Chapter 64: Somewhere 

I unloaded all the groceries from Torterra's back, returned him to his Poke Ball, and headed inside carrying far too many bags. Fortunately, none of them decided to rip and spill their contents over the floor as I made my way to the room Dawn and I were staying in. 

To my good fortune I found the door open, meaning I wouldn't have to fumble like an idiot with the handle. I hauled the bags inside, keeping my eye on the top canisters of Pokemon food that threatened to topple out of one of the multiple bags in my right hand, the weight beginning to dig painfully into my skin. 

I heard a gasp and looked up quickly, freezing in place. Dawn was standing next to the window, the curtains pulled back, the glass open so that the sun illuminated her, the wind tossing her hair gently. But that wasn't what made me freeze. 

Dawn was wearing a dress I'd never seen before. It was far more appealing than her Contest dress. Elegantly simple, a peach color that hinted at a pale pink. The material flowed smoothly and hugged her body, showing off the curves of her torso while flowing outward enough to conceal the exact shape of her hips. The dress was longer in the back around her legs, the exact sort of added extra I would expect Dawn would look for as she picked out something to wear. 

I hadn't been expecting to walk in on her wearing a new strapless dress and staring at me as if I were a ghost, but I wasn't going to complain as I continued staring back, absolutely unable to move as I memorized how stunningly beautiful she was in this moment.  

It was odd, this staring. As if I'd never really managed to see her properly before, though I seemed to think that a lot recently. My perspective always seemed to change on her, becoming more detailed and refined. I'd never noticed how blue, how curious, how gently innocent her eyes were. I'd absolutely noticed how frail her body seemed, yet now I knew she was capable of being strong and enduring despite her appearances. And I remembered how it felt to be right against her body just this morning. What it was like sharing our warmth, our skin touching under the covers, her curves coming into a peaceful contact with my own body. 

I took a deep breath as we stared at each other, frozen in this moment. The breeze blew Dawn's silky hair off her shoulders minutely, breaking my trance as I realized my arms were procrastinating from holding multiple heavy bags. 

I set them down gently on the floor right where I was, my eyes not leaving Dawn. She stood up a bit straighter and smiled, a slight blush on her face. 

"When did you get this?" I murmured, walking closer to her. 

"Um, when you were out flying." She fidgeted a bit with the train. 

"It's beautiful," I stated. 

Her eyes met mine and she looked away quickly.  

"Are you wearing this the rest of the day?" I asked, trying to sound casual.  

"I was planning on wearing it tonight. I was just trying it on right now." 

"I see." 

"It's a bit too dressy I think for wearing now..." 

"I don't think so."  

"Compared to what you're wearing right now it is." 

I frowned. I didn't exactly dress up for anything, ever. "Are you saying I should find something more suitable to wear?" 

"No." 

Really, it seemed stupid to go out in public with a girl wearing a dress like that without matching the set dress code. Before I could complain mentally about this unforeseen change, I glanced at Dawn again, practically getting the breath knocked out of me. Girls shouldn't be allowed to look that good.  

"I was actually wondering about that." Dawn interrupted my thoughts. "Exactly what are we doing tonight?" 

"I told you, it's a surprise."

"Are we going to dinner?" 

"I was thinking about letting you starve actually." 

She gave me a face. 

"What? It's very romantic." My smile widened a fraction. Dawn grinned. 

I looked at the clock. It was already three in the afternoon. I had no idea what preparations I was about to make or even what was going to happen tonight considering I never made plans of this sort. I'd read about the different strategies used in Pokemon battles, thousands of pages worth, but never one page about where to take a girl to attempt to exceed their expectations. 

I was used to exceeding expectations. Really, tonight I only had enough hope that I could get through the next few hours without screwing it up too badly that it couldn't be fixed. I was confident enough that I could do that.  

"I need to go out," I stated, dreading where I was about to go. 

"Out?" 

"Out," I repeated, frowning as Dawn's mischievous smile got closer. 

"Out where?" 

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not telling you." 

"Out where?" 

"Dawn-" 

"Out where?" 

I refused to even speak after that. She was getting too excited and playful. I turned my back to hide my smile, busying myself with my backpack. 

"Out where?" I felt her fingers poke my shoulder and straightened, stuffing my hands in my pockets. 

"Do you really want me to tell you?" 

"Well, yeah." Dawn put her hands on her hips. 

"With your entire being, you want to know?" 

"I don't know about 'whole being', but it's pretty much all of it."

I walked closer and her lips flickered in surprise. When I was a foot in front of her, I stopped. I heard her breathing stop momentarily as I murmured, "Are you ready to hear where I'm going?" 

