"Again," I commanded, folding my arms and watching Litten intently. 

Taking a deep breath, Litten growled and flames leaked out from his mouth, forming the semblance of fiery teeth. Unfortunately, as the flames chomped down on the stump of a tree he was targeting they disintegrated without causing any damage. Litten hung his head in frustration. 

We had been working on Fire Fang for several days as we traveled through the forests, battling every pokemon that we encountered. During a particularly difficult battle against a wild Mankey, Litten learned Double Kick, which would be useful for the trial at Verdant Cave. However, he still had yet to master Fire Fang and my patience was beginning to run thin.

"Ember isn't going to cut it, Litten," I stated bluntly and Litten turned sad yellow eyes on me as he meowed pitifully. I narrowed my eyes at the show of weakness and he immediately held his head higher and nodded swiftly, turning back towards the tree stump and preparing himself to try again.

After another hour of similar results, I told him to stop. Grumbling with annoyance I pulled some pokemon food and a sandwich out of my food supplies. Litten attacked his food with gusto and I shook my head. The little pokemon was adapting well to my training, hardly ever complaining even when I had him run with me for nearly an hour every day. I felt confident that he would become a strong pokemon and he had excellent stats for an unevolved pokemon, but I worried about his inability to produce a powerful Fire Fang. 

What am I missing? I wondered, glancing over at the large, untouched bowl of pokemon food that I had left out for Torterra.

"Hey, Torterra! We're eating lunch," I called out towards the area of the forest he had wandered into as Litten and I trained. 

I heard a faint response to my yell and turned back to my own lunch, pulling out my digital map of Melemele Island. After I got my z-stone bracelet from Hala I left immediately without looking back. But ever since then Torterra had seemed moody and I wondered irritably if he had wanted to say goodbye to Dawn before we left.

Why on earth did Torterra get so attached to her? I wondered, catching myself grinding my teeth angrily. 

Shaking my head I turned back to my study of the map, measuring the distance and figuring that we would reach Verdant Cave tomorrow if we spent the day traveling instead of training, which I was loathe to do. 

Something wriggling stretched past my shoulder and I jerked back instinctively before realizing that it was one of Torterra's vines. I watched as the vines reached past me, picked up the bowl of pokemon food, and began retracting. Leaning back I watched with narrowed eyes as Torterra brought the bowl to where he was standing on the edge of the trees several feet away from me and began eating without a glance in my direction.

"Torterra, what are you doing?" I asked angrily but Torterra ignored me, reaching down and taking a bite of his food. 

Frustration blazed through me and I stood up, stuffing my navigation tool into my pocket and walking over to my stubborn pokemon.

"What is wrong with you? Since when do you ignore me?" I asked harshly, coming to stand within inches of his nose. 

Torterra looked up at me and narrowed his large black eyes, a low rumble emanating from his chest.

"Please tell me you are not mad because we left without saying goodbye to that coordinator," I said through clenched teeth.

"Tor," Torterra responded in his deep voice before turning back to his food.

"We're not in Alola to make friends, Torterra. We're here to train and get stronger," I growled at him, clenching my hands into fists. 

Torterra raised his huge head so he could look at me and I thought I saw sadness in his expression, which made me frown.

"What?" I asked, feeling my frustration turn to exasperation. "What are you trying to tell me?"

Torterra shook his big head back and forth and sighed, taking a few lumbering steps to the side and using his chin to point to Litten, who was still eating his food.

"Terra tor tor," Torterra rumbled and I sighed, wishing that there was a way to translate pokemon speech into actual words.

"What about Litten?" I asked glumly. 

Torterra looked up at me then shook his head and turned back to his food, picking the bowl up with his vine whip once more and walking slowly towards Litten. The little pokemon's fur began to poof out as Torterra made his way over to him but he continued to eat. Litten still seemed afraid of Torterra after our battle, but he had gotten less skittish and could tolerate being near Torterra now without hissing at him threateningly.

Shrugging to myself I followed Torterra and sat so I could finish my own dinner. I wasn't sure what Torterra was trying to tell me, but at least he wasn't ignoring me anymore. After dinner, I set Litten to practicing Double Kick for an hour while I pulled off my jacket and began to do my nightly exercise routine of push-ups, chin-ups on a tree branch, and ending with a small jog which Torterra joined me on for the first time since we left Iki Town. 

