For the next week, Paul and I traveled from the volcano to Lush Jungle. As we traveled Paul and I tried to use our z stones but neither of us could get them to work, even when we battled each other (which was one of the most terrifying experiences of my entire life). I still shuddered as I thought back to his "lesson" about how to create a hole in a pokemon's defense and he had chosen TORTERRA to try and teach me with. Even though I had completely and utterly failed at breaking through Torterra's Frenzy Plant and Stone Edge defenses, Paul surprisingly hadn't gotten angry with me. He just told me to do it again until my pokemon had all fallen to the ground in exhaustion and then he said we'd work on it another time.

Paul sure is strange, I would find myself thinking at least three times a day. 

After traveling with him for a week now it was obvious that he had a wall around him that he wouldn't let even his pokemon through, with the exception of Torterra. But even though he wasn't open about himself or his feelings, his pokemon were completely devoted to him. I could see their determination to prove to themselves and to him that they could become stronger.

We naturally developed a routine after a week of travel. Every morning by the time I came back from my jog with Growlithe Paul had started making breakfast. We would all eat together and then we would spend the morning either traveling or doing personal training. I would normally take my pokemon with me to a spot far enough away that my music wouldn't annoy Paul and we would practice for the next showdown we would enter. Thinking of competing in another showdown made me a little nervous, but my pokemon's enthusiasm in our training gave me courage.

At lunchtime, we would go back to our campsite and eat a small meal together and then Paul would spend the rest of the evening training me. Some days he taught me about battle strategies, one night he taught me how I could look up all of the moves my pokemon could learn and the most effective ways to teach them a move I wanted. Then he would normally make me practice whatever he taught me through a battle. We'd only been at it for a week and already I felt like I had improved as a trainer. To thank him I would make dinner every night and I did my best to make something yummy and new.

"Tomorrow you should take your Lush Jungle trial," Paul said abruptly after I placed our dinner in two tin foil wraps and placed them in the coals of our fire.

"You think I'm ready?" I asked with a smile and he frowned at me.

"You shouldn't need me to tell you that," he scolded gruffly.

I tilted my head at him, wondering if he meant that how it sounded (rude and like he thought I was being childish) or if he actually was trying to tell me to be confident in myself. I found myself wondering a lot lately if he really was rude or if he was just socially inept.

"Are we going to Konikoni city after I finish my trial?" I asked, prodding our dinner gently with a stick to line them up better on the fire. Paul nodded and stood up.

"Call me when dinner is ready," he said without looking at me, then turned and walked over to Torracat, who had been practicing Flame Charge for the past thirty minutes. 

I bit my tongue as I watched Paul tell Torracat to stop and I could see his furry legs trembling from the exertion. Often I wanted to tell Paul to not push his pokemon so much, but I never did because I knew that his pokemon followed his directions because they believed it would make them stronger, even if it made them exhausted. 

I don't think I have the heart to do that though, I admitted to myself, nudging the tin foil wraps again and sighing. If that is what it takes to become a pokemon Champion then I'm glad that's not my dream.

"Grrrow," Growlithe barked from behind me and I felt his soft paws lean against my back. I smiled and looked over my shoulder where he was giving me a doggy smile.

"I'm making dinner right now, sweetheart," I said with a laugh, reaching over my shoulder and dangling my fingers down. I giggled as he licked at them and then he plopped down on the grass and came to sit next to my knee.

For the past week Growlithe and I had been practicing hard because I decided to teach him Overheat after Paul taught me the basics of move theory. When I had said I wanted Growlithe to learn Overheat he scoffed and said I should wait until he was an arcanine to teach him such a powerful move. I, of course, took that as a challenge and had immediately begun training. Even though Growlithe was able to build up the heat inside himself when he went to release it almost always came out as a supercharged Fire Burst.

"Where is Eevee?" I asked Growlithe, surprised that he had left her alone to come sit with me.

