I watched Dawn walk away, her still drying hair swishing across her back to the rhythm of her steps. Catching myself staring I quickly turned my head, feeling like my mind was about to implode from the stress of interacting with that infuriating woman. I jerked forward as something smacked against my head and I whipped around to snarl at Torterra.

"What?" I snapped angrily, causing my other three pokemon to take a wary step back from me.

"Terra tor tor," Torterra said in his rumbling voice and I clenched my jaw.

"Why should I treat her any different? She's a nuisance! Somehow she's always a step ahead of me in the trials. And if she's not then she's following me around trying to get me to talk when I have no interest in speaking with her," I growled, knowing that my fury was irrational but also knowing that if I didn't cling onto the anger then other emotions would come in that I could not allow in my life.

"Torterra terra tor," Torterra rumbled, his black eyes flashing with anger.

"If you like her so much then why don't you go be her pokemon?" I spat out. 

Torterra's expression instantly changed to a look of hurt and he hung his head slightly. My anger sizzled under my skin, but a tiny bit of guilt wormed its way in as I looked at Torterra's upset face. I took three long, deep breaths to calm myself and I could feel myself relaxing a little. Torterra continued to hang his head dejectedly and I sighed heavily, dropping to a sitting position in front of him and hesitantly reaching out to place a hand on his head. He looked up at me sadly and I patted him awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, Torterra. I shouldn't have said that," I acknowledged. 

Honestly, when I said it I thought for a second that he actually would leave me, but seeing how hurt he was comforted me more than it should have. Torterra took a small step forward and pushed his forehead against mine, silently showing his loyalty to me and the rest of my pent-up anger fizzled out. After pressing our foreheads together for a few seconds Torterra pulled back and gave me an annoyed expression.

"Terra," he grumbled, looking towards the direction Dawn had gone. I sighed, raking a hand through my bangs that still needed to be cut.

"I'm not going to apologize to her," I refused stubbornly and Torterra narrowed his huge eyes at me. "I can't... be around her right now," I admitted miserably, trying desperately to bury any and all thoughts of her. 

Torterra sighed loudly but he didn't push me anymore and I patted his head in silent thanks. To distract my thoughts I turned to training. Riolu's Force Palm was still taking too long to charge but I didn't trust myself to meditate so instead we worked on Brick Break. Torterra took on Torracat and Rockruff in a 2-on-1 battle and by the time the sun was setting everyone was getting tired. I got everyone some pokefood and then I took off my jacket and began my nightly run, not feeling hungry.

As I ran I tried to focus only on my breathing and the sound of the river beside me. A loud splash interrupted the tranquil evening and I slowed my running gait to a slow jog as I looked around to see what caused the sound. As I studied the river a large Alomamola suddenly breached the surface, flapping its fins as it sailed through the air before splashing back into the river. 

The image of Dawn ordering her Piplup to use Ice Beam on an Alomamola popped into my head and I growled. Shaking my head I went back to my running pace and tried to keep the image of Dawn wearing nothing but a see-through undershirt, a dark blue bra. and matching underwear out of my mind.

Why didn't I just leave? I yelled at myself as I pushed myself to run even faster. 

When I heard the sounds of a battle from the top of the hill I immediately went down to investigate. When I had seen Dawn, dripping wet and battling a massive school-form Wishiwashi I immediately started to leave. But then her Piplup created the biggest whirlpool I had ever seen and I found myself walking closer. Her battle had honestly been painful to watch. None of her Piplup's moves were really effective against the totem and I thought she would give up; but somehow the runt of a pokemon pulled out the win and I had almost been impressed.

The image of Dawn's horrified expression when she saw me before diving into the water had left me feeling partially amused and partially guilty. I tried to leave but that little twerp of a captain stuck to me like glue. Dawn's innocence and obvious embarrassment at me seeing her made the squishy feeling in my stomach flutter and all I had wanted was to get away from her. As I continued to run down the riverbank, my breath coming in short gasps, I tried to forget how cute Dawn had been as her cheeks flushed red from embarrassment instead of anger.

