Paul headed for the forest as soon as we returned back from our hike up Melemele Trail and I was glad because my knees were starting to throb with pain. There was no way I was going to let him know, though; he already thought I was weak, and I didn't need to prove him right by complaining. Hau offered to keep me company at the house, but I convinced him I would be fine and I sighed with relief as the front door closed behind him.

"Pip piplup," Piplup peeped up at me while patting my knee.

As I glanced down I could see a small red stain beginning to spread. Sighing again I walked stiffly over to the bathroom and took down the bandages and healing ointment that Mrs, Jun had left on top of the bathroom cabinet for me. Piplup waddled after me, peeping with concern as I sat on the side of the tub and stretched my leg out in front of me.

"No need to worry, Piplup. It's just a cut," I said with a bright smile and Piplup sat dejectedly on the floor between my feet. 

For someone who claims to be a trainer you don't seem to take care of yourself very well, I heard Paul say in my mind and I gritted my teeth in annoyance. Reaching down I began to unwind the bandage that Mrs. Jun had redone just this morning. I got hurt because I was helping a pokemon in danger. That's what pokemon trainers are supposed to do! I snapped back to the imaginary Paul in my head as I tugged ruthlessly on the bandage that was covering my right leg.

Piplup stood up and examined my legs, which to be honest looked way better than they should have after less than a day. The smaller cuts were almost completely healed and only the largest cuts where rocks had become embedded in my knee were bleeding now. Taking a deep breath Piplup blew out a single, small bubble of water and it burst over my knee, showering it with a light spray of water and making the blood run down my leg in small rivulets. 

I used a small part of the bandage that hadn't gotten dirty in our hike to wipe off the blood and then applied more of Mrs. Jun's healing ointment. Once that was done I wrapped up my knee in two layers of gauzy bandage, but left the rest of my leg alone since the cuts and scrapes had already scabbed over. As I put the medical supplies back a feeling of heavy exhaustion settled over me and I rubbed my eyes.

"I think I'm going to take a quick nap," I said to Piplup who perked up and smiled, wrapping the end of his flipper around my hand and pulling me towards the door.

"What? Do you want to tuck me in?" I asked with a smile. 

Piplup grinned, tapping his chest with one of his flippers in a 'leave it to me' gesture. Laughing I let Piplup feel like he was dragging me towards the guest room and it took all my self-control to lie still as Piplup wrestled with the blanket, doing his best to move the large thing over me. When he finally succeeded he sat down and stroked my arm underneath the blanket, peeping his version of a song in a soft voice to try and sing me to sleep. Love and affection bubbled up in my throat, making it difficult to swallow. Closing my eyes I listened to Piplup's wordless song and felt myself soon drifting to sleep.

******

I didn't wake up until Mrs. Jun came home several hours later with bags full of groceries, but I felt refreshed and my knee had stopped hurting so I was glad I decided to take a nap. When I told Mrs. Jun about Hau taking us to meet Litten she got a dangerous glint in her eyes and when Hau came in she pounced, scolding him for taking me on such a long hike when I got injured just yesterday. I tried to interject that I went because I wanted to, but Mrs. Jun didn't pay me any mind as she continued to lecture her son.

"And don't you let me catch you being so insensitive again. You hear me, young man?" she asked with an evil glint in her eyes and Hau looked appropriately terrified.

"It won't happen again!" Hau promised and Mrs. Jun sighed. 

She glanced back at me and her eyes wandered down to my right leg, which was now only wrapped around my knee, and her eyes narrowed.

"Did your cuts reopen?" she asked and I looked to the side, trying to hide my guilt.

"Uhhh, just a little," I replied quietly, "But I feel lots better after taking a nap! And look, my leg is almost better! Your healing ointment is magic, Mrs. Jun!"

Hau gave me a grateful look as Mrs. Jun came over and inspected my leg, nodding with approval when she saw that my scrapes were already nearly healed. After making sure I was okay she went back to the kitchen to put away her groceries and told me that she would like me to stay with them until the Luau Showdown so she could make sure I was healing properly.

"That really is incredibly kind of you, Mrs. Jun, but I would hate to impose. You've already done so much for me!" I argued but Mrs. Jun gave me a dazzling smile.

