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.

"So, can we have our battle now?" Paul asked gruffly and Hau smiled.

"Sure thing! A Kahuna battle is a three-on-three battle. I actually have six pokemon with me, so after Paul's battle do you want to go against me, Dawn?" he asked and I blinked in surprise.

"Uh.. let's see how much energy you have left after you face Paul," I replied hesitantly and Paul nodded at me once, not in gratitude exactly but it seemed he approved of my logic.

"Sure thing. Well then, Paul, are you ready?" Hau asked with a confident smile. 

As a response, Paul turned away from him and headed to his position on the left side of the battlefield. Hau lifted an eyebrow at me in a silent complaint and I giggled quietly. Shrugging his shoulders at me Hau went and took his spot on the other side of the battlefield and looked over at me.

"Will you act as the referee, Dawn?" Hau asked me. I blinked in surprise but nodded in agreement, taking my spot on the outside edge of the battlefield.

"Alright, Paul, let's see what you've got," Hau said with a grin and Paul glared at him with a look that bordered contempt. 

However, as far as I knew Paul was at a disadvantage when it came to typings. He wouldn't be able to use Rockruff since her moves wouldn't be very effective, and as far as I knew neither Torterra nor Torracat knew any super-effective moves against fighting types. Yet Paul still acted as confident as always so I held up my arm, waiting for them each to send out their first pokemon.

Hau selected a Pokeball and tossed it, releasing a hulking Machoke who yelled a battle cry and I jumped slightly in surprise. For some reason, I hadn't thought Hau would use such a powerful pokemon in a Kahuna battle. Paul just smiled and sent his Torracat out, who hissed threateningly at the opposing Machoke. 

After making sure both sides were ready I lowered my hands, declaring "Battle begin!" in a loud voice and taking a step back.

Paul wasted no time in calling for a Fire Fang. Torracat burst into action, taking long, powerful strides across the sand and opening his mouth, creating teeth out of fire that stretched taller than his head was wide and aimed directly for the Machoke that hadn't moved an inch.

"Grab him and use Seismic Toss!" Hau said with a wide grin. 

Machoke lifted one arm, taking the Fire Fang directly but reached down and gripped Torracat's foreleg, heaving him up over his head and smacking him back down into the ground. Torracat yeowled in pain but was up and shaking sand off of himself within seconds.

"Keep pushing, Torracat! Use Double Kick on his leg!" Paul demanded. 

Once again Torracat became a red and black streak as he ran behind Machoke and delivered a powerful kick to the back of the Pokemon's knee, causing him to drop with a grunt of pain.

"Use Revenge," Hau said with his signature smile. The machoke's eyes glowed red as he pulled back a huge fist, aiming for Torracat's hindquarters.

"Dodge it!" Paul yelled. 

I watched in shock as Torracat did a backflip up and over Machoke as his fist smacked harmlessly into empty sand. As Torracat landed though he got his footing easily and as Paul called for a "Lick" attack, he jumped forward, raking a ghostly tongue up Machoke's leg.

Machoke shuddered in disgust and swiped its good leg out, clipping Torracat's cheek as he tried to jump out of the way. Torracat went down, but sprang back up, glaring at the bigger pokemon and slinking back and forth, awaiting instructions from Paul.

"Use Low Sweep again, Machoke," Hau called after Paul made no move to give Torracat an attack. Machoke charged forward, limping noticeably but seeming to not care about its injured leg.

"Jump sideways and use Fire Fang!" Paul ordered and instantly Torracat was moving, dodging the attack easily and then snapping its fiery fangs onto Machoke's extended leg. Machoke grunted in pain, crashing into the sand on his side. "Now Double Kick," Paul said with finality and Torracat's back legs turned white as he unleashed two successive kicks into the Machoke's stomach, shoving it through the sand towards me where it rolled several times before coming to a stop in an obvious faint.

"Machoke is unable to battle, Torracat is the winner!" I proclaimed, smiling at Torracat who was still tense, his tail flicking this way and that as if in anticipation of the fight to come. Hau returned his Machoke and I saw him speak something under his breath to it before taking his next Pokeball out.