As the bulky pokemon followed after me, doing his best to keep up with my pace even though he was easily three or four times my weight, I remembered why I had chosen Torterra to come with me to Alola. Out of all my pokemon, I had a special bond with Torterra. Sometimes I felt like he was more my brother than Reggie was. 

Maybe that's why it annoys me so much that Torterra has taken a liking to that weak coordinator.

After our jog, I re-entered the clearing to see that Litten had fallen asleep, curled up next to the rock he had been bashing with his Double Kick. Shaking my head I returned him to his Pokeball, deciding that it wouldn't do him any good to keep training if he was that tired. Instead, I had Torterra run through his moves, deciding that his earthquake attack needed some work. After we were both satisfied with the attack I gave him a Nanab berry as a small reward and returned him to his Pokeball before curling up in my sleeping bag and falling asleep.

The next day I decided that I would train Litten as we traveled the rest of the way to Verdant Cave. Once breakfast was out of the way I returned Torterra and told Litten to keep up as I started running through the forest. Litten kept up with my long strides well as he jumped over branches and rocks that were in his way. 

After twenty minutes of running, I began ordering him to jump higher. He did as I asked and jumped to my waist height before falling down and running to catch up with me, since I did not slow down, and continued doing that for another twenty minutes. We both took a break and after consulting the map I was happy to see we had made good progress during our run.

We continued on our way, me ordering Litten to practice dodging, jumping, and flipping, while I rotated between walking and jogging. By the time we had almost reached the edge of the forest, I was a sweaty mess and Litten was barely able to walk in a straight line.

"Let's... take a quick break," I said, breathing deeply and trying to slow my heart rate down.

Litten's leg strength gave out and he collapsed, heaving as he lay on the ground. Wincing slightly at my sore leg muscles I sat down next to Litten and after a moment's hesitation, I reached out and stroked Litten's back, realizing that his fur was matted with sweat.

"Good work today," I said awkwardly. 

Litten lifted his tail and then let it fall back to the ground in acknowledgment of my compliment. Chuckling breathily, I patted him once more before pulling out a dish, two water bottles, and a package of dehydrated razz berries. I poured one of the water bottles into a dish and placed it in front of Litten before chugging half of the other. Pokemon calls echoed through the trees and I closed my eyes, allowing my thoughts to go silent as I simply sat and enjoyed the peaceful feeling that I could only get when I was alone.

Once Litten had gotten back enough energy to drink his water and help me finish off the razz berries I returned him to his Pokeball. With a grunt, I got back up onto my feet and made my way out of the serene forest. I had only been walking for ten minutes when the trees suddenly ended and I found myself at the back end of a small cemetery. I blinked in surprise, consulting my navigation device to find that I had misjudged my direction and had come out of the forest more north than I had planned, but if I went through the cemetery the pokemon center would only be a short walk up the path.

As I walked through the cemetery a Murkrow cawed loudly at me and I stopped, watching the bird pokemon flap his little wings and take off towards the forest I had just exited. I wonder how my Honchkrow is doing, I wondered. 

For just a second I felt a pang of nostalgia as I thought of all the pokemon I had traveled with throughout the years. Honchkrow had always been the strong and silent type and his attack and special attack stats were off the charts. He had been indispensable in my pokemon league battles.

Shaking my head I berated myself for being sentimental. I knew that Reggie was training all of my pokemon daily and I was sure they were enjoying the break from the constant battling and intensive training I had put them through for these last eight years. Quickly leaving the cemetery behind I followed the path past a motel of sorts and soon I saw the iconic white and red pokemon center building. The sun had already set, and the thought of relaxing in the pokemon center's large bath house made me walk a little quicker.

Nurse Joy took both Litten and Torterra's Pokeballs from me with a smile and handed me my room key. I sketched a small bow in thanks. Deciding that I wanted a bath more than I wanted to eat, I went to my room and selected a fluffy towel from the closet before walking down to the bottom floor of the building where the men's and women's baths were located. 

I took my time, allowing the warm water to slough off the dirt and sweat that had accumulated in the last couple of days. Not that I particularly cared about cleanliness, but I hated feeling sticky and the humid alolan air caused me to sweat more than I was used to.

