A huge flock of zubats flew from the ceiling and began to dive bomb Piplup and I as we were leaving Verdant Cave after defeating the Totem Gumshoos. I squeaked in fright and ducked down, covering my head with my arms as I yelled, "Piplup, use Blizzard!"

Piplup, who had been panicking slightly, snapped out of it and did as I asked, whipping up a powerful blizzard attack and sending it up into the flock of attacking zubats. The zubats screeched with pain and fear and I breathed a sigh of relief as they all streamed away from us, flying down some of the shoot-off cave tunnels and out of sight.

"Phew. Well done, Piplup," I said, getting shakily to my feet as Piplup panted a little bit. 

The battle against Gumshoos had taken a lot of Piplup's energy, but with a combination of Whirlpool and Drill Peck we had finally been able to beat both the Gumshoos and the yungoos it had called in to help. Reaching down I picked up Piplup, cuddling him against me in gratitude and I noticed happily that my shoulder bruise only felt a little uncomfortable.

Piplup settled into my arms contentedly as we walked out of the cave and into the bright sunshine. A large part of me wanted to go into the blocked-off area of the island and start looking for new pokemon, but Piplup deserved rest after his battle so I turned towards the PokeCenter. 

Mrs. Jun had insisted that I stay one more day after the Showdown to make 100% sure that I was on the mend, but I had felt a sense of relief when I finally set out for Verdant Cave and Ilima's trial. Piplup and I battled several pokemon on the way, but whenever it came time to throw the pokeball something just hadn't felt right and I let the pokemon slink away.

"I can't wait to find the perfect pokemon to help us with our Showdown dance," I said happily and Piplup tiredly chirped in agreement. 

I left Piplup with Nurse Joy and was about to turn away from the counter when she stopped me.

"You are Dawn Berlitz, right?" she asked me with a happy smile and I nodded.

"That's right," I agreed. She asked me to wait as she ducked under the counter, rummaging for a moment before pulling out a thin square box.

"This package just came for you," she explained, sliding the box towards me and I took it curiously.

"Thank you very much!" 

She nodded and whisked through the door that led to the examination tables with Piplup's Pokeball. I took the box with me up to the room that I had been staying in for the past three days. As I opened my door I couldn't help but look over at the door of the room where Paul stayed last night and a complicated wave of emotions flowed through me. 

I don't think I will ever understand that boy, I thought with frustration. I admitted that I had a short fuse when it came to my temper, but there was only so far someone could push before anyone would blow up at them, right?

Sighing I shook my head and pushed Paul from my mind as I laid the box on my bed and opened it excitedly. As I lifted the lid an awe-struck gasp escaped me as I looked at the beautiful outfit laying in the box. Reverently I reach down and lifted the fabric, surprised when only half of the outfit came out. Swiftly I laid both pieces out on the bed and clapped my hands excitedly.

The top was an off-white color that would leave my stomach bare with large strands of muted gold fabric that weaved around each other and created off-the-shoulder sleeves. At the bottom of the top, a beautiful band of muted gold hugged the fabric around my empire waistline. Two small pieces of the white fabric draped from the empire waistline and were meant to be crossed into an x across my stomach and then hook onto the skirt; which was incredible. The top of the skirt had a large band of bunched fabric tied in a simple knot of the same off-white colored fabric but there were small bands of shimmering gold weaving through the fabric as it flowed down to nearly floor length in the back, but the front was just a simple white mini skirt that would hit me in the middle of my upper leg. 

The outfit reminded me a little of May's Arabian Princess costume that she wore a few years ago, but it gave off a more mystical, almost elvish feel. After taking a few minutes to admire the design I pulled out the letter that I had noticed at the bottom of the box and opened it with a grin as I recognized the beautiful handwriting.

To my dearest Dawn,

I hope you are doing well! I recently had to do a photoshoot as Kalos Queen for a fashion magazine and they had me wear this dress. As soon as I put it on I thought of you! I spoke with the designer and they had it tweaked, so this is a one-of-a-kind dress. Good luck in the Luau Showdowns, I know you are going to do wonderfully!