"Don't be silly, Dawn. The showdown is tomorrow, it's hardly an imposition for you to stay one more night before starting on your journey!" Mrs. Jun reasoned and I chewed my lip before nodding in agreement. "Wonderful! Now, where did your handsome friend go?"

Piplup, who had been consoling Hau for getting scolded, jogged over to Mrs. Jun and peeped up at her. She glanced down in surprise and giggled before patting him on the head.

"Piplup, I think she was asking about Paul," I whispered to him. His smile instantly turned into a look of mortification and he slumped, waddling dejectedly away from Mrs. Jun who couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

"Paul went to do some training. He said he wanted to see what Litten could do," Hau said with a grin and Mrs. Jun frowned slightly.

"What a pity, will he be back from dinner?" she asked.

"He didn't say," Hau shrugged, "But Grandpa is coming over tomorrow to give Dawn and Paul their Z-bracelets, so he'll be here tomorrow for sure." 

I sniffed and folded my arms without thinking, yelping quietly as my bruised shoulder twinged with pain.

"Are you alright, Dawn?" Mrs. Jun asked, instantly abandoning her open fridge and dashing over to me with a worried look.

"I'm alright, I just forgot about my shoulder," I said, feeling foolish. Mrs. Jun laughed and patted my uninjured shoulder.

"That's a good sign, actually. That means the pain is already fading enough for you to forget. You should be all healed in no time!" 

I smiled at her optimism and stepped forward to wrap her in a hug, being careful not to bump her with my left shoulder. Mrs. Jun returned my hug as naturally as if she was my mom and a feeling of guilt washed over me as I realized that it had been over a year since I had gone home and hugged my own mother.

"I want a hug too!" Hau said brightly and Mrs. Jun tightened her grip and spun me around so she was blocking him.

"You don't deserve a hug!" she snapped and I laughed at his crestfallen look. 

With an extra squeeze, Mrs. Jun released me and turned back to the kitchen, saying that dinner would be ready in an hour.

"Do you want to come see Iki Town with me?" Hau asked brightly, turning pale as Mrs. Jun turned to glare at him. "I-I mean if you are feeling up to it?"

"Sure. Is there a library here?" I asked curiously, walking over to where Piplup was still sitting dejectedly in the corner of the dining room.

"Nah, Iki Town is pretty small. But there are a couple of fun tourist stores we can look at and I'll show you where battles and the Luau will take place!" 

It took several minutes of reminding Piplup that he was the cutest and most handsome pokemon I had ever seen for him to regain his energy enough to follow us as Hau guided me through Iki Town.

It really was a small place. The majority of the buildings were homes of people who had lived on the island for generations. There was one store that sold beautifully polished sea shells and colorful glass jewelry, and another building was home to an herbalist who prepared medicine for both pokemon and humans. When I saw the ointment that Mrs. Jun had been using on me I immediately bought three tubes of the stuff, not even caring when the price was higher than I expected.

"And this is where all of the town events are held," Hau said, walking towards the middle of the town. 

The most interesting thing about Iki Town was that all of the buildings were built in a huge circle facing a large open field of close-cut grass with a huge raised wooden platform in the middle. As we drew closer to the platform I could see that lines were painted on it, sketching out a pokemon battlefield.

"Was the town built around this field for some reason?" I asked curiously, watching as Piplup waddled happily past me and Hau to clamber up the stairs of the platform and inspect it closer.

"Yup! Legend says that the very first trainer to battle Tapu Koko battled it here in this field. The legend says that even though the trainer was super strong Tapu Koko still beat him, but he was so impressed with the trainer's battling skills that he gave him a Z stone and called him to be the first Melemele Kahuna. That's why all of the Melemele Kahuna's live here in Iki Town and we have all of our battles with Island Challengers here too. Man, I remember the first time I went up against my grampa when I started my island challenge. That was an intense battle!" Hau said, raising his arms up to link his fingers at the back of his neck in his signature pose.

"I remember reading about the legend of the first Kahuna in the history book I borrowed, but I don't remember it mentioning the town name," I said, glancing around once more at the houses and buildings that stood as if they were guardians of this special place.

