A New Dream

What If...?: Paul's POV

Clenching my hands into fists I pushed against the countertop to hold myself up and not give in to the desire to run out of here and search for Dawn. Get a hold of yourself, Paul. You have promises to keep to both Mom and yourself so stop being a weakling and go back out there, watch it to the end, and then leave. Sighing heavily I splashed my face with another handful of cold water and shook out my dripping fingers.

As I looked in the mirror it was almost like my eyes were projectors and I thought I could see Dawn reaching a hand out towards me and mouthing the word "Stay". Quickly I turned away from the mirror and ran a hand through my damp bangs before looking up at the ceiling. 

If she wants me to stay with her now, then what will happen if we decide to get married in the future? Even if I wanted to stay with her I'm going to be a champion, and champions don't have time to spend with their families, I thought bitterly and I was surprised at how much loathing for my papa bubbled up into me. Shaking my head I tried to let go of the poisonous feelings. I refused to allow myself to go down the path of wondering what my life would have been like if Mom had fallen in love with an accountant instead of a future pokemon champion.

Taking a deep breath I left the bathroom and made my way back outside where I could hear the crowd roaring. As I made my way back I was shocked to see a steady stream of people leaving the stadium and walking in the direction I had just come from. From the snippets of conversations that I could hear as they walked by me, I gathered that Dawn made it to the second round and would be battling against Kailani.

Anger bubbled in me as I thought of the little saboteur, but I shook my head, thinking instead of the moves that Dawn's pokemon had displayed. As I thought back to them, purposely trying to forget about Dawn's dance, I was more than a little impressed that she somehow managed to teach her pokemon so many different moves in just a single month of us not traveling together. Although it also left me with a strange feeling of sadness that I hadn't been there to help her. Shaking my head I once again tried to focus on her achievements and not the songs she had used to showcase them. I pushed through the crowd and took my spot next to Ash, who grinned over at me.

"You missed it, Paul! Dawn made it into the semi-final and is going to battle the two-time tournament Star. She is the one that beat Serena last year when she entered," Ash said and I glanced over to see Serena give me a puzzled look.

I quickly looked away. I honestly wished she would just stay suspicious and angry with me. It would make it easier to leave after the tournament ended if I knew Dawn's best friend didn't like me.

"I haven't battled Dawn in years, but her pokemon sure seem to know some killer moves," Ash observed with a wide grin and I nodded quietly. 

A few minutes later Dawn and Kailani began to walk up opposite sides of the stage and I wondered how Dawn was going to handle the theme of electric type. Before she released her pokemon though she looked over and even though we were far away, I knew she was looking right at me. To my surprise, she looked determined and I could almost hear her saying, "Don't underestimate me."

I let out a long breath through my nose as Dawn looked away from me. Kailani released her pokemon, the alolan Raichu she had used in her performance and a pink and white fluffy Flaaffy. Dawn looked at the two pokemon for a moment and a small smile tugged at my lips as she calmly released Arcanine, which let out a howl Lycanroc would have been proud of, and Mirageon.

"Oh no, Dawn must not have any electric types with her. This isn't good," I heard Serena say in a hushed tone to Ash.

"Hey, it isn't over till it's over. Have some faith in Dawn," he responded and for once I actually found myself agreeing with Ash.