Love,

Serena

P.S. If you are having any troubles coming up with dance moves for the Ka hula round then they keep recordings of old Showdown performances in the records of the Malie Library on Malie Island. Good luck!

Moisture began to gather in the back of my eyes and I rubbed them as I looked at the beautiful outfit again. With a grin I quickly changed into the outfit, tugging the pieces of fabric across my stomach this way and that until they lay perfectly before pulling out my PokeGear and snapping a picture and quickly sending it to Serena, thanking her profusely. 

As I changed back into my black capris and white shirt with the yellow empire waist ribbon I thought back to the practice that Paul interrupted yesterday. To be honest, I had been having trouble with my dance, but not because I didn't have any ideas. The problem was that I have too many!

Heaving a sigh, I gently folded and replaced the costume into the box Serena used to send it to me and stored it in the same capsule as the speakers and music player that I bought when I went through Hau'oli City the other day. After watching Kailani and Traavi perform I knew that I needed to have my dance perfectly in sync to get the best scores... but the problem was that Hau'oli's Luau required that the contestants have two pokemon perform with them in the Ka hula round and in the battle round. And of course, I hadn't found any pokemon that I thought would be able to contribute to any of the dance ideas I had.

"No need to worry, Dawn! As soon as Piplup is all rested up we're going to go and find an awesome pokemon and practice until we're perfect!" I told myself firmly just as my PokeGear vibrated, signaling I had received a new message. 

Opening it up I smiled as I saw a picture of Serena wearing one of her many hats with a pokemon field in the background and a familiar yellow pokemon with its trainer battling with a huge grin. I smiled, holding the PokeGear tenderly in my cupped hands as I looked at my two best friends in the world. A feeling of loneliness washed over and past me within moments as I realized that even if I couldn't be with my friends right now, they supported me no matter what and would love me whether I won or lost. 

It doesn't matter whether I win or lose, I am doing this for the experience, I reminded myself as I closed my PokeGear and shouldered my backpack.

After grabbing a quick meal in the cafeteria I picked up Piplup who was back to being the energetic chatterbox that he always was. I gathered him into my arms, saying a quick thank you to Nurse Joy. With determination and excitement, I left the PokeCenter and headed towards the barricade that was guarded at all times by trail guides. Once I showed them my amulet and the gray Normalium Z I had won they removed the barricade enough to let me through and wished me good luck.

Pulling out my PokeGear I looked at the map I had studied last night and carefully followed the path that would take me around the island and towards the Melemele Meadow. After talking to Hau he mentioned that might be my best bet if I was looking for a pokemon that would have lots of good moves for Luau Showdowns. Since he had either watched or judged several of the events already I trusted his judgment. 

Piplup and I traveled on the path, not letting ourselves get distracted by the forested areas or the beach. I knew that I was running out of time to perfect my dance, so I needed to find a second pokemon as soon as possible. I'd leave the explorations for another time.

As the sun began to set I checked my PokeGear map one more time to see that there was still a little less than five miles before we reached Melemele Meadow. Making the decision to set up camp before all the light was gone I left the path. We followed the sound of running water until we came to a small creek running through the forest.

"What do you think? This look like a good place to set up camp?" I asked Piplup. 

He hopped down from my arms and ran around the small clearing, making a big show of checking under small rocks for any creepy crawlies before giving it his stamp of approval. I chuckled at his dramatic antics and reached into my backpack for my tent. 

With a push of a button, my newly purchased tent lay in front of me and I got to work, following the directions to set it up properly. I just barely finished when the last sliver of the sun sank beyond the treetops. Piplup and I built a fire and we roasted some berries and vegetables over the fire for dinner.