Breathing out contentedly I walked out of the baths after changing into my spare clothes and leaving my dirty ones in the laundry hamper provided by the PokeCenter. My mind had gone to what I could find for dinner when I stopped dead in my tracks, a frown tugging the corners of my lips down as I stared into familiar blue eyes.

"Paul?" Dawn asked in surprise. 

I blew an annoyed breath through my nose before stepping around her and continuing on my way towards the staircase, trying not to think about how the ends of her wet hair had been curling slightly. Stupid photographic memory, I seethed in my mind as I tried to delete the image of "Dawn fresh from a bath" out of my mind.

I was already halfway up the stairs before I realized that Dawn hadn't called out to me. I nodded to myself, glad that she seemed to have gotten the hint that I didn't want to associate with her.

Making my way to the cafeteria I stood in line for a teriyaki bowl. I ate my meal in silence, ignoring the other trainers that were milling around. After I finished my meal I walked towards the nurse's station to pick up my Pokeballs but froze with an inward groan as I saw Dawn leaning against the counter, apparently waiting for her useless Piplup. 

Turning swiftly I started walking away from the station just as Nurse Joy's voice announced over the loudspeaker that my pokemon were ready to be picked up. Setting my jaw, I reluctantly turned and walked back to the counter just as Nurse Joy walked out with a tray of three pokeballs.

"Oh, perfect timing, Paul," Nurse Joy said as she looked up and saw me approaching. 

Dawn flinched at the mention of my name but she didn't turn to look at me so I didn't acknowledge her as I walked up to the counter and accepted my pokemon from Nurse Joy.

"Thank you very much for looking at them," I said and she smiled.

"It's always a pleasure. They are both very healthy, although your litten seemed extremely worn down. Make sure he is getting the sleep that he needs and plenty of time to sun himself. A litten that doesn't soak up enough sun will sometimes have a hard time creating fire," Nurse Joy explained and I blinked in surprise.

"I didn't know. Thank you for explaining that to me," I said sincerely, wondering if that was why Litten hadn't been able to master Fire Fang.

"And your Piplup is as healthy as he could be! Thank you for taking such good care of your pokemon," Nurse Joy said, handing a Pokeball to Dawn with a bright smile.

"That's what trainers do," Dawn replied with a smile at Nurse Joy, but I didn't miss the slightly accusatory tone of voice she had used and I frowned at her. 

She just turned and walked away though, heading towards the lodging area of the pokemon center. Stuffing my hands in my pockets I awkwardly followed behind her, wishing that I had taken a little longer to eat my dinner.

As we walked towards our rooms for the night, me several feet behind her, I found my eyes wandering over to her. She had bought a new outfit. She was now wearing black jean capris, much more practical than the short shorts she had been wearing when she climbed the cliff, and she was wearing a white shirt with fluttering leaves that were layered like a flowers petal laying over her shoulders and a yellow ribbon that was tied in a bow with the ends draping down her back prettily. Shaking myself mentally I shifted my gaze to the doors I was walking by, checking to make sure I hadn't missed my room.

When I reached my door I could see that Dawn had stopped at the room right next to mine and was inserting her key into the lock. I reached into my jacket for my own key and had just held my hand out to turn the handle when I heard Dawn clear her throat. For about half a second I considered ignoring her, but almost against my will, I felt myself turn to look at her silently. She was leaning her right shoulder against her door and giving me a frosty look. 

Here we go, I thought to myself as I waited for her to say something.

"How are Torterra and Litten?" she asked. I blinked, surprised at her civil tone, although her expression said she was upset about something.

"They're good. Litten learned a new move," I responded slowly and Dawn nodded. 

An awkward silence stretched between us and I was tempted to go into my room but then she straightened her posture and frowned at me.

"Why didn't you say goodbye to Mrs. Jun? She was really kind to us," Dawn said with an accusatory tone. I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes at her.

"I thanked her properly before she left for work the day I left. You were still asleep." 

Dawn blinked her blue eyes twice in obvious surprise and then bit her bottom lip lightly in a look of guilt.

"Oh," she mumbled, glancing down at the floor.

"How's your shoulder?" I asked and she brought her gaze back up to meet mine. 

Her expression flickered between guilt and surprise for a few seconds before she reached up and pushed her shirt sleeve up to show her left shoulder. It was covered in a dusty purple bruise, although it did seem to have shrunk since I had last seen it.

