"You're sure about this, Paul?" Reggie asked, following me as I walked out of the front door of his breeding center/home.

"I'm sure," I answered simply, glancing back to see Electivire's hulking form watching me from behind the fenced yard. Allowing a half smile to spread across my normally stationary lips I raised one hand in a salute wave, which Electivire acknowledged with a flick of his two tails.

"But I thought you said the Alolan League was too young for you to bother with," Reggie argued and I resisted rolling my eyes. I was already 19 but he still treated me like I was a 10 year-old brat.

"I need something more, Reggie. I should've been able to beat Alder with my eyes closed, but somehow he still won. The only thing I haven't pursued are Z crystals, and I think they might be exactly what I need to become Champion," I said, surprising myself as I explained in detail my plans. Usually I barely said a word when people tried to talk to me, but Reggie had taken care of me since our parents died when I was young and I felt like I owed him. A little.

"But leaving with just one pokemon? That's not like you, Paul," Reggie insisted, following me as I walked down the dirt road towards Veilstone City.

"I need to round out my team more, Reggie. Alola has a lot of rare pokemon, they should be helpful when I challenge other leagues in the future," I explained with a sigh, wishing he would just trust me. 

After all, I had done what he couldn't do; I beat the Battle Frontier when I was 13 and went on to challenge and win several region's leagues. Even though I felt like I had never been stronger, I still couldn't beat the Unova champion, who was the weakest of all the Champion's I had ever faced. 

Why am I still not strong enough? I thought to myself angrily, picking up my pace and hoping that Reggie would stop following me like a dejected Growlithe.

"Kay, fine. But Alola is so far away. Are you sure you've got enough packed?" Reggie asked, fretting like a mother and I really did roll my eyes at that.

"If I forgot something then I'll just buy it when I get there, Reg. Would you stop following me already?" I asked, starting to feel frustrated at his hovering. 

To my annoyance he reached out and gripped my shoulder, pulling me into a quick but firm hug.

"Don't forget to call me once in a while," he urged after breaking the embrace and I nodded reluctantly.

"Can I go now?" I asked, only taking a moment to gloat inwardly that I had surpassed my brother in height, before sliding my gaze towards the open road in front of me.

"Be safe," Reggie said with a sigh. I nodded absently before turning and walking quickly towards my next journey.

I originally planned to take an airplane to the Alolan Islands, but that plan was crushed when the Melemele Airport, the only one that had a connecting flight with Sinnoh, decided to do a massive remodeling and closed for six months. It was annoying that I would have to take a boat, but I would take advantage of the 'free' time to do some more research on Z Crystals and the Alolan pokemon.

Shifting my backpack to a more comfortable position I waited for the huge cruise ship to dock that took people from every region down to Alola once every few months. Reggie had been right about me dismissing Alola in the past. When it was announced a few years ago that a Pokemon League had been created in Alola for the first time I scoffed. All of the Alolan trainers I had come across were carefree and weak and I couldn't imagine wasting my time challenging such a pathetic and new league. That was, at least, until I ran into my old rival Ash Ketchum.

While I was making my way back home from Unova I decided to make a major detour and visit Kalos to learn more about Mega Evolution. During my time researching, I saw Ash (my old nemesis back when I challenged the Sinnoh League when I was eleven) and to my annoyance he recognized me. 

He instantly challenged me to a battle that I accepted without reservation. However, I had been near livid when it ended in a draw. As dense as ever, he stuck around to chat after the battle and told me about his time in Alola and the amazing power of something called a Z Crystal that he was able to use while in the islands. The thought of using a crystal to unlock a move so powerful that it could one hit KO almost any pokemon was so intriguing that I hardly noticed the ringing in my ear after he finally stopped talking and rushed off to follow after his girlfriend.

The thought of Ash on one hand made my blood boil, while on the other a small piece of confusion seemed to wedge it's way through my mind. Ash was as pathetic as they came, always saying how any pokemon could be strong if you just 'worked together' which I had to scoff at. 

A Pachirisu would never be able to beat an Agron, I had always thought stubbornly, which I knew was true. Yet after he beat me back in the Sinnoh league and I saw the loyalty and the depth of determination in all of his pokemon, that affected me more than I would admit to anyone. Ever. It hadn't changed my mind about intensive training being necessary to achieve a pokemon's greatest strength, but I found myself over the years trying to instill trust between myself and my pokemon.

Yet he still almost beat me, I seethed inwardly, wanting to lash out and kick the leg of a bench as I waited for the people to finish disembarking. I remained still though, not moving even an eyelash to give a hint to the anger rushing through me. 

When the last person finally walked down the steps and onto the dock I was the first to go up the stairs. Showing my ticket to a waiting steward he directed me to where my room would be and suggested a few amenities that the ship offered that he thought would interest me. The mention of a battlefield on the main deck did pique my interest, but I simply nodded and followed his directions to my room so I could drop off my backpack.

The sounds of girlish giggles outside my cabin grated on my nerves so to distract myself I glanced at a few pamphlets that had been left on my nightstand. One of them was the ships itinerary and I inwardly groaned when I saw that we weren't scheduled to pull into Melemele harbor for nearly two weeks. Ruffling through the pamphlets proved fruitful as one of them held a list of all of the rooms on the cruise liner. I was happy to see that there was a rather large library on the third floor of the ship. 

Without further ado I grabbed my black jacket from my bed and pulled it on over my dark blue T-shirt. My bangs shifted to fall into my eyes and with an annoyed grunt I ran my fingers through them, pushing them off to the side.

I need a haircut, I grumbled to myself, rubbing the back of my head where my hair was cut to only a few inches in length. When I got back from Unova, Reggie insisted that spiky hair was the newest fad and had all but dragged me to the barber where they cut my hair short on the back and sides and left my bangs long so I could spike them up. But to be honest I could never get myself to care enough in the mornings to actually gel my hair, so my bangs just flopped in my face constantly.

Ten minutes later I found myself in the library, engrossed in my research of Z Crystals and their power that they gave the alolan pokemon. To my amazement and glee, I found that once a trainer and his pokemon had gotten strong enough to use a Z-move they could use that move even outside of Alola. I'd never seen a Z-move be used in person so I had worried that it would only be useful in Alola, but if this was true and I could master Z-moves then there was no way I would lose against anyone again!

With a contented sigh, I logged off of the computer and shut the reference book I had been using during my research. To my surprise, I realized that I had been at it for several hours and my stomach was complaining that I hadn't eaten since breakfast. After checking the cruise ship map that I slipped into my jacket pocket I decided to go up to the top deck where they had one of many different buffets set up for both people and pokemon.

The selection of food was very tropical, but I filled up a plate and then, making sure that there was adequate space, I released Torterra onto the deck. He yawned, opening his huge mouth wide as he looked around him, taking in all of the people and pokemon milling around the deck with quiet interest.

"Help yourself," I instructed simply, nodding towards the piles of pokemon food and berries left to the side of the buffet table. With a deep "Terra", Torterra turned away from me and began munching delicately on the available food.

Taking a second to pat my first partner's great shell, I left him to eat and wandered around the deck with a glass of nanab berry lemonade in my hand. It seemed that while I was researching the ship had made good time because no matter which way I looked all I could see was the open sea for miles. I continued to wander aimlessly, ignoring the other people around me. Just as I was about to pass behind someone leaning against the railing of the ship they turned around suddenly and slammed into me, causing me to tip my nearly full cup and splash lemonade all over them.

"Yikes! That's cold!" A feminine voice cried and I inwardly groaned. 

Just perfect, I grumbled to myself as I considered continuing on my way. She was the one who bumped into me afterall. But for some reason, that felt like I was running away and if there was one thing I did not do it was run away like a coward.

"You should be more careful," I warned harshly, dropping my hand that was holding the almost empty cup of lemonade to my side as the girl brushed at her black shirt which had a huge watermark from her shoulder to her stomach.

"Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention," the girl said, glancing up at me with her large blue eyes, just a shade lighter than her dark blue hair. 

I blinked in surprise. Normally if I said something rude to a girl they would demand an apology or get intimidated, yet this girl just apologized and took responsibility? I studied the girl and was surprised once again when her eyes widened as she looked at me.

"Do I... know you?" she asked slowly, tilting her head and squinting her eyes as if that would help her remember. 

I didn't move as I matched the strange girl's gaze, trying to think if I had ever met her before. My mind was drawing a blank but suddenly she clapped a hand to her mouth, her blue eyes shining with recognition.

"Paul!?" she exclaimed and I blinked, feeling a strange desire to take a step back from her. How does she know me? "Oh my goodness, Paul! It's been forever! You probably don't remember me, but I'm Dawn. I was traveling around with Ash back when you two were rivals in the Sinnoh league," she explained with a grin. 

A distinct memory of a small, blue-haired girl following around Ash with a Piplup in her arms flashed through my mind.

"Ah..." I muttered noncommittally, not sure why but not wanting to give her the satisfaction of knowing that I remembered her.

"What are you doing here?" Dawn asked, seeming to not be offended at having been 'forgotten,' which surprised me since I remembered a time when I forgot her name and she flew into a rage. 

I swiftly looked her up and down and realized that I wasn't surprised I hadn't recognized her. She had grown. For starters, she was tall for a girl. At 6'3" myself, the top of her head reached to my nose, which was rare for a girl. She also wasn't wearing that girly beanie I remembered. Instead, her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and it cascaded down her back in a wave of dark blue.

"Quiet as ever I see..." Dawn remarked while quirking an eyebrow at me. 

I mentally shook myself, realizing that I had somehow gotten lost in my observations of how much she had changed from the annoying girl that followed Ash around back in the day.

"It's none of your business what I'm doing," I answered flatly, causing her eyes to widen then narrow in barely concealed annoyance. I glanced down at her dripping shirt for a brief moment and folded my arms, shifting my gaze out towards the ocean. "You should go take a shower; you're going to get sticky when that dries."

Dawn looked down at her shirt and to my surprise she lifted it slightly to smell the lemonade, exposing for a brief moment a slice of her midriff. I blinked and stared resolutely out at the ocean again.

"I didn't take you for a lemonade person," she commented with a small laugh. I continued to stare out at the ocean which sparkled as the sun's light reflected off the surface of the waves.

"Piiiplup piplup piplup piiip luuup," a shrill voice called out in a weird form of singing, effectively ruining the beautiful scenery. 

I blinked, glancing behind me to see a squat blue piplup making his way towards Dawn while waddling to the beat of its strange little song. When it got closer and noticed the state his trainer was in its beak fell open in shock then he sprang into a quicker waddle, dashing over to check and see if she was alright while peeping shrilly the whole time.

"I'm fine, Piplup, it was my fault," she said, squatting down to rub her Piplup's head soothingly. "Do you remember Paul, Piplup?" Dawn asked while looking up at me and I realized that I had missed my chance to leave and avoid further conversation. 

The little pokemon looked up, straining his neck to look all the way up to my face and I frowned at the runt. It's been eight years since I last saw her and she still hasn't evolved her starter pokemon? What a stupid trainer, I thought, glaring at the weakling. As if sensing my disapproval it took a step back and I thought I saw fear in its little black eyes.

"I guess I should go get changed. Sorry again for knocking into you," Dawn said while standing up to her full height and I couldn't help but notice how long and thin her legs were as she straightened. 

Snapping my gaze back up to her face, I shrugged without saying anything. Her Piplup had decided to act brave though and began peeping at me in what I assumed was meant to be a menacing way, but only made it look more pathetic.

"We'll see you around," Dawn said with a hesitant smile as she ushered Piplup past me. 

I watched her leave out of the corner of my eye until she disappeared off the deck, a frown stretching my mouth down as I wondered what had brought a contest loving trainer onto a ship bound for Alola. Suddenly something smacked the back of my head. I turned, glaring at Torterra and the trees on his shell that were fading from the glow that signaled he had used razor leaf on me.

"What?" I growled as he made his slow but steady way towards me, being careful not to step on any of the other passengers who were doing a good job of getting out of the big pokemon's way.

"Terra tor Torterra," he rumbled, nodding towards the door that Dawn had just disappeared through.

"Are you asking why I talked to her?" I asked, to which he nodded his great head, humor evident in his large eyes. Scowling I pulled out his pokeball.

"It was nothing. Now, return," I commanded as a red light shot out from the pokeball and encased him, but not before I saw a smug grin cross his face. 

Throughout my journey, Torterra and I had become closer than any of my other pokemon. He was the only one that would ever treat me like a friend instead of a trainer. Sometimes it was nice, and other times it was downright annoying. With a shake of my head I left my nearly empty cup on a random table and returned to the library where I watched pokemon battles for several hours, paying particular attention to the ones that used Z-Moves.

"Excuse me, sir," a male voice said from behind me. Holding back an annoyed growl I paused the match I was studying and turned to see one of the cruise staff members standing behind me with a gracious smile. "The library will be closing for a few hours. Several buffets and dinner entertainment have started, sir. Which one will you be attending?" the staff member asked and I frowned. 

Why would they close the library during dinner time? I wondered in annoyance.

"I haven't decided," I responded flatly, glancing back at the paused match and wondering if I could finish it quickly before they kicked me out.

"In that case I would suggest the dinner show up on the day deck. The food is all Alolan themed and there will be a two part entertainment of a traditional alolan dance routine, followed by a mock battle using Z-Moves," the staff member said with a grin, glancing at the frozen screen behind me where one of the trainers was striking the pose necessary to "unleash" a Z-crystal power.

"Really?" I asked with one eyebrow raised. 

The staff member nodded happily and I chewed my inner lip in though. The thought of sitting through a random dance left me wanting to just stay in my cabin, but if there was a chance to see a real Z-move in the flesh.... 

"Fine. I'll go," I decided and the staff member beamed.

"Would you like me to guide you, sir?" he asked politely and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm good," I refused but the man just smiled and bowed his head at me. 

With one last glance at the paused battle I turned and walked out of the library, heading up to the deck for the second time that day. Smells of roasted vegetables and buttery rice hit me as I opened the door to the deck and my stomach growled quietly. I quickly joined the line forming at the buffet table and loaded up a plate. After releasing Torterra, the behemoth joined a flock of other pokemon eating the spread left for them with gusto and I made my way to an empty table. I enjoyed my food as a light sea breeze blew across the deck.

My eyes were drawn to an impromptu stage at the front of the many dining tables as burst of flame shot up, lighting torches all around the stage and illuminating a line of beautiful girls with dark brown skin dressed in long grass skirts and white tank tops. I soon lost interest as they danced, turning my attention back to my food and not bothering to clap when their dance finished. When another song began to be played I glanced up and watched with mild amusement as the women weaved among the passengers eating and began pulling one sorry sap after another up to dance with them on the stage.

I was about to roll my eyes and look away again when a familiar shade of blue caught my eye. To my surprise I watched as Dawn, clutching her Piplup in one arm, was dragged up to the stage by one of the dancers. She attached a grass skirt around Dawn's waist, covering up her knee-length white shorts and held up a mini skirt for Piplup. I smirked as the pokemon jumped down from Dawn's arms and allowed the dancer to fasten the skirt around his little body.

"How dumb," I huffed to myself, sitting back and smirking as the pathetic thing began to dance around with gusto. 

My eyes wandered from watching the weakling up to Dawn who was following the dancer's movements. Her hips swung back and forth, causing the grass skirt to ripple almost exactly like the dancers and I was surprised to see that she was smiling happily.

Blinking rapidly I shook my head, looking away from the stage and turning back to my plate of food. How pathetic can one person be? I wondered to myself, scooping another spoonful of rice into my mouth and purposely not looking at the stage.

After the dancing was done and the passengers returned to their seats the stage was rolled back, uncovering the markings of a pokemon battlefield. I leaned forward eagerly. Two young men, both with the same dark brown skin as the dancers from before, stood on opposite sides of the arena and released their pokemon. One of them was a giant Bewear and I scoffed, looking at its plushiness and wondering why anyone would own such a soft-looking pokemon, while the other released a Crabominable.

Their battle was laid back, both of them showing off more than trying to win, and I soon lost interest. That is until one of the trainers started moving strangely and I realized he was doing the sequence to unlock the Fighting Z-Move. Barely even breathing I watched as the Bewear became surrounded by a shimmering light. The other trainer tried to order his Crabominable to finish it off, but the Bewear was too quick, unleashing a deluge of huge glowing fists that smacked into the Crabominable, tossing it back and out of the battlefield where it fainted immediately.

Everyone watching cheered and clapped as the two trainers returned their pokemon and took a bow. I settled back into my seat, not even remembering when I had stood up. I felt a slow grin spread across my lips. Yes. That is exactly the kind of power that I have been looking for, I thought to myself as I looked up at the twinkling stars far above us. My dream is within reach.