After dinner, I pulled out my speaker and music player and began listening to the playlist of songs that I bought and downloaded while in Hau'oli. When I was looking for songs I had wanted something beautiful and elegant like Kailani's music, but something that felt powerful like Traavi's. I looked through lots of different genres and stumbled across Celtic music, which seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. After I downloaded everything that I could for free, I bought some of my favorite songs, and now as I lay on the grass looking up at the stars I listened again to all of the songs while trying to decide which one would have the most impact.

I hadn't even realized I fell asleep until I jerked awake, looking around me in confusion to try and identify what woke me up. Everything was dark, my fire had either burned out or been put out by Piplup a while ago, and everything in the forest seemed to be quiet. I had just laid back down on top of my sleeping bag when a fearful yip reached my ears. 

Please don't be another cliff, I pleaded silently, but without hesitation, I made my way towards the sound. I followed the river and searched around me, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from.

"Grrow," a feeble whimper came from my left. I turned, trying to see what was making the sound using only the weak moonlight. 

Why didn't I bring my flashlight? I berated myself as I crouched down and began searching. Suddenly I realized that I could hear a faint splashing sound as another yip came from behind me. Turning, I went up to the edge of the river and gasped. A large branch of a tree had fallen into the river on the opposite side of the shore and in between the branches that were on top of the water I could see something bobbing up and down.

"Hold on!" I cried, jumping into the river and gasping at how cold it seemed. 

I forged my way across, grateful that it was a relatively calm river and the highest point only came up to my waist. As I came closer to the fallen branch and the trapped pokemon I once again heard a feeble yip, but then the pokemon slipped under the river and didn't surface again.

"No!" I cried, running awkwardly through the water until I got to the tree branch and pulled. The branch wasn't moving an inch and somehow it had created a sort of cage around the drowning pokemon. "Don't give up!" I called to both myself and the pokemon that was no longer visible.

Deciding that pulling on the branch wasn't going to cut it, I lashed out and kicked one of the smaller branches that created the false cave until it snapped. Swiftly I reached through the broken branch, seeking blindly until my finger brushed against a little body. Gripping whatever I could, I pulled the little thing towards me and it slipped through the hole I made. I pulled the soaked thing into my arms and scrambled up the bank and onto the grass where I laid out the small, unmoving body.

"Come on, little one. Don't you die on me!" I yelled, tears slipping down my cheeks as I looked at the waterlogged Growlithe in front of me. 

Not knowing what else to do, I turned the little pokemon on its back and began pushing firmly against its chest, hoping desperately that the same principles for saving a human who was drowning would be enough to save a pokemon.

After several minutes of pushing I began to give up hope, but suddenly the growlithe spluttered, turning on his side and emptying his stomach and lungs of several mouthfuls of water. Crying in relief now I rubbed the growlithe's back gently, encouraging it to cough out as much as it could. The growlithe shuddered and collapsed onto the ground, going unconscious again but it was breathing shallowly now. 

Not wasting any time I picked up the soaking wet fire type and walked across the river as quickly as I could before jogging back to my camp. With a quick yank, I pulled the blanket that Piplup had wrapped himself in, causing him to roll several times to the side and wake up with an annoyed peep. 

Ignoring him for now I almost wrapped the blanket around Growlithe, but after a seconds thought I instead pulled out my towel from my hygiene storage capsule and rubbed him down, doing my best to dry him off. My worry deepened when Growlithe didn't even flicker his eyes as I rubbed him down but I shook my head, telling myself that I needed to stay calm if I was going to save it.

Once Growlithe was mainly dry I dropped my towel to the side and Piplup handed me his blanket, now fully awake and looking as worried as I was. I wrapped the blanket all around Growlithe, only leaving his snout out so he could breathe, and then tucked him into my sleeping bag.

"We need to start a fire, Piplup. Can you get some kindling?" I asked him urgently and he dashed off into the forest without argument. 

I quickly removed the slightly damp remnants of the fire we had started before I fell asleep and removed my lighter and some old pieces of newspaper from the same capsule I kept my tent in. Piplup was back quickly, his little flippers filled with small sticks. I smiled at him gratefully before quickly starting a fire and dragging Growlithe in my sleeping bag as close to the fire as I dared put him. Leaving Piplup to look after him I went into the forest and got enough larger branches to keep the fire going for at least a few hours and brought it back to my campsite at a jog.