"It's doing a lot better. It doesn't hurt anymore unless I actually push against it," Dawn said with a small smile. I nodded stiffly before putting my hand on the door handle again to go into my room and end the conversation.

"Hey, Paul," she called hesitantly and I paused, glancing back over to see uncertainty shining through her blue eyes. "Are we friends?" she asked.

"Why would you think that?" I asked in utter confusion. 

Me? Be friends with a troublesome girl like her? I had never bothered making friends before and I certainly didn't plan to start with her. At my response though Dawn's eyes hardened and she glared at me.

"Well, pardon me, your rudeness," she snapped, turning and opening her door, but before she stepped into her room she turned her annoyed glare at me once more and said, "Tell Torterra and Litten I said hi." 

With that she stepped through her door and slammed it behind her, reminding me of when she had slammed the bathroom door in my face after she had nearly run into me with her hair and face dripping wet in Mrs. Jun's house.

That girl has too much energy, I thought with exasperation as I walked into my own room calmly. I pulled out my Pokedex, searching through all of the information I could find about the pokemon I could potentially battle during the Verdant Cave trial.

The next morning I picked up the clothes that I had left to be cleaned the night before and made my way to the cafeteria for breakfast. I nearly let out a groan when I saw Dawn and a man about her height with dusty pink hair and a single earring conversing at one of the tables. I was fairly certain the man was Ilima, the Melemele Captain, but I wanted to avoid Dawn as much as I could. 

Why does she keep showing up wherever I go? I know it's a small island, but this is getting ridiculous.

I had just turned to go into the line for food when Dawn looked up and met my eyes. Her eyes briefly hardened, but then her shoulders slumped and she raised a hesitant hand, waving me over. 

Now what does she want? I wondered cautiously, but when Ilima turned to see who she was waving at I sighed and walked over to their table.

"Who's your friend, Dawn?" Ilima asked in a rich tenor voice which seemed like it would have fit a professional singer rather than a serious pokemon trainer.

"We're not friends," Dawn replied stiffly, narrowing her eyes at me in a brief glare to let me know that she was still angry with me, but then she turned back to Ilima and her expression relaxed "This is Paul, he's the trainer I was telling you about that hasn't scheduled his trial with you."

"Ah, that's right. It's nice to meet you," Ilima said, standing and offering a hand to shake which I took. "Today I already have scheduled with Dawn to use Verdant Cave for the Trial, but I don't have a challenger coming tomorrow. Would that work for you?" Ilima asked and I clenched my jaw in silent frustration.

"I can wait till tomorrow if you want to go today, Paul," Dawn offered casually from her seat at the table and without thought I glared over at her.

"I don't need your pity," I said, admittedly a little harsher than I had meant to. Before I could calm down enough to sound civil Dawn's anger had caused her cheeks to flush and she pushed up from her seat.

"What is your problem? I'm just trying to be nice," she said, a little louder than necessary.

"You're sure you're not just worried you will fail the trial and then have me here to see it?" I responded, once again harsher than I meant but my frustrations at being shown up by this coordinator were keeping me from acting rationally. 

Dawn's mouth dropped open in dumbfounded shock and I thought I saw hurt flash through her blue eyes for a second. My throat clenched tightly as I realized that I might have gone too far.

"You just love to insult me, don't you?," she asked quietly and I glanced to the side, annoyed that I felt a little bad. "Look, Paul. You saved my life and I want to pay you back in some way, so if you want to do your trial today then take my spot. Think of it as me getting rid of my debt to you," she said with frustration bubbling through both her eyes and her voice and I met them with a small frown. 

She's still on that? I told her not to worry about it, it's not like I set out to save her life. It just happened.

"Hmmmm, you two seem to have quite the string of fate wrapped around you," Ilima said in an amused tone and I leveled a glare at the shorter man, which he met with an unconcerned smile. "So? Who is going to take the trial today?" 

I glanced briefly at Dawn who had picked up her tray of half-eaten breakfast.

"I'd prefer to take it tomorrow if you don't mind, Ilima. I am not feeling well," she announced, completely ignoring me as she walked behind Ilima and headed towards the garbage to dispose of her food and dishes. 

I watched her go and felt an uncomfortable pit form in my stomach. This is why I don't make friends, I thought bitterly as she discarded her breakfast and walked swiftly out of the cafeteria.