"I wasn't expecting that, to be honest, Paul. You've really been able to pull out Torracat's potential," he remarked with an approving nod at Torracat. 

The cat pokemon flicked his tail up high in acknowledgment of the compliment. With that Hau released his second pokemon and I gasped in delight when I saw that it was a Pancham. Memories of traveling with Serena and her Pancham, which was one of the best pokemon dancers I'd ever seen, flooded through me and I had to forcefully turn my attention back to the match I was supposed to be refereeing.

This time Hau took the first move, calling for a Dark Pulse, which Torracat dodged at the last second. To my surprise, Paul called for an Ember attack. I watched as Torracat aimed his fiery bullets towards the little Pancham's feet, causing him to yelp and jump around, trying to keep his little paws from getting burnt.

"Shake it off, Pancham, and use Rock Slide!" 

I heard Paul yell out a 'No!' as huge rocks formed over Torracat and began to tumble down, trapping it in a circle before a large rock finally found its target. Torracat roared with pain and struggled to get up but I noticed that he was panting heavily and some of the confidence in his yellow eyes had disappeared. 

Torracat must not have very good defense. Not to mention rock type moves are super effective against fire types, I thought with some worry. 

Paul called for another Ember attack which Hau met directly with a Dark Pulse. The two attacks pushed against each other but Pancham's proved the more powerful and forced back the ember. The attack smacked against Torracat's shoulder, sending him tumbling into the sand. Stubbornly though he stood on shaky legs and growled at the little Pancham, anger, and frustration obvious in his expression.

"Use Rock Slide again," Hau said at the same time as Paul yelled, "Get in close and use Fire Fang!" 

Pancham raised its arms to call down another barrage of rocks but Torracat somehow found the energy to run forward, dodging the rocks as they rained down around him and creating his fiery teeth that rushed ahead of him. At the same time that the Fire Fang attack connected with Pancham, a rock slammed into Torracat's side. They both fell into the sand and I stood on tiptoe, craning my neck to try and see how they fared. Soon the outcome was obvious and I announced that they both were unable to battle. The two boys returned their pokemon and Hau grinned.

"I don't think I've been this excited by a battle since I took on the Kanto pokemon league!" he said with a fire seeming to burn in his green eyes. 

Paul didn't respond though, simply sending out Torterra who roared his eagerness to battle. I felt a little bad for Hau as he chose a Crabrawler for his final pokemon. Torterra had been Paul's first pokemon, and I could only imagine how strong it had gotten during their eight years of traveling together. I didn't think that Hau had much chance of winning this.

"Torterra, use Earthquake," Paul called and immediately Torterra lifted up on his back legs and slammed down onto the ground, causing the battlefield to roll up and down as if we were in the middle of the ocean. 

I fell down to my hands and knees, trying to keep my teeth from chattering inside my skull as the attack kept on going. The Crabrawler bounced up and down helplessly on the rolling ground until it finally calmed and righted itself while shaking its head.

"Use Ice Punch!' Hau ordered after Crabrawler got its feet back under it.

"Use Vine Whip to keep it back," Paul ordered. 

Torterra immediately pushed his vines out, cracking them loudly against Crabrawler's back. Crabrawler snapped one of its claws around a vine, using it to toss himself towards Torterra and deliver an ice punch to the back of his neck. After it connected he hopped off and took a fighting stance. Torterra growled in pain and shook his head, trying to ignore the damage from the super effective move.

"Alright, Crabrawler, are you ready?" Hau called, setting his feet in a wide, strong stance and bringing his arms up. He crossed them in front of his face with his Z-bracelet on top. 

I sucked in a breath and watched, enthralled, as Hau swept his arms up and out to his sides, a faint light sparkling off his Z-crystal, and then he took a step forward and punched one, two, five times in a row. With each punch, his Z-bracelet glowed brighter and I realized that Crabrawler had its own bracelet at the base of its smaller claw. A shimmering glow appeared all around Crabrawler and as he pulled back his fist dozens of huge shadow fists began appearing all around him.

"Torterra, use Stone Edge to shield yourself!" Paul called just as the first fist streamed towards Torterra. 