Growlithe smiled and I thought I saw something devious in that expression as his eyes slid over to my tent. Craning my head I looked and quickly covered my mouth with a hand as I saw Eevee doing her "stealthy" crawl towards a meditating Riolu. I wasn't sure why, but one of Eevee's favorite things was to sneak up on anyone she could and then either pounce on them or lead them on a chase. I thought it was darling and so far everyone she pounced on hadn't been bothered by it. Even when Eevee came up and stole Paul's sock before he could pull it on he just sat there with his hand out until Eevee eventually returned it to him with a sheepish grin.

Holding my breath I watched as Eevee inched forward silently. When she was within a foot of Riolu she wagged her tail in anticipation and then leaped, yelling out an excited "Eevoy!" as she tacked Riolu's back and they both tumbled over. Riolu immediately jumped to his feet and growled down as Eevee let out her mewling laugh. She rolled onto her back and her little legs waved in the air as she laughed. Riolu glared at her silently then stomped off towards Paul and Torracat.

"Riolu," I called as he stomped by the campfire. He turned to face me, his expression slightly accusing and I grinned. "Thank you for not getting angry at her," I said sincerely and Riolu blinked. 

He looked over his shoulder at the still laughing eevee on the ground and then he sighed. Shrugging his shoulders at me, he walked off to Paul looking more like his calm self.

I patted Growlithe on the head and left the campfire to start dishing out all of the pokemons' food. We were running a little low on dry pokefood so I added some berries to supplement it and returned to the campfire, the smell of cheesy goodness now emanating from my tin foil wraps.

"Dinners ready everyone!" I called, scooting the tin foil out from the coals to let them cool as everyone gathered over at the campsite.

"Do you think I should try using a Z move during my trial tomorrow?" I asked Paul as I blew on my warm roll stuffed full of cheese and deep fried BBQ tofu. Paul just shrugged since his mouth was full of his own warm sandwich.

The next day we walked to Lush Jungle and I was relieved when the trial captain, Mallow, was available to help me with my trial.

"Hey, you're the guy who toasted my totem pokemon," Mallow accused with a pout in Paul's direction. Paul raised an eyebrow as if to ask what was wrong with that statement and I laughed awkwardly.

"Paul is a really strong trainer," I said and Mallow nodded stiffly before turning her attention to me.

"I'd be happy to help you start your trial, Dawn, but we need to mix together the totem pokemon's favorite dish for it to appear!" Mallow said with a grin and I blinked in surprise.

"How did you know my name?" I asked in surprise and Mallow laughed.

"I was one of the judges at the Hano Beach showdown, silly!" she laughed, and instantly I felt shame bubble up inside of me as I remembered my disastrous ending to that showdown.

"Oh. I didn't realize I was that memorable," I muttered and Mallow scoffed.

"Memorable? Are you kidding? Your Ka hula round was one of the best I've ever seen!" Mallow exclaimed, holding up a hand to the side of her mouth and lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I actually gave you a higher score than Kailani." 

I blinked in surprise and felt myself smile. "Wow, thank you very much, Mallow," I said sincerely and she grinned happily up at me.

"No problem! I hope you'll enter the Konikoni City showdown!" she said with a grin and I nodded.

"I was planning on it. It's in two weeks, right?" I asked and Mallow nodded happily.

"Olivia asked me to judge with her again so I'd love to see another performance from you!" Mallow said. I felt honored that she had enjoyed my dance so much and that my utter failure at the mantine surfing didn't seem to bother her.

"We won't have time to get there if the trial doesn't start soon," Paul said impatiently and Mallow frowned at him before turning a large grin on me.

"Shall we start your trial then, Dawn?" she asked and I nodded, smiling quietly at her attempt at ignoring Paul. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Paul rolling his eyes but he didn't say anything. "To call the totem pokemon we need to make her favorite dish! I'll need some Mago Berries, Honey, and a Big Root," Mallow said, pointing at a finger as she listed off her ingredients.