What is wrong with you, Paul! Get it together! I yelled mentally at myself, jumping over a branch and continuing to run. It wasn't like I'd never seen a scantily clad girl before. There were plenty of women who tried to make advances on me after I won the Unova and Hoenn Leagues, many of them much more mature than Dawn. And yet...

My toe caught on a root I hadn't seen and I stumbled, barely catching myself before I face planted onto the grassy riverbank. My lungs were burning and I slowly sank to my hands and knees, gasping as my lungs tried to bring in the requisite amount of oxygen to keep me from passing out. 

As I gasped pathetically my mind conjured the image of Dawn sitting next to me, so close that I could almost brush against her pale arm, and sincerely apologizing for making me feel indebted to her. I remembered how she covered her cheeks to try and hide her blush as she awkwardly apologized for me seeing her in her underwear, but the blush had spread past her cheeks and even into her ear tips and the squishy feeling in my stomach began to rise into my throat, causing a strange desire to reach out and touch her. So of course, I insulted her, hoping she would go and take these ridiculous feelings with her.

You're right, Paul. WE are not friends, but your pokemon and I are. The defiant glint in her sapphire blue eyes had made me want to crush her face between my hands and tell her to keep her thoughts to herself where they couldn't torture me when I was alone. 

What is it about that skinny coordinator that makes it impossible to ignore her? I thought angrily, clenching my hands into fists. Maybe she'll finally get it through her stubborn head that I want to be alone, I thought without much hope. 

The image of her crouching down in her towel squeezing her eyes shut as if she could make me disappear if she couldn't see me made me growl and propel myself back to my feet. Get a grip, Paul. You've got a promise to keep and I won't let anything distract me from it.

The next day I walked back up the steep path from the totem's cove with the midget Captain skipping along beside me. Witnessing her exuberant bossiness actually made me miss Hau. I was glad that Torterra beat Wishiwashi within 30 seconds using a combination of an underwater Frenzy Plant that lifted the large pokemon out of the pool and then hitting him with a Leaf Storm. The midget gave me the Waterium Z and I pocketed it without comment and without waiting for her to show me the stupid move. None of my pokemon could use any water moves anyways.

After leaving the first Akala trial behind me I began the journey toward Wela Volcano. I followed my training schedule, traveling for one day, then taking a day to do some intense training with my pokemon. Riolu's Force Palm was down to only 6 seconds to full charge, Torracat was on his way to strengthening his bite to become the actual Bite attack, and Rockruff's attacks were becoming much more precise. For the next Totem battle I was planning on using Rockruff from the start so I spent some extra time with her polishing her Rock Tomb and Rock Throw attacks. I had tried to teach her Rock Slide, but so far she hadn't managed it.

One night, after traveling through the grasslands towards the base of Wela Volcano, I thought I could hear music coming from deeper in the forest we were camping in. Afraid that it was Dawn and her pokemon practicing for a showdown, I packed up my camp and traveled for a few hours by moonlight until the sound was only a distant memory.

After a week and a half of training and traveling, we finally made it to Wela Volcano and I followed the path up the side of the volcano until I saw two large spires. On top of the carved spires were metal basins filled with fire and they stood proudly in front of a set of wooden stairs that led to a circular plateau. As I climbed the steps I saw a large platform, similar to the one in Iki Town, placed in the middle of the large open space and to my surprise a group of seven Alolan Marowak were all dancing around the platform with a tall, dark-skinned man leading them. I watched the strange, tribal-like dance until they all came to a stop and the man clapped his hands.

"Excellent! That should be the perfect opener for the Wela Volcano Showdown," the dark-skinned man said to all of the Marowak behind him. 

I stiffened, glancing behind me warily to make sure a certain blue-haired girl wasn't about to come up the steps.

"Welcome, challenger!" a strong voice called out to me. 

I turned back to look at the dark-skinned man who looked like he was in his early thirties. He was only wearing a pair of red shorts, leaving his well muscled chest exposed except for a necklace that seemed to have some pokemon claws woven into it.