"Well, Iki Town has been around forever, but most people on the island like to live by the beach where they can go mantine surfing day in and day out," Hau explained with an unconcerned shrug and I looked up at him in shock.

"Did you say Mantine surfing?" I asked and Hau grinned.

"Yah! It's one of the things Alola is known for! Mantine surfing is one of the best ways to travel from island to island!" Hau said enthusiastically and I felt the blood drain from my head as I considered traveling across the open ocean by myself on a mantine.

"Uhh, cool," I responded hesitantly and Hau grinned broadly down at me, not noticing my discomfort. Hoping to change the topic I started walking again and climbed the steps to the platform. "So, when you battle island challengers what pokemon do you use?"

"The Melemele Grand Trial lets you earn a fighting Z-crystal, so I have to use fighting type pokemon in my battles as Kahuna," Hau explained as he followed me onto the platform, and I blinked over at him. "What?" he asked when he noticed my confused look.

"Well, when Paul asked you that earlier you wouldn't say what type you used," I said, not bothering to mask my surprise and to my amusement, Hau blushed lightly.

"Yah, well, I could tell her was a strong trainer so I didn't want to give him any advantages," he said awkwardly and I laughed

"So you think I need an advantage?" I asked teasingly and Hau smiled.

"Nah, I don't doubt that you're strong. You're just a lot nicer than Paul, so I don't mind telling you," he said with a wink and I laughed again. 

Piplup waddled over to us to see what was so funny and I bent down and tickled him where his chin met with his beak. He shrieked with laughter, dashing away from me. With a grin I pursued him, chasing him across the stage trying to tickle him.

"Oh, Piplup, wait!" I cried out just as Piplup ran right off the stage edge and fell flat on his stomach to the ground. Luckily it was only a foot off the ground but I jumped down and checked on him to make sure he hadn't hurt himself. Piplup started laughing and I joined him, pulling him into my lap and giving him a hug, which he returned.

"You sure are close with your pokemon," Hau observed, stepping off the stage and sitting down on its edge.

"Of course. Piplup has been with me since I started my journey back in Sinnoh. When we first met I thought he didn't like me since he and the other starters ran into the forest when I came to see them. But when I found Piplup we ended up getting attacked by a huge group of Ariados and Piplup was able to protect me and defeat them all by using Bide," I said, looking down at Piplup lovingly and he puffed out his chest with pride as I recounted the story.

"Wow, it's so cool to see the bonds that pokemon and trainers can develop, huh?" Hau said with a grin and I nodded in agreeance. 

Mrs. Jun's voice calling us to dinner floated on the wind to us and I looked over to see her standing at her open front door. With a wave to show that we heard her, Hau and I stood up and made our way back for dinner. I wasn't surprised when night came and there was still no sign of Paul, but I hoped that Litten was doing okay with Paul's style of training.

Because of my afternoon nap, I didn't feel tired when Mrs. Jun excused herself to go to sleep and Hau left saying he wanted to do some night training (whatever that was) so I decided to go for a walk. Piplup followed me outside and I couldn't help but smile as a soft breeze blew past me, lifting the ends of my hair up and away from my body. Touching my PokeGear that I had slipped into my pocket I glanced down at Piplup who was looking towards the forest with interest.

"I think I'm going to call my mom, Piplup. You can go play if you want," I said with a smile. 

He peeped in agreement but stayed by my side as I walked towards the steps that led away from Iki town and towards the forest. I walked for a few minutes down the path looking up at the beautiful stars that seemed so much brighter here than they had in Johto just a few weeks ago. Once I was far enough to feel like I had some privacy I sat down, leaning my back against the trunk of a tree.

After a moment of deciding what I would tell my mom and what I wouldn't so she wouldn't worry unnecessarily, I pulled out my PokeGear and dialed the familiar number. As the rings continued I wondered briefly what the time difference was between Alola and Sinnoh and if I was calling at a bad time. Just as I was about to hang up though the ringing stopped and my mom's voice floated through the speaker next to my ear.

"Dawn! I'm so sorry about that, dear, I was in the middle of a lesson," Mom said, slightly out of breath.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Mom. Should I call you back later?" I asked.

"No, no! I'm happy to talk to you; I haven't heard from you in a few weeks. Have you made it to Alola? What's it like?" she asked excitedly. 

