I woke up confused and glancing around me at the strange room that I was in. Piplup was cuddled on the large pillow with his head between my right shoulder and my ear, fitting perfectly against the curve of my neck and peeping quietly everytime he breathed out in his version of a snore. I'd grown to love that sound over our years of traveling and I tilted my head to rest my cheek against Piplup's head. As I did though my left shoulder twinged painfully and I screwed my eyes shut and counted to ten as the pain slowly dissipated and I finally remembered where I was and why I was here.

Not exactly how I was expecting to start out my journey, I thought ruefully as I carefully sat up, causing Piplup to roll down the pillow and curl up on the mattress with a contented peep. 

To my surprise I discovered that my arms and legs really didn't hurt that much as I stretched my toes and open and closed my fingers. The worst pain was from my left shoulder, but I had no right to complain about a pulled muscle. If Paul hadn't caught me then I didn't even want to think how injured I would be now, if not dead.

Where did Paul come from anyways? I wondered to myself as I remembered the shock and relief I felt when I saw him peering down at me from the cliff's edge. He had been as blunt and rude as ever after rescuing me, but he and his Torterra protected me without question from Vullaby's angry mother. Then Torterra carried me without complaint to Hau's place. 

Cautiously lifting up the baby blue blanket from me I swung my legs off the bed. Gently I lifted myself up, causing my knees to twinge uncomfortably, but I was amazed that I wasn't in a lot more pain. I'll have to ask Mrs. Jun for the recipe of that ointment she put on me, I thought as I quietly padded out of the room in my bare feet.

I managed to change into my pajamas last night, a matching night shirt and pants made of a thin, silky material in the same blue color as Piplup's flippers. The silky material glided gently over my body without irritating the bandages wrapped around most of my skin and I was glad I chose them instead of the cotton night dress I considered before leaving Johto.

Tiptoeing quietly down the hallway I peeked around the corner. Paul wasn't on the couch he slept on, and the blanket he used was folded neatly on the farthest left couch cushion. 

He's probably already left, I thought with disappointment. 

Even if Paul was a jerk, I still wanted to thank him and Torterra again for saving me. With a sigh I turned to return to my room but the sound of running water coming from the open living room window caught my attention. Deciding to investigate, I padded out of the room and around the side of the home.

As I walked into the backyard I was surprised to see Paul in his jeans and T-shirt, his jacket discarded on the ground a few feet away, hosing down Torterra's shell. Torterra was kneeling on the ground obediently as Paul sprayed him, turned off the water to scrub a certain spot of his shell, and then repeated the process. 

I must have gotten blood on his shell, I thought guiltily as I watched Paul work efficiently and without speaking. Chewing my lip I weighed the chance of Paul being annoyed with my company and my desire to thank him again before slowly walking towards him, enjoying the feel of the grass on my bare feet.

"Good morning," I called, trying to sound cheerful. 

I was surprised when Paul noticeably flinched, jerking the hose to the right and narrowly missing Torterra's eye. He turned around with a frown plastered on his face and I had to swallow past a lump in my throat before I could speak again. 

"Did... Did Torterra get very dirty?" I asked guiltily. 

Paul folded his arms and opened his mouth, looking like he was about to get mad at me, but Torterra's tree began to glow. Two large leaves shot off and hit Paul in the back of the head, making him scowl and turn to look at his pokemon. Torterra, however, didn't even look at his trainer but instead took a few lumbering steps towards me, giving me a worried look.

"Terra terra," Torterra said in his gravelly voice, tilting his huge head up to look at me. I knelt down gingerly on the grass and wrapped my bandaged arms around his head, careful to avoid the spikes that served as his ears.

"You're my hero, Torterra. Thanks for saving me and carrying me all the way here," I said and I heard a rumble coming from his throat that almost seemed like a rocky purr. Giggling slightly I pulled away and was not surprised to see a look of barely concealed disgust on Paul's face.

"If you're really grateful to him then you should help me clean the blood," Paul said gruffly, holding up the the red spotted cloth in his hand.

"Of course," I agreed, happy that Paul was letting me help. To my surprise Torterra grew out vines from his shoulders and wrapped them around my waist to gently lift me from the ground and placed me on my feet. "Thank you, Torterra. You are as nice is Paul is grumpy," I said loudly, smiling triumphantly when I saw the corner of Paul's mouth turn down in a scowl.

