After leaving Dawn for the second time I tried to focus all of my energy into training for the pokemon league... But the first two months of training I felt fidgety and irritable and I could tell it was beginning to wear down on my pokemon, and not just the pokemon I had caught in Alola. I would regularly switch out a pokemon with Reggie to make sure that all of my old pokemon were at their best and ready to help me in the pokemon league.

My restlessness led me to travel throughout the islands, searching for new terrain that my pokemon could practice in. One day while we were training in Lush Jungle a familiar voice caused me to freeze mid-command during a mock battle between Electivire and Torterra.

Torterra also froze for a few seconds and before I could recover from the emotional explosion inside me he started walking as swiftly as he could towards the voice, abandoning a confused Electivire. That pulled me from my momentary lapse of functionality and I ran after him and stood in front of him, blocking his path. Not surprisingly he smacked my head with a slightly stronger than normal razor leaf as I stood in his way, but I gestured for Electivire to stand down when he looked like he was going to berate him for it.

"Torterra, I can't let you see her," I said quietly and he glared up at me with more frustration than I thought I had ever seen him express.

"Just hear me out," I said and I blinked in surprise at the gentleness that had crept into my tone.

I saw Torterra's body relax slightly and I glanced over at Electivire, wondering if I should return him to his Pokeball. He stayed where he was though and looked slowly between Torterra and me without expression so I turned back to Torterra and brushed a hand through my bangs.

"I... haven't told anyone this yet because I didn't want you to get your hopes up," I said awkwardly.

Torterra cocked his head to the side, shifting his gaze to the patch of jungle behind me where I could hear Dawn's beautiful laugh echoing. Slowly I explained to Torterra about how Dawn and I realized we had feelings for each other and I decided to leave her to spare her the pain that my mother went through. Torterra's eyes widened with sympathy and I stubbornly ignored Electivire.

I had never told any of my pokemon about my childhood and my promise to my mother. A small part of me hoped that Electivire wouldn't see me as a weakling, but there was nothing I could do if he did so I continued with my explanation. I told Torterra how Dawn had come up with our wager and that we had promised that we wouldn't see each other until the pokemon league where she would do her best to beat me in a pokemon battle.

Torterra listened quietly as I stumbled through my explanation and once I was done all three of us stood silently. Dawn's laugh had long since passed by and surprisingly I felt a strange sense of relief having confided in Torterra. Slowly my original partner took a step closer to me and lifted his head up to me. Surprisingly I thought I understood what he was asking so I knelt down and Torterra gently touched his forehead against mine. A vine suddenly wrapped around my waist and with a yell I found myself upside down, dangling a few inches above the air. Torterra shook me firmly back and forth before setting me back on my feet and I gripped my head, which was spinning from the blood rush.

Electivire let out a grumble and to my surprise, Torterra turned and began speaking to him in his rumbling voice. The two spoke back and forth for a while, Electivire seeming to go from confused to astonished to smug as he looked over at me and folded his arms. I glanced between Torterra and him hesitantly, not exactly sure what they had been talking about, but I thought it was probably Torterra giving him his version of Dawn's and my relationship.

To my shock, Electivire let out a rumbling laugh and banged his giant hand against my back so hard I fell to my knees and had to grit my teeth to keep myself from groaning. With a flare of pain, I returned to my feet and, blinking rapidly, watched as Torterra and Electivire both turned and began walking towards where we had heard Dawn's voice.

"What are you two doing? I told you I can't see her until the pokemon league!" I hissed.

Electivire looked at me over his ape-ish shoulder. He pointed at me, Torterra, and himself and then covered his mouth with his hand while pointing at his eyes with the other. Frowning I glanced at Torterra, who was smiling at me and looked back over at Electivire.

"Are you saying that you want to see her, but you won't say anything to her?" I asked suspiciously.

