For the next three hours, Incineroar showed no mercy against Metang and I noticed that Metang seemed to be getting frustrated, but I could also tell that he respected Incineroar's strength. We'll knock some sense into that metal skull of yours yet, I thought silently as Metang fell to the ground once again. 

I looked past his fallen figure and saw that Dawn had ended her practice and was now playing some kind of game with her pokemon. After checking my watch and seeing that it was already nearly 8 pm I returned both Incineroar and Metang to their Pokeballs and walked over to Dawn and her band of lilliputians.

"Are you ready to go eat?" I asked. 

Dawn looked up at me and smiled, but her expression suddenly turned shocked as both Eevee and Growlithe tackled her side and she tumbled over, laughing delightedly. Growlithe and Eevee began licking her uncovered stomach and she squealed and rolled away from them, curling up on the ground in a fetal position as all four of her pokemon converged on her and tried to tickle her.

"Oy," I called out, causing her pokemon to jump and look over at me guiltily. 

Dawn continued to splutter out laughs but she slowly uncurled herself and looked up at me with laughter tears in her eyes.

"Sorry," she said breathlessly, rubbing her stomach as if she had laughed so hard it hurt.

"Can we eat now?" I asked while quirking an eyebrow.

Silently she reached a hand up for me to help her up. I took it and gently tugged, helping propel her to her feet as her pokemon gathered around us. For some reason a strange urge to keep her slim hand in mine made me tighten my grip for a split second but I quickly dropped her hand and took a step back.

"I'm going to give Incineroar and Metang to Nurse Joy," I said, taking another step back from her as she smiled at me in that way that caused the squishy feeling in me to flare up.

"Do you want me to get you a plate of food?" she asked, walking after me.

"Sure," I answered shortly, turning and flexing my hand that felt unnaturally empty. 

We walked back into the Pokemon Center and thankfully the lobby was not jam-packed like it was earlier so I was able to leave my pokemon with Nurse Joy without any problems. When I entered the cafeteria it only took me a second for my eyes to find Dawn's blue hair spilling out from her red beanie. She looked up, noticed me, and waved me over. Dinner was spicy spaghetti, which we ate quickly. After we finished dinner we walked to our rooms and I said goodnight as I stepped into my room.

As I walked into my room I didn't bother turning on a light but instead sunk down onto one of the two twin beds in the room and leaned my head into my hands. I thought back to when Metang attacked Dawn's pokemon and the fear that gripped me when I thought he would hit Dawn. Without even thinking about it I had put myself in harm's way to try and protect her. 

But why did I do that, I thought angrily, jamming the heels of my palms into my closed eyes and rubbing. Dawn is becoming more than just a student to me. Heck, she's always been more than a student to me. But I can't let this happen. I can't let myself get distracted. I have a promise to keep. 

I don't know how long I would have gone in circles with those kinds of thoughts but I was interrupted by a knock at the door. Frowning slightly I looked towards the door, wondering if I was hearing things. A second knock sounded and I stood, flipping on the light before opening the door. I blinked twice rapidly as my eyes met the familiar sapphire blue ones I had just been thinking about.

"Oh good, I thought you left for your run already," Dawn said with a look of relief and I frowned.

"What's wrong?" I asked and Dawn gave me a sheepish look.

"Umm... I might have given up my room," she confessed slowly and the words ran through my head three times before they finally processed.

"Why did you do that?" I asked and she shrugged, giving me a helpless look.

"There was this old man and his daughter that came for the golf tournament and all of the hotels were full. Nurse Joy was telling them that she was completely full as well and I just felt bad so I gave them my room," Dawn explained and I leaned against the door frame, rubbing my eyes with my fingers.

"Why were you even by the nurse's station?" I asked, trying to remain calm and not shake her for being too kind.

"I was thirsty and wanted a glass of milk," she explained and I looked down at her. She had her backpack on and was still dressed in her street clothes.

"You're not planning to sleep outside are you?" I asked. She blinked and raised a thin blue eyebrow at me.

"If I have to. But I was hoping I could just sleep in here tonight," she said casually and my entire body stiffened.

"Excuse me?" I asked, trying to keep my shock from showing.