"Has he moved?" I asked worriedly and Piplup shook his head sadly.

"Okay. Would you rub his back, Piplup? He's a fire type so I think we need to get him as warm as possible. I'm going to start making some tamato berry soup and then I'll take over, okay?"

Piplup nodded and began rubbing the unconscious Growlithe briskly through the blanket and sleeping bag.

"Please be okay, Growlithe," I whispered to the pokemon as I took my last tamato berry and some powdered soup stock out of my food storage, along with my camping cook pot and stand.

Filling the small pot with water I left it over the fire to start heating up, dropped the soup stock in after crushing it out of its square shape and then chopped the tamato berry into bite-sized chunks before adding it in. Carefully I washed my hands in the river, making sure not to get the berry juice into my eyes, which I had learned from experience was extremely painful, and then came over to the fire.

"Anything?" I asked and once again Piplup shook his head, giving a sad peep.

I stroked his head comfortingly then gathered Growlithe in his blanket and scooted closer to our little fire. Ignoring the heat that was washing over my face and fingers I laid down on my side, bringing the unmoving pokemon against my chest with his cold little nose pressing against my neck. Quickly and methodically I rubbed his back through the blanket he was swaddled in. I felt Piplup pull himself up to lay on my side and he reached down and rubbed Growlithe's paw and leg that was nearest him.

We stayed like that until the soup was boiling but Growlithe still hadn't opened his eyes. If the heat from the fire wasn't making my face feel as dry as sandpaper I probably would have been crying. But I stubbornly kept at it, praying as hard as I ever had that this little pokemon would make it through the night. When the spicy smell of the tamato berry became so strong my nose began to run I sat up carefully, allowing Piplup to slide off my back while keeping Growlithe tightly in my arms. Gently I laid Growlithe down in the sleeping bag and gasped when I saw the flickering firelight reflecting in his open eyes.

"Growlithe! Oh, Growlithe, are you okay?" I asked, reaching down and stroking his head that was still mainly covered in a blanket. Growlithe blinked his eyes slowly up at me and gave a weak grumble from his throat. "Can you eat? I made you some soup," I said gently, continuing to stroke his head. 

Growlithe didn't respond, but he didn't close his eyes either, just stared at me dully and I decided that I would try to feed him some soup. Leaving Piplup to watch over him again I got a camping bowl and spoon ready then ladled some soup into the bowl, adding just a little water to cool it down a bit. 

After a moment of thought, I also crushed and sprinkled some herbs into the soup. I knew they were bitter, but if Piplup ever got sick I always gave him some and it seemed to help him get better. Once I stirred them in, hoping that the powerful spiciness of the tomato berry would mask the bitter flavor, I went back to Growlithe and Piplup. 

Setting down the bowl I pulled Growlithe onto my arm, propping him up so he was in a semi-sitting position, and without me asking Piplup brought the bowl of soup carefully over to me so that I could reach it easily. Rubbing his head affectionately I scooped up a spoonful of the soup and blew on it several times, hoping that it wouldn't burn his tongue. After I was sure it wasn't the temperature of lava I carefully brought it up to Growlithe's mouth. Growlithe's nose twitched slightly before he opened his mouth and allowed me to pour in the soup. For the next twenty minutes, I carefully fed the soup to Growlithe spoonful by spoonful and he swallowed the soup without making a sound.

Once the bowl was gone Growlithe sighed lightly through his nose and he closed his eyes, turning so that he could stick his muzzle against my neck again. I held him close to me, feeling relief go through me as I listened to his regular breathing pattern against my collarbone.

"Lup piplup?" Piplup said in a whisper. I smiled, reaching down and rubbing his head and realizing for the first time that my jean capris were still completely soaked.