He nodded before turning and walking through the trees. Shaking my head and wondering if two pokemon as big as them were even capable of staying hidden I slowly followed after them. To be honest, I wanted to see Dawn too and I didn't have the heart to return my two surprisingly nosy pokemon back to their Pokeballs.

All three of us walked through the jungle for nearly an hour and I was about to call it quits and get back to training when a familiar bark rang through the trees. Torterra immediately turned towards the menacing sound and I followed him and Electivire. The trees were beginning to thin, but before they ended completely I caught a glimpse of midnight blue hair flashing through the trees, and Dawn's smooth voice called out, "Fire Blast, Arcanine!"

Electivire and Torterra moved to the right a bit where Electivire could hide his noticeable yellow and black striped fur behind a tall bush. Torterra didn't need any help to camouflage him amongst the greenery. I stayed where I was though and watched from behind a tree as Dawn confidently guided Arcanine in his battle against what looked like the Totem Lurantis with Mallow watching by the sidelines.

As I watched her I realized with slight alarm that for the first time in two months all of my nervous energy and fidgetiness began to disappear. It was being replaced with a feeling of calm stillness as I took in the marked difference in this battle compared to the last one Dawn had against this totem pokemon. It wasn't just that Arcanine had evolved and learned better moves, either. The true difference was that both she and her pokemon exuded a sense of confidence and awareness. I was surprised to see that on more than one occasion Arcanine had already begun a move before Dawn even finished her command. They were in sync and in control of this battle and I found myself smiling as Lurantis went down quickly.

Mallow came up to Dawn and Arcanine from the sidelines. I was too far away to hear what she was saying, but from her gestures and the tone of her voice, I gathered that Mallow was coaching her. She and Dawn talked back and forth as they went over to help Lurantis up and I shook my head and smiled. 

She's having others train her, I thought with quiet respect, and surprisingly a feeling of happiness spread through me as I watched the two girls walk away. She's doing everything that she can to try and beat me, I thought and I ran a hand through my bangs.

As I watched Dawn walk away I reluctantly thought back to the last day that I spent with my mother; the same day I chose Turtwig as my starter pokemon. For years I had dwelled on that day and the promise I made, but today when I thought of those last moments I remembered how she had told me she had wanted to be a trainer but she'd been too scared. Watching Dawn rest a hand on her massive Arcanine's back as they disappeared around a grove of trees, for the first time I realized that Dawn and my mom were not as similar as I had once thought.

"Torterra terra." 

Glancing over I saw that Electivire and Torterra were walking toward me through the trees. Torterra was smiling more happily than I had seen since the day I announced we wouldn't be traveling with Dawn anymore. Electivire was glancing through the trees with an excited gleam in his eyes and I wondered if he was wishing he could have battled against Dawn's Arcanine.

"Are you satisfied now?" I asked gruffly. 

Torterra rolled his eyes at me and I felt a small smile leak through my impassive mask. Glancing over at Electivire I saw that he was looking at me with a mild expression of disbelief and I grimaced.

"I.... didn't plan on falling for her," I muttered awkwardly.

Electivire barked out a laugh before once again pummeling my shoulders with his fist. I stumbled forward and gritted my teeth in pain but was surprised to see that Electivire was smiling at me, and I thought I saw a glimmer of relief in his expression. However when I blinked the look was gone. 

Electivire and Torterra both turned to go back to our training area. Gratitude washed through me but I couldn't help but look over my shoulder one more time before following after my pokemon. As I walked after them I slowly accepted that win or lose, I wanted to be with Dawn after the pokemon league.

* * * * * * *

"Aw man, I hope I'm not up against you in the first round," my defeated opponent said unhappily.

I returned Incineroar without comment. Turning away from him I silently thought to myself that if he couldn't defeat my Dark/Fire type with his Water/Fighting Poliwhirl then I didn't think he'd have a chance of making it past the first round against an eleven-year-old.