I watched with bated breath as a wall of huge rocks sprouted in front of Torterra and intercepted the first few punches. But with every glowing fist, Torterra's rocks cracked until they shattered into pieces and Torterra was left unprotected as the second half of the fists slammed into him without abandon. My hands flew up to cover my mouth and as the dust settled I stood on my tiptoes to see if he had survived the barrage of punches. Once the dust cloud dissipated I let out a sigh of relief as Torterra shook his head, obviously hurt but very much ready for more as he smiled at the little Crabrawler.

"Now, Frenzy Plant!" Paul said, his smile echoing Torterra's.

With a massive roar, Torterra rose up on his hind legs and smashed them down. The ground began to crack open as huge roots raced towards the Crabrawler who was desperately trying to dodge the advancing attack. He didn't make it, though. The roots smacked into its back, tossing it into the air where it somersaulted without control for several seconds before falling onto the beach face-first outside of the battlefield. I rushed over to it, noting that it was most definitely fainted, and raised my hand with a huge smile.

"Crabrawler is unable to battle! The winner is Paul!" Paul and Torterra both smiled with self-satisfaction and I squealed with excitement, rushing over to Torterra and wrapping him into a hug as best I could. "You were amazing, Torterra!"

"Auwe, Paul you are the real deal," Hau said, returning his Crabrawler and walking over to our side of the battlefield. "The way you blocked my Z-move with Stonedge was really clever," he complimented.

"If your Crabrawler was a higher level it probably would have done more damage," Paul replied in what sounded almost like a compliment.

"After you finish the island challenge you should come back and battle my real team. I think we'd be more of a challenge for you," Hau said, extending a hand toward him. 

Paul regarded it for a second before slowly extending his own and clasping Hau's, pumping their hands once. The gesture seemed almost respectful and I smiled, still stroking Torterra's head as I watched the two trainers.

"Well, Dawn, it's your turn!" Hau announced, turning and giving me a carefree smile. 

I could feel the blood rushing from my head as I gulped a little and thought of the intensity of the Z-move I just witnessed.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" I asked, trying to not let my own fear show as I felt Paul's gaze on me. Hau laughed and pumped his fist energetically.

"You kidding? Nothing gets the blood flowing like a good battle. I'm all warmed up and ready for another challenger," he proclaimed with a fiery look in his eyes and I smiled hesitantly.

"But, we won't have a referee. Paul was planning on leaving after his match with you, right?" I said, glancing up at Paul but to my dread, a small smile spread across his lips which held more mirth than friendliness.

"I wouldn't mind watching. It shouldn't take too long for Hau to beat you," he said with a small shrug. Irrational indignation suddenly filled me, propelling me to my feet as I glared at him.

"What makes you think I would lose? You know my pokemon have the type advantage," I growled and Paul quirked an amused purple eyebrow at me.

"Type advantage means nothing if you don't have the skill to take advantage of it. Besides, only one of your pokemon has a true advantage against a fighting type," Paul rebutted and that did it.

"You just watch me then," I snapped, stalking past him to take my spot in the trainer's square and glare at Hau who was watching me with amusement. "Are we doing this or not?" I growled at him. 

He grinned, jogging over to his side of the battlefield, and as he took his spot my mind snapped into focus as I realized that Paul had gotten me. I really didn't feel ready for this battle. Since I had spent most of my time training for the Ka hula round I really didn't have much time to practice my battle skills or come up with a strategy for fighting type pokemon. Swallowing my fear though I picked Growlithe's Pokeball and released him. Growlithe, true to his name, growled loudly as he was released from his Pokeball, then turned to give me an excited look while wagging his thick tail.

"We haven't had much time to practice, Growlithe, but I know you are going to be brilliant," I encouraged him and he barked happily before turning to face Hau and the Mienfoo that he just released. Paul announced the official beginning of the match and I swallowed, trying to push all of my insecurities away and focus on my belief in Growlithe.

"Flame Wheel!" I called out strongly. 

Growlithe instantly bolted forward, jumping in the air a few feet from the Mienfoo and spinning, creating a band of fire all around his body as he careened towards his opponent.

"Dodge it, Mienfoo, then use Swift" Hau called and Mienfoo jumped back, avoiding the attack.