"I think I have those," I said thoughtfully, pulling my backpack off and rummaging through my storage capsules.

"Really? Usually I send challengers to go find them in the jungle," Mallow explained, watching me with interest as I selected two capsules and released my berries and food. After a quick search, I found all three ingredients and handed them over to Mallow.

"Will these work?" I asked as she dipped a finger in the small jar of honey I had given her.

"Mmmmm, yup this will be perfect! Wait right there and I will whip up the totem's meal," Mallow said with a grin and skipped over to where a large cauldron was situated at the base of a tree.

"It took me an hour to gather those ingredients," Paul's annoyed voice sounded behind me and I turned so I could look at him better. "She sent me back three times to get the 'right' honey. I was so annoyed by the time the totem showed up that I didn't give the pokemon a chance to attack before Torracat pretty much ended it," Paul said with a small grin. I hesitantly smiled back, hoping that he wouldn't expect the same results from me.

"I think I'm going to use Growlithe first," I said as Mallow began mashing the ingredients she had dumped in her cauldron like a madwoman, sending bits of berry and spice flying out from the pot.

"That's a good choice," Paul said with a nod. "I didn't really get to see any moves of the totems besides Synthesis, so try to end it before Lurantis can heal itself." 

I nodded slowly, releasing Growlithe who shook his head and barked excitedly.

"Just another couple of stirs and it'll be ready! Don't get in the way, Paul," Mallow sniffed.

Paul glared at her with annoyance before turning and walking away from me. Growlithe stood in front of me silently, his nose tilted up as if he were trying to smell which direction the totem pokemon was coming from. A sweet and spicy smell began to drift from the cauldron and Mallow smiled brightly.

"Any second now!" she whispered excitedly and I nodded. 

Growlithe and I stood still as everything went quiet. Suddenly Growlithe's ears perked up and he whipped around, running behind me and barking like crazy. When I turned around I found myself staring into large pink eyes with black irises. I stumbled backwards in shock as the Lurantis, which was as tall as I was, raised her pincers and hissed threateningly at my little Growlithe.

"Use Flame Wheel, quick!" I gasped, my heart pounding from shock. 

Immediately Growlithe's body burst into flame and he jumped, ramming into the large foe and causing it to shriek with pain before retreating backward with a dancer's grace. Growlithe landed in front of me and growled menacingly.

"Keep it back with Flame Burst," I instructed but as Growlithe readied the attack Lurantis raised its pincers to the air and called out loudly. 

A blinding streak of sunlight burst through the trees and went directly into my eyes, momentarily blinding me and I could hear Growlithe whining so I assumed he was having a similar experience.

"Watch it!" Paul yelled from behind me.

I rubbed my eyes furiously, blinking to clear the spots from my eyes. I gasped as I saw a huge, shimmering green light forming on the tip of Lurantis's pincer, which was held up to the sky.

"Growlithe, dodge it!" I yelled, springing back myself as Lurantis brought the shining Solar Blade down where both Growlithe and I had been seconds earlier. I sighed in relief as Growlithe popped up from his somersault that had taken him to my left.

"Let's use this Sunny Day and try for Overheat, Growlithe!" I called out, hoping that this would work. 

Growlithe barked fiercely and steam came out of his nostrils. Stomping one of his little paws on the ground he let out a snarling roar, and for a second tiny flames began to dance in a circle around him. But then to both mine and Growlithe's shock instead of sending a burst of flames streaming along the ground to knock into Lurantis, a powerful jet of flames erupted from Growlithe's mouth towards Lurantis. 

Before the impromptu Flamethrower could hit Lurantis something jumped up, taking the brunt of the powerful attack and then dropping to the ground at Lurantis's feet. The tiny creature appeared to be a Fomantis that had come to help the totem, but Growlithe's attack had one-hit KO'd it. Lurantis, meanwhile, had already gotten another Solar Blade ready and crashed it down onto Growlithe, knocking him to the ground where he whimpered and tried to boost himself back to his feet.

