To Know You
By LunaAzul788

"Toxicroak is unable to battle. The victory goes to Paul!"

With a swift lift of her arm, a young lady of sixteen with navy locks that were as vibrant as her eyes, announced the winner in the present battle. It had been over a year and seven months since Dawn had separated with Ash and Brock and continued travelling on her own. It was not for long when her paths crossed with that of her old friend's rival, Paul. It took her some time, yet Dawn had come to the rationalisation that it would be for the best—security-wise—to travel with him for the time being. Besides, she was still easily frightened by many other Pokémon, most especially the ones that lurked in the dark. Paul, acknowledging her pathetic plea and as the least threatening individual, had quite regretfully accepted. Just as long as she would not get in his way, everything should be fine between them; so as he had thought.

The un-named opponent retreated his Toxicroak back into its Pokéball. Names of his defeated opponents were not of that much importance for the unfriendly Pokémon Trainer anyways. Bowing towards Paul and Dawn, he thanked them for their time and went off his way.

"Great battle!" The bubbly girl beamed as she walked towards her companion. "You and Torterra are incredible."

After having called back his Pokémon, he glanced towards her and gave a scoff. He then grabbed his bag and walked past by her, making his way towards the icy mountain.

Dawn furrowed her eyebrows, frowning in irritation. What a snobbish jerk. He's been acting like this all day—heck! Scratch that, he's been acting like this ever since! It had already been about a month since the two have been travelling together and she assumed that things would flow through more smoothly; that she would have gotten used to his attitude. Still, every seemingly offensive remark, grimace, or sneer from him enraged her to the very core.

It was as if she felt that he disregarded her as a person. That she could withstand and tolerate anything he would throw at her. But Dawn, like anyone else, had that perimeter of patience; and she now believed it was about time to give him a piece of her mind.

"Paul!" she heatedly yelled out to him.

He did stopped in his tracks, however, did not bother to turn about and face her. "What?" came his stoic response.

Dawn rushed up forward to face him herself. A blazing wrath burned grimly in her deep cerulean eyes. Her hands were clenched in a tight fist as she controlled herself from punching him right into his impassive face.

"What is your problem, huh?"

Paul narrowed his eyes, raising a brow without saying a word.

"I just complimented you on what a great battle that was, didn't I? It was a nice thing to do, right? And you end up acting like such a jerk to me! What is it with you?! What is your problem?!"

Warm tears that contrasted the cold weather then started to brim, glistening her eyes. Her usually pale face now as rosy as the tint of twilight. Dawn clenched her hands into a fist. She did not care if he saw her cry. He had seen her do so before anyways. Could I really stand more of him? It was my choice to travel with Paul anyways.

Paul looked away, obviously uncomfortable with the sight of an infuriated crying girl in front of him. The two were no longer children; and so of course, both knew how to better determine and respond to the emotion of others. Albeit this was still a challenge to Paul, he had learned to become quite a bit better at it.

Letting go a deep held sigh, Paul glanced into Dawn's teary blue eyes. Knowing he had messed up big this time, he simply remained silent—not knowing what else to say or do. He merely stood there in front of her, feeling the cold wind numb his face. The anger dwelling within Dawn gradually subsided into that of sadness and disappointment. She hung her head down and kept silent. She admitted to herself that she did rather quite feel as if she had just embarrassed herself in front of him. She should have already expected his curtness.

Paul parted his lips, breaking the heavy silence. "It's getting colder and it would be dark soon. Let's go make a fire and find a place to rest." The girl said nothing but gave a small nod. She then trudged slowly behind as he led the way.

Somewhere by the foot of Mt. Coronet, the two found a small cave where they could stay for the night. Dawn remained silent for the rest of the trip, keeping about a two-meter distance. Paul did have to admit that the unusual quietness from the giddy girl made him feel uncomfortable.

"Stay here," he told her. "I'll go get some firewood."

Dawn did as she was told. Taking out a bright yellow blanket from her bag, she wrapped it around herself to keep warm. The thought of what had happened earlier still fresh in her mind—playing vividly like a broken record. She wondered if Paul did even ever spare some time to think about it himself.

It did not take long for Paul to return with the firewood. Lighting up a match stick, he then threw it onto the wood and wordlessly watched the fire ignite. The two remained still and silent as they watched the orange, yellow, and blue shades of the fire dance about. Dawn looked over to Paul and took notice he had nothing on but his jacket. Being the kind soul she is, she then softly offered if he would like to share her blanket with him.

"No thanks," he simply said, his gaze returning to the fire.

Another long silence remained. Usually, the quietness that lingered in-between them felt casual, if not comfortable. This particular moment, however, was slightly rather tense.

"Why did you come with me?"

