Growlithe bounded several feet ahead of me as we made our way back to the campsite as I tried to ignore the burning in my lungs and back. Goodness, the ocean really did a number on me, I thought grimly as Growlithe ran tirelessly ahead of me. Seeing his increased speed just from two weeks of our daily jogs was gratifying, but it seemed like the faster he got, the slower I did and that wasn't so fantastic.

Breathing heavily, I ran to the campsite. Holding a hand up to cover my sweaty face from Paul as I dashed into my tent, I plopped down on my sleeping bag, and got my breathing under control. Growlithe barked happily at me, jumping up and down on Piplup who shrieked in fear and then anger at the rude awakening. His angry yelling woke up Eevee, who had curled up on my pillow during my absence. 

Tiredly I pulled Eevee into my lap as Cutiefly flew up around me and began fanning me with a weak Fairy Wind. The gentle wind cooled me down nicely and I smiled gratefully at her.

"Are you all ready for some training today?" I asked as my heartbeat finally began to get back to normal. 

Growlithe barked energetically and Piplup raised his flipper eagerly, forgetting his previous anger. Smiling at them all I shooed them out of the tent so I could change out of my tracksuit and into my normal day clothes. Once I was changed and I tamed my crazy hair I left my tent, surprised to see that my pokemon had already been served breakfast.

Blinking in surprise I looked over at Paul who was spreading butter on a small pile of toast that I assumed he had crisped over the open fire somehow. Looking at him now I still couldn't believe that he had offered to teach me. I also hadn't expected him to be so concerned about me crying.

I wonder if he avoids people because he is actually really kind and doesn't want to act on that part of his personality, I thought to myself as I hesitantly walked over to him. 

He glanced up, noticing my approach, but quickly turned back to his toast. I sat across the fire from him and he pushed the plate of toast at me without a word. With a small smile I took one and bit into a corner, surprised when I could taste a gentle honey flavor.

"You use honey butter?" I asked in shock and he gave me a challenging look.

"Yah, got a problem with that?" he asked gruffly and I tried to keep from grinning at his reaction.

"Nope. It's yummy, thank you," I replied sweetly and he narrowed his dark purple eyes at me before grabbing a slice for himself and taking a large bite. "So, what is the plan for today?" I asked eagerly and Paul gestured towards the Volcano.

"You're going to take on the Wela Volcano trial," Paul said firmly and I blinked.

"Oh, I thought we would train a bit before I did another trial," I remarked in surprise and Paul scoffed.

"The Wela Volcano trial is a fire type trial. As weak as Piplup appears, I'm pretty sure he could beat the totem with his eyes closed," Paul said flatly but I felt a flush of happiness go through me at the casual compliment.

"Okay, we'll do our best then," I said with a grin and Paul narrowed his eyes at me.

"Actually..." he said before pausing. I had been about to take another bite and as the seconds passed I slowly closed my mouth on the toast, never taking my eyes from Paul who seemed to be avoiding my gaze.

"What?" I asked, covering my mouth with a hand as I swiftly chewed.

"I want you to try and use the Waterium Z," he admitted finally. 

I inhaled with surprise and my toast tried to go down the wrong tube, causing me to cough. Paul frowned at me as I set the toast back on the plate and coughed violently for a few minutes.

"S-sorry," I gasped, tears streaming down my face as my coughing fit finally stopped.

Something bumped against my arm. Looking over I was surprised to see Paul extending a water bottle towards me with a frustrated look.

"Can you go for five minutes without hurting yourself?" he asked exasperatedly. 

I took the water with a weak smile, a few small coughs coming up my throat. I twisted off the cap of the water bottle and regarded it for a second before tilting my head back and carefully pouring some water into my mouth without actually touching the lip of the bottle. The awkward angle didn't work exactly how I expected though and I once again started coughing.

"Just drink it normally," Paul ordered harshly. After I stopped coughing I nodded and sheepishly brought the water bottle to my lips and took a small sip.

"Sorry," I apologized after I had downed nearly half the water bottle and Paul rolled his eyes.

"You really are a handful," Paul commented and I frowned, not sure how to refute that but feeling like I should. "Why don't you want to use your Z stone?" he asked before I had come up with a good comeback.