Her mouth opened and closed as if she was incapable of speech as her eyes gazed at me. She nodded. 

I put my lips close to her ear and whispered with as much mystery as words could hold, "I'm going out somewhere." 

I pulled away quickly and grabbed my backpack, my steps faster than normal. 

"PAUL!" Dawn yelled.  

Apparently I'd hit a nerve. 

I smiled and kept my brisk pace out of the room. "I'll be back from somewhere soon." 

"Somewhere!?" 

"That is correct." I turned back to face her, having to see her face at least once. She was livid. I'd hardly ever seen her look that mad before. Her fury was absolutely fascinating. It was even more stunning to witness in that dress. 

I gave her a small salute with my hand before walking down the hallway, smirking to myself at how much fun it was to actually have fun- especially with her. 

As I turned the corner, I heard an irritated scowl and realized I'd probably have to make up for it tonight. 

I can do that, I thought lightly. I exited the Pokemon Center, heading towards a larger part of the city.

I'm not even sure where I went or what I was doing half the time, which isn't normal for me. My mind seemed to want to bury the memories as soon as they happened.  

I didn't like shopping. 

I could shop for Pokemon necessities. I could go to a book store or even an art store and not want to die in misery. Clothes? No. I'd never liked shopping for clothes. And here I was, in the men's department, loathing every second of it. 

Why must humans set rules such as 'looking presentable' on such detestable things as dates? I wondered. It went against everything people tried to teach you about love. What happened to being yourself? Be yourself, but make sure you look ten times 'better' than normal. Of all the idiotic... 

I sighed, cutting myself off as I looked at the mirror at myself. I was surprised I was being picky considering I hated shopping, but at the same time if I was going to buy new clothes for the first time in approximately a year (My pants had gotten very travel worn. I bought the exact same pair to save from hassle.), they might as well be wearable and suit my style for years to come to save from the bothersome chore of shopping. 

I studied the dress shirt, tie, and slacks in the mirror, wondering why this image should upset me so much when it was only of articles of clothing.  

My eye had started twitching half an hour ago. That wasn't a good sign. 

"For Arceus' sake." I gritted my teeth, undoing the tie. Ties were the most annoying strips of fabric in the entire history of male clothing. They were overly complex to put on and take off, had to match the shirt in question, and each one wanted nothing more than to choke the person wearing them. I hated ties. "This is ridiculous."  

"Do you need any help, sir?" I heard some snooty department head say from outside my dressing room. 

Do you think I'm two years old and need help clothing myself? I thought angrily before replying as normally as possible. "No. I'm fine." 

He didn't respond, so I assumed he'd left.  

Attempting to be patient, I searched through the short pile of shirts I'd brought with me, finding nothing that I wanted. My hands formed fists as I held back swearing and calling off the whole dressing up ordeal. I could take Dawn anywhere dressed in my normal clothes. Screw formality.  

I started taking off all the dress clothes with so much speed that, if anyone were watching, they would assume the clothes were on fire as quickly as I threw them off. 

I turned towards the small chair where I'd laid my normal attire. Only my backpack was there and, despite my thorough scan, I couldn't find my normal clothes. 

Speechless, I looked towards the pile of store clothes, lifting them up and inspecting the entire room, which wasn't very large. I didn't find anything. 

"This is impossible," I mumbled to myself, too shocked to be mad. 

I felt something warm on the back of my neck and turned sharply, my face inches away from a giant tongue. I stumbled backwards, almost tripping over myself as I came face to face with a Haunter, his two purple hands holding my entire ensemble.  

"You!" I roared, hurling myself towards him. He used his ghosting abilities and I ended up flying through his body, hitting the wall. I winced, my body still sore from all the fighting. 

There was no possible way this Haunter from the woods could have found me, yet here he was. In a department store. Watching me change clothes. 

"You're the foulest, most perverted-" I began, reaching for my bag to call out whichever Pokemon I reached first. 

Haunter laughed loudly, shaking my clothes in the air, before bolting from my changing room. 

"What?" was the only word I ended up getting out as I studied my options. Haunter had my normal clothes. I was only in my boxers, practically nude. A pile of dress clothes that I hated sat rumpled in the corner. 

"I am going to kill him," I promised myself, focusing on stuffing my legs into pants I still detested.

I finished getting dressed, backpack in hand as I ran towards the exit of the store where Haunter was waiting near the mall escalator. A huge crowd had formed around him, interested in my clothes as he pretended to ask if anyone would bid for them. With all the raised hands, it seemed like my clothes were pretty popular.  

"Sir!" the same man who had asked if I wanted help yelled at me. "You have to pay for those!" 