Growlithe's fire went out just as small yellow stars exploded to life around Mienfoo and rushed towards Growlithe.

"Meet it with Ember!" I yelled. 

Growlithe instantly shot an Ember attack at the approaching Swift, but his attack range wasn't wide enough and the stars on the edge burst through and pelted him. I bit my lip as Growlithe yipped with pain, but he shook his head and stood his ground.

"Use Drain Punch!" Hau called. 

Mienfoo dashed forward, sinking a glowing fist into Growlithe's side before he could move out of the way. I watched in horror as shimmering sparks of light flowed from Growlithe into Mienfoo and Growlithe stumbled away, breathing heavily.

Oh, Growlithe, I should have trained with you more! I thought guiltily but I set my jaw, knowing that Growlithe needed me to be strong for him right now. 

"Don't give up, Growlithe! Use Reversal!" Growlithe's legs stiffened and he shook his head before glowering at the Mienfoo in front of him. 

Hau called for a Force Palm Attack but this time Growlithe was ready for him, dodging Mienfoo's glowing hand at the last second. A bright glow swirled around Growlithe and then he pounced, slamming all four paws onto the Mienfoo's unprotected back and the force of the move tossed Mienfoo away from him like a bullet from a gun. I was just about to shout with excitement when Mienfoo dug one paw-like hand into the sand, slowing his speed and landing with his feet on the ground, panting heavily.

"Get close and use Drain Punch!" Hau called.

"Use Flame Wheel, Growlithe!" I called seconds later and clenched my hands into fists as Growlithe, who looked exhausted, jumped up. Before he could get enough momentum to get his flame started Mienfoo smacked him with his glowing hand. Horrified, I watched Growlithe's little energy that he had left drain away and he fell to the sand on his side.

"Growlithe is unable to battle..." Paul said in the background but I had already run onto the battlefield, dropping to my knees and gingerly picking Growlithe up into my arms. Growlithe stirred and whimpered at me, giving me a sad look.

"Don't be silly, Growlithe. You were so brave, I should have come up with a strategy. But I promise we will train really hard and get stronger together, okay?" I said trying to keep the tears collecting in the back of my eyes from falling. Growlithe barked weakly in agreement and I smiled at him before turning back to my side of the battlefield.

"You know, you're supposed to return a pokemon to their Pokeball, not go run and pick it up," Paul scolded with obvious annoyance and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"That may be normal etiquette but this was Growlithe's first battle, so he warrants special treatment," I retorted with a huff, bringing him over to my square and sitting him down on the sand beside me. "Do you want to watch the rest of the battle with me?" I whispered to him and he nodded, sinking down to lay on the sand but his ears perked up to show he was still alert.

"I think he did great for a first battle, Dawn. Are you ready to keep going?" Hau called at me and I smiled, choosing my second Pokeball after only a moment's hesitation.

"I'm not about to give up now," I said fiercely. "Hear that, Cutiefly? Spotlight!" 

I threw my ball, releasing the little pokemon, and she twirled in a tight spiral, nearly touching the sand before shooting up and hovering in the air. A distinct scoff reached my ears from the side of the battlefield but I ignored Paul, now completely in battle mode.

"Well, Mienfoo, let's start with a Swift!"

"Use Double Team!" I yelled and smiled as Cutiefly multiplied herself beautifully, creating mirages of herself over nearly the entire battlefield. 

Mienfoo hesitated before sending his Swift in as many directions as possible, but only managed to extinguish a few of the images.

"Now Fairy Wind!" I ordered.

Cutiefly released her doubles, appearing only inches from Mienfoo's face and blasting him with a Fairy Wind. Mienfoo fell back and somersaulted a few times before coming to a stop face down in the sand and didn't get back up. I sighed in relief when Paul announced "unable to battle" and smiled down at Growlithe.

"See? You were able to weaken him enough that he went down with one hit!" I said with a grin and Growlithe looked up at me and wagged his tail a few times. Hau returned his Mienfoo and sent out a Mankey this time.

"You can do this, Cutiefly," I called out encouragingly. She spun once in a circle as the Mankey looked around for his opponent and finally spotted my tiny pokemon.

"Use Karate Chop!" Hau directed and Mankey leaped up, one of his hands glowing white.