"Please? It's just for one night, I'll sleep on the top bunk so it's not awkward," she said with an innocent smile and I glared at her.

"There aren't bunk beds in this room," I retorted and she frowned.

"Oh, come on. I promise I don't snore," Dawn said with a pitiful frown and I turned away, inwardly yelling at my heart to stop racing. "Are you afraid I'll jump you in the night?" Dawn asked teasingly, wiggling her fingers at me and I scowled fiercely at her.

"Shouldn't it be the girl who's worried in this situation?" I asked gruffly and to my surprise Dawn scoffed.

"I'm not worried at all," she rebutted indignantly. I wanted to shake her by the shoulders and tell her she was being an idiot and to leave me and my crumbling wall of emotions alone. "It's not like you are attracted to me. You went shopping with me and could only say that I should choose something logical," Dawn muttered.

Suddenly my raging insides froze and I slowly began to calm down. That's right. I'm just Dawn's teacher. This shouldn't be a big deal. I shouldn't be freaking out about this.

"Fine," I heard myself say with a dull, emotionless voice. Dawn sighed in obvious relief and I turned sideways so that she could walk through the doorway. 

She's just my student. I do not have any feelings for her, squishy or otherwise, I repeated firmly in my mind as I slowly began to close the door.

"Do you mind if I take a shower while you are out on your run?" Dawn asked as she deposited her backpack on the bed closer to the window and began rummaging through it.

"No," I said, opening the door before it had closed and stepping out. She looked up at me and gave me a curious look.

"Are you leaving now?" she asked and I nodded before closing the door behind me. 

Tucking my hands into my jacket pockets I marched through the much quieter pokemon center and left the building behind me. As soon as I was outside I began to jog, trying to keep my breathing and heartbeat even so that I would fall into the rhythm of running and not think about anything. Especially not about the young woman who was going to be sleeping in the same room as me tonight.

By the time I came back, I had successfully built up my wall once again and forced the squishy feeling down to a manageable annoyance. Wiping the sweat from my brow I walked into the Pokemon Center and naturally headed toward my room. I was trying so hard to be natural that I almost opened the door like normal, but an image of Dawn's panicked expression when I saw her battling the Wishiwashi stopped me and I knocked. A faint, "You're good!" came from the other side of the door and I breathed out a slow, controlled breath before opening the door and walking in.

My resolve nearly vaporized as Dawn looked up at me and smiled. She was patting her wet hair with a fluffy towel and wearing an oversized shirt that reached down to almost her knees and hung off one shoulder. This girl has got to be the most clueless female I have ever met, I thought to myself furiously and tried to keep my tone even as I cleared my throat.

"What are you wearing?" Dawn looked down at herself and then raised an eyebrow at me.

"My pajamas?" she responded in a "no, d'uh" kind of tone and I frowned.

"What happened to your other ones?" I asked gruffly, knowing that she normally wore a light blue matching top and pants for pajamas.

"I'm having them washed along with my new clothes," Dawn answered with a shrug, continuing to rub her hair gently between her hands with the towel.

"I'm going to take a shower," I said abruptly turning away from her and nearly tripping over Eevee as she pounced from under my bed and wrapped herself around my leg. 

Dawn's clear laughter washed over me but I couldn't look at her without risking damage to the wall around my emotions, so I carefully slid a hand between my leg and Eevee's body and pried her off me. Once I was nuisance-free I escaped into the bathroom.

I ended up staying in the shower longer than usual and took my time shaving. Even though I knew I was stalling I couldn't think of anything else to do. 

Maybe I should just go sleep outside. It's not like I care about camping. I thought to myself. Deciding that that would be the best option I walked out of the bathroom, now dressed in my sweatpants and a light V-neck shirt.

Almost instantly my eyes went to Dawn's bed and I felt my shoulders sag in relief when I saw her curled up on top of the fully made bed, Eevee tucked snuggly up next to her stomach. They were both sleeping peacefully.

"You really are troublesome," I whispered but Dawn didn't even twitch. 