I was about to reach the exit when a Furfrou jumped in front of the exit, growling, looking ready to attack me. Seemed like this store had security. Judging by the prices and choice of Pokemon, it probably originated in Kalos. 

Holding back all my retorts, I strode over to the cash register, pulled out a few handfuls of bills, and took off. 

"Do you want your change?" the employee yelled. 

"I just want my pants back," I said, but only to myself as my eyes honed in on the Ghost Pokemon who was now wearing my pants as a hat and mimicking my expression. He was in between the up and down escalators hovering ten feet above the ground. The crowd was deep and blocked my way from getting to him. 

I found a Poke Ball. "Weavile, stand by for battle!" 

Weavile appeared, eyes narrowed on Haunter. My pants fell on his tongue as he opened his mouth in shock. 

Perhaps I needed to go shopping again for pants. 

"Swords Dance." 

Weavile danced quickly. Haunter adjusted my jacket, shirt, and pants so that they would fit snugly to his head. My pants ended up looking like Pignite tails, which he noticed and gave himself a hair flip, making the crowd laugh. 

"Night Slash."  

Weavile jumped to avoid the crowd, which began forming a wider area for the battle. Haunter dodged lazily. He was incredibly fast, especially to dodge my Weavile who had been trained for speed. 

"Get closer and keep firing." 

Weavile jumped onto a bench and launched himself at Haunter, his claws glowing black as he used Night Slash again. Haunter used Double Team. A dozen Haunter, adorned with my pants, laughed and few around chaotically.  

I'd had enough. 

"Blizzard." 

Weavile yelled as he unleashed his attack, making sure the snow and ice went in every direction. All the Haunter disappeared but one, which flew into a decorative tree and crashed to the ground. He got up quickly, though he didn't levitate as high off the ground. 

"Night Slash." 

Weavile hurled himself at Haunter. Haunter's eyes glowed red. Before I could command anything, Weavile went down, fast asleep. 

Haunter began laughing, pointing at me in my stupid dress clothes. My hand was already on another Poke Ball. I was done being humiliated. 

Before I could send out another Pokemon, I noticed Weavile move. His claw twitched. Haunter noticed too and floated down to investigate, my pants close to dragging on the floor as he hovered inches above Weavile's body. Weavile's eyes snapped open. He pushed himself up, using his feet to grab onto my pants. Haunter let out a cry and felt for the top of his head, but Weavile had already pulled my clothes off, sending them scattering to the floor. 

"Trap him with Ice Shard."  

Before Haunter could fly off, Weavile fired a few well aimed Ice Shard attacks, making him fly into a mall map. The ice bound his hands, freezing him to the display. 

I walked up to him. He struggled to get free and I wondered how good his ghosting abilities were if he couldn't faze his body from the ice. 

"Stop following me or you'll regret it," I said to him. 

Haunter stopped struggling and glared at me momentarily, then looked down at my clothes I was wearing. 

Before I could take a step back, his tongue went down and licked the entire front of my shirt. I held in an enraged scream as the crowd began laughing at me. 

I made an abrupt turn and started walking towards the nearest exit, never wanting to see that Haunter again. Weavile followed, holding my old clothes in a pile. We didn't look back as Haunter let out a loud laugh of triumph.

Because shopping hadn't been horrible enough already. 

Hey Readers!

Did I torture Paul enough in this chapter? I think I did. It was really funny because I didn't go into this chapter thinking that he'd have an unexpected visitor, but there he was. It had to be karma. 

Well, I wrote for a few hours today so I finally am a few chapters-ish ahead of this chapter, which is great because school and work starts on Monday for me, which means I won't have as much time to write because I'll be writing short stories for a class about things that aren't Pokemon related (Original ideas. GASP) and boring essays about boring subjects.  Yep. So updates will be farther apart. I'll probably end up updating Next Generation a lot more because those chapters are pretty much ready to go. 

This chapter is dedicated to JakeSteinberg16 who got my Disney World monorail question right last chapter. It's kind of sad because Piplup isn't in this chapter at all and he loves Piplup... that stinks. I didn't plan it like that. But yes, he is apparently at least somewhat of a Disney freak to know my last question so congratulations! 

Here's my random dedication quote thing for the next chapter: "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that." 

If you know what that's from, comment and if you're the first one to guess right, then you get the next dedication. :)

Pokemon Question of the Day: Do you enjoy shopping in the Pokemon world? I was thinking clothes specifically, but if you like shopping for other things than go ahead and tell me about that too.

As always, thanks for reading :) Vote if you liked the chapter and tell me how you feel about it! I know you all have opinions :P 

Have an amazing day!

-Flips