As Paul and I walked back to Hau'oli city the late afternoon sun made quick work of drying our clothes. The sea breeze was gentle and I couldn't help but be amazed at how relaxed I felt here. Far away from my rivals and contests I somehow felt like I was actually living again instead of just going through the motions, charging ahead to my dream but having it always out of reach. I glanced over at Paul, who hadn't acknowledged my company since I caught up to him, for good or bad. I smiled as I watched him swipe his bangs away from his eyes with a look of annoyance.
"I can cut your bangs for you, if you'd like," I offered and he gave me a dubious look.
"You know how to cut hair?" he asked and I nodded.
"I used to cut Kenny's hair when we traveled together, it's not that hard," I said and Paul cocked his head to the side.
"Your boyfriend?" he asked blandly and I felt my cheeks heat up.
"No! I grew up with him and he is a coordinator too so we traveled together. But that was back when I was eleven," I said, trying not to think back to the last time I saw him and how much I probably hurt him.
"So you haven't cut anyone's hair since you were eleven?" Paul asked and I blinked in surprise, thinking back.
"Well, yah, I guess," I admitted and Paul scoffed, shaking his head to once again get his bangs out of his eyes.
"Then no thanks," he said bluntly. I frowned at him, folding my arms and looking away.
"Whatever, I was just trying to help," I muttered.
"I don't need help," Paul replied gruffly.
I sighed, recalling how Hau had called him 'intensely independent' and I couldn't agree more with that analysis.
"So where will you be going once we get to Akala?" I asked and Paul raised an eyebrow at me.
"To Brooklet Hill for the first trial," he responded blandly and I blinked.
"First trial?"
Paul sighed and shook his head as if he couldn't believe anyone could be so ignorant. I swallowed my annoyed comment though because he actually responded to my question.
"There are three trials on Akala island that you have to take in a certain order. The first is the trial on Brooklet Hill, then there is the Wela Volcano trial, and the last trial is in Lush Jungle. From what I could find the trials are to earn a Waterium, Firium, and Grassium Z-stones respectively. Once a challenger has all three of the stones they can challenge the island Kahuna, but I couldn't find information about what typing Akala's Kahuna favors."
"So you're going to head to Brooklet Hill right away?" I asked and he shrugged.
"I want to do some training with Torracat and try to get the Fightinium Z move to work," he said, his voice sounding far away as if he was already planning training schedules and was no longer paying attention to our conversation.
I thought about the Fightinium Z and the dozens of glowing fists pounding against Torterra and I couldn't help but shiver. Even if I could teach that move to Growlithe, I wasn't sure I wanted to.
"What about you?" Paul asked after a few silent minutes.
I jerked my head up, shocked that he actually turned the conversation around to me.
"Oh, well there are about ten Showdown's scheduled on Akala Island in the next few months and I want to go to at least two or three of them. I'll try to plan them out so that I can do a trial between every Showdown," I mused, trying to recall the exact schedule of Luau Showdowns Nurse Joy had given me.
"Are they going to have another mud battle?" Paul asked with a grin and I scowled at him, feeling my cheeks warm up slightly.
"I hope not. But they don't announce the themes until you have passed the Ka hula round, so I don't know," I responded with slight trepidation.
"Hmmm," Paul said, still grinning slightly and I frowned.
Was it really so amusing to see me get hit in the face with mud? I wondered with annoyance.
"Do you think you'll come to watch me again?" I asked, wondering why the thought made me feel a little happy.
"I don't plan on it," Paul responded immediately and I hung my head, mentally chiding myself for expecting anything else. "But we seem to have an annoying habit of running into each other...." Paul trailed off, glancing down and meeting my gaze before turning back to watching the path.
"So... if you happen to see a Showdown during your travels you'll come to watch?" I prompted, a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips.
"If I have time for a break," he said with a noncommittal shrug and I grinned.
"I'll make sure to bake some more poffins for your pokemon, so if you DO come then don't leave before they can eat them," I instructed happily and Paul grunted. "Do you think we'll have time to go to the PokeCenter before we catch the ferry?" I asked, caressing the miniaturized pokeballs on my belt and thinking of how much Growlithe deserved to be pampered.
"I doubt it. The last Ferry leaves at 6 and it's just past 5:40 now," Paul pointed out, pulling out an electronic device that I didn't recognize from his jacket pocket.