"Well, you said you can't use them yet, so why do you think I could?" I asked, my feelings of inadequacy surfacing and Paul frowned deeply at me.

"I told you. My research says you have to be aligned with your pokemon to use a Z stone. You treat your pokemon differently than I do, so I want to see if you can use Z Power or not," Paul said roughly and I bit my bottom lip. 

Would he go back on his word about teaching me if I can't help him with the z stones? I wondered, not sure why that thought filled me with such dread.

"Okay, I'll try it," I agreed hesitantly and Paul nodded, taking another piece of toast from the stack.

"Eat first though," he ordered and I looked at my half-eaten slice on the side of the stack. Glancing up at Paul, who was now looking away from me, I reached for the toast. We ate in silence and I thanked him for the breakfast after insisting that he take the last slice.

I busied myself with cleaning up all the pokemon's food dishes and then ducked into my tent to grab the Waterium Z , a blue ribbon, and my mini sewing kit. Something stroked my cheek as I came out of my tent and I jumped, turning to see Torterra standing next to my tent with one of his vines grown long and thin.

"Good morning, Torterra," I greeted with a smile, rubbing his head fondly and he smiled up at me. "I'm glad you don't mind me and my pokemon tagging along with you." 

Torterra shook his head, taking a small step closer and butting the back of my legs, effectively pushing me close to where Paul was rolling up his sleeping bag. I chuckled and rubbed Torterra's head.

"He wants me to try and use a Z move, so I need to find Piplup," I explained and Torterra turned his large head to the left. 

I followed his gaze and smiled when I saw Piplup bobbing in the river, trying to convince Eevee to come in with him. To my surprise, Eevee didn't seem to enjoy being in the water that much and she was ignoring Piplup's calls. Instead she was running in circles around Growlithe, who seemed to be getting slightly dizzy from trying to keep an eye on her. Growlithe became almost like a protective big brother when he was around Eevee although he acted like an annoying little brother around Piplup and I found the contrast adorable.

"Piplup! Come over here, please!" I called.

Piplup waved at me before swimming to the edge of the river and pulling himself out. Eevee abruptly broke off from circling Growlithe and bounded towards me with a happy cry. Kneeling down I opened my arms and caught her as she leaped towards me. Standing up I spun us around swiftly and Eevee giggled delightedly, batting at my hair with her paw.

"I hope you always stay as playful and happy as this," I told her before nuzzling my nose against hers. 

Her ears quivered and she smiled happily at me, wagging her bushy tail like crazy. Piplup ran up to us and I set down Eevee, telling her to go over with Growlithe. Glancing over at him I was surprised to see that he was laying down with his paws over his eyes, making me wonder if his vision had started spinning after Eevee's circling.

"Pip piplup," Piplup said curiously and I showed him the Waterium Z and my sewing kit.

"I'm going to try and make something to hold this onto you while we battle. Would you like it to look like a necklace? Or should we try to put it around your head?" I wondered, wrapping a blue ribbon first around his neck and then his head as I debated. 

Piplup patted his neck so I measured off a length of ribbon. I picked up the diamond-shaped Z stone and carefully wrapped the ribbon on one side in a tight x pattern then pulled it behind and created another x pattern on the other side.

Not sure if it would hold just like that I sewed the ribbon to itself on either end and then held it up, tugging it to make sure that it wouldn't fall out. Once I was satisfied with my makeshift holder Piplup waddled over and stretched his head up so I could wrap the ribbon and Z stone around his neck. I left it a little loose so the hard stone wouldn't poke the underside of his chin, but not loose enough that it could slip over his head.

"What do you think?" I asked. 

Piplup turned around, puffing his chest out proudly to show off his new accessory. I chuckled at his antics and tickled him under his chin, making him laugh and he flapped his flipper to wave off my finger.

"Are you ready?" Paul's gruff voice asked.

I looked over my shoulder and held a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing. It looked like Eevee had gotten curious about him because she was circling his legs, sniffing all over and then jumping, as if she thought she could climb up his legs. He didn't look down at her, but as she raised up onto her hind legs to try to climb him again he gently moved his leg, forcing her back and away from him. Eevee wasn't off-put though. Instead she seemed excited at the new game and began inching towards him, crawling on her belly, and then jumping back in delight as Paul gently pushed his leg out towards her to shoo her away. How cute, I thought with a smile and nodded at him.