"You're sure you shouldn't go after her?" Ilima's musical voice jerked me out of my thoughts and I turned to give him an incredulous look.

"How would that help anything?" I asked and Ilima chuckled.

"You never know unless you try," he said happily and I shook my head.

"When can I take the trial?" I asked to change the subject and Ilima's eyes twinkled with amusement but I was glad when he went along with the topic switch.

"I can take you whenever you are ready." 

I ate my breakfast of oatmeal sweetened with brown sugar and some grapes quickly before meeting Ilima at the entrance of Verdant Cave, which was only a short walk from the PokeCenter.

"Welcome to Ilima's Trial!" Ilima said with a flair, pointing to the gated entrance of the gaping cave behind me. "The way my trial works is that you'll have to make your way through the cave to the other side, which will open up into the home of the Totem Pokemon. The Totem Pokemon is much stronger than the pokemon in the cave, but if it feels the need it will call for help from another pokemon. However, you are only allowed one pokemon at a time to face the Totem Pokemon and whatever pokemon it calls to its aid. Do you have any questions?" Ilima asked. 

I shook my head, already having read about Alolan pokemon calling in other pokemon to help them fight trainers in my research of the islands.

"Very well, let the trial begin!" 

Ilima keyed in a code on the gate and it opened silently inwards, admitting me into the dark cave. Without hesitation, I walked into the cave and followed the path that was lit by torches stationed every few feet. As I walked into the cave I released Litten who glanced around himself in surprise.

"We're in the first trial. Stay sharp, pokemon might attack us," I cautioned and Litten meowed in understanding, trotting along beside me; his yellow eyes seeming to glow in the semi-darkness of the cave. 

We ran into a few alolan ratatta and yungoos during our walk through the cave but, Litten was able to defeat them all easily. I slipped him an oran berry to keep up his strength and was almost disappointed when I saw a beam of natural light, signaling the end of the trial. Picking up our pace Litten and I walked out of the cave and into a small field surrounded by rocky cliffs. At the far end of the field, a solitary column stood and I thought I saw something shining in the opening.

Walking closer to investigate I heard a loud hissing sound which Litten responded to with a high-pitched yeowl. Looking up I saw a large shape jump from a ledge on the rocky cliff and land in front of the column protectively. As the pokemon lifted its head I felt my eyes widen in surprise and the enormous Gumshoos, who could easily reach the middle of my chest if it had stood next to me, hissed threateningly at us.

"Standby for battle, Litten!" I called. 

Litten sprang forward, crouching in front of me and seeming eager to prove himself against such a large opponent. Without warning, Gumshoos's front teeth began glowing and elongated as he sped forward towards my litten.

"Litten, jump and flip over it!" I yelled and Litten immediately obeyed, dodging the Hyper Fang flawlessly and landing behind the startled pokemon. "Now Double Kick!" 

Litten's back legs glowed white and he unleashed a massive two-part kick that sent the Gumshoos sliding back across the ground. It turned its narrowed eyes on Litten before letting out a loud call.

"Quick, use Ember," I commanded Litten as I looked around, trying to see if a pokemon would answer the giant pokemon's call for help. 

Litten peppered the Gumshoos with an ember attack but the Gumshoos barrelled towards him, butting him with his huge head and tossing him back. Litten hit the ground and tumbled for a few feet before jumping back to his feet, shaking his head.

"Watch out behind you!" I called, seeing the alolan rattata inching towards Litten that was in turn focused on Gumshoos. Before Litten could move the rattata jumped forward and chomped down on his tail, causing him to yeowl in pain.

"Use scratch attack to get it off," I commanded, keeping an eye on the Gumshoos who was watching the two smaller pokemon. I realized that it was favoring its hind left leg, which Litten had hit earlier. 

We can still win this, I thought with determination as Litten's elongated claws slashed against the rattata, making it drop his tail and back away, whimpering in pain.

"Litten, use Double Kick again, and aim for Gumshoos's left side," I called out. 

Litten sprang forward without hesitation. Gumshoos tried to bite down on Litten with his Hyper Fang but Litten was too quick, dodging nimbly around him and delivering another powerful Double Kick to Gumshoos's injured left leg. Gumshoos cried out in pain and fell over, but the alolan rattata jumped over him and swiped a large cloud of dust at Litten's face. Litten stumbled back, rubbing his foreleg against his eyes as he tried to get the grit out of them.