"How are you wearing that jacket? Aren't you hot?" I asked incredulously, looking at the long-sleeved jacket I had only seen him take off once or twice.
'It's better than getting a sunburn," he shrugged and I blinked.
"Do you burn easily?" I asked and he quirked an eyebrow at me.
"Don't you? You have lighter skin than I do," Paul commented.
I looked down at my pasty white skin. Even though I had been outside practicing for two weeks straight I hadn't gotten even a hint of a tan and I sighed.
"I do burn pretty easily, but I put sunblock on every few hours," I confessed and Paul nodded.
"Your battle...." Paul started to say but then stopped, sticking both hands into his pockets and staring straight ahead.
"What about it?" I prodded, moving a little closer so I could lean my head forward and try and get into his line of sight.
"Nothing," Paul growled, glaring down at me and taking a sideways step to put distance between us again.
"Oh come on. You are the one who stopped in the middle of a sentence. What were you going to say? That I'm a terrible battler and I should stick to contests?" I asked, trying my best to glare the way that Paul did and he gave me an unamused look. Relaxing my face I took a step sideways as well, knocking my elbow into his arm. "Come on, I want to know what you were thinking," I wheedled and he frowned.
"Why? We always argue when we talk," Paul pointed out.
I blinked, surprised that he had realized that as well. Honestly, I thought he would forget everything about our previous conversations.
"Well... yah, we do. Don't we?" I asked, laughing awkwardly.
Paul nodded without looking at me and I matched his pace as we walked in silence for a while.
"I... want to be stronger," I heard myself say, but I looked steadfastly down at the ground, not wanting to see how Paul would react to me saying something like that. "You and I are very different. We have different training styles, different dreams... You are always judging me and insulting me, so of course, I get angry... But I respect you as a trainer, Paul." I admitted, allowing myself to briefly look up at him.
His black eyes were watching me without expression and I gulped, turning away from him and focusing once more on the path in front of me.
"If you have any criticism about my battle or any pointers that you want to give me I would like to hear them. If you insult me I can't promise that I won't get mad, but I will try to keep my temper in check," I said reluctantly while fiddling with my backpack's shoulder straps.
Paul didn't respond for several minutes and I hung my head a little farther, wishing that my hair wasn't in a braid so I could hide behind it. What was I expecting? That he would actually help me become a better trainer if I asked? Paul hates me, he probably would rather be traveling with Hau than with me right now.
"Your battle surprised me," Paul grumbled reluctantly and I jerked my gaze up to him in shock. "Growlithe had a huge amount of trust in you, even though it was your first battle, but you didn't know his limits so he lost." I frowned but didn't say anything since I knew he was right. "Your Cutiefly relies too heavily on its speed and small size. Once it evolves its speed will increase, but so will its size and so it will have a hard time adjusting to how to dodge. If you expect to win more battles with it then you'll have to work on your timing and the power of your moves."
"I thought Cutiefly's moves were pretty powerful though," I said with a confused frown, thinking of how she had pretty much destroyed Mankey with a Draining Kiss.
"That mankey wasn't a very high level. If you think that Draining Kiss is going to be your trump card then you'll lose every time," Paul retorted with a casual shrug and I felt my lips form a pout but I didn't interrupt. "Your Piplup..." Paul grimaced and I stuck a hand on my hip, speeding up so I could turn and face him with an annoyed frown.
"What do you have against Piplup? He has an amazing moveset and he took that Thunder Punch really well!" I said defensively, my annoyance flaring. Paul met my annoyance with his own calm stare.
"I was going to say that your Piplup is stronger than I gave him credit for," Paul muttered, looking down at me with an almost pained expression. I blinked twice and then narrowed my eyes at him.
"Do you actually believe that?" I asked suspiciously and Paul rolled his eyes, walking around me and continuing down the path.
"If you refuse to evolve him then I think he has gotten as strong as a Piplup could be," he said over his shoulder.
As I watched him walk away a feeling of giddiness swept over me at the compliment. A huge urge to run up and hug Paul swept through me, but I quickly shook my head and jogged so I could walk beside him again.
Paul and I walked the rest of the way to Hau'oli in comfortable silence. Paul would respond if I asked him questions, but I got the feeling he wanted to think so I left him be as I thought back to my battle against Hau. I tried to think of how I could improve my training so that my pokemon would be better rounded. As the pier on the edge of Hau'oli City came into view the sun was just starting to tip towards the west.