Glancing over at the large lodging house that was provided for all of the trainers competing at the Pokemon League I wondered once again if Dawn was here yet. After that brief moment of watching Dawn train in Lush Jungle, a switch had flipped inside of me and I was finally able to focus on my training again. As the weeks went by I felt excitement rather than dread building up in me. There was even a day when I discovered a hidden pool of water while exploring the caves past MeleMele Meadow and battling the ice types and zubats in the caves; I had forgone training completely and my pokemon and I just relaxed and had a water fight in the pool.

I wasn't sure, since I couldn't speak pokemon, but it seemed like Torterra and Electivire had told my other pokemon about what happened with Dawn and me. I was shocked at how much more relaxed the pokemon that I had previously caught seemed to be around me; as if they hadn't thought I was really human before finding out I'd let myself fall in love. The pokemon I caught here in Alola also seemed to pick up and share my feelings of excitement as the days ticked away and we got closer and closer to the time when the Pokemon League would begin.

I passed by many travelers doing their best to finish up the island challenge before the Pokemon League started. Once there was only a week left, I made the trip to Ula'ula Island and registered for the Pokemon League as soon as I got to the top of Mount Lanakila. There were only two days left before the pokemon league would start and trainers had slowly begun to fill up our lodging accommodations. I had done some one-on-one battles against many of the trainers and I even lost a few of them, which only made me more excited. It wouldn't have been fun if I didn't think there was some kind of a challenge to look forward to.

I walked back to the large building set a few yards away from the pokemon center and tried not to look like I was looking for someone as I glanced out of the corners of my eyes for a glimpse of midnight blue hair. Dozens of trainers and reporters were milling around the lobby area of the trainers' hotel and I quickly skirted around the edge of the busy area, while still keeping my eyes open for Dawn. I wasn't sure if she even knew you could come early to register for the Pokemon League, so it didn't concern me too much when I still didn't see her.

After making my way around the lobby I went towards the cafeteria, hoping that they would have the tempura vegetables they served a few days ago. When I had determined that dinner was a pasta buffet I sighed in disappointment but filled my plate and ate quickly. Once I polished off my lasagna I returned my dishes to the kitchen help and was about to turn away when a familiar sweet scent wafted past my nose.

Turning around quickly I sniffed quietly (hoping that I didn't look like a creep) and tried to identify where the smell had come from. Smells of pasta sauce and cheese overpowered the faint but familiar scent. Frowning I considered what to do for a moment before walking over to one of the serving women working at the buffet.

"Excuse me, but is there another kitchen for trainers to use?" I asked politely and the middle-aged woman smiled up at me.

"As a matter of fact, there is. If you go out the main entrance and walk to the left the second door on the left is where the trainer's kitchen is located," she explained kindly and I bowed slightly in thanks before walking swiftly out of the busy cafeteria. 

Following the woman's directions I stood outside of the door she had indicated and breathed in deeply the smell of Torterra's favorite poffins. Hesitantly I reached out my hand, pausing for a few seconds and wondering if I should just wait and see Dawn on the battlefield. But I knew that I would be on edge the entire time if I avoided her now, so I took a deep breath and pushed open the door. 

The sounds of batter being stirred and quiet humming reached my ears. I looked around the kitchen, which was covered in dirty dishes, flour, berries, and six cooling racks filled with perfectly shaped poffins. Piplup, Ribombee, and Mirageon were all bustling around the kitchen helping Dawn as she directed them to transport ingredients or to cool the poffins with a gentle Fairy Wind.

My presence was first noticed by Ribombee, who had gone to do as Dawn suggested. She hovered in the air, looking at me with her little mouth shaped in a perfect 'O'. Awkwardly I raised one hand in a weird half-wave and she suddenly let loose the loudest buzz I had ever heard her make before flying through the air and spinning around my head happily. Her happy cry alerted everyone else and Mirageon also instantly bounded towards me and wound her body around my legs in a happy greeting. Piplup's eyes narrowed upon seeing me but he turned and went back to stirring a small bowl of dry ingredients together without comment.