Without another word I walked over to Paul and took the cloth he handed to me. Working in silence Paul hosed down a section of Torterra's large shell that had a brown or red stain, then I would scrub it with the cloth and soap that Paul handed to me. After fifteen minutes my arm was getting sore but Torterra was almost back to normal.

"Can you spray just a little bit under the tree?" I asked Paul without looking over at him and suddenly my whole right side was deluged with a burst of water.

"Hey!" I cried out, jumping back from Torterra but the change of position on my knees proved too much, causing them to buckle and I fell gracelessly onto my back.

"I'm sorry!" Paul said and I felt my mouth drop open as I looked up at him and realized that he genuinely looked apologetic, even slightly panicked. "Did you hurt yourself?" Paul asked, dropping the hose in front of my feet like it had burned him.

"Ah, no, I'm okay," I answered, covering my mouth with my hand as I tried to hide my smile. Paul narrowed his eyes at me and folded his arms grumpily.

"Something funny?" he asked crossly. I lifted my other hand to cover my uncontrollable grin as I laid on the ground next to Torterra's large brown foot.

"N-no," I stuttered through my hands, imagining Paul's panicked face again and feeling my stomach clench up from trying not to laugh.

"I hate being laughed at," Paul stated with a glare. I swallowed hard, crossed my legs, and sat up so I could look up at him from a slightly less vulnerable position.

"I'm surprised anyone has dared to, to be honest," I replied with mirth. Paul blinked then twitched his head to the side to move his bangs out of his eyes.

"It's been a while," he admitted. 

I smiled, holding my right hand where my bandage had gotten soaked from his unintentional water gun attack with the hose. Paul regarded my outstretched hand for a minute like he thought it was an ekans waiting to strike. I waited patiently though, wondering why he was making such a big deal out of it even though he was the one who had made me fall. 

He must have come to the same conclusion because he scowled and took my hand in his larger one. To my surprise though he bent down and placed his other hand behind my shoulder, pulling me up gently so that I was only a few inches from his chest once I was standing. As soon as I was on my own feet though he removed his hand from my shoulder, let go of my right hand, and took several steps back from me.

"Thanks...?" I said, watching him curiously as he shrugged and turned his head to the side, not seeming to be looking at anything in particular. A short silence stretched between us and I heard a few pokemon calls coming from the forest surrounding Iki Town.

"I'll finish cleaning Torterra. You go in and get changed," Paul said, finally breaking the silence and I glanced down at my half wet pajamas.

"Whenever we meet you seem to splash me with something," I observed and grinned when he scowled but didn't deny it.

"But Paul," I said with a serious tone and he met my gaze with a confused look. "I really owe you one. You saved my life yesterday, and I have no idea how to repay you for that." 

Paul scoffed and stuck his hands in his jeans pockets, looking almost awkward.

"Don't stress about it. It'd just be annoying to have you following me around trying to make it up to me," he grumbled and it was my turn to scoff.

"Who said anything about following you? We can barely carry on a conversation without me wanting to throttle you," I said honestly and Paul regarded me for a minute before a corner of his mouth turned upwards. 

Did that actually make him smile? I thought, aghast.

"Being hit by you would be akin to being tackled by a Sunkern," Paul announced with a wicked smile.

"Oh, you think so? Should we test that theory out?" I asked, squeezing my right hand into a fist and Paul chuckled, looking at me haughtily. 

About 75% of me wanted to punch that stupid grin off his face. However, the remaining 25% remembered that this conversation started because I wanted to thank this arrogant jerk for saving me. My tensed fingers slowly relaxed and I took a calming breath.

"How do you put up with this guy?" I asked Torterra in disbelief and the big pokemon just smiled at me, seeming to enjoy the show. "If you don't want anything then fine, but I would like to make Torterra some poffins to thank him." 

Paul looked over at Torterra who grew a vine out of his shoulder and stroked my cheek gently, causing me to laugh in surprise. I watched as his eyes narrowed and he raked a hand through his bangs in annoyance.

"How long will it take you to make them?" he asked stiffly and I reached up to touch my still sore left shoulder.