"There's the ferry," Paul said, pointing out to the sea where a medium-sized white boat with green railings was chugging towards the Melemele Pier.
"Great! We're right on time," I said, picking up my pace a little as Paul elongated his gait. I followed him to the pier and we walked up to the ticket counter.
"Is there still space for two more on the ferry to Akala?" I asked the pretty woman behind the counter. She smiled and clicked a few times on her computer before nodding.
"Oh yes, there is still plenty of room. Two tickets for the traveling couple?" she asked with a wistful smile and I wasn't sure whether to laugh or roll my eyes.
"We'll be paying separately," I said with a smile and her eyebrows drew together as she looked between Paul and me. I resisted looking over to see Paul's reaction to her assumption that we were a couple and with a shrug, the lady sold us each a ticket before wishing us a happy journey.
"When we get to Akala will you be going to the Pokemon Center?" Paul asked after we left the ticket office and were making our way to the ferry.
"Yes. I want Nurse Joy to look at all of my pokemon," I replied automatically and Paul nodded.
"Unfortunately I do too. I'll leave right after they're cleared with Nurse Joy though," Paul said without emotion and I glanced up at him from the corner of my eyes.
"Is traveling with me really that bad?" I asked him quietly and he looked over at me with a frown.
"We're not traveling together, we just happen to be going to the same place at the same time," Paul pointed out and I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever then," I said tiredly, walking away from him once we got to the top deck of the ferry and leaning on the railing.
Absently I watched several more people making their way to the ferry and I wondered what they were going to do on Akala Island. I nearly jumped out of my skin when long arms leaned against the railing beside me and I looked over at Paul in surprise.
"It's more trouble trying to avoid you," he said with a shrug and a spluttering laugh escaped me.
He looked down at me with annoyance but I couldn't stop the laugh attack. Folding my arms I leaned my forehead against them and laughed. After my laughter finally ran its course I grabbed the railing with my hands and leaned back, standing on my tiptoes and stretching my arms as I smiled up at the beautiful blue Alolan sky. Paul had turned away from me and was looking at the ocean with a moody expression. I relaxed into a leaning position against the railing as I smiled up at him.
"I wasn't laughing at you, in case you were wondering," I remarked casually and his eyes shifted to look at me before turning to look out at the ocean again.
"You don't need to lie," he grumbled and I shook my head.
"I was laughing because that's exactly what I was thinking when we kept bumping into each other at the Pokemon Center outside Verdant Cave," I explained honestly and Paul slowly turned to face me.
"Please don't tell me that we actually had the same thought," he said with a look of apprehension and laughter once again bubbled out of me. I clapped a hand over my mouth and waved my hand in a silent apology.
"Okay, that time I really was laughing at you. I'm sorry," I said amidst a burst of giggles.
To my surprise Paul reached out and pushed me lightly with his arm, causing me to stumble a bit. Grinning widely I straightened and returned to my spot next to him as a loud horn blew somewhere on the ferry, signaling that we would be leaving soon.
"So what is your dream, Paul?" I asked after we had been on the sea for ten minutes and neither of us had moved from our spots on the railing.
"I don't have dreams. I have goals," he rebutted automatically and I felt one of my eyebrows raise up.
"Fine then, what is your goal?" I asked sarcastically but he didn't turn to look at me.
"I'm going to become a Champion," he said confidently and I regarded him with surprise.
"Wow. That is an ambitious goal," I commented, thinking back to when I had traveled around with Ash.
He always said that he wanted to be a Pokemon Master, to be able to work with any pokemon he came across and become friends with them. I had really admired him for that since it would take him a lifetime to reach, but he never lost sight of that dream and worked tirelessly so that he could make it come true.
Thinking back on my own dream to become a Top Coordinator I wondered for the first time what I would do if I did achieve it. If my time in Alola did give me the edge that I was missing and allowed me to become a Top Coordinator... what then?
"So... what will you do after you become a Champion?" I asked curiously, lowering one of my arms from the railing and turning to give my full attention to Paul.
A small sea breeze was flowing by and tossed Paul's bangs away from his face. I watched him quietly, holding my breath as I wondered what he would say. Slowly Paul turned his head, meeting my gaze and for the first time I realized that his eyes weren't black, but they were actually a deep purple color, like two amethysts that had been dipped in black ink and only a few flecks of their purple color were showing through.
"I'll challenge the Champions from every region until I have beaten them all and proven that I am the strongest," Paul said deliberately, his eyes hard, and I felt myself frown.