Once he turned away from me I allowed myself to slowly meet Dawn's shocked expression. We stood there silently looking at each other so long that a timer went off on the oven and caused Dawn to jump nearly a foot in the air. An amused chuckle burst from me before I could stop it. She glanced between me and the beeping oven obviously unsure what was more pressing. I stepped carefully away from Mirageon, who had raised herself onto her hind legs and was pawing at my thigh, and walked up to Dawn.

She watched me silently approach and I kept eye contact with her. Once I was standing mere inches away from her I reached down and gently took the oven mitts she was holding in her hand and slipped them on. She took a few steps back and I removed the poffins from the oven. The kitchen was silent as I walked over to the cooling racks and placed the hot mold onto one of them, then removed the oven mitts and turned to face Dawn who was looking at me with confusion. I wasn't able to keep the smile from my face as I walked back over so that I was standing in front of her. Without hesitation, I gently reached out and cupped her soft cheek in my hand, and rubbed my thumb along her cheekbone.

She continued to stare at me with her mouth closed and eyes wide and I felt a strange giddiness rush through me as it was obvious that she had forgotten about everything around her except for me. Meeting her beautiful sapphire blue eyes, I stroked her cheekbone once more and allowed myself to embrace the rightness that I felt at this moment.

"I missed you," I admitted quietly and she blinked rapidly. 

Confusion, happiness, and then a flash of loneliness rushed through her expressive eyes and I smiled when she reached out one tentative hand and took a hold of the bottom of my shirt.

"I missed you too, Paul," she replied softly, looking at me with predominantly confusion, which I couldn't blame her for. My smile slowly dropped and I swallowed a lump of nervousness that suddenly coalesced in my throat.

"Do you... still have feelings for me?" I asked.

I was surprised at the anxiety and fear that rushed through me as she blinked up at me for several torturous seconds. Then her brow furrowed and she glared angrily up at me and I didn't think I had ever seen anything cuter.

"What kind of question is that? Do you know how hard I have trained so that I could beat you in the pokemon league?" she asked angrily.

I tried to keep my face straight as I stared into her eyes. "So if you win, even if I become a pokemon champion, you'll still want to stay with me?" I asked seriously. 

Dawn's anger evaporated and she looked steadily back into my eyes. "Yes," she answered simply, and then she squeaked as I leaned down and pressed my lips against her soft ones.

After recovering from her shock she wrapped her arms around my neck and I pulled her against me, deepening the kiss as I let go of my fears of turning Dawn into a copy of my mom. She had been right. Dawn was not my mom and I wasn't my papa. I was sure there would be times when we would fight and get angry with one another, or make each other feel lonely as we pursued our goals, but I was also sure that I wouldn't be able to be truly happy unless I was with her.

Before I could begin nipping at her lips like I had been wanting to do for months Dawn pulled away from me, breathing deeply and shaking her head sharply as if pulling herself out of a dream. I leaned back slightly, sure that my face was filled with unmasked adoration as I wound my arms around her waist and pulled her against me loosely. Dawn placed her hands against my chest and looked up at me with an expression that was a mix of delight, confusion, and a little bit of frustration.

"Wait. What are you doing? I thought you didn't want to be with me like... this," she said, blushing slightly. I grinned broadly as her eyes darted back and forth between looking at me and down at my chest.

"I did. But, I realized a few things," I said, trying to get my stupid grin to go away so I could explain myself properly.

"You did?" Dawn asked, looking up and meeting my eyes with so much hope in her expression I wanted to kick myself for making her wait so long for this.

"Yah. I realized that you are the most stubborn and frustrating woman I have ever met in my life," I said blandly.

Her eyes widened and then narrowed into an annoyed glare.  Before she could yell at me though, the laugh I had been holding back for several minutes finally burst out. I moved one of my arms to wrap it around her shoulders and pulled her against me so that her cheek was leaning against my shoulder. I held her against me for a few seconds before I loosened my grip and she slowly leaned back to look up into my face with a small smile playing at the corner of her incredibly tempting lips. With a smile of my own, I leaned my head down slightly so there were only a few inches left between us.

