A New Dream

Muddy and Gorgeous: Paul's POV

I watched in fascination as the cutiefly instantly created twenty identical copies of itself then swooped forward faster than I could believe, shooting a Fairy Wind at the mud that was easily five times as strong as the one they used during the dance round. This blasted a sheet of mud up and over their opponents, coating them all in a slippery layer. 

Dawn's opponent spit and rubbed the mud from her eyes, too distracted to give her pokemon any commands, so Dawn sent Piplup forward and ordered him to use drill peck on the opposing Machop. Blinking in surprise I watched the little weakling dash forward, his beak elongating and beginning to twirl. 

The machop blindly used Brick Break but Piplup dodged and slammed into Machop's back, pushing him face-first into the mud before retreating quickly back to Dawn. The girl called for a mud-slap attack from her Sandile. The pokemon tried to aim for the dozens of fluttering Cutieflies, but they all dodged the attack easily and Piplup used Bubblebeam to blast the mud away before it could get to him or Dawn. Another Fairy Wind attack from Cutiefly finished off the already injured Machop, causing it to faint and end the battle.

The next battle between the boys also ended in a quick victory with the older boy coming out on top within just a few minutes. To my surprise I actually found myself enjoying the 'battles'. None of the performers looked like they'd last a minute in a pokemon league, but watching them slipping in the mud was more entertaining than I had expected. Yet somehow Dawn was the only trainer to have gotten through her round without a spot of mud on her, besides her muddy feet. 

Is she actually stronger than I gave her credit for? I wondered with a frown but then shrugged. She had the type advantage and took initiative in the first battle, I wasn't so sure that would be enough for her next battle.

Dawn and her opponent took their positions with their pokemon in the mud pit and I studied the guy's pokemon. He had chosen a Mudbray and a Pallosand. Both pokemon were unique to Alola so I didn't know much about them, but they were both obviously ground types. As the battle began I was surprised that Dawn didn't use her trump card of Double Team and instead called for a Hydro Pump directly at the trainer. The trainer, taken by surprise, was knocked flat onto his back in the mud and I chuckled. 

I didn't know she could be so ruthless, I thought with approval and watched with interest as she sent both Piplup and Cutiefly forward. She followed behind them slowly, apparently hoping for a quick finish.

Her opponent wasn't to be beaten so easily though and called for a double Bulldoze. The ground shook as the two pokemon jumped up and down, causing a mini earthquake. Both Dawn and Piplup shuddered and slipped as the ground rocked underneath them, but they managed to keep their footing. Cutiefly, unaffected by the attack, flew in and once again used a blast of Fairy Wind to toss mud up onto all three of its opponents and they shook their heads to clear their vision.

"Mudbray, use mud sport!" Dawn's opponent called, obviously angry now.

Mudbray reared up and crashed his front hooves into the mud, spraying it towards the retreating Cutiefly. To my utter shock Dawn yelled and jumped in front of her Cutiefly, taking a spray of mud directly to her face. I heard a collective gasp as the audience whispered and Dawn's opponent laughed while pointing at her and holding his stomach as if he had never seen anything funnier. 

I could almost see the waves of anger rolling off of Dawn as she deliberately reached up and wiped both her hands down her mud splattered face. She flicked off the worst of the mud and lowered a glare at the laughing boy that would have made any grown man's heart freeze from fear.

"Alright then," I could hear her say, her voice somehow being amplified, and she looked at her Piplup with determination and fury. "Piplup, use ice beam under my feet. Cutiefly, to me!"