Why doesn't he seem excited when he talks about his dream... or 'goal', I wondered as I continued to hold his eye contact.
"Oh," I simply said, not sure how to put into words what I wanted to say. Paul blinked slowly and turned away from me, breaking our eye contact and freeing me from my strange paralysis. "I'm... going to walk around for a bit," I said awkwardly but Paul continued staring out at the ocean, not showing any sign of having heard me.
With a sigh, I backed away and started walking along the deck, buried in my thoughts. My mind went to all of my rivals in the contest world.
Serena had never become a Top Coordinator, but she had become Kalos Queen and she said that she would stay as the Queen for as long as she could be the one to make the Kalos people smile the brightest. Once that day ended though then she would be happy to step down and become a coach like her own mentor Palermo.
May didn't care about titles, but she loved competing in contests more than anything. Her dream was to come up with the most unique and creative combinations with her pokemon and show them off for the world to see. She became known as the "Princess of Hoenn" and it didn't hurt that her fiance was also a renowned Top Coordinator as well.
Zoey had followed my mother's route and opened up a Coordinator's training school in Snowpoint City. Her students were always top contenders in the Sinnoh League and Zoey kept her skills up by competing in contests near her.
My feet slowly stopped moving and I frowned, looking out towards the ocean but not really seeing anything as something clicked into place in my mind. All of my rivals that I looked up to and admired had the dream of becoming a Top Coordinator (or Kalos Queen)... but their dream extended beyond that title and into something in the future that would bring them joy and fulfillment.
What good will being a Top Coordinator be to me if I don't know what to do with it after I have achieved it? I asked myself in shock and rose a shaking hand to press against my forehead.
The memory of Piplup holding me as I cried and then shoving his Pokeball into my stomach stubbornly, saying without words that he wanted to journey with me and only me, calmed my troubled thoughts and warmed my heart. I stroked my Pokeballs and the pokemon inside them and I let out a deep breath. I didn't really understand what I wanted for my future anymore, but what I did know was that I wanted to become a trainer that my pokemon could rely on no matter what happened. And since I was in Alola, that meant putting all of my energy into the Island Challenge and the Luau Showdowns. Hopefully, as I went through this journey I would be able to find the path to what would make my pokemon and myself happy for the rest of my life. Patting my cheeks firmly twice, I nodded to myself and turned to walk back to where Paul was still leaning against the railing.
"You're back," he commented with a hint of disappointment and I glared up at him.
"You're the one who said it was better than trying to avoid each other," I grumbled and he shrugged wordlessly.
I asked him about his journeys since we parted ways after the Sinnoh League and, to my delight, he reluctantly shared some of his experiences with me. Since I had never been to Unova I asked him mostly about what the region was like and the pokemon he met there. His descriptions lacked flair, but it was still exciting to hear about a region I had never been to. Unova didn't have any pokemon contests so I hadn't considered traveling there, but it seemed like both Paul and Ash had enjoyed their time there.
The ferry took 45 minutes to dock at Akala Island and I was surprised to be a little disappointed that my conversation with Paul was coming to an end so soon. He, however, seemed grateful for the end of the short trip and we were one of the first people to leave the ferry. The PokeCenter was one of the first buildings past the ferry terminal and I followed Paul's lead as we headed towards the familiar red roof.
As we walked through the front door I was surprised to see that there were hardly any trainers hanging out in the cafeteria. Nurse Joy and Blissey were behind the counter and greeted us as kindly as ever though so I walked up and handed her my Pokeballs at the same time as Paul placed his on the counter.
"Did you two just come in on the ferry?" Nurse Joy asked with a smile, loading our Pokeballs onto a tray and I nodded.
"I'm surprised the PokeCenter is so empty," I commented and Nurse Joy sighed.
"Well, we're in the middle of renovating, so more than half our rooms are not accessible for the next few weeks," she explained and I nodded in understanding.
"I see, are there any hotels?" I asked, really hoping to take a shower tonight after being pelted with mud and sitting on a sandy beach for a good portion of the day.
"Oh yes! Akala Island has two very nice hotels. I'm sure you could find an open room," Nurse Joy said with a smile at me and my shoulders slumped in relief. "You're both welcome to have dinner here while you're waiting for your pokemon."
I called out a thank you as she and Blissey swept into the back of the nursing center and I looked up at Paul, who hadn't moved.