"Litten, stand still and listen to me," I called loudly, watching as the gumshoos tried to get to his feet, but was not able to put any weight on his leg and the alolan rattata crept ever closer to my blinded pokemon. Litten did as I said though, crouching slightly and hissing with his eyes closed and his large ears pointed towards me.

The rattata sprang forward, his front teeth elongating into what looked like a super fang and I swiftly said, "Turn around and kick slightly to your right!" 

Without hesitation Litten did as I said, managing to land a kick to the rattata's head and knocking him off his trajectory where it collapsed in a heap on the ground, fainted.

"Well done, Litten," I said with a small smile. Litten turned and blinked his irritated eyes, giving his own cat-like smile. Gumshoos hissed weakly as he saw his helper go down and with obvious pain held himself erect. "This is it, Litten. Time for a Fire Fang to finish him off!"

Litten crouched down and then sprang towards Gumshoos who lowered himself to all fours in what looked like an attempt at a tackle. As Litten ran forward flames began licking the corners of his mouth and extended, creating a ghostly jaw with flashing flames for teeth. Before Gumshoos could connect his powerful head to toss Litten away the flames crunched down on him and I could feel the heat from where I stood.

As the flames flickered out Gumshoos collapsed on the ground, unable to battle, and Litten yeowled triumphantly. After his victorious yell ended his whole body began to glow blue and I watched in surprise and excitement as Litten's body elongated and became much sturdier and intimidating. The light stopped and in front of me stood Torracat, a collar of flame licking constantly around his neck.

"Well done, Paul. And congratulations." 

I turned to see Ilima walking out of the cave while clapping slowly. I nodded and turned to Torracat who had come over to stand in front of me, giving me a grin.

"You listen well, Torracat," I complimented and allowed myself to stroke his large ear once in a rare gesture of affection. 

Torracat's purr sounded like a rumble coming deep from his throat and I smiled, feeling confident that I made the right choice in deciding to train him.

"Since you defeated the Totem pokemon you have earned the right to take the Normalium Z," Ilima said, gesturing to the column I had noticed on the far end of the clearing while he went to Gumshoos and began tending to his injuries. 

Torracat and I walked over to the column and I saw a single stone sitting in the center of the open part of the painted column. Reaching in I took the diamond-shaped crystal and felt a thrill of excitement go through me. The crystal was a translucent gray in color and as I tilted it a shimmering symbol etched in black seemed to be floating in the middle.

"To use the Normalium Z-Crystal you will have to strike a special pose," Ilima explained and I looked up uncomfortably as he demonstrated the dramatic pose that ended in him making a Z out of his arms. This is what I had been dreading, ever since I started watching battles using Z-moves. 

Why do the moves have to be so lame? I wondered as Ilima held his pose for a few seconds as if waiting for a round of applause. Torracat growled quietly as if he too found the move offensive and I quickly put a hand over my mouth to hide my grin.

"Go ahead, you try it," Ilima prodded once he had lowered his arms and I rolled my eyes.

"Yah, I think I'm good," I retorted, turning and walking towards the cave's opening with Torracat padding beside me.

"Hey, Paul," glancing over my shoulder I saw that Ilima was giving me a look that seemed to say you-should-listen-to-me-because-I-know-best, making me bristle before I even heard what he had to say. "You should apologize to Dawn. You affect her more than you know."

I blinked in shock, unsure of how to take that, and Ilima met my gaze without saying anything more. I opened my mouth to tell him he was an idiot but for some reason, the words wouldn't come out. So I turned away from him and walked into the cave while placing the Normalium Z in my jacket pocket.

As Torracat and I walked through the cave, which now felt nearly devoid of the presence of pokemon, I wrestled with myself about what to do now. A part of me wanted to leave the cave and go through the blockade into the back half of Melemele Island to see what pokemon I could find and lose myself in training. But every time I made that decision I saw Dawn's upset face in my mind's eye and an annoying sense of guilt hovered over me. I hadn't completely made up my mind before we exited the cave so I stopped. Looking at the T in the path I tried to convince my feet to turn right and leave Dawn and my stupid sense of obligation to her behind.

"Rrrrrr," Torracat purred up at me before beginning to trot down the left-hand path. 