"Mmm, it might take longer than normal," I admitted with slight trepidation and Paul looked at the shoulder I was touching.

"If I helped you mix them would it take less time?" he asked stiffly and I blinked in utter shock.

"You would help me?" I asked in disbelief and he rolled his eyes.

"You're making them for Torterra, right? Then why wouldn't I?" he asked with a silent 'duh' at the end of his sentence but I just stared at him. 

Maybe he's changed more than I thought, I wondered in shock.

"Okay then. I'll go ask Mrs. Jun if I can borrow her kitchen," I said hesitantly, waiting for Paul to say he had been teasing. He just nodded though and picked up the hose he dropped after spraying me.

Shaking my head in astonishment I turned and walked back to the front door of Mrs. Jun's home, unsure if I had just been dreaming. Mrs. Jun's exclamations of seeing me all wet showed me that it had not been a dream though, and without preamble she marched me into the bathroom and had me strip to my underclothes so she could undo the bandages and apply more of the healing ointment from last night. 

When I asked if I could borrow her kitchen after breakfast she refused, saying I shouldn't be wasting energy on cooking. However, after explaining that it was to make treats for Torterra and that Paul would help a light seemed to sparkle in her green eyes and she changed her mind. Twenty minutes later, after changing back into my old traveling clothes and throwing away the ripped clothes I purchased just yesterday, Piplup and I walked down the hall towards the kitchen where Mrs. Jun had just finished a batch of pancakes.

"Thank you so much for helping us, Mrs. Jun," I said gratefully, taking a seat at the dining room table at her insistence.

"It is my pleasure, Dawn. Today happens to be my day off and I have always enjoyed cooking so I am glad that there will be more people than usual," she said with a happy grin. 

A loud yawn sounded behind me and I looked back to see Hau walking in while rubbing his eye sleepily.

"G'mornin," he mumbled and Mrs. Jun tsked lightly.

"What a lazy boy you are. Dawn has been awake for an hour and she nearly died yesterday!" Mrs. Jun scolded teasingly and Hau grinned back at her as he took the empty seat next to me at the table.

"Gotta keep my energy up. Ever since I got back I've had at least one challenge every week. Me and my pokemon need to be ready for the next one," Hau said before glancing around the room. "Where's the purple-haired guy? What was his name again?"

"It's Paul," a familiar voice replied curtly. I turned around to see Paul walking into the house, now wearing his thin jacket.

"Perfect timing, Paul. These pancakes are just about finished," Mrs. Jun announced as she flipped several pancakes over on the griddle.

"Thank you very much for your hospitality," Paul said with a polite boy in her direction and she waved towards the table, smiling widely. 

Curious, I watched Paul as he walked over to the table and chose to sit on the opposite side of Hau, not even sparing me a glance. That was fine with me since it left me no reason to look away.

I studied his face, which had matured since I met him in Sinnoh. He now sported sharp cheekbones and a defined jaw that I could only describe as masculine. His hair was shorter than he had kept it when we were young in the back and sides, but he kept his bangs long and seemed to be constantly pushing them out of his eyes. 

From our previous encounters I had thought he was still the same arrogant, proud, cruel, jerk of a trainer that he had been before when Ash trained so desperately with the goal of beating him and teaching him the power of friendships with pokemon. Thinking of him jumping off the cliff to catch me, cleaning Torterra gently without complaint, and now him volunteering to help me make poffins for his pokemon though, I wondered briefly if he had changed more than I could even comprehend.

Paul suddenly turned and glared at me, meeting my gaze with his classic annoyed expression. I lifted one eyebrow in a silent challenge. To my delight, he huffed a breath out of his nose and broke eye contact with me first, which I didn't know why but I saw as a triumph. 

Moments later Mrs. Jun began putting plates in front of us loaded with her fluffy pancakes and Hau showed us the different syrups available on the table before slathering his pancakes in razz berry syrup. After I fed Piplup a few bites of my plain pancake I poured some syrup onto them and glanced over at Hau.

"Hey Hau, why did you say you've been having a lot of pokemon battles lately?" I asked between bites of the delicious pancakes.

"Because after my trip to Kanto I was named the island's newest Kahuna," Hau said with a glowing smile. 