"Just let me practice the move for a second," I said nervously, getting to my feet and brushing off the back of my legs for any blades of grass that might have stuck to my black capris. 

Paul nodded without showing any emotion and continued to try and push Eevee away from him as she batted at his still leg. Grinning at my curious Eevee I shook my head and turned away, feeling awkward to have to practice in front of Paul. Piplup looked up at me with a determined expression and I smiled at him.

Slowly I raised my arms, crossing them so that the Z bracelet was on top, and did a wave motion like Lana had shown me from one side of my body to the other. Piplup tapped his chin in thought and then did his best to copy me, but he put in an extra wave motion on the right side. I tried to remember what Lana had done and then decided that Piplup was right and did the move again. Once I was confident that I was doing it correctly I took a deep breath and glanced over at Paul. He had folded his arms and was watching me without expression. I noticed that all of our pokemon had gathered around him and were watching me curiously.

"Ugh. Talk about pressure," I mumbled to Piplup and he gripped his flipper into a little fist, as if to say 'We've got this'. I smiled down at his confidence and shrugged. "Let's give it a shot. Alright Piplup, face that rock and try to turn your Hydro Pump into Hydro Vortex" I instructed.

Piplup set himself and I took a deep breath before confidently going through the motions of the Waterium Z pose. To my shock a faint light began to glow from my Z crystal and as I finished the pose Piplup began to glow as well, but when he used his move it was just a normal Hydro Pump. Slumping my shoulders in disappointment I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a low "Hmmm" coming from behind my shoulder. I whipped around to see that Paul was standing directly behind me and he was giving Piplup, who was also hanging his head down in disappointment, a scrutinizing expression. Suddenly he smiled and flicked his eyes over to me, making me stiffen.

"What? Does it make you happy that we couldn't do it?" I muttered and Paul shrugged.

"Yes," he replied simply and my mouth dropped open in shock, but instead of feeling offended I actually felt a little relieved at his reaction. If he had told me that I was useless to him and told me to leave I would have felt awful. 

It had been nearly two years since I traveled with someone, that someone being Serena back in Hoenn, and it felt really nice to have someone that I could look to to learn from and help in turn. Although technically Paul only wants to be friends on my showdown days, but so far he's been a lot nicer than usual, I thought to myself as Paul walked over and looked at the ribbon I had used to hold the Waterium Z on Piplup.

"Something the book said was that the trainer and pokemon need to be aligned with their 'will to battle'," Paul said slowly, standing back up after having finished his examination and turned his eyes on me. "Will you try it again when you challenge the totem pokemon today?" he asked and I blinked in surprise and then shrugged.

"Sure, if you want. But do you really think it'd make a difference?" I asked as Piplup waddled over to me.

"To be honest, I've never even gotten my Z stone to glow," Paul admitted, his tone reluctant. I couldn't help but feel a little special to see that Paul was willing to share his struggles with me and I hoped that as we traveled more together we would become real friends. "So I think if you tried it during a real battle you might just be able to pull it off. If the runt can handle the power anyways," Paul said with a dubious expression and Piplup peeped angrily up at him.

"Should we try it then, Piplup?" I asked him and he turned to me, his eyes seeming to be burning with determination as he nodded emphatically.

"Then let's pack up and head to the trial site," Paul said, his words sounding more like an order than a suggestion. 

I dismantled my tent with practiced ease and returned everything to its capsule. Eevee's energy had run out and she'd curled up to take a nap so I returned her to her Pokeball but Growlithe, Cutiefly, and Piplup all wanted to stay in the open as we traveled. I was surprised when Paul returned all of his pokemon with barely a word to them and I wondered if he ever let them walk with him while they traveled.

I guess that would be difficult with Torterra. He is so big and slow, it would probably slow him down if he let him walk with him all the time. I thought silently as Paul glanced over at me and then quickly looked away. 

I wonder if he regrets letting me travel with him, I couldn't help but think. But then he started walking towards me, gesturing with his chin that we were going back to the path. Smiling, I picked up Piplup and followed him, walking by his side. 

