A New Dream

Battle On!: Dawn's POV

 Nurse Joy returned mine and Paul's pokemon with a clean bill of health quickly and I snuck a peek at Paul out of the corner of my eye as I clipped my Pokeballs back onto my belt. Paul was the last person I expected to see at the Showdown. I had asked to watch his battle on a whim... but there really was something about this guy that interested me. Paul was always so gruff around everyone and seemed to push away anyone who tried to be his friend, yet whenever I got hurt he suddenly became gentle. 

Why is he so contradictory? I wondered, as he replaced his Pokeballs and started walking out of the PokeCenter.

Jogging after his long strides, I followed him silently. I never knew what exactly to say when I was around Paul because I didn't want to make him angry and then get angry myself. Why am I doing this to myself? It's like I'm walking on eggshells whenever I hang out with Paul. 

As I walked behind him I found myself looking up at his broad shoulders and his hair which was getting a little longer. 

Why does he look so lonely from the back? I wondered and then laughed inwardly at myself. There was no way that Paul could be lonely, I doubted he even knew the meaning of the word.

"Hey Dawn, do you know what type Hau uses in his battles?" Paul asked, glancing over his shoulder to look at me briefly and I blinked and felt myself smile. 

That's the third time he's started the conversation today! I thought happily and sped up so I could walk beside him.

"He uses fighting types for his Kahuna battles, but he said that his normal team is really diverse," I replied and Paul blinked then frowned.

"Hmm. I thought he would use electric pokemon since Tapu Koko is an electric type," he muttered and I could almost see the gears behind his eyes whirring as he came up with a new strategy in lightning speed.

"Thanks for letting me watch your battle," I said. He nodded, seeming a bit distracted.

"Will you challenge him after I'm done?" he asked and I shrugged.

"I hadn't thought of it yet, but probably. The next Showdown I want to go to is on Akala island and I'd like to catch a few more pokemon to diversify my team. When they announced the type for the battle as ground I thought I was done for," I admitted grimly, although if I was honest if Kailani or Traavi had competed in the Showdown I wasn't sure I would've made it past the Ka hula round.

"I'm going to leave for Akala tonight if Hau gets here fast enough for me to take the ferry," Paul said with an annoyed glance around him. The beach battlefield was still empty of a smiling kahuna and I wondered if Hau would actually show up.

"We're probably going to end up bumping into each other again at Akala Island, huh?" I asked with a smile and Paul glanced down at me with an indifferent expression.

"I suppose," he responded flatly and I felt my shoulders slump a bit at his bland reaction.

"Don't sound so excited," I retorted sarcastically and he smirked, turning away from me. 

Silence stretched between us and I was just trying to come up with another topic of conversation when I heard Hau's voice calling out to us. I turned to see him running towards us through the sand.

"Sorry I'm late, Paul. Hey, Dawn! Congrats on your win," he said with a grin which I returned.

"Thank you, Hau. You didn't give me extra points because we're friends, did you?" I asked teasingly and he laughed.

"I wanted to give you an extra ten points when you smashed that guy's face with mud, but the other judges said it wasn't necessary since you had nearly gotten 100 points by the time you KO'ed his pokemon anyways," Hau replied with a wink and I laughed awkwardly. Honestly, I lost my temper and felt rather embarrassed for acting so petty when I smacked mud into my opponent's face.