Chuckling to myself I laid down next to the fire, cuddling Growlithe close to me. I was surprised when Piplup didn't immediately come over and climb onto my side but after a few seconds, I felt his flipper tap my head. I lifted it up to see that Piplup had dragged my pillow from the tent for me and I felt myself tear up at his thoughtfulness. 

Lifting my head up at an angle awkardly, Piplup scooted the pillow underneath my ear before climbing onto my side again. Using my arm as a pillow he lay down and was soon sleeping, squeaking his little snore peacefully. After I made sure that Growlithe was still wrapped up tightly I closed my eyes and listen to the pops of the wood as the fire burned, sending its warmth toward us and I eventually drifted off to sleep.

*******

My whole body felt stiff the next morning and I groaned quietly. Prying my eyes open I squinted as the early morning sunbeams hit my eyes and I waited for my eyes to adjust to the light.At some point in the night Piplup had slipped down and was now curled against my stomach and using Growlithe's hind legs as a pillow. Growlithe was still nuzzled up next to me and his breathing seemed much stronger than the night before which made me sigh in relief. 

After giving Growlithe a quick squeeze, which made him whimper in his sleep, I slowly extracted myself from the two sleeping pokemon and stretched, trying to get the kinks out of my back. After my stretch I quietly went through my bag, changing into my pajamas temporarily so I could wash my capris and shirt that were splashed with mud.

Once my clothes were washed and hung to dry I began to make breakfast, building up a fire as Piplup and Growlithe continued to sleep. After dumping the soup I made last night into a large container for Growlithe I quickly scrubbed the pot and started mixing the ingredients to make my favorite bluk berry oatmeal. Just as I was adding a little extra sugar to the oatmeal that had turned purple thanks to the bluk berries Piplup yawned and sat up, rubbing his eyes with his flippers.

"Good morning, Piplup," I whispered and he smiled, raising a flipper in a silent greeting. "Would you like some breakfast?" 

Piplup nodded and waddled over to me, accepting his portion of the oatmeal scooped on top of his special pokemon food. We had almost finished eating when Growlithe stirred, his nose twitching before his eyes opened.

"Hello, Growlithe. How are you feeling this morning?" I asked, coming over to sit next to him. 

He looked up at me silently for a moment before rising on shaky legs and padding over with an obvious limp. I watched him close the distance between us before he gently licked my arm with a rough tongue, whining slightly. Cautiously I reached down and stroked the tuft of fur on the top of his head and he sat down gingerly, bringing his right front paw off the ground and licking it.

"Can I look?" I asked. 

The only Growlithe I'd met before had been very aggressive when it came to interacting with anyone but their trainers so I did my best to speak as softly and non-threateningly as possible. Whether Growlithe didn't have the energy to act threatening or if I had earned his trust, either way he allowed me to take his injured paw in my hand and examine it. I couldn't see anything wrong with it from looking at it, which made me worried that it might be broken or fractured.

"I guess we'd better get you to the pokemon center," I said with worry and Growlithe shook his head, barking quietly.

"What? You don't want to go to the pokemon center?" I asked in surprise and Growlithe barked again, leaning his side against my leg.

"But what if you're seriously hurt?" I tried to reason with him but Growlithe didn't move and I chuckled. "Stubborn, huh? Well, if it doesn't get better in a few days we're going whether you like it or not," I warned him.

"Grrow," Growlithe responded softly.

After a moment's hesitation, I picked him up around his stomach and tucked him into my arms. He didn't stop me, so I carried him over to where Piplup was eating and I sat him down next to him before bringing the leftover soup from last night over.

"Go ahead and eat this for now. I don't have any fire type pokemon food, but I've got plenty of cheri berries and those were Typhlosion's favorite," I said as Growlithe began lapping up the soup. 

I watched him eat, wondering whether I should add some more herbs to it, but he seemed a lot better from last night so I decided to leave him be. Instead I pulled out my Pokedex and scanned him, seeing that he was smaller than normal for a growlithe. Looking deeper the Pokedex explained that Growlithe and Rockruff were rivals on Melemele Island and were known to be incredibly protective of their territory.