Blinking in shock I followed him, wondering where he was going and surprisingly I found it impossible to call after him to stop. As we walked towards the pokemon center Torracat stretched his neck, sticking his nose in the air and sniffing first one way then the other. After a moment he turned and began walking through the field that surrounded the Pokemon Center, heading towards the back where there were usually battlefields for practicing. Suddenly Torracat stopped, sniffing the air once more with his whiskers tingling before bounding forward and around the PokeCenter building.

"Torracat, where are you going?" I asked, my annoyance pulling me out of my complicated thoughts. 

I jogged after him, rounding the building and seeing Torracat was already halfway across the first of three battlefields, jumping effortlessly over a Nidoking who was in the middle of battling a Phantump. I didn't bother apologizing to the trainers that Torracat had interrupted, it was obvious that their battle strategies were elementary at best if they stopped a battle because another pokemon jumped over theirs, but I did run around the field in the pursuit of my crazy pokemon.

Heedless of my calls to come back, Torracat continued to run past the unoccupied fields and I halted in my tracks when I saw where he was running to. Dawn was in the farthest corner of the unoccupied field and she was dancing. 

I frowned as I watched Torracat run straight for her as she gracefully leaped to the side, bending her left knee and kicking out her right leg. For a brief moment, I thought she would sprout wings and fly off, but instead, she sank back to earth, bending down and then spinning back up into a standing position. As she spun back up our eyes briefly met and her blue eyes went as wide as saucers. It looked like she tried to stop, but her momentum from her spin kept her moving and she stumbled, nearly falling on top of Torracat who had crouched down behind her as if he were planning to tackle her.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," Dawn apologized as Torracat leaped back to avoid their collision. 

He shook his head, causing the fiery bell under his chin to flare. Dawn looked between Torracat and me, then back to Torracat and a brilliant smile burst across her lips, causing her entire face to light up. I quickly looked away, feeling somehow awkward seeing her so happy.

"Litten, you evolved!" Dawn squealed happily, reaching out and ruffling his ears and the long strand of red fur that stuck up between them. Torracat yeowled proudly before beginning to purr so loudly that it sounded like a miniature thunderstorm.

"Were you dissatisfied with my reaction to you evolving then?" I asked gruffly, watching Dawn lavish praise on my pokemon. Torracat looked up at me with a self-satisfied expression, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Wow, Paul. You've had Litten for less than a week and he's already evolved! You are an amazing trainer!" Dawn gushed looking up at me with open admiration in her eyes. 

I swallowed as a strange squishy feeling started to spread in my stomach. Ilima's parting words, You affect her more than you know, ran through my mind and I frowned.

"He's had several trainers before, so he was already a higher level than most Littens. And his name is Torracat now," I corrected flatly. 

Dawn turned away from me and leaned back as Torracat stood and walked in a circle, strutting his stuff and showing off his more powerful form to her as she "Ooh-ed" and "ahh-ed" appreciatively. 

I'm going to have to work on that ego of his, I thought as I watched him with narrowed eyes.

"I assume since Torracat was able to evolve and looks so energetic that you completed the trial?" Dawn said after he had stretched out on the ground, apparently satisfied with Dawn's reaction to his new appearance.

"Of course," I replied, slightly offended that she thought I might lose. 

Just then Dawn's Piplup waddled up the hill that led down to a stretch of beach behind the pokemon center with a content expression. He was peeping a weird little song again and I glowered at the weak thing, wondering how one pokemon could be so annoying. Piplup didn't notice my glare, or even my presence, until he walked past my Torracat and nearly broke my eardrums as Torracat swiped at his back lazily, scaring the oblivious pokemon.

"Calm down, Piplup. Torracat was just playing," Dawn soothed, pulling him onto her lap. "I'm surprised that you came out here Paul. I thought you would have immediately left to train for your Kahuna battle with Hau."

"It was Torracat's idea, not mine," I muttered. 

Dawn lowered her gaze, absentmindedly stroking Piplup's head. An awkward silence stretched between us. As I glanced at Piplup he jerked in shock and put his flippers over his beak, which caused a surprised chuckle to escape me and I quickly tried to turn it into a cough.

"Well, we're going to go to the other side of the island and train for a couple of weeks," I said, taking a step back and Dawn looked up at me with an unreadable expression in her blue eyes.