"Are you hungry?" I asked awkwardly.
He shrugged so I walked towards the cafeteria and helped myself to some fried rice, two egg rolls, and a cup of milk. I was only slightly surprised when Paul chose to sit across from me at the table by the window. I tucked into my food gratefully and drank my milk until I heard Paul snort out a laugh.
"Now what?" I asked, licking my top lip to hopefully get rid of any milk mustache that might have been created.
"I just thought it was funny that you are drinking milk. You know you're not going to get any taller," he said with a grin down at his food and I wrinkled my nose.
"I don't drink milk so I'll grow. I just like the taste," I retorted and Paul scooped another spoonful of rice into his mouth silently.
Hmph, he thinks he's all that because he's over six foot, I grumbled to myself as I took a bite from one of the warm eggrolls. I was surprised when it turned out to be a deep fried spring roll with vegetables inside.
We took our time with dinner, not saying too much as the sun slowly set towards the west. I watched it, feeling a peaceful feeling pass over me as I watched the clouds become tinted with pinks, purples, and oranges and the sun began to disappear beyond the horizon.
"Are you going to get a hotel room?" I asked as I sat back, patting my full stomach contentedly.
"No, I'm going to head towards Paniola Town tonight. I'll just camp whenever I find a good spot," Paul said before gulping down the last of his lemonade.
"Do you know if you have to beat the Brooklet Hill totem pokemon before you can go to Wela Volcano?" I asked as I leaned back against my chair.
"I didn't see a barricade on the map, but I don't know why you wouldn't want to get the Waterium Z as soon as you can since your main pokemon is a water type," Paul said while rolling his eyes and I wrinkled my nose at him.
"It's just that there is a showdown in a couple of weeks up at Wela Volcano so I wasn't sure if I wanted to take time out of my practice for that," I explained.
Paul grunted but, to my surprise, he didn't have a derogatory comment to follow up with. The silence was just about starting to make me itch when Nurse Joy's kind voice floated through the center calling mine and Paul's names. We got up and went to the counter where she greeted us with another warm smile.
"Your pokemon are all rested and healed up!"
"Thank you very much, Nurse Joy," I said, taking my Pokeballs from her happily and replacing them at my hip.
"Bliss blissey bliss," Blissey said, patting Nurse Joy's arm and pointing towards us.
"Oh! I nearly forgot! Would either of you be interested in hatching a pokemon egg?" Nurse Joy asked and a rush of excitement went through me at the same time as Paul scoffed.
"I don't have time to train a pokemon from a hatchling," he said before turning to leave the center.
I frowned at his back, wondering if he had a thing about not saying a proper goodbye, but I turned back to Nurse Joy.
"I would be interested, Nurse Joy," I said and she smiled brightly.
"That's wonderful! The daycare center in Paniola Ranch is understaffed and they have been trying to give responsible trainers their eggs before they hatch. If you have the chance to stop by I am sure they would be happy to give you one," Nurse Joy explained and I remembered fondly back to when I hatched Cyndaquil. Raising him from a tiny Cyndaquil to a hulking Typhlosion was one of the most special experiences I had on my journey.
"Thank you for letting me know. How far away is Paniola Ranch?" I asked and Nurse Joy pointed behind her.
"If you go down the path right before the Tide Song Hotel it is just a few hours' walk. The Daycare is situated in the middle of the ranch just a little ways past Paniola Town. I'll send a message to the breeder in charge so she can be expecting you," Nurse Joy said and I nodded.
"That sounds wonderful, thank you so much for telling me and taking care of my pokemon," I said with a small bow and both she and Blissey waved to me as I exited the PokeCenter.
HeaHea city was lit up well but it was much smaller than Hau'oli. I was able to get directions from one of the street vendors that was taking his table down for the night and I made my way to the Tide Song Hotel. After noting where the path was that would take me to Paniola Ranch I hurried to the hotel and sighed with relief when they said that there was still an available room for the night.
After paying the concierge I rode the elevator up to my room and closed the door behind me. Immediately I released my pokemon and laughed as Piplup and Growlithe both tackled me, knocking me onto the bed, and Cutiefly buzzed around my head happily. I hugged Growlithe and Piplup fiercely and smiled as Cutiefly cuddled up next to my cheek.
"Thank you all for your hard work today," I said and they all responded in their various version of speaking.
I left them to get comfortable in the room and headed to the bathroom, excited to actually have a real shower after such a long day.