"Are you the captain?" I asked, not in the mood to exchange pleasantries.

"That I am. Kiawe is the name. And who might you be?" he asked, looking me over with kind but analytical eyes.

"Paul. I'm here to challenge the Totem pokemon," I announced and Kiawe nodded his head once before motioning for the marowaks behind him to leave the stage.

"Very well, you have the Waterium Z with you I assume?" he asked. 

I unzipped the side pocket of my backpack where I kept my Z-stones and pulled all three of them out to show Kiawe. 

"Very good. Follow me and I will take you to the totem pokemon's lair," he said while walking off the platform and brushing past me confidently. I followed him silently, a little surprised that he was nearly my height.

Kiawe led me to the far side of the plateau-like area and confidently walked down a small path cut into the black rock of the mountain. We walked down the path for a few minutes and I could see that it ended in another flat area covered in tall, dry grass. Before Kiawe reached the entrance to the grassy area he stopped and turned to look at me.

"I will call the Totem pokemon once you have reached the center of the field. Are you prepared?"

I nodded and he extended an arm out, inviting me to pass him. Narrowing my eyes suspiciously I walked past him and made my way through the grass until I was in the middle of the field. The grass had been cut to only an inch high in a wide circle here and I looked over at Kiawe who was on the edge of the field.

Once I met his eye he smiled and picked up what looked like some type of drum. He sat on a log with the drum in between his knees and began playing a strong, fast rhythm. I listened to the drumbeat for a while but as the song continued and there was no sign of a pokemon my patience began to thin. 

Just when I was about to ask if he was pulling a fast one on me I heard a loud 'thunk'. I whipped around, searching for what caused the sound. Another 'thunk' came from my right and I turned, narrowing my eyes. The thunks began to pick up as if something solid was beating against a rock.

"Rockruff, standby for battle," I called, releasing her.

She growled threateningly, taking her spot in front of me as we both listened to the increasing thunks that now seemed to be keeping beat with Kiawe's drum. Without warning both the thunks and Kiawe's drum stopped and there was a moment of complete silence. Then Rockruff turned to the right and barked loudly as a marowak, easily twice the size of any normal pokemon, lifted its huge bone head out of the grass and took two lumbering steps towards Rockruff and me.

"Steady, Rockruff!" I said as she continued to bark threateningly at the massive pokemon. The marowak regarded her without fear and lit the ends of it's bone club on fire. "Rockruff, use Rock Tomb!" 

Rockruff instantly obeyed, howling as rocks twice the size of her appeared above Marowak, but before they had fallen Marowak jumped and instantly flame engulfed him as it used Flame Wheel to dodge the falling rocks.

"Rock Throw! Don't let it get close!" I yelled as the wheel of flame careened towards us. 

With a bark, the rocks on Rockruff's collar began to glow and small pointed rocks materialized around her in a circle before shooting towards the flames with deadly precision. Marowak jerked within the flames and missed his mark, landing a few feet from us and releasing its fiery wall.

"Use Howl, then Rock Throw again," I commanded. 

Rockruff raised her snout to the sky and howled, triggering a sheen of light to travel up her body and boost her attack stat. Marowak also raised its head and let out a call, but I knew that Marowak couldn't learn the move Howl and I kept my eyes peeled for the helper pokemon. Rockruff let loose a barrage of rocks that Marowak knocked away with its huge bone club. After knocking the attack away Marowak's bone club glowed blue and he launched it towards Rockruff, throwing it like a boomerang.

"Dodge it!" I called.

Without hesitation Rockruff ran towards the Bonemerang attack and jumped, flipped beautifully over the club and putting herself within inches of the Marowak. 

"Use Bite!" I ordered firmly.

Rockruff launched herself forward, sinking her teeth into Marowak's leg and it let out a yell of pain. Marowak's hand began to glow and before I could warn Rockruff it let loose a powerful Brick Break down onto Rockruff's back. She yelped with pain and staggered away from Marowak, whimpering softly in pain from the super-effective attack. Marowak's bone club came back to its hand but it stayed where it was and I saw the flick of a long tail slithering through the grass behind it.