Paul's eyes flew up to look at Hau with a disbelieving expression.

"YOU are a Kahuna?" he asked derisively. 

Hau grinned before stuffing three pieces of pancake into his mouth at once and nodded.

"Hau's Grandpa, my father, was the old Kahuna until very recently. But he's been getting older and he said he was ready to just spend the rest of his days relaxing with his pokemon around the island. So he took Hau to visit Tapu Koko and Hau was named the new Melemele Kahuna," Mrs. Jun explained with obvious pride. I regarded him with wonder after shooting an annoyed glare at Paul.

"That seems like a big responsibility for someone so young. How old are you, Hau?" I asked, watching out of the corner of my eye as Piplup tried to stealthily swipe another piece of my pancake.

"I'm 19, and I have loved it so far! Battling tough opponents and helping them grow makes me get super pumped!" he exclaimed energetically and I laughed.

"Well, I guess we'll be battling sooner or later then," I mused aloud and Paul turned a shocked expression on me.

"No way? You want to do the island challenge, Dawn?" Hau asked with an excited grin and I nodded slowly.

"I am more focused on Luau Showdowns, but Professor Kukui told me that large portions of the islands are blocked off from people who aren't participating in the island challenge. I don't want to miss out on catching a pokemon because I can't go in a certain area," I explained and Paul narrowed his eyes at me.

"For sure! All the best pokemon are in the blocked-off areas so that makes complete sense. But if you do want to be in the island challenge then I'll have to get you an amulet," Hau said, cupping his chin in his hand and tilting his head, making him look as if he were thinking deeply. 

Suddenly his eyes popped open and he glanced over at Paul who was still glaring silently at me.

 "I guess you'll be taking the island challenge too, right, Paul?" 

Paul shifted his glaring black eyes from me to Hau as he nodded, not even bothering to conceal his disappointment as he regarded Hau for several seconds.

"What typing do you favor?" he asked, sounding angry to acknowledge Hau as a serious trainer.

"Mmm, as Kahuna I'm supposed to stick to one basic typing. All of my normal pokemon are pretty unique so I have a few special pokemon that I save just for the island challengers," Hau said with a carefree grin and Paul shook his head, turning his attention back to his pancakes.

"Did you compete in contests back where you are from, Dawn?" Mrs. Jun asked. I flinched slightly at the unexpected question but tried to smile naturally at her.

"Yes, I did. How did you know?" I asked and Mrs. Jun chuckled quietly.

"You just remind me of a girl who came and visited Alola a few years ago. She would talk about competing in contests all the time and her passion led many of the island trainers to create their own versions. Luau Showdowns have grown to be more than just something fun to do during festivals. They are more popular over on Akala island, but there is one scheduled for right here in Iki town in a few days. Everyone in town has been talking about it," Mrs. Jun said with an excited grin and Hau nodded.

"That right! I'm really excited to see it. Apparently, Kalani is coming here for the competition!" Hau said with a silly grin and Mrs. Jun sighed.

"Hau, Kalani is only 14. Under no circumstances are you to ask her out on a date," Mrs. Jun said sternly. 

I laughed when Hau blushed furiously and stuttered out a denial of that being his intention. The rest of breakfast passed talking happily and Piplup eating nearly half of my pancakes, but that was okay since I didn't feel all that hungry. After we finished eating I tried to help Mrs. Jun do the dishes but she flat out refused my help, saying that she would get the kitchen ready for my poffin making in no time.

"Well, I'm going to go get you your amulets for the island challenge," Hau said with a grin as he stretched his arms up above him contentedly.

"Hau, are you really the Kahuna?" Paul asked, sounding a little suspicious.

"Sure am," he said with a grin, not seeming to mind being doubted.

"Then do you know what this is?" Paul asked, taking the stone that Tapu Koko had given him last night and showing it to him. Hau's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

"Auwe! Where did you get this?" he asked in shock and Paul nodded towards me.

"Tapu Koko gave one to each of us after it stopped Mandibuzz from attacking," Paul explained and I nodded in agreement.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Hau said with excitement, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. "This is a Z-Power stone. You need them to be able to use Z-moves. Dawn, if you give me yours I can take them to my grandpa and he'll make them into Z-Power rings for you, like this!" Hau raised his right arm proudly, displaying a shiny black stone set into a band of thin black oblong disks stacked next to each other.