"Do you mind letting Torterra out before you go? I made him some more poffins before I left Mrs. Jun's house and I'm afraid they'll go bad if I leave them for too much longer," Dawn said, standing up and walking over to where she had left her backpack. 

Torracat rose to his feet and padded after her, meowing plaintively. I furrowed my brow, devising several new training regimens to teach him that the dignity of a pokemon came through being silent and independent.

The memory of Torterra's delight when I made him poffins with Dawn's help made me bite my tongue though and I released him silently. Torterra looked up at me and smiled quietly before lumbering forward to where Dawn was pulling out one of her storage capsules. When she saw Torterra approaching she and Piplup both smiled happily and gave him a hug, Dawn around his neck and Piplup gripping onto one of his thick legs. I shuddered at the sight but Torterra didn't seem to be bothered by it and he was delighted when Dawn presented him with a whole container of green poffins.

"I made these for you too, Torracat. I hope you like them," Dawn said, opening a smaller container of bright red poffins and laying it on the grass in front of Torracat. 

I watched with surprise when Torracat came up and began eating next to Torterra with no signs of fear at all. Interesting, I thought with approval. 

Dawn started to giggle lightly as she watched my two pokemon eat her poffins and I frowned, wondering why the sound didn't grate on my nerves like most girls' giggles did.

"You two are the Tor brothers!" Dawn said with a grin and they both looked up, giving her a confused look while chewing their treat. "You know... TORterra and TORRacat?" she prompted and they looked at each other. Torterra smiled indulgently but Torracat rolled his eyes and returned to his poffins, which were already nearly gone.

"Will you do the trial tomorrow then?" I asked, surprising even myself that I was willingly carrying on the conversation.

"Yah, then I'll spend the next two weeks preparing for the Hau'oli Luau Showdown," she said with a nervous sigh and I rolled my eyes. 

Why was she more scared of a pseudo contest than a trial? 

"I'm still mad at you, by the way," Dawn said, interrupting my thoughts and I blinked mutely. Looking down I saw that her happy expression had cooled considerably as she looked up at me from her seated position on the ground.

"I expected you to be," I answered simply and she rolled her eyes.

"That's it?" she asked and I shrugged.

"I offended you, I didn't expect you to be happy to see me," I said honestly, slightly surprised that she hadn't completely ignored me. 

She must like my pokemon more than she dislikes me, I reasoned as I looked at the containers of poffins she made without knowing if she would run into me before they spoiled.

"You're hopeless, Paul," Dawn said with a frustrated grunt and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Do you think I care?" I asked flatly and was surprised when she looked up at me with sadness seeming to pour out of her blue eyes.

"No. I don't think you do," Dawn answered quietly and guilt washed over me for some ridiculous reason. 

This is why I hate being around people. Humans are so complicated.

"Torterra, Torracat, we're leaving," I said after a few silent seconds passed where I couldn't seem to break eye contact with Dawn's sad expression. 

She blinked and finally I could look away. Turning I walked over to Torterra and Torracat who were both looking sadly at the now empty containers in front of them. Swiftly I bent down and picked up the containers before extending them towards Dawn.

"Thank you for making them," I said stiffly and she took the containers from me with a guarded expression, nodding in acknowledgment. "And..." gritting my teeth I forced myself to continue, "Thank you for letting me take the trial today." 

Dawn looked up at me and blinked a few times as if she couldn't believe that she had just heard me right. Then a small smile stretched across her lips. "You're welcome," she said simply. 

I nodded once swiftly before pulling out both my pokemon's Pokeballs. Dawn waved as the red light encased them and I miniaturized the balls before replacing them on my belt holder.

"Try not to hurt yourself doing your weird practices. I won't be there to save you again," I warned her. Dawn cocked her head to the side, giving me a curious look and a mischievous smile.

"You know, Paul, sometimes I think you are a lot nicer than you even realize," she said with amusement. 

I frowned, opening my mouth to tell her that hadn't been meant as something nice, but she turned her back on me and walked towards the beach where her piplup had come from. 

"You're still a jerk though," she called over her shoulder as she descended the gentle hill with Piplup just a few steps behind her, still holding his flippers over his beak and giving me the occasional fearful look.

Shaking my head I turned, sticking my hands into my jacket pockets, and began walking towards the path that would lead me to the restricted area of Melemele Island.

A/N Hopefully I didn't play the fate card too much in this chapter :P