"Dodge it and use Silver Wind," I instructed and I grinned as Cutiefly nimbly flew under the Mankey's hand and buzzed past him before turning and sending a Silver Wind attack towards his back. The attack didn't seem to affect Mankey much but to my delight I notice Cutiefly's wings glow briefly after the attack ended, signaling that by some miracle she had actually gotten the stats increase from the move.

"Use Poison Jab, Mankey!" Hau said and I gasped crying out for Cutiefly to dodge it. 

Since when have Mankey's been able to learn Poison Jab? I thought frantically. 

Cutiefly sped upwards as the streams of super-effective poison rushed towards her. One of the streams knocked into her little legs though and she jerked to the side, spinning uncontrollably for a few seconds before righting herself and getting her altitude back.

"Now, finish it off with Karate Chop," Hau said with an easy smile and I clenched my hand into a fist.

"Dodge at the last second and use Draining Kiss," I called out, hoping that Cutiefly had enough speed left to pull it off. 

I watched, feeling my heart pounding like crazy as Mankey rushed towards my frail pokemon and lifted its glowing hand. But just before it connected Cutiefly whizzed to the side, circling around and pecking the Mankey on the cheek. I couldn't help but spin around and laugh in utter relief as small pink orbs floated from Mankey and into Cutiefly, rejuvenating her at the same time as Mankey fell over with a silly grin on his face.

"Mankey is unable to battle, Cutiefly is the winner," Paul announced and I heard a hint of surprise in his voice. 

Smiling widely I opened my arms and Cutiefly whizzed towards me, cuddling up next to my cheek. I cupped my hands around her little body gently.

"You were marvelous, Cutiefly!" I squealed before taking her Pokeball from my belt. "I want Piplup to get a chance to battle too, so you get some rest." 

Cutiefly buzzed happily before disappearing back into her Pokeball. With a grin, I chose Piplup's Pokeball and tossed it.

"Okay, Piplup. Time for your spotlight!" 

Piplup appeared, flippers bent at his hips and his chest puffed out, as if proud to have been called in to be the anchor. I giggled at his ego and watched with interest as Hau released his last pokemon, which turned out to be one of the most adorable pokemon I had ever seen! It looked like a stuffed animal more than a pokemon. It was fuzzy and rounded, and it looked like a little teddiursa with pink and white stripes that walked on all fours.

"Oh, it's so cute!" I said without thinking and Hau laughed.

"Have you never seen a Stufful before?" he asked with a grin and I shook my head.

"Well, don't let him fool you. He is a fighting type after all," Hau said, linking his fingers and resting them behind his neck. I nodded and looked at Piplup who smiled confidently at me.

"Are you two done chatting?" Paul asked grumpily and I rolled my eyes but nodded.

"Ladies first," Hau said with a genteel smile and I smiled at him.

"Piplup, use Rain Dance," I ordered. 

With a peep Piplup raised his flippers and twirled around, creating a swirling cloud to appear over the entire battlefield and then it extended even beyond until the shoreline. A gentle rain began to fall down and Piplup peeped and jumped up and down happily.

"Okay Stufful, use Double Edge," he said and to my shock the Stufful began barreling towards Piplup, its whole body glowing white and leaving a streak behind him.

"Piplup, jump and use Drill Peck!" I called. 

Piplup leaped into the air, allowing his beak to elongate and begin spinning before turning down and diving beak first towards Stufful. Stufful rolled to the side though, avoiding the attack and leaving Piplup to bury his beak into the sand. He quickly pulled it out, spitting wet sand from his beak with disgust and glaring at Stufful.

"Use Hydro Pump!" I called quickly. 

Piplup (already fueled with indignation and the extra boost from the rain) created a wide spout of water which shot towards Stufful, engulfing him for several seconds. When the attack ran out Stufful looked incredibly waterlogged, his fluffy fur now limp and soggy, but he was still on his feet.

"Get close and use Thunder Punch," Hau called and my eyes widened as Stufful jogged through the wet sand, electricity gathering on one of his front paws.

"Dodge and use Drill Peck!" I yelled. 