"Z-power... I think I read about that in the history book," I muttered, steepling my fingers against my temples as I tried to think back to what the book said.

"Just get your stone, Dawn. I'll tell you about Z-moves later if you want," Paul said gruffly. 

I frowned at his annoyed tone but when I looked at him his eyes were shining in excitement as he looked at Hau's bracelet. Blinking at the rare sight, I looked down at Piplup who was giving me a confused look so I shrugged and retrieved the stone from my backpack in the guestroom.

With a cheerful wave, Hau left the house whistling, pocketing our two stones in his shorts pockets. Paul also disappeared outside while I kept Mrs. Jun company as she cleaned the kitchen. It took several minutes to convince Mrs. Jun that I actually did have all of the ingredients I needed to make poffins so once she was done cleaning she showed me how her stove and oven worked, pulled out the bowls and cutting boards that I would need, and then went to get ready to go into town.

"Hey Paul," I called out of the front door after finding my poffin molds in one of the storage capsules I kept in my backpack.

"What." Came his grumpy reply and I flinched in surprise when I saw that he was sitting in a chair on the front porch, looking at his Pokedex.

"Goodness, you scared me. I thought you were training with Torterra," I said, feeling my heart beat slowly return to normal.

"I was trying to research the stone that Tapu Koko gave us," Paul explained with his usual flat tone but then he narrowed his eyes and glared at me slightly. "Why would you have gotten a Z-stone? You're not even a trainer," Paul said in a hushed tone as if he thought I couldn't hear him.

"Excuse me?" I seethed, feeling my anger starting to roil in my stomach. "Just because I focus on contests doesn't mean I'm not a trainer! I've gotten several gym badges on my journey I'll have you know. It's just that gym battles aren't what make me or my pokemon the happiest, so we don't focus on them," I said through gritted teeth, never having wanted to punch someone so badly in my life. To his credit, Paul looked taken aback by this news and he leaned back in his chair and regarded me with a dubious look.

"What badges do you have?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Is that the only thing that got through your thick skull?" I asked snidely and Paul narrowed his eyes at me again. Sighing I held up a hand to stop whatever he was about to say. "Sorry, I don't mean to argue with you. Could I scan Torterra's pokeball, please?" 

Paul frowned and folded his arms at me.

"Why?" he asked gruffly and I forced myself to smile while clenching my teeth together.

"I want to see what flavors would be best for him in the poffins," I explained patiently. 

Paul tilted his head to the side as if considering the pros and cons before reluctantly pulling Torterra's ball from his belt and growing it to its normal size.

"How can you tell what flavors he likes from scanning his Pokeball?" Paul asked, seeming reluctantly curious. 

Pulling out my Pokedex from my pocket I scanned the ball and after a few seconds, a picture of Torterra appeared on the screen along with a list of his moves and other stats. I ignored the stats and held up my Pokedex to point at the nature section that was displayed.

"There are lots of things that can determine whether a pokemon will like a certain flavor. Different pokemon types naturally enjoy certain flavors, and even their natures and abilities can have an effect," I explained before studying the results and closing the dex with a relieved sigh. "Luckily I just stocked up on lots of berries when we docked, so I'm pretty sure I'll be able to make some to his taste. As long as you are still okay with helping me..."

Paul nodded jerkily as if he would rather be doing anything else and I exhaled a silent laugh through my nose. 

How is it that one second he can make me angry enough to explode, and the next he seems adorably childish? Shaking my head at the contradiction I walked back into Mrs. Jun's home with Paul following a step behind me.

Rummaging through my storage capsules I pulled out the two I had been searching for and carried them over to the table. Piplup jumped up onto a chair and watched with interest as I first I released my cooking ingredients, selecting a package of rice flour, powdered moomoo milk, and other dry ingredients before setting them to the side and returning the rest of my travel supplies to the capsule. Next, I released my berries. Piplup shrieked in surprise as part of the pile collapsed and ran off towards him, bopping him on the head and flippers.