"Rockruff, stay strong and use Rock Tomb again! Aim for the grass behind Marowak!" I called.

Rockruff set herself determinedly and once again created a powerful rock tomb. Marowak's bone club elongated in a ghostly sheen and it used it to bat away the rocks, but the Salazzle that burst from the grass wasn't so lucky. It was pelted by several large rocks, one of which landed on its long tail and pinned it to the ground.

"Use Rock Throw!" I called.

Rockruff growled, creating her pointed rocks and shooting them towards the trapped Salazzle. The lizard-like pokemon shuddered and dropped to the ground, panting hard. Marowak charged forward, its hand glowing with another Brick Break.

"Jump over Marowak and Bite its tail!" I said fiercely. 

Rockruff crouched, waiting until Marowak was nearly on top of her before she exploded, jumping up and over the attacking pokemon. As she landed her teeth glowed brightly before she chomped down on the marowak's tail. Marowak cried out in pain and whipped his tail back and forth, trying to dislodge my feisty pokemon.

"Don't let go and use Rock Throw!" I called, backing away from the rampaging Marowak. 

I saw the rocks on Rockruff's collar glow and I grinned as a stream of sharp rocks pelted the back of Marowak's skull. Marowak tripped, falling face down on the ground, and shuddered.

"Stand back and use Rock Tomb again on both Marowak and Salazzle!" I called. 

Rockruff finally relinquished her hold on Marowak's tail and quickly created a Rock Tomb. It pelted Salazzle (who had just barely managed to free herself) and Marowak as he struggled to raise himself up to his feet. After being hit with the super effective move both pokemon lay on the ground, unable to battle.

"Well done, Rockruff," I said gruffly and she barked happily. 

I noticed that as she walked over to me she was favoring her back left leg heavily. Kneeling down I hesitantly reached out and stroked her soft head. Rockruff smiled up at me and I nodded my thanks to her before returning her to her Pokeball.

"That was an impressive battle. Your Rockruff jumps like a Spoink!" he said with a grin and I quirked an eyebrow at him, not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment. "Well, you've proven yourself in battle, so please accept this Firium Z." 

Kiawe turned the drum he was carrying in his arms over and reached inside, removing a sparkling red stone and extending it to me. Feeling a rush of excitement I reached out and accepted the stone from him. Riolu and I had been working a little bit with the Fightinium Z but we hadn't been able to make it work, so I had high hopes that Torracat would have more luck with the Firium Z.

I watched as Kiawe showed me the necessary move and, swallowing my pride, I copied him, allowing him to critique my positioning. We practiced a few more times until Kiawe was satisfied with my arm movements and then he moved over to Marowak and Salazzle who were watching us tiredly.

"Are you going to stick around to watch the Showdown?" Kiawe asked as he examined the pokemon for major damage.

"No," I said quickly, taking a step back.

"That's too bad, the Wela Volcano Luau Showdown is the best one in my opinion! My nephew has won it for the past three years and I am hoping he'll keep his streak going this time too," Kiawe said with a grin thrown over his shoulder at me. "It's going to be in two days, you should really come." 

My whole body relaxed when he said it was still two days away and I mentally promised myself to be as far from the volcano as possible by the end of the day.

"I'm going to head to Lush Jungle for my next trial," I said gruffly and Kiawe frowned but nodded.

"Good luck, then," he waved before turning his attention back to the pokemon while procuring oran berries from who knew where. 

I walked back up the path to the large area with a platform. As I walked past the platform the memory of Dawn's enchanting dance from the last showdown came to my mind and I shut my eyes and walked quickly past the platform. 

No distractions, Paul. Just focus on mastering Z moves and then we'll leave to challenge Alder again. I WILL become a champion, Mom. The strongest champion in the world.

A/N Sorry this chapter is kind of on the short side. I honestly just wanted to show why Paul was being such a jerk to Dawn and I wasn't quite sure how to fill up the rest of the chapter :P Hopefully you enjoyed it though. Next chapter we get to see the egg hatch!