"I wonder how you got trapped in the river," I mused aloud, looking down at Growlithe who was still slowly eating his breakfast. "Well, Growlithe, I hope you'll stay with us until you are feeling better. I was thinking of going to Melemele Meadow today, but maybe it would be better to just spend today practicing." 

Growlithe looked up from his soup, looking much more alert than just a few minutes ago, and limped over to me, pressing his nose into my hand as I held it out to him.

"Does that mean you'll come with us?" I asked with a smile. Growlithe barked then nodded.

"Okay, then do you want to ride in my backpack or should I carry you?" I asked him gently as I turned to take down my tent. 

Growlithe didn't respond, instead going back to eat some more of the soup, so I broke camp with Piplup's help. After everything was put away and I retrieved my travel clothes we left the forest and headed towards the path. After Growlithe stubbornly tried to limp along behind us for a while I finally couldn't handle it and I scooped him into my arms. As we walked my back started to hurt since Growlithe was at least twice as heavy as Piplup, but I stubbornly kept him in my arms, wondering if maybe I would find someone in the Melemele Meadow that would know more about pokemon healing than I did.

To my relief we crested the hill and I saw the opening that would take us into Melemele Meadow much sooner than I expected. Completely happy for once to have misjudged my travel time, I led Piplup into the the meadow and gasped in delight as I saw row upon row of beautiful yellow flowers. I could see the flowers rustling as pokemon traveled among them and there were several people out with picnic blankets and enjoying the beautiful day.

"Look at this, Piplup! Isn't it gorgeous?" I asked in amazement.

He jumped up and down in excitement before diving into the tall flowers, disappearing from view. Seconds later he popped just his head out of the stems, grinning happily. I returned his grin and told him to not go too far while I found a nice grassy spot to lay Growlithe on.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him gently as I laid him down. He barked softly at me and licked my fingers, making me giggle. "Let me just spray your paw with a super potion really quick and see if that will help anything, okay?" 

After extracting one of my super potions and three small cheri berries I sprayer the paw Growlithe was favoring. I still couldn't seeing any kind of swelling through his thick fur but I tried to be as gentle as possible while lowering it back to the ground before laying the berries in front of him.

"Eat those if you get hungry, okay? I'm going to go and try to catch a pokemon, but I'll be back soon," Growlithe licked my fingers again and laid down, closing his eyes for a nap. 

I wonder if he'll let me catch him after he gets feeling better, I wondered as I left him to his nap and wandered into the flowers that came up to nearly my waist. Having a fire type would balance my team out a lot, but I knew that Growlithe were normally aggressive pokemon and liked to battle. I didn't want to force him to be my pokemon if Growlithe wouldn't like being in contests with me and focusing on the beauty of his moves instead of the power. I jumped in surprise as a little flipper slipped into my hand, jerking me from my thoughts about Growlithe and making me look down at Piplup's dancing eyes.

"Lup!" Piplup whispered excitedly, pointing towards the far side of the flower field where the picnickers hadn't set up. 

I squinted my eyes, trying to see what he wanted to show me. Just as I was about to say I didn't see anything a twinkle caught the corner of my eye. Turning around I looked closer and gasped as the smallest pokemon I had ever seen flew up from the flower it just landed on. Pulling out my Pokedex I trained it on the little thing and ducked down as it identified the pokemon as a Cutiefly, which was a bug and fairy type. A gentle breeze filled with sparkles swirled past me and I slowly rose to my feet looking over at Cutiefly as it bobbed along, creating a gentle fairy wind that made the flowers wave around as if they were dancing.

"Piplup," I whispered in awe, glancing down and seeing the excitement I felt echoed in his eyes.

 With a nod Piplup stealthily waded through the flowers towards the cutiefly while I stayed where I was, keeping an eye on it and wondering if it would be difficult to catch. Once I could see that Piplup was only a few inches under the unsuspecting pokemon I took a deep breath and spun to face the cutiefly.

