Chapter 34: Nostalgia  

"Wake up." Dawn's shrill voice interfered with a dream I was having. Once minute, I was battling the Champion of Sinnoh and the next I was looking at Dawn's most scrutinizing expression, the walls of one of the Pokemon Center's guest bedrooms surrounding us.  

"What?" I asked groggily. She'd snuck into my room. That was all I could process. 

"Get dressed. There are only seven hours left until the Contest!" Dawn chided, packing her bag. 

The first thing I remembered as her order sluggishly went through my mind was that I wasn't wearing anything except a pair of boxers. I instantly froze under the sheets, glancing at Dawn who was looking out the window, and checked the sheets to make sure they were covering me fully. They were. She had seen nothing, noticed nothing. Still, my heart hammered unnaturally fast considering I had just woken up. I watched her with wide eyes, trying to regain composure while wondering why I was so bothered in the first place. 

To distract her from my unwillingness to get out of bed I asked, "It takes you seven hours to get ready?" 

"One hour for the dress, one hour of preparing my Pokemon, one hour for being early to the Contest Hall, one hour for meeting Zoey and checking out the competition, and three hours for makeup and hair," Dawn rattled off. 

I stared at her. I had no idea hair could take so long to get ready. What a waste of time... I grunted. "Your hair looks fine the way it is." 

Dawn gaped at me. "Are you kidding!? If I go out on stage like this-" 

The idea of what would happen seemed too horrendous for her to even finish the sentence. I sighed. "Ok. You go ahead and spend the day how you want and I'll spend it how I want. Go do your hair. I'm staying out of the way." 

I sensed the emotional breakdowns that could happen from the stress and cringed. I'd be no part of those. 

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "You'll be fine on your own?" 

"Yes, mother," I replied sarcastically, still in bed as she stared at me, her eyes drifting below my face. I shifted again, trying to figure out why I cared in the first place where she looked. 

"And you're coming to the Contest, right?" Dawn sounded unsure. 

"I promised, didn't I?" I asked. 

Dawn paused and smiled. "Yeah. You did." 

I smirked at her and she remained frozen. 

The sound of a door opening and closing elsewhere made us jump as realize we'd been staring at each other. We both looked away. 

"Um, I'll see you there. Be early!" Dawn ordered, and then walked away from my bed. 

I heard the door close behind her and grimaced, wondering what to do for the next couple of hours. I'd slept in and decided that the most sensible thing to do now would be to get up and have breakfast instead of continue wasting my time being unproductive. 

After showering, brushing my teeth, and getting dressed I walked to the cafeteria. It wasn't very busy. I spotted one of the teenagers from the battles yesterday, the last one with the Mismagius. I remembered her name was Gabby. 

Deciding that intimidating her would possibly pass the time, I grabbed a plate of sausages and eggs and headed over to sit with her. As I approached, she stared up with me with wide eyes. I sat down without asking if I could join her. It was pretty funny to see her trying to come up with something to say as I stared at her. 

"Hi," I said, trying not to smirk. 

"Um, hi?" She flinched. "You haven't come to kill me for using Attract, have you?" 

"Not exactly right now, no. I still haven't decided how to do it."

"I'd recommend a cut across my jugular. You know, with a knife." She did the slitting motion with a finger. 

I chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind." 

"So... why are you sitting here?" Gabby asked timidly. 

I shrugged.  

"Just warning you, my friends are-" 

"Hey, it's Paul!" I felt someone behind me. The rest of Gabby's friends seated themselves at the same table with a lot of shuffling of chairs. I felt suffocated by all the people, even if I had met them before. I flinched as Daniel sat next to me. 

"Are you back to battle us again?" Emma asked eagerly. 

"Hmph." I smirked. "I might battle Anthony later." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma growled as Daniel said, "Seriously, dude? Just because we lost we're not even allowed to battle you again? That's bogus." 

I frowned at what Daniel said, but ignored him. 

"I'll battle you again if you battle my other friends as well. That is, if they want to." Anthony gave an uncertain glance at Gabby, who seemed thankful to have a reason not to battle me again. 

"Maybe later," I said unwillingly. 

I ate quickly and quietly as the friends then went about their own business, following conversations that seemed to somehow connect to each other in ways I didn't understand. That or the information was absolutely irrelevant to me or not worth my time. 

"I wish they had donuts here..." Daniel sighed, already on his second plate of food. 

"Daniel, I've known you practically my entire life and I'm sure that you've eaten enough donuts to feed all of Hoenn for a year." Anthony frowned. 

"Nah... maybe enough to feed a couple towns for that long, though." His eyes landed on Gabby and lit up. "So, Gabbidy!" 

She flinched and looked up warily. 

"You always look at me like I'm going to attack you." Daniel grinned. "Calm down, do I look like a Primeape to you?" 

"Yes." Everyone at the table answered automatically. 

"Awe, come on, guys! I don't even like hats!" 

"But you DO like donuts." Emma pointed out. 

This caused everyone to laugh, though I had no idea what was so funny. 

"But seriously, Gabbidy." Daniel began again once his friends had stopped making fun of him. "I want to hear what you have to say on this fine morning." 