"And I realized that I was being idiotic to think that a woman that stubborn would ever sit at home and cry because I was out having an adventure," I whispered.

Dawn's eyes instantly filled with moisture. She smiled shakily and closed her eyes, breathing out deeply from her nose to calm herself down a bit. I waited. After all, I made her wait for nearly six months for me to realize that I couldn't live without her, I could give her a couple of minutes to gather her thoughts. 

Slowly she opened her eyes again and reached a hand towards me. To my surprise though, she didn't touch my cheek. Instead, she reached up and flicked my forehead sharply. I grunted in surprise and rubbed the spot she had flicked as she grinned broadly at me.

"Thanks for admitting you were an idiot," she said with an angelic laugh and I felt a grin spread across my lips. This time she did lay her hand on my cheek and I lowered the hand I had used to rub my forehead with to loop around her waist again. "And you better believe that I am going to be right there beside you when you go on your adventures."

Smiling widely I bent my knees and lifted her so her feet were dangling off the ground, She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and I spun her around gently so her feet didn't knock into the oven. Dawn laughed giddily in my ear and I buried my face into her neck, breathing in her scent of vanilla and honeysuckle. She giggled and jerked away as if my breath was tickling her.

Ribombee and Mirageon chose that moment to interrupt us, but I was grateful they had waited this long. After a few minutes, I began helping them finish off the remaining six batches of poffins. Once everything was cooked, cleaned, and put away, we went outside and I released my pokemon, the ones that had traveled with Dawn anyway, and Dawn released hers so that we could all be together for a while. Hugs and greetings flew around the group as they all were reunited. I noticed absently that Dawn hadn't released her vulpix, but I didn't say anything and just let everyone intermingle for a while.

As the moon began to rise things started to calm down. I noticed that Lucario and Mirageon were sitting close together as they sat in a circle made up of all of our pokemon and chatted back and forth happily. Smiling contentedly I looked down at Dawn, who was cuddled up next to my side with my arm around her shoulders, watching our pokemon with a happy smile.

"This isn't a dream, is it?" Dawn asked suddenly, looking up at me with obvious concern. 

To answer her I leaned down and gently pressed my lips against hers and I could feel her lips turn up in a smile.

"I'm sorry I made you so sad and left you," I apologized sincerely and Dawn smiled.

"You had a lot to deal with. I'm just grateful that you finally went with what your heart was telling you," she said softly while pressing one of her slender hands against my chest, right above my heart. I smiled at her and felt a sly grin cross my lips.

"I'm glad we did this before the pokemon league," I commented aloofly and she quirked one of her midnight blue eyebrows at me.

"Why do you say that?" she asked suspiciously and I grinned.

"Because now I have no reason to go easy on you during our battle," I explained with a teasing grin. Dawn scoffed and whacked me on the shoulder.

"You wouldn't have needed to. I've been training like crazy and I am certain I can beat you," she declared confidently and my grin went wider.

"Come on, Dawn, the bet's off. You don't have to keep up the act anymore," I smirked, amusement bubbling up at her affronted and slightly annoyed expression.

"You just wait. Three days from now we're going to be in the semi-final or the final battle and I am going to destroy you, Paul Shinji, and THAT is a promise," she stated firmly.

Not being able to take how cute she looked when she was angry I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her onto my lap where I leaned my chin against her shoulder and kissed her neck gently. She leaned against my chest and put her arms over top of mine then looked over at me with eyes that shone with happiness as I pulled back so I could meet them with my own.

"I'll look forward to it," I said with a silly grin.

A/N So.... that was definitely not planned... but I am SO excited about this development! Oh my goodness I hope you enjoyed reading that as much as I did writing it ^.^ Thank you for everyone who reads and comments, you all are amazing!!