That shouldn't have hurt Growlithe too badly, I thought with worry as he got back to his feet and shook his head, obviously in pain. That is one nasty attack. Shaking my head and remembering that Paul was watching me I refocused on the battle.

"Can you keep going, Growlithe?" I asked and he barked menacingly. "Then use Flamethrower!"

This time there was no circle of flame around him, but a scorching hot stream of flames burst from his mouth, clipping Lurantis on the side as she tried to move out of the way.

"Use Flame Wheel, don't let it get away!" I yelled and Growlithe instantly obeyed me. 

Flames enveloped him and he began spinning towards Lurantis. I was shocked when Lurantis didn't try to dodge. Instead, her pincers began to glow green and she crossed them, blocking Growlithe's Flame Wheel with an X-Scissor. The two struggled but, eventually, they were propelled apart from the force of their moves. Growlithe was panting hard, but so was Lurantis.

"You've got this, Growlithe. Just one more Flamethrower should do it!" I called encouragingly and Growlithe barked in agreement. 

Flames gushed from his mouth but Lurantis jumped, avoiding the attack and as she soared through the air she spread her arms out. Orbs of light seemed to be sucked into her from the air, signaling that she had just used Synthesis to heal herself.

"No," I whispered in frustration. "Growlithe, use Flamethrower quick!" 

Growlithe aimed a Flamethrower at Lurantis as she touched down to the ground but once again she jumped nimbly out of the way, the Flamethrower only catching her on the back of the leg. She stumbled from the burn but she lifted a pincer up and immediately a Solar Blade began to grow on top of it.

"Dodge it!" I shrieked.

I bit my bottom lip as Growlithe's legs shook when he jumped. He wasn't quick enough though and the Solar Blade smacked into his side, tossing him across the ground as he rolled helplessly. He shook his head and stood back up on trembling legs, but I knew he couldn't go on much longer.

"Return, Growlithe," I said, lifting up his Pokeball. He gave me a sad look as he disappeared inside which made my heart clench. "Don't worry. You were wonderful." I whispered before quickly switching out Pokeballs, glaring at Lurantis as she took advantage of the switch to heal herself again.

"Cutiefly, Spotlight!" I said, releasing her. She spun swiftly in a circle, facing the large Lurantis without fear. "Let's wrap this up. Use Silver Wind!" I snapped.

Instantly Cutiefly zoomed towards Lurantis, faster than I had ever seen her, and she shot a powerful Silver Wind directly in Lurantis's face. The force of the move tossed her back and made Lurantis hiss with frustration. Cutiefly's wings didn't glow, which meant she didn't get the stat boosts I was hoping for, but I didn't have time to worry about that.

"Silver Wind, again," I commanded.

Cutiefly blasted another shimmering wind at Lurantis, but this time she was ready for it and with obvious pain pushed her way through it before smacking Cutiefly with a glowing pincer.

"Cutiefly!" I gasped in shock as she was hurled away from Lurantis and landed on the ground in a small heap. "Cutiefly, can you get up?" I asked, starting to make my way to her when her little body began to glow. 

I stopped in my tracks and felt my mouth drop open in shock as Cutiefly was engulfed in shimmering blue light. Her wings became rounded and large like a butterfree's and her body grew less insect-like and more fairy-like. The blue glow finally faded and my newly evolved Ribombee beat her beautiful wings. She was still under a foot tall, but she zipped back and forth quickly, getting used to her new body. I pulled out my Pokedex to quickly scan her and grinned as I saw a new move listed. Lurantis had raised her pincer, creating her Solar Blade again and I closed my Pokedex with determination.

"Okay, Ribombee. Dodge that Solar Blade and get behind Lurantis," I ordered. 

Ribombee shot forward, easily spinning around the Solar Blade as it crashed to the ground and zipped behind Lurantis's hulking figure.

"Now use Pollen Puff!" 

Ribombee bounced up and down as a glowing green orb formed in front of her. Lurantis turned to try and fend Ribombee off with an X-Scissor, but before she could connect it Ribombee released her attack and it exploded in Lurantis's face, tossing her back where she crashed to the ground and lay still.

"No fair!" Mallow cried in shock and I sighed in relief, laughing as Ribombee flew over to me and circled my head, humming excitedly.

"Ribombee you look beautiful! Congratulations!" I squealed, reaching out and gently taking her little black hands between my thumb and two fingers. Ribombee hummed happily, her little scarf-like appendage fluttering from the wind of her beating wings. "One second," I said, letting go of Ribombee and releasing Growlithe. Growlithe winced as he came out of his Pokeball and I gather him into my arms.

"Growlithe I want to apologize to you," I said seriously and he looked up at me with sad eyes.

"I didn't think Lurantis would be so good at dodging so I let the battle drag out too long. Please don't feel like it was your fault," I said seriously. Growlithe yipped, seemingly unconvinced.

"You should have tried to use the Firium Z," Paul said, folding his arms as he came up to us. I shook my head sadly.

"I forgot to make a holder for it before we left," I admitted.

Paul rolled his eyes before reaching out and patting Growlithe's head. Growlithe craned his neck to look at Paul and he gave him a flat expression.

"You need to build up your stamina and practice your dodging," he said bluntly and Growlithe's ears drooped slightly. "But that was an impressive Flamethrower," Paul admitted reluctantly and I felt Growlithe's tail wag against my arm. 

Ribombee flew around Paul's head, showing off her wings, and Paul nodded, once again not showing much emotion.

"Don't forget you are twice as big as you used to be," he warned her. 

Ribombee placed a little hand against her mouth and buzzed slightly, sounding like she was laughing, before flying over and sitting on my shoulder.

"Hey Dawn, could you give me a hand?" Mallow asked, trying to tug one of Lurantis's arms over her shoulders. 

Returning Growlithe to his Pokeball to rest I went over and got on the other side of Lurantis, helping her to stand and bringing her over to the cauldron of goo which she immediately began devouring.

"Well, that was a good battle, I must say," Mallow said with a smile. "I appreciated that you returned your Growlithe even though he wanted to keep battling. That shows you know your pokemon's limits and respect them," Mallow stated with a smile and I noticed that Paul frowned at the comment but didn't say anything.

"It was a tough battle. Lurantis you are really strong," I complimented. Lurantis looked over its shoulder and smiled at me before returning to her meal.

"Well of course she is, we've been training like crazy since this monster challenged us," Mallow said while glaring at Paul and he met her glare with an unconcerned look. "Anyway. For beating the totem pokemon you have earned a Grassium Z stone! The move you will have to do looks like this."

Mallow crossed her arms in front of her face and then dropped down, squatting on the ground with her hands cupped in front of her face. She shook her hands as she stood up, reaching her arms above her head and then spread both her feet and arms out wide, holding the pose for a moment and I clapped, smiling quietly.

"Aw, you're so sweet! Not everyone will clap after they see the move," Mallow said, once again pouting and glaring at Paul and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't be too offended. Paul has a thing against excitement and happiness, and pretty much emotion in general," I said, giving Paul a teasing grin and he scowled at me.

"Could you give her the stone so we can go?" Paul asked impatiently.

I felt my grin widen when he didn't contradict me. Mallow handed me a beautiful green stone and I put it in my backpack, thanking Mallow and Lurantis for the battle and jogging after Paul who had already started walking out of the jungle.

A/N Goodness, I love it when Dawn teases Paul and he just grumpily takes it XD Hopefully you enjoyed the battle, it lasted a little longer than I was expecting so I am going to end the chapter here, but Kahuna battles and a new Ka Hula dance are coming soon ;) Do you like that I describe the Ka Hula dances, by the way? Do they get boring at all for you?