After a second I moved over to her and pulled only the thin top blanket over so it was covering most of her. She continued to sleep peacefully and I turned away from her to turn off the light. The room seemed especially warm with an extra body, and since Dawn was already asleep I decided to pull off my top since I normally slept shirtless indoors. Surprisingly as I laid down heavy sleepiness overcame me and I gratefully let my mind shut down.

Gotta run faster. Mom will be okay once she sees I'm a real trainer. Those were the words I told myself as I ran as swiftly as my ten-year-old legs would carry me from Professor Rowan's lab back to the hospital room that Mom had been staying in for the past six months.

"Mom!" I called out loudly, breathing hard from my long run. 

Mom turned away from the window to look at me, her face as pale as moonlight and her head was wrapped in a pretty purple cloth, hiding her baldness.

"Paul, baby," she rasped out, reaching a hand towards me. I quickly walked over and took her thin, delicate hand in mine. "Come sit by me," she said quietly.

I instantly boosted myself onto the side of her bed. Holding her hand in one of my own I reached to remove the Pokeball I'd just received today and showed it to her.

"Was that today?" she rasped out and I nodded enthusiastically.

"Do you want to see who I chose as my partner?" I asked her excitedly and she nodded her head slowly. 

Smiling brightly I tried to ignore the constant beeping of the machines that were monitoring Mom's vital signs as I released my first ever pokemon. Mom's eyes widened as Turtwig appeared next to her and tears began gathering in the corner of her beautiful purple eyes.

"Just like Papa," she whispered, looking down at the little grass type.

"I'm going to become the strongest champion anyone has ever seen. I'll train really hard, just like Papa, and I'll always come back and see you at least once a month," I promised, rubbing my thumb along the back of her hand. 

Mom tilted her head slightly so she could look me in the eye and my heart clenched as tears spilled silently down her cheeks.

"You've grown up, Paul baby," she whispered and I swallowed hard, reaching out and wiping some of her tears away, only to have them replaced by fresh ones. "I think Papa would be happy if you could get stronger than he was. Do you promise me that you will become the strongest trainer ever?"

I nodded firmly, holding her hand gently as she weakly squeezed my own. Mom continued to cry but she smiled gently at me and then down at Turtwig.

"You'll take care of my baby boy, won't you?" she whispered to my pokemon. 

Turtwig nodded gravely, walking carefully across the mattress so he could stand next to my knee. Mom smiled tiredly at Turtwig and leaned even further back on her pillow.

"You know... I wanted to be a trainer once... but I was too scared. Always too scared..." 

Mom's eyes fluttered for a minute and then closed. I rubbed her hand, thinking that she had simply fallen asleep until a loud, continuous beep rang out from one of the machine's behind me.

I was suddenly wrenched from my mom's side and felt like I was free-falling through a ginormous pit. Before I hit the ground though I was transported to a grassy field. Feeling disoriented I looked around, frowning when things began to look familiar. Suddenly a metallic screech filled my ears and I whipped around to see Dawn crouched on the ground, covering Eevee and Piplup with her own body as Metang raced towards her. 

All sound disappeared as I ran, throwing myself in front of Dawn's crouched figure. But instead of ramming into me, Metang veered and I watched in horror as my mom's smiling figure appeared, only to be struck by Metang. Mom flew several feet back, and even though I couldn't hear anything, the way she landed left no room for doubt that she had broken something.

I took a step towards Mom and Metang turned towards Dawn, his eyes glowing red as he began his charge. Not knowing what to do, I stood in front of Dawn and kicked out at Metang as he came toward us. As Metang came in contact with me he disintegrated into a million pieces that blew away in the silent wind. Turning briefly I saw Dawn looking up at me, fear and confusion evident in her expression. I wanted to go to her, but I needed to check on Mom.

Turning away from Dawn's fearful expression I ran over to where Mom had fallen in complete silence. I dropped to my knees next to Mom's broken body. Her eyes were closed and I could feel tears begin to drip from my eyes. Reaching out I gingerly touched Mom's face and suddenly her eyes opened, their purple irises glowing unnaturally. Slowly she turned to look at me and as she opened her mouth my ears began to ring with the scream she had released at the sight of Papa's death so many years ago.

"You couldn't protect me," Mom's voice accused, punching through the ringing screams in my ears.