As we walked up the path I asked him about his battle against the totem pokemon and he told me about how Rockruff defeated it by herself. The way he described the battle it sounded like it would have been exciting to watch and I couldn't help but anticipate traveling with him and watching his battles first hand.

The trip up the volcano seemed to fly by with someone to talk to, and even though Paul insisted that we were not going to be friends, I found myself enjoying my time talking to him. He was incredibly logical and I was amazed to find out that before he went into any battle he had two or three strategies thought up before he even saw his opponents pokemon. Battling was fine, but I didn't think I could ever be as focused as Paul was about it. I hoped, however, that some of his dedication and knowledge would rub off on me.

As we made our way into the trial site I was surprised to see Kiawe up on the platform I had performed on just a few weeks ago. He seemed to be in the middle of a dance lesson where several young children and marowaks were all following his moves carefully. I stopped, lightly pulling on Paul's jacket sleeve and he looked back at me with a surprised expression, glancing down at my fingers holding onto his jacket. I lowered my hand and nodded toward Kiawe.

"It looks like a lesson. Let's wait until he's finished," I suggested quietly.

Paul frowned and opened his mouth as if he were going to argue with me, but nothing came out. He eventually shrugged and moved towards the edge of the clearing to wait. I followed him and watched with interest as Kiawe explained the different steps to the dance he was teaching. Growlithe looked a little bored and since things were winding down I decided to return my pokemon. The lesson seemed to be almost finished and soon all the kids began hopping down from the platforms, followed closely by the marowaks.

"Well if it isn't Dawn! Have you come to learn about traditional dances?" Kiawe asked when he spotted me and Paul. I smiled at him, thinking that he seemed like a more mature version of Traavi.

"Not today, I was actually hoping to take on the trial if you have time," I said politely and Kiawe raised an eyebrow in surprise, glancing behind me at Paul.

"I do have time. Will this surly fellow be wanting to watch as well?" he asked and I covered my mouth to hide my grin.

"If that is allowed I would like to watch," Paul answered, his tone showing how 'surly' he could be. Kiawe glanced at me and I smiled, silently saying I didn't mind if he watched.

"Very well. Come with me, Dawn," he said, turning and leading me down a path I hadn't noticed when I was here performing. 

I could hear Paul walking behind me as I followed Kiawe and for some reason having him watching both calmed me and made me more nervous. I REALLY didn't want to mess up in front of Paul, but it was also nice knowing I wasn't alone.

Just as Paul described, when we got to a grassy area with a circle of close-cropped grass in the middle Kiawe instructed me to go into the middle and wait as he called the totem pokemon. I released Piplup immediately and he gave me a confident smile.

"If the Z move doesn't work don't let it bother you and just hit it with a Hydro Pump, alright?" I told him nervously.

Piplup puffed out his chest and tapped his flipper against it in his iconic 'leave it to me' pose. Smiling brightly at him I waited, only flinching slightly when the first whack that Paul told me would come sounded. As Alolan Marowak raised his huge head out of the tall grass I gulped, not realizing that he was going to be THIS big. Before I could even give Piplup a command Marowak began racing forward and his bone club grew a shadowy extension on its end.

"Dodge it quickly and then use Bubblebeam," I said in a rush.

Piplup jumped just as Marowak's bone club was about to connect with him. As Piplup fell back to the ground he shot a stream of water and bubbles at the huge marowak. Marowak cried out in pain as the water splashed down his body and onto his tail, but he quickly turned back to Piplup and one of his arms began to glow.

"Use Hydro Pump, PIplup!" I called, amazed at how fast Marowak was even with such a huge body. 

Luckily Piplup was able to create his Hydro Pump before Marowak got to him, forcing the pokemon to jump and dodge to the side to avoid the powerful water-type attack. As Marowak righted himself he threw his bone club in Piplup's direction and I bit my bottom lip.

"Use Whirlpool to catch the club!" I instructed.

Piplup raised his flippers over his head and slowly began to create a whirlpool suspended in the air above him. For a split second I thought Piplup wouldn't make it, but just before the bone club was about to smack into his little body he tilted his whirlpool and the bone club got sucked into its powerful current.

"Now throw it at Marowak!"

Piplup immediately sent the whirlpool towards Marowak but I frowned when it burst into flames and used Flame Wheel to dodge the attack. A movement from the corner of my eyes caused me to turn and I gasped as a slithering purple pokemon with pink designs reared up behind my unsuspecting Piplup.