I chuckled, recounting all that had happened since we arrived in Alola. We talked for over an hour about everything I had seen and all the differences between Alola and Sinnoh, although I left out the part about me nearly falling off a cliff.

"Tomorrow there is going to be a Luau Showdown where I am staying, so I'm really excited to see what it is like," I said after she finished asking all of her questions.

"I'm so glad to hear that Dawn! You sound a lot happier than you have in a while," Mom commented and I winced.

"It's... not like I was unhappy..." I tried to deny but the words didn't sound at all convincing.

"Dawn, I know you were getting frustrated and blaming yourself for not being strong enough to become a Top Coordinator," Mom's gentle voice said, making my eyes start to well up with tears. "But I want you to know that in my eyes you are one of the best coordinators I have ever seen. And I'm not just saying that as your Mom." 

I chuckled shakily, trying to keep myself from crying as my feelings of inadequacy and failure seemed ready to crash over me like a wave.

"Thanks, Mom," I said, trying to sound sincere but I heard her sigh in response.

"What I am trying to say, Dawn, is that having the title of Top Coordinator isn't going to change who you are" I blinked, feeling a treacherous tear escape my eye. "If you really want to become a Top Coordinator I think you need to learn to love yourself as much as you love your pokemon. If you don't have confidence in yourself you're never going to reach your goal, sweetheart." 

I felt my face flush and I blinked away my tears.

"What are you talking about? I am plenty confident," I argued defensively.

"Are you? Or are you relying on your pokemon to give yourself confidence?" Mom asked frankly, but not unkindly. I looked over at Piplup who had found a little Caterpie and was poking it, trying to get it to play with him.

"I'm... a coordinator. Of course I'm relying on my pokemon... but they rely on me too!" I said, wondering why I was feeling so defensive.

"I'm sure they rely on you more than you realize," Mom replied in a strange tone and I frowned. Sighing loudly I leaned back against the tree trunk and rubbed my eyes with my unoccupied hand.

"I don't really understand what you're getting at, Mom. But I'm going to use the showdowns to help me become a better coordinator. I haven't given up on my dream," I said firmly and I heard Mom chuckle a little sadly.

"I wouldn't want you to give up on your dream. But Dawn...." I waited for several seconds for her to continue, glancing over at Piplup who was dancing around the sleepy caterpie without a care in the world.

"What is it, Mom?"

"You know you can have more than one dream, right?" Blinking I furrowed my brow in confusion.

"I guess?" I responded uncertainly and this time I heard her laugh normally.

"Well, just think about it, okay? Let me know when you decide to enter your first Showdown! If they broadcast them somewhere I will try to watch," Mom promised with her normal happy tone and I nodded against the PokeGear.

"I will," I promised. 

We said goodbye and I ended the call just as the caterpie got fed up with Piplup and shot a String Shot at him, tying his little webbed feet together and making him trip so that Caterpie could escape back into the forest. I chuckled as Piplup angrily used Ice Beam to freeze the sticky webs and knocked his feet against the ground to break the ice, freeing himself.

"You shouldn't bother someone when they are trying to sleep," I scolded him gently and he hung his head contritely for a second before waddling over to me and climbing into my lap. 

With a sigh, I wrapped my arms around his little body and leaned my forehead against the top of his head. Piplup peeped up at me but I didn't move as I replayed my conversation with Mom over in my head. 

In the middle of a strange place, alone except for my most trusted partner, I allowed myself to think about what I couldn't say to my mom. I wasn't confident at all. I was scared. My pokemon and I had trained for years and I knew that they were capable of amazing things... but I no longer thought that I was the one who could help them reach their potential.

"What am I going to do, Piplup?" I whispered, feeling my tears begin to fall once again. "I don't deserve to be your trainer." 

As the words left my lips I realized that this was the fear that had followed me throughout all of my journeys. How could I deserve to be called a trainer if I failed at everything I tried?

Piplup squirmed in my arms, standing precariously on my lap and stretching up to wrap his stubby flippers around my neck. Without a word, Piplup did his best to hold me as I cried into the lonely night.

A/N Am I doing okay with Dawn and Paul's personalities? Hopefully they're not too OOC. I hope you're enjoying the story!