Piplup's beak once again lengthened and began spinning and he fearlessly charged towards the electrified Stufful. At the last second Piplup dived, aiming his spinning beak for Stufful's hind leg as he reared. I winced as Stufful's punch connected with Piplup's back, but Piplup's attack connected too and they both rolled away from each other, panting from exertion and pain.

"Bubblebeam, now, Piplup!" I yelled, knowing that his Torrent ability which increased the power of his water-type moves would have kicked in after a direct thunder punch. 

Hau yelled for Stufful to dodge, but the hind leg that Piplup had connected his Drill Peck with gave out and he stumbled as Piplup's Bubblebeam connected with him. I held my breath, ignoring the rain that was slowly soaking my hair and clothes as I waited to see if Stufful would get back up.

After several tense seconds Stufful remained down and I looked over at Paul, who was also dripping wet from Piplup's Rain Dance. He raised one hand, meeting my eyes and giving me a considering look before declaring, "Stufful is unable to battle. Dawn is the winner."

Sighing in relief I sank down onto the wet sand as Piplup rushed over to me, throwing himself into my stomach and hugging me as much as he could. I laughed and hugged him back, grateful when the rain stopped.

"Sorry you got all wet, Growlithe," I apologized and he shook himself vigorously, splashing me and Piplup in the process and making me laugh.

"Well done, Dawn. That was a good battle," Hau said with a grin, wiping water from his face as he came to join me.

"Thank you, Hau. But why didn't you use your Z-move?" I asked looking up at him questioningly.

"Only Crabrawler has the Fightinium Z for my Kahuna battles. But I don't always use a Z-move in a Kahuna battle. I just wanted to see what Paul would do when he saw it," he said, grinning at Paul as he walked over to us, not seeming to care that he was all wet. "But that does remind me," Hau said, digging into his shorts pockets and removing two brown crystals. He held them up with a grin before extending his hand and dropping one into my palm and then Paul's.

"And you have to do that... punching movement to unlock it?" Paul asked, seeming to try not to show his distaste at the thought. 

I tried to picture him doing the motions that Hau had right before Crabrawler used that intense move. Just picturing Paul's straight face as he punched into thin air, on one hand, made me want to laugh, while the other half thought it would actually be pretty intimidating.

"Of course! Here, follow after me," Hau said, showing us how to widen our stance and bring our hands up into the starting position. I followed Hau's lead, bursting into laughter when I punched too hard and lost my balance, slipping down into the sand.

"You don't have to try that hard. You're not planning on catching any fighting-type pokemon are you?" Paul said gruffly, but his eyes were softer than normal as he walked over to where I had fallen. I smiled up at him and wondered again why he got so gentle when I hurt myself.

"You never know, maybe I can teach Growlithe how to change his Reversal attack into the fighting Z-move," I said with a smile up at Paul and then turning to smile at Hau. "Although, I think I'll need to practice a bit more." 

Hau laughed and reached a hand down to help me up, which I accepted.

"Well, are you two going to head over to the ferry? I think there's still time to make it before the last one leaves for the night," Hau commented and I looked over at Paul hesitantly.

"Don't look at me, I don't make your decisions for you," he said bluntly, turning and walking away from Hau and me.

"I really don't understand that guy," I whispered to Hau and he nodded in understanding.

"I don't think he knows what it means to be friends with someone," Hau remarked and I frowned, thinking back to when I asked Paul if we were friends and he seemed offended by the question. "He doesn't seem like a bad guy, though. Just... Intensely independent." 

I laughed at the description and as I watched Paul walk away I again got a strange feeling that he looked lonely.

"Maybe I will head to Akala Island tonight," I said softly and Hau grinned at me.

"Good luck with your next Showdowns! I'll make sure to come for the tournament and watch you in the finals!" 

I smiled at his confidence and gave him a quick hug goodbye before running after Paul's retreating figure.

A/N LOL, so I just realized that Torterra can't actually use Vine Whip, and yet I've been having him use it for the entire story, so I am just going to pretend that Paul's Torterra is special and can use that move :P Sorry if that has been bugging any of you. I guess I assumed all grass types could learn Vine Whip :P Anyways, hopefully you are enjoying the story. I'm excited to write about the next island :D