Those words were what broke the uneasy, heavy air between them. Dawn's attention was abruptly seized as she turned to face him. "Huh?"

Paul returned her stare with that of his own, and repeated his question. "Why did you choose to come with me?"

The girl found herself challenged with the question. At the top of her mind, she would have just answered plainly that it was for concerns in security, simply having a companion in travelling and training, etcetera. No words, however, have left her lips.

"Well?" he urged again, impatiently waiting for her answer.

"I… I don't know."

The boy raised a brow. "You don't know? What kind of an answer is that?"

Dawn looked away, her gaze returning to the fire. Obviously he was not going to let her go for such a petty answer. "I-I just don't know, all right?"

"You just don't go along travelling around with people for unknown reasons." He pressured her. "It's either you have something you want from the person or you're just too weak and pathetic to take on a journey just by yourself."

Dawn sent him a scowl. "What? And you think I'm the latter?" she retorted with a raised voice. Paul glared back, as if attempting to trigger her.

"That's not what I said. But what do you think?"

Bridging her eyebrows and gritting her teeth, Dawn felt rage start to build up within her once more. "You really want to know the truth, Paul?"

"You don't say."

Dawn ignored the sarcastic remark. After calming herself down with a deeply held breath, she faced him, then she parted her lips to speak sincerely.

"I just… I wanted to know you better."

Her tone was quite meek and shy. Paul felt quite puzzled and confused. Raising a brow, he asked her to elaborate on her answer. A request that may have sounded polite for someone such as him. Dawn stretched her arms and held her blanket closer. She hugged her knees close to her chest and leaned her head and back against the dampened cave wall. She bent her head sideways and turned her eyes over to where her companion sat, wanting to use this moment as to slightly irritate him knowing he was rather impatient. Paul leaned his back against the walls as well. He still had his intense stare locked at hers as he waited for her to speak.

Dawn watched the fire continued to burn. "At first I only wanted to go because I knew you were a strong Trainer and that you could be of help in times I would get into trouble," she began. "Of course I've already expected you to call me out as pathetic, annoying, stupid, or troublesome. But should you know… I took that risk, hoping I would just get used to it." Peculiarly, she gave him a smirk. "Guess I still have to work on my resilience, eh?"

Paul said nothing, still waiting for her to go on.

"Anyways," she continued. "Honestly, the first days were hell. You were so rude, cold, aloof—it almost drove me insane! I thought that you would have changed after the Sinnoh League by then." The girl stretched her legs and found a small pebble to fiddle with. "I had considered leaving you behind, but then again, I just kept telling myself that this was who you are and that I just have to deal with it if I were to keep moving forward. I'm not one to give up so easily too, y'know."

"It's been a month, hasn't it?" Paul side-commented.

"Yeah, it has been." Dawn agreed, quite surprised that he had been counting.

There was a brief silence before Paul inquired another question. "You said you wanted to know me better. Since when has that become your reason to travel with me?"

"Quite recently actually," she simply answered looking up and about the surroundings of the dark cave. "But then that was only a rough idea. The only time I have recognized it as my definite reason was when we argued just a while ago." Dawn gave him a warm smile when she saw him avert his gaze away from her. "Well you see, we've always been fighting. You were always on my nerves, infuriating and annoying me. It's a surprise I haven't had Typhlosion burn you alive."

Paul stared daggers as Dawn giggled at her own small joke.

"Um, okay. Sorry," she apologised as soon as she finished laughing. "The truth is, I was curious as to why you always acted the way you are, you know—snobbish and callous. Sometimes I thought, maybe it's just really your personality. But then again, I considered how context can build character. Maybe there was something that happened… You know when you were just a kid?"

"What?" Paul responded somewhat defensively.

"Why? Was I right?" Dawn inquired, attempting to get him to open-up about his past. "Did something happen before?"

The purple-haired trainer folded his arms. "I don't talk about it."

Dawn glared. It was going to be one of these times when just as she finally gets to allow his reserved character to open up, even if just for the slightest; he decides to shut himself out. Yet, this merely made the blunette turn even more unyielding. "You don't talk about anything! Come on, please! Please, please, Paul! Just tell me this once and I'll never ever talk or open my mouth ever again!" The girl continued to plead as she leaned closer towards him, her hands clasped together in a prayer-like gesture. Dawn was indeed intensely persistent. She inched closer as she continued begging Paul to tell her his story, eventually invading his personal space.

Paul felt a nerve break. Giving her a menacing look, the young lady then halted in her plea. Sighing, he sat up straight. "Fine," he finally said. "Just… don't try to feel sorry, or do anything stupid or awkward."

Dawn clapped in delight. "Great! Oh, I mean… all right."