"No. No no no no," I moaned, clapping my hands to my head to cover my ears in an attempt to stop the screaming.

"If only you had been older, you could have protected me," Mom's voice floated through my head and I shook my head.

"You never said that. You never said that," I whimpered almost desperately. I tried to blink the tears away from my eyes so I could look at my mom's face to see if she was really the one saying this.

"You forgot your promise," Mom's voice whispered under the screams and I shook my head vehemently.

"NO! I would never forget. I will become the strongest. I promised you I would!"

Paul?

"Paul baby... Paul baby why did you let me die?" 

Horrified, I watched as flakes of the image of my mom's broken body began to float past me.

Paul!

"No, no, Mom. Don't go! Don't go!" 

Trying to ignore the pain of the screaming ringing through my head I reached out to cup my hands around Mom's face and try to keep it intact. But as soon as I touched it, her face splintered, and then her entire body shattered in front of me like a dropped mirror.

"Paul!"

My eyes burst open and I wrenched myself into a sitting position, grabbing for Mom's splintered body. Breathing hard I realized that my mom's screams had stopped and I wasn't holding the dream body of my dead mother, but the very real arms of Dawn. In the dim light, I couldn't tell what her expression was but I did feel it when her hands touched my chest briefly, skimming along my skin and causing shudders to go through my body until she found my shoulders and rested her hands on them.

"Paul, you were having a nightmare," she said gently, soothingly. 

My brain still seemed half stuck in the dream and I desperately held onto her arms, telling myself that this was reality and not what I had just seen.

"Paul, are you okay?" Dawn asked tenderly. 

After a minute where I could not respond she once again began to skim one set of fingers along my shoulder, up my neck, and to my cheek. Gently she brushed her knuckles along my cheekbone until her hand was cupped against the side of my face. Her touch felt so similar to my mom's and yet completely different at the same time. This hand felt warm, comforting, safe. I felt like as long as Dawn stayed like this then no matter what happened I would get through it.

You forgot your promise. 

Instantly I flinched away from Dawn's touch and released my grip on her thin arms. My eyes were beginning to adjust to the dim light and I saw Dawn bring her hands back to rub her arms where I had been gripping them. 

I was hurting her, I realized dully, my brain still fuzzy from the terrible dream.

The mattress squeaked as Dawn moved a little closer to me and my adjusted eyes could now see the worry in her expression. She reached a hand out to me but I turned away. If I let her touch me again I really might forget my promise. The thought floated through my head and I clenched my teeth together, visualizing myself biting my tie to Dawn in half.

"Go back to sleep, Dawn," I said, and my voice seemed distant in my ears.

"But, Paul..."

"Just leave me alone," I spat out, laying back down and turning my back to her. 

I folded my arms over my chest and did my best to fill my mind with battle strategy theories to keep from reliving the dream. My eyes flew open as a soft, tickly sensation began to run up and down my bare back.

"What are you doing? I told you to leave me alone," I growled out but for some reason I was unable to move.

"I'm staying here until you fall asleep," Dawn whispered and I scoffed, trying to ignore her gentle fingers traveling slowly across my back.

"I'm not a child," I growled, both at Dawn and at myself. 

The mattress squeaked again as Dawn shifted her weight and I could almost feel the warmth of her hip as it came within centimeters of the small of my back. She didn't respond though. Instead, she just continued to rub my back gently. Against my will my tense muscles began to relax, causing my folded arms to release their pent-up energy and loosen.

My thoughts began to slip away from me as I lay still and tried to remember the last time I had ever felt so comforted by being touched by another person. She's a distraction, Paul. Don't forget your promise to Mom, my inner voice growled but as Dawn's fingers traced small circles up my spine to the base of my neck the last of my tension melted away. 

I won't forget... but I'll worry about it in the morning, I told my inner voice before allowing my eyes to close, and once again sleep enveloped me.

A/N I'm sorry that there were three chapters in a row from Paul's POV. Originally I thought these three chapters would all fit into one chapter and OBVIOUSLY that didn't happen :P I hope you enjoyed it though. This last chapter is one of the parts I was most excited to write :D