"Piplup, Drill Peck!" I called and Piplup's beak elongated and began to spin as he jumped straight up. Fast as lightning, the cutiefly zipped to the side and began flying away. "Quick! Use Ice Beam!" I said, rushing over and pulling Piplup into my arms so he could see over the tops of the flowers. He shot ice beam after ice beam at the little thing but it's speed and ability to dodge kept it from ever connecting.

"Try Bubblebeam," I said, doing my best to keep up with the little pokemon who seemed more interested in leading us on a chase rather than battling us. Piplup took aim and let loose a stream of water and bubbles which the cutiefly continued to dodge with ease. 

How can such small wings beat so fast? I wondered, starting to get a little tired and trying to block out the laughter that was coming from the picnickers watching our display. I hesitated to use Blizzard since that could damage the flowers, but I didn't know what else that Cutiefly wouldn't dodge!

Suddenly an idea came to me and I whispered my plan into Piplup's ear while still chasing Cutiefly. He nodded in understanding and jumped out of my arms, disappearing under the tall flowers. I continued to chase after the tiny pokemon, who looked more like it was toying with me rather than trying to get away. Out of the corner of my eye I saw what I had been waiting for and leaped forward, stretching my hand out as if I was trying to catch it. Cutiefly zipped to the side, even though I hadn't even been close, and I smiled.

"Now, Piplup!" I cried and the miniature whirlpool he had beeg creating exploded up, catching Cutiefly unawares and spinning it around and around in the small cyclone of water. "Enough," I called out, grabbing a Pokeball from my belt and sprinting over. 

Piplup's whirlpool burst apart, showering the flowers with a stream of water and the cutiefly sluggishly fell towards a flower, lurching this way and that dizzily. Afraid that I would miss if I actually threw the Pokeball I ran up to Cutiefly and tapped its little body against the ball, causing a red light to engulf it and it disappeared. The Pokeball shook several times with a blinking red light around the middle until it went still, giving a chime to indicate the capture had been successful.

"Yes! Piplup, we caught it!" I squealed with delight, spinning around with the Pokeball in my hands.

A couple of claps and shouts of encouragement came from the picnickers and I waved at them happily, glad that I hadn't made a complete fool of myself and not caught it in front of them.

"Come on, let's go back to Growlithe and show him our new friend," I said with a smile at Piplup and he peeped happily at me in response, forging his way through the tall flowers. 

I watched as all of the other pokemon that had hidden when Piplup and I were chasing the playful cutiefly began to come back out and play in the flowers. I felt satisfied with my choice though, knowing that Cutiefly's Fairy Wind would be a huge advantage in a Luau Showdown and future contests because of how pretty it was.

"Growlithe, we caught a cutiefly!" I said excitedly as we made our way to his patch of grass.

He raised his head to look at me quietly and I frowned when I saw that he hadn't eaten any of the cherri berries I left for him. Although we had just eaten breakfast a little while ago so I hoped it was because he was still full and just sat next to him and stroked his back gently. Growlithe growled lightly in acknowledgment but then put his head back down on the ground. I wondered if it was normal for him to have such little energy or if he would take some time to recover from nearly drowning. Piplup came up to me and tapped the Pokeball with Cutiefly in it, his eyes shining with excitement and I smiled.

"You're right, let's say hi to our newest friend!" I said before tossing the Pokeball up in the air, releasing Cutiefly and catching the ball as it came back to me. 

Cutiefly looked around it for a second before flying a little closer to me and I thought I saw it's little mouth turn up in a smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Cutiefly! My name is Dawn, and this is my partner Piplup. We're from the Sinnoh region," I explained and Cutiefly buzzed lightly, flying down and circling Piplup's head. "Cutiefly, me and Piplup are going to be entering a Luau Showdown in just a few weeks and we wanted you to enter with us. Do you like to dance?" 

Cutiefly zipped up to me and twirled around three times quickly before stopping and smiling at me again.

