse Joy informs Dawn that she is getting a call from her mother, Johanna, whom Paul has spoken to a few times, so she goes quickly to receive the call, accompanied by Steven.
From the opposite side of the Pokémon Center lobby, Cynthia stands next to Paul, watching Dawn and Steven at the video phone booth. "There is just something about the blunets, wouldn't you agree, Paul?" she teases light-heartedly.
"Um . . . " Paul's cheeks flush pink - he is speechless, unable to agree yet unable to deny - while Cynthia giggles almost girlishly. Well, at least his suspicion about Steven and Cynthia has been confirmed.
Thankfully, Dawn and Steven walk over and save Paul from getting stuck in a very awkward conversation. Dawn informs them that some Sinnohan fashion celebrity, Paris, got in touch with her mother to invite Dawn to Unovan gym leader Elesa's fashion event in Unova, but she will have to leave for the region right away.
"When is your flight?"
"Paris has booked it for tomorrow."
"Okay."
Okay? That's all Paul has to say? Dawn searches his face for any trace of emotion, but all she sees is his normal, blank stare.
Can he not at least feel upset that she will miss his battle against Brandon? She knows that he has been acting weirdly distant for the past week, but she hoped that maybe he might feel upset for, at the very least, that reason, too.
Steven nudges her gently, reminding her that she and Paul are not alone. She swallows back her frustrations and does her best to avoid looking at Paul. "I'll arrange for someone from my father's office to send your items over tonight." His voice is a low murmur.
She nods. "Thank you," she answers back quietly.
"Of course."
She turns her attention to Cynthia, trying to ignore Paul's eyes burning a hole into her. "I guess, that means I might see you in Unova?"
Cynthia smiles, delighted. "Of course. Even when I'm not there, you are most welcome at my villa anytime."
.
Dawn hangs up the receiver with a sigh.
She originally called to inform her mother that she'd be sending over the Pokémon she caught in Hoenn, and wanted her mother to send over her Sinnoh Pokémon. Admitting the reason aloud made her feel silly, but, truly, she wants to show them the world, the ones she started her journey with.
Thankfully, her mother thought it was a sweet gesture, but the conversation took a glum turn as she asked if Paul would be accompanying Dawn to Unova, and Dawn told her that he was not.
Her mother's last words from their call echo in her mind. "Oh, Dawn, sometimes, we have to journey on our own to learn ourselves. No need to worry. You'll be alright."
The lights are mostly off in the empty Pokémon Center lobby, being that it is past curfew. Dawn reaches into her pocket to fish out her PokéNav Plus and use the flashlight function on it, but her fingers touch soft silk instead.
Curling her fingers around the object, she pulls out the pouch sent to her by Steven.
Unlike the Key Stone and the Rubello Town Contest ribbon, however, this pouch does not feel like a lead weight in her hands.
Maybe, just maybe, she can make the most of this gift from Steven.
.
Paul accompanies Dawn to the airport the next morning. Piplup is safely stowed away in his Pokéball, but since he is a Pokémon that meets the height and weight requirements for and has been registered as a Pokémon passenger, she will be allowed to release him once the plane has taken off.
The air is forlorn, silent, tense, at least for Dawn. Her left fist, stuffed into her skirt pocket, curls tightly around the pouch with her parting gift to him. She can feel the sharpness dig into her palm.
"Where's Reggie?"
"Something came up."
Strange. Reggie hasn't come? She feels dismayed, nearly offended. Did Paul tell him not to come? He has been pushing her away as it is, but now he is asking Reggie to keep his distance, too? It almost feels as though a bandage is trying to be ripped off.
Dawn feels her throat tighten at the suspicion.
When they reach the beginning of the line for the security check, she turns to bid him farewell.
"Paul," she begins with a deep breath, "I . . . I want to thank you for everything. You've taught me so much about Pokémon, battling, and about myself as a trainer. I-I . . . " She hesitates. It was so much easier to say goodbye to Ash and Brock, with a simple 'thank you.' But it is different with Paul.
She extends her free hand to shake his, but instead of shaking it with his own right hand, he holds her hand with his left and leads her ahead.
That, along with his quiet chuckle causes a small, "Huh?" to escape her lips.
"Wait, where are we going?"
"You can't get rid of me today, troublesome." His lips twitch in humor.
She blinks. "What do you mean?"
He rolls his eyes and his hand now moves to grab her arm. "Come on." He nods towards the line for the security check. Dawn is confused, but follows him anyway, at least until he pulls out a ticket of his own to present to the security agent. Braviary Unova, Flight BU467, just like Dawn.
"Please move forward to the Security Screening," the agent responds, as she hands them back their Poképasses and tickets.
Dawn is still confused, though. "What about your battle with Brandon?"
But it doesn't seem like she is going to get her answer just yet, as Paul gently tugs on Dawn's arm so she can move forward. She doesn't realize until then that she is holding up the line.
He takes a few bins from the side and hands it to her.
Once they move forward to the start of the screening, Dawn unthinkingly leans on Paul for a moment so she can bend down to take off her boots. She stuffs her shoes, trainer's belt, backpack, windbreaker, duffle into the bin and keeps her passport and ticket in her hand before walking into the body scanner.
Once they both pass through, they grab their things and sit down on a bench to put their shoes back on. Dawn takes a mental inventory of her things - duffle, shoes, windbreaker, trainer's belt, backpack, passport, ticket. She peers over at Paul to see that he is also settled, and sighs in relief that the screening is over.
"If my battle with Wallace and Steven gave me any indication," he finally answers, "I'm not prepared to defeat Brandon. Cynthia helped me to reach that conclusion yesterday. And I have yet to fight Unova's gyms, anyway, so it would help to further train my Pokémon."
"Wow." Dawn pauses for a moment, processing this information. "So, you canceled the battle?"
He shakes his head once, before another smirk appears on his face. "He's just going to be surprised to see a different challenger taking my place today."
She is confused for a moment until his oddly vague words from a few minutes ago ring in her mind. "No way! You mean Reggie!?" That means that Reggie is on a flight right now to the new Battle Frontier! She remembers seeing an Air Altaria booking confirmation in Paul's hands earlier this morning - she assumed originally that it was his.
He nods. "Right. That's why he wasn't able to see us off today."
"Wow . . ." And then it finally hits her. Us? "Wait! You're flying with me to Unova?!" she exclaims, her heart warming and strangely feeling as though it wants to burst at the revelation.
He treats her with a rare smile, which elicits a smile out of her, too. The Paul she knows has returned to her after the past few days of silence and distance. "Yes, I am."
End of Safe Travels, Part I: In Abundant Relations.