"I'm so sorry, Piplup!" I said while trying not to laugh but Piplup's pouting expression told me I wasn't being sincere enough for him. "Don't be sad, I'm going to make you a batch of poffins after we make Torterra's, okay?" I cajoled and Piplup instantly brightened, hopping down from his chair and chasing after the fallen berries.

"How simple," Paul said mockingly.

I scowled at him, but decided to let it go since I really did need his help. As Piplup retrieved the escaped berries I sorted through the pile on the table carefully. After a few minutes of thought, I pulled out two aguav berries, a hondew berry, and three magost berries and put them next to the dry ingredients before reaching for a Kelpsy berry and two Belue berries that I always kept in stock since they were Piplup's favorite.

Piplup came back with the last runaway berry and I stroked his head and murmured my thanks affectionately, which made him puff out his chest proudly. I pushed the button to store the rest of my berries and reached to pick up the ingredients but Paul blocked me, scooping everything into his arms and bringing them without question over to the kitchen counter. Raising a surprised eyebrow at Piplup who shrugged his own confusion I followed Paul over to the kitchen where he lined everything up neatly on the counter space next to the stove.

"So what's first?" Paul asked, regarding the ingredients like he was trying to analyze a strategy for a pokemon battle and I couldn't keep from giggling quietly.

"First we'll measure out the dry ingredients. Then we just need to cut up the berries, blend them up, and boil them in some moomoo milk on the stove. After that we mix it with the dry ingredients, pour them into the molds, and bake them for a few minutes," I explained as I reached for a large mixing bowl and winced as my shoulder twinged.

"Give me that," Paul ordered harshly, taking the bowl from my hands and scowling at me. "Just tell me what to do," he demanded, placing the bowl next to the ingredients. I blinked before feeling a genuine smile grow.

"Thanks, Paul," I said happily and he grunted which made me laugh. 

For the next hour, I walked Paul step by step through making the poffins. It took longer than it would have if I did it by myself, but Paul refused to let me use my left arm at all and meticulously followed my instructions without complaint. The kitchen was filled with a myriad of scents as first Torterra's three dozen dark green poffins were finished, then Piplup's purple poffins. 

I left Piplup on the counter to enjoy his treat while Paul and I placed all of the cooling poffins for Torterra in a bowl and walked to the backyard. After releasing Torterra in the backyard Paul placed the large bowl on the ground and folded his arms.

"Paul and I made these poffins for you, Torterra! Thank you for saving me yesterday," I said happily, sitting down next to the bowl and picking up one of the poffins hesitantly. "I hope you like them."

Torterra smiled at me and opened his mouth, allowing me to toss in the single poffin so he could taste it. After chewing for a second his eyes widened and his tree began glowing before a tornado of leaves erupted from the tree, surrounding me and Paul in a beautiful dance. I laughed and raised my hands up, watching as the leaves spun and twirled for several seconds above my fingers before winking out of existence.

"So you like them?" I asked in relief and Torterra gave a loud "Terra!" before bending down and eating half the bowl in one bite.

"You'd think I never feed you," Paul grumbled, watching him munch happily on the treat, but I noticed that his eyes looked softer than normal as he watched him.

"If we end up seeing each other during our travels I'll make you lots more," I told Torterra as he continued munching happily.

"Are you really going to take the island challenge, Dawn?" Paul asked suddenly. I tilted my head back so I could look up at him.

"I already said I was," I replied simply, pushing myself off the ground with my right hand and standing so that I didn't feel so small next to him.

"Hmm," Paul said, his expression unreadable. 

We didn't say anything else until Torterra finished his poffins and gave a satisfied sigh, stroking my cheek with a vine again in his version of a thank you.

"As soon as Hau gets back I'm going to head out," Paul announced and I nodded, unsurprised.

 Taking the now empty bowl, Paul headed back into the house and I looked down at Torterra who was watching him with a gleam in his black eyes.

"Does he treat his pokemon better now?" I asked him curiously. Torterra tilted his neck up to meet my eyes before nodding slowly and emphatically. A smile broke across my face and I reached down to rub Torterra's shell. "I'm so glad."

A/N There is really no rhyme or reason with whose POV the next chapter will be in. It will just depend on which POV I need to move on with the story. So if you find that confusing then I apologize. But hopefully you liked the new chapter!