What she did next, slightly surprised him. She sat close by his side, and shared her blanket, placing the covers by his shoulder. "Anytime now, I'm ready to listen!"

Paul stared at the fire. How do I even start? Turning to face her, he asked, "What do you even want to know?"

Dawn was quite taken aback, realizing how close his face was to hers. "Oh, uh, anything… you could tell me about your parents. Oh, and about you and Reggie!"

"My parents are gone. What about Reggie?"

The girl frowned. "No, you have to tell me everything in detail. And with Reggie, you seemed to be so mean to him someti—!"

"He disappointed me," he cut her off. "I don't want to end up like him. Though, I appreciate how he pushes me to train hard and grow stronger. He knows that."

Dawn nodded in understanding. She recalled the time she had watched him battle the Pyramid King, Brandon, and had seen how emotionally attached he was to his brother's own loss. Paul sure is aiming for the top, she thought to herself. It's either 'go big' or 'go home and train harder' for him. She then playfully nudged him by the side. "Hey, that's not how you tell a story, Mister Grouchy-pants. You have to tell me when it happened, how it started, and all those other important stuff."

Paul raised a brow. For some peculiar reason, he felt more at ease seeing that Dawn's smile has once again returned. "Why?"

"Because that's just the best way to tell a story!"

"I don't want to. It's a nuisance."

"B-But! You promised to tell me!"

"I answered your stupid questions, didn't I?"

Dawn pursed her lips. His harsh tone seemed to have returned. However, her temper started flaring up again as well. She had to pause for a while as to simmer down. A few more moments, she attempted once more. I'm not one to give up, Paul. A quaint smile curved her lips as she said, "If it would help you to tell me, would you like me to tell you my story?"

The cold winds began to blow harshly. Dark clouds covered the sky, threatening of the momentary arrival of a thunder storm. Small droplets of rain which then gradually grew heavier by the minute fell from the lifeless grey skies. The surroundings smelled of damp mud and grass. Many of the wild Pokémon scurried off to find shelter from the inevitable.

"A storm's approaching," Paul muttered, ignoring Dawn's question as he looked upward to face the skies.

Dawn followed his gaze. "But shouldn't we be safe here?"

Paul shook his head. "No. This cave is too small and shallow. I'll go out and look for a better place. You stay here and keep out of trouble, got it?" Giving no chance for the girl to respond, he quickly left.

Dawn felt rather lonely having to wait for him. However, her curiosity and contemplation on Paul's life kept her company. She longed to learn more about him—his parents, and why he was tough on Reggie and his Pokémon. Other than his past, she wanted to know about his life-long dreams, his ambitions, what has kept him determined all these years. If only he would just tell me, she mumbled in a whisper.

"Unfortunately, w-we are s-stuck he-here." In about less than half an hour, Paul had returned. He appeared completely drenched from the rain, leaving tiny puddles of rain water wherever he stood. His purple-hair somewhat dimmed into a pale shade of plum, and he clung tightly to the sides of his jacket shivering from the cold. Dawn immediately stood and wrapped her warm yellow blanket over his shoulders.

"D-Don't," he tried to decline through his chattering teeth. "Y-You'll get c-cold."

She shook her head. "Don't worry about me," she replied with a warm smile. "You look like you might catch hypothermia."

Widening her smile, the blue-haired girl had an idea. Fussing over her bag, she looked for Typhlosion's Pokéball. Calling out her Pokémon, she requested for him to sit in-between her and Paul for a while as so they could get some warmth. Typhlosion complied and silently sat in between the two.

It was getting quite late, yet unfortunately, the thunder storm kept the two vigilant and thus, restless and wide awake. Dawn, quite intolerant of long silences even if it were with Paul, leaned forward to look over where her travelling companion sat. She wanted to ask him another question, yet paused herself as she observed him locking his gaze upon the dying fire, deep in thought. He had his hands holding on to the ends of her blanket, seemingly warmed a bit from the cold.

Dawn leaned back to her initial stance and took a deep breath. Aw come on, she whined to herself. Can this silence get any longer? I feel so bored! She leaned over once more to check on him, now this time, he had caught her glimpse.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh! I, uhh—I just… wanted to ask you something," replied Dawn with a nervous chortle. "But you were so deep in thought that I could not find myself to ask the question."

"If this is going to be one of your stupid questions again about my parents or my brother, then don't bother asking at all."

"No, it isn't! I swear!" Dawn cried out, gesturing with her hands for him to give her his attention. "I wanted to ask you about your dreams…"

Paul's head slightly turned up and raised one of his brows. "My what?"

Typhlosion looked at Dawn and yawned, as if requesting if he could sleep inside his Poké ball now instead of listen to the two converse about personal matters. Dawn patted his furry head in thanks and held out his Poké ball for him to return to. With Typhlosion back in his ball, Dawn inched closer to fill the gap.