"Piplup, turn around and use Bubblebeam!" I yelled

Piplup immediately began spewing out a Bubblebeam even before he spun around. The attack hit the Salazzle square in the mouth, extinguishing what looked like the beginnings of a Fire Burst attack and causing her to stumble back gasping. I looked in between the Salazzle and Marowak who were both regarding my little piplup warily and I gulped, deciding that it was now or never.

"Let's give it a shot, Piplup," I whispered, as Marowak ran over to where his bone club had fallen and Salazzle coughed up water. 

Piplup nodded silently, also keeping his eye on the two pokemon easily three or five times bigger than himself. After taking a breath and reminding myself that even if I didn't believe in myself, I did believe in Piplup, I brought my arms up in front of my face. My Z bracelet instantly began to glow and I quickly stepped through the wave-like arm motions of the Z-move. As I came to a stop bright swirls of light began gathering around Piplup. Marowak and Salazzle both burst into a run straight for Piplup, looking as if they wanted to take him out before we could complete our move.

"Hydro Vortex!" I yelled, trying to sound confident and not astonished as the light continued to build up around Piplup. 

With a high-pitched yell, Piplup raised his flippers to his sides and water began to bubble up from under him. I watched in astonishment as the water raced towards the two fire type pokemon, who had both halted their charge and were now trying to desperately outrun it. But the water found them and shot up in a huge column, plunging them both into an inescapable tower of water. I saw a glowing orb shimmer around Marowak and I realized he must be trying to use detect or protect, but Piplup spun himself around quickly and the two columns of water began to spin the two pokemon in huge water funnels. After a few seconds the light around Piplup faded and the water vanished, dumping both Marowak and Salazzle on the ground in dead faints.

"We did it," I breathed out in astonishment. "Piplup we did it!" I cried out rushing over to Piplup who turned to look at me with a small smile and then tipped over, crumpling to the ground.

"Piplup!" I cried out in terror, bringing him into my arms and sighing in relief as I heard his little peeping snore.

"Wow, Dawn, that was amazing!" I turned around to see Kiawe approaching me with a look of admiration. "Was that the first time your Piplup used a Z move?" he asked energetically and I nodded, looking down at my sleeping partner proudly.

"Yes. Is it normal for pokemon to fall asleep like that after they use a Z move?" I asked a little worried, and Kiawe laughed happily.

"Honestly, most pokemon fail to complete a Z move their first time because it takes so much energy. Your Piplup must be a really high level," Kiawe said and I smiled, for some reason feeling a little embarrassed by the comment. "The more you use Z power the less it will drain your pokemon. There have even been times when having your other pokemon out and watching the match can help the Z power to be stronger and less draining on the pokemon using the Z move," Kiawe explained and I blinked in surprise.

My eyes traveled from Kiawe to where Paul was slowly walking through the grass towards me. His face was expressionless, but as my eyes met his he nodded once and I felt a smile explode on my lips. I can be helpful to Paul! I thought with excitement. 

Kiawe presented me with the Firium Z stone and I thanked him sincerely, sticking it in my pocket and resting Piplup against my shoulder where he continued to snore peacefully. Paul didn't say a word but turned and began making his way towards the path. Kiawe watched him walk away and then looked down at me with a concerned expression.

"You know, if you want to travel with someone I'm sure Traavi would be happy to escort you around on your island challenge," Kiawe offered and I felt myself blush.

"Thank you for offering your nephew, Kiawe, but Paul is a really strong trainer and he has agreed to teach me about some new training techniques. I'll be fine," I said with a smile, a feeling of happiness flooding through me as Paul looked over his shoulder and gestured impatiently for me to come with him.

"If you're sure. Just try not to lose your wonderful rhythm being with a stick in the mud like him," Kiawe said seriously.

I laughed giddily before waving at Kiawe and jogging after Paul, being careful to hold Piplup as still as possible.

A/N Sorry to describe the same trial twice. I have been trying to alternate so I don't bore you guys with describing the trials for both Dawn and Paul, but this one was inevitable since Dawn had to use her Z power for the first time. But anyways, in the future I will try to avoid that. Thanks for reading!! You are all the best!