"Umm, well, I was just thinking about my battle strategy with Rhea and how we always use Attract. It's such an awkward move," Gabby answered hesitantly, her eyes flicking towards me before focusing on Daniel again. 

Daniel nodded. "Yeah, it is a weird move." 

"Definitely gets on my nerves when people use it against me," Emma grumbled, stabbing a diced potato with her fork. 

I silently agreed, though I should be more prepared for it during battle considering practically every Pokemon I'd ever owned was male. Blocking it had failed eventually yesterday and failure was unacceptable. Frowning, I mentally scheduled to read up about the move and how to best avoid its effects in the future.  

"Yeah. I mean, this one time a Shiny Drapion used Attract on my Houndour. It wasn't one of our best battles. And it wasn't fun seeing Houndour acting all in... love." Gabby cringed as she said the word "love" and I couldn't help but lightly smile at our shared intolerance. 

"You think you're going to get cooties just talking about it, don't you, Gabby?" Daniel teased. 

"Hey! I don't like hearts and mushy flowers and... all that stuff. It just makes me want to stab something." 

Amanda said thoughtfully, "I'm glad that we're friends, Gabby. Or that we at least get along. I'm not a big fan of gaping holes in my body, you know?" 

Gabby smiled a bit reluctantly. "Yeah, well you don't have as many strikes as Daniel does. If he says anything bad about Houndour ONE MORE TIME, I'll-" 

Daniel put his hands up in defense. "I was just kidding that one time, Gabby! Arceus, calm down. I learned my lesson." 

"Really?" Emma raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you learn anything?" 

Daniel pointed to his head. "I have a mind like a Metagross." 

"Technically Metagross have four brains, not one," Anthony corrected. 

"You just have to know everything, don't you?" Daniel frowned. 

"I do this thing, you probably haven't heard about it before, called reading."

"Whatever, Ant." Daniel rolled his eyes. "So, back to Attract! Gabbidy, you're being a hypocrite since every time Rhea battles she uses Attract if the opponent is male." 

Gabby smiled. "It's this little thing I like to call 'revenge'. If I ever battle that Shiny Drapion again, it's going to be begging for mercy." 

I approved of her confidence. Maybe she did actually have a spine hidden under her shyness.  

"That wasn't creepy sounding at all," Emma muttered. 

"Well, I personally don't need the move Attract." Daniel sat back casually in his chair. "I'm already good looking enough as it is. No foul play necessary." He smirked at Emma. "Right, Em?" 

"Daniel, I'm going to stick this fork in your face and THEN we'll see how attractive you are." Emma held her fork poised for action, eyes narrowed. 

"Oh, so you think I'm attractive?" 

"That's it!" She slammed her fist on the table and I watched, amused, as she glared at him. He began laughing while Amanda whispered words of comfort to Emma and Anthony remarked, "You're both idiots." 

I silently agreed with him. 

"Gabby, stop being so quiet!" Daniel whined after a couple seconds of silence. 

"You're kidding me, right? I just gave you that whole 'Attract being awkward' rant." Gabby frowned. 

"Rant some more! I like ranting." 

"Uh, there are too many Pokemon moves that sound really inappropriate?" 

"Like?" 

"Gee, I don't know Daniel. Flash." Gabby raised an eyebrow. "Harden, Lick... and don't forget the ability Big Pecks." 

"All off the top of your head, huh?" Daniel chuckled. 

"Naturally." Gabby smiled angelically. 

I studied her, wondering about her background. Really, in a way she reminded me of Dawn as well, or at least what Dawn had taught me about making assumptions since we'd started traveling together. I'd guessed Gabby was a pushover yesterday when, really, her battle had been the most irritating and challenging due to her Attract strategy. I wouldn't have guessed Gabby's first ranting subject of choice would be 'inappropriate' Pokemon moves considering she was the smallest, youngest, and seemingly one of the most mature in the group. I especially hadn't expected her to suggest me to kill her with a knife or express a desire to stab something, that was for sure.  

Besides, she was quiet unless spoken to for the most part, unlike the nuisance sitting next to me that couldn't keep his mouth shut. The only good thing that had come from spending time around Daniel was it was becoming more obvious that he had some sort of relationship with Emma. What kind, I had no idea, nor did I care. 

I thought about how Dawn would be reacting to me sitting with all these Trainers, even if I wasn't talking, and frowned. Her verbal encouragement would have been unbearable. She'd be going on about "the power of friendship". 

I'd sooner believe in magic. 

Still, I examined this odd group of friends and found that, out of everyone, Gabby would most likely be the easiest to form a friendship with. If I were forced to befriend yet another annoying, bothersome, human being that is. 

Gabby's eyes met mine for a fraction of a second and she blushed before looking away, scared to meet my gaze. 

Holding back a smirk, I continued eating. 

"Hey, Anthony, can you get some bacon out of that frying pan for me please?" Amanda asked. 

"You mean drying pan?" Daniel grinned as Anthony spooned bacon from the frying pan onto Amanda's plate. 