"I wanted to ask about your dreams. You know… Your ambitions and what made you believe in that dream," she told him with a grin. "I want to know why you chose this path, your goals, and what's been keeping you so motivated."

"Why are you so persistent on my personal life?"

"Because, I already told you! I want to know you better." Even she was getting quite impatient. "I never hesitate to answer your questions, so just… please, try to answer mine."

Paul narrowed his eyes and stared at her, making her feel quite uneasy. He then felt his fists tighten as he tugged on to something soft and yellow—Dawn's blanket. He had not realised that he had been covered by it for a while. Sighing, he felt his breathing slow down a pace.

"Is this what you really want?" he asked, his stare unmoved. "To know me better?"

Dawn nodded simply. "Thing is, I don't want to just, you know, keep thinking about you in such a negative way. Everyone has their esteemed qualities. I know yours include your determination and perseverance, but… I just, was hoping to know more. I'd think you're much more than the rude, insensitive, introvert people always say you are."

Paul never had anyone think of him in such a way. Not even Barry, nor his brother Reggie, recognized him as such. He felt as if they only tolerated him or admired him for his rigidness and strong will. But this girl, Dawn, did the effort to know him—even bluntly asking him the most personal questions. Even if he dismissed or pushed her away, she would not give up and would stubbornly ask him her questions or bring up topics concerning him.

He briefly paused, before he spoke out. "I really don't know what's going in your head right now, but fine. I'll talk."

Dawn moved a bit closer to better hear him speak. The shared body warmth they seemed to have produced a peaceful, intimate atmosphere.

"My goal, my dream… is to become this region's champion—the Sinnoh Champion. I wanted to be recognized as someone who has worked himself and his Pokémon more than hard enough to get to the top. I wanted to prove to Reggie that I would not follow in his steps, and prove to my parents, especially my father, that I can become who I wanted to be without their help."

"Just wanting to make the connections," informed Dawn. "But why do you talk so ill of your family?"

"Because they're weak. They were never there for Reggie and I," Paul answered with no hint of emotion. "It was because of them that Reggie and I grew in adversity. But Reggie had it harder. He had to work a lot, day and night, to make sure he and I would live."

"What happened to your parents? Did they divorce? Why did they leave?"

"I don't know," Paul replied impassively. "Father left home when I about two years old. Mother had to go abroad, but she never came back. Reggie keeps telling me that she would, one day... But I really don't care."

"I see," Dawn noted in a whisper, pursing her lips. She felt lucky enough to have grown up with a loving supportive mother, and have met such wonderful friends. Though her family was not perfect, she knew well enough that she given much love and compassion. It was the opposite for Paul.

The heavy rain continued to pour down. A flock of Starly and Staravia could be heard from the outside. The trees branches swayed with the wind, as the leaves were carried off to wherever the strong breeze guided them. At times, the thunder would give a loud crash, but the two seemed too engaged with their conversation that had paid little mind to it.

"You know something Paul?" Dawn spoke as she met his mauve eyes. He returned her gaze. It was a different atmosphere seeing the usually giddy girl behave so sincere and meekly. The transition was noticeable, yet allowed for rapport to build in nicely. "I think—I mean, know for sure that you would become Champion," she smiled genuinely. "You're strong, hardworking… You're determined to win." The bright curve on her lips then transfigured into a sheepish one. "But to become Champion, means… you need to know how to let go of whatever's holding you back or got you down. Move on from it, hang on to what is making you strong."

"My family's not holding me back."

"No, but your ill feelings for them are."

Paul glowered. "What are you saying?"

"The way you're acting so rude and callous, right now? You're projecting the grudges you hold. You have to let go," she said sincerely, placing a tender hand by his shoulder. "Remember your battle with Brandon? You were so engrossed with the past that were unable to control your emotions. Sorry for pointing this out, but maybe that's why you didn't win."

"Hn." Paul closed his eyes and turned away. Dawn was about to fully express her annoyance once more, but was taken aback after what she had just heard him say.

"You're right."

Dawn shook her head, her eyes wide with quite a surprise. Did he just admit that I was right? The girl froze in place. "Paul, the rain might have given you a fever… Are you all right?"

The boy took a step further from her and turned his back, hiding away any facial expressions. "I'm being held back by the past. I know that I should move on, but trying not to think about it is not as easy as it seems."

"…I know what you mean," empathised Dawn. "I may not have had the terrible childhood you grew up with, but I know how difficult it is to accept things the way they are and move on." She then gave a small chortle. "Mine wasn't a situation though—rather, a person."

Paul looked back to get a glimpse of her. "What do you mean?"

Dawn gently took him