"That's great!" I said with relief and glanced down at Growlithe who was watching me with one eye. "I want to start practicing right away, but we need to find someplace special. Are you ready to go, Growlithe?" 

Growlithe lifted himself shakily to his legs and to my surprise he walked almost normally over to me, the limp seeming much better.

"Wow! Your paw seems to be feeling better!" I said with excitement. 

He barked once at me which I took as an agreement, so I gathered the uneaten cherri berries and led my two pokemon and Growlithe out of the Melemele Meadow and back towards the forest. Growlithe started lagging behind after a while and without comment I picked him up and carried him as I searched for the perfect spot to practice for my Ka hula round of the Showdown. It took nearly thirty minutes of searching but I finally came to the face of a cliff with a large open field spread out in front of me. After instructing Piplup to use Ice Beam to create a makeshift, floor-length mirror along the cliff wall I pulled out my music, selecting the song I had decided on as I searched for our practice area.

For the next week and a half Piplup, Cutiefly, and I practiced day in and day out. After deciding on the choreography we focused on synchronicity and I was even able to teach Cutiefly a new move to make our performance more eye catching. Cutiefly was a natural but Piplup, with his stubby legs and squat body, had trouble with some of the moves. However, he never complained and seemed to enjoy this new style of performance.

Growlithe stayed with us, gaining back his energy a little bit every day. He never joined in our practices, but instead would stand at the edge of the field we practiced in and would aggressively bark and snarl at any pokemon that dared to come close as if he was our personal bodyguard. In the evenings when we relaxed Growlithe loved to play tag with us. As the days past more and more I wanted to catch him, but a small part of me wondered if I could really help Growlithe become the kind of pokemon he wanted to be.

Two days before the Showdown was scheduled to start I packed up our campsite, making a mental list of all of the things that I would need to restock on when we got to the city. After I was ready to go I looked over at Growlithe who was sniffing at the spot my tent had been set up. Swallowing hard I knelt down and watched him. Growlithe's fur was thick and it had seemed to gain a natural luster as the days had gone by and his strength returned. I loved his puffy white tail, and the tuft of fur on his head between his ears was so soft. Thinking of parting with him made my throat close up with emotion.

"Hey, Growlithe," I called and he looked up, letting his tongue loll out of the side of his mouth a little as he trotted over to sit in front of me. "I'm going to be leaving now to go to the Luau Showdown and I probably won't be back here for at least a few months," I explained and he cocked his head at me, listening intently. "I know that you have been away from your territory for a long time, so if you wanted to go home then I would understand." 

Growlithe continued looking at me, not moving an inch. Suddenly I felt Piplup lean his flippers against one of my legs before he looked up at me and rolled his eyes.

"Pip piplup, lup lup pip," he chattered at Growlithe, pointing up between me and Growlithe several times. 

Growlithe barked, getting up and jumping around in a circle before coming to sit in front of me again. Piplup walked over to him and draped a flipper around his neck, giving me a happy smile.

"You... are you sure you want to come with us?" I asked in surprise and Growlithe barked, bringing his front paws to rest against my knees and panting happily. 

With a relieved laugh I gathered him into my arms and hugged him fiercely, giggling as he licked my cheek. Taking an empty Pokeball from my belt I held it up in front of him. Without hesitation Growlithe knocked his nose against it, becoming engulfed in the red light before disappearing inside. The Pokeball didn't even shake once before the chime signaling a successful capture rang out and I laughed, picking up Piplup and hugging him to me in excitement.

"What a great way to start our journey!" I exclaimed, releasing Growlithe who barked happily and ran around my feet excitedly. "I promise to take good care of you, Growlithe."

He barked loudly in response, raising himself to his back legs and leaning his front paws against my leg. I tussled the tuft of fur between his ears before shouldering my backpack and leading the way back towards Hau'oli City and our first Luau Showdown.

A/N Sorry if my description of Dawn's outfit is a little confusing. The picture at the top of the chapter is what I was going for, so hopefully that will help fill in the holes of my description skills :P