Emma rolled her eyes and bit into a piece of toast. I noticed she was trying to hide a smile before I returned to my own food, still having no idea what they thought was so amusing about Daniel falsely correcting Amanda.  

Daniel turned the conversation to Anthony. "Anthony, while you're here in Hoenn you should catch a Camerupt. I've always thought they looked so cool. I mean, they have volcanoes on their back! What's cooler than that!?" 

"I'm not going to catch a Camerupt. I prefer Fire types that have higher speed stats. And Hoenn really lacks in that department," Anthony answered. 

"Blaziken are alright." Emma frowned. "But nothing beats Typhlosion." 

"Houndour are the best Fire type." Gabby looked up attentively. 

"They're not even fully evolved- oh," Daniel frowned at Gabby's glower. "Ok, fine. They're awesome." 

"I still say Typhlosion are the best," Emma repeated. 

"You're biased, Em. You HAVE a Typhlosion and it's always been your favorite." Daniel rolled his eyes. 

"So? Want to battle me and Zuko?" 

"Crickey and I can handle you guys any day."

"Here we go again." Anthony muttered. 

"Just because Crickey is a Feraligatr doesn't mean you'll win!" 

"Sure it doesn't." 

"We're going to win," Emma said with determination. 

"You're as stubborn as your mom." 

"I'm as great as a Pokemon Trainer as my mom." She crossed her arms. "AND my dad, which means you're going to lose." 

"That's not what happened last time we battled." 

"You cheated last time." 

"How? Did my good looks distract you? Doesn't count as cheating, Em. That counts as strategy." 

Emma scoffed. "Strategy!? And I wasn't distracted! Especially not by your looks!" 

"Can you two give it a break?" Amanda sighed. "Paul's never going to want to see any of us again because of you two." 

Technically I never wanted to see any of them again before breakfast, but I said nothing. 

Emma frowned, but Daniel seemed indifferent and whispered to her, "I'm still going to win." 

For the hundredth time in the past couple minutes, I began wishing I'd never sat down with them and blocked out their irritating chatter.  

I only began paying attention again when Daniel looked at me and asked, "Where's Dawn?" 

"Busy," I almost growled. 

"Is she going to be busy after the Contest?" 

"Yes." 

"That's too bad." 

"Pity," I agreed, though only vocally. 

"Judging from your Pokemon, you're from Sinnoh, right Paul?" Amanda leaned around Daniel to see me properly. 

"Yeah." 

"Gabby's from Sinnoh and Anthony's from Unova. Daniel, Emma, and I are from Kanto," Amanda informed me. 

"I figured," I said with the least amount of annoyance as I could muster. "You all do seem to be the Kanto type." 

"What do you mean by that?" Emma asked questioningly. 

I shrugged. "I've met someone from Kanto." 

Daniel's eyes widened. "Oh! He must mean- OW!" 

His body flailed as he kicked the table, wincing as the dishes rattled. Emma looked innocently at her plate of food, picking at a pancake. 

Hm. 

I decided to ignore their strange behavior. I had better things to do than worry about some teenagers who couldn't get their act together. 

With that, I finished the last of my food and stood up with my empty plate. 

"Wait, where are you going?" Emma asked. 

"I'll be around." 

Daniel said, "After the Contest if you and your girlfriend-"  

"She's not my girlfriend." I held back a sigh.  

"Oh, ok." Daniel grinned in a way that said, "Sure, of course she's not." He continued, "Still, if you both want to hang out with us, we should be here the rest of the day. We're always up for Pokemon battles. Especially Gabby here, right?" 

"Leave me out of it, Daniel," Gabby said between her teeth. 

"I'll keep your offer in mind," I replied, not looking at him. If I had to look at his face one more time... 

"Bye, Paul." Anthony nodded to me. After that, everyone else said their goodbyes and I was on my way out the Pokemon Center front door, hoping I wouldn't run into that group of Trainers again.

Hellooooooo Readers!

So, how'd you enjoy the chapter? It's finally Contest day!

Alright, time for questions: Do you guys like the Trainers that Paul battled and had breakfast with? Have a favorite Trainer? Did you find them funny?

And who out there caught the anime references I used? I hope you did! Especially if you've watched the anime ever since Kanto... ah, the good old days.

This chapter was so much fun to write and I hope you liked it. If you did, feel free to vote, comment, and/or follow me. Thanks for reading!

For those who keep asking, I'm going to answer these questions- "Wait, aren't these the same characters from your story Next Generation?" Yes. Yes they are. "But what about the time stream!? Shouldn't these people be young/old/whatever?" Well, young jedi, I wrote this chapter with my characters to see if you would like them to see if I should bother posting Next Generation or not. And people think they're funny, so I decided to post Next Gen. So ignore the time stream dilemma- unrelated stories, same characters. If you want something witty, let's pretend Daniel befriended Celebi (who shares his fondness for donuts) and comes to his aid every time Daniel yells about glazed goodness. Because that makes sense and should be good enough for you scientific folk like Anthony. Or you can learn to live with my explanations like he would. Either way, you're going to see them as recurring characters every once and awhile because I love them so you'll have to deal with it OR ELSE. ^_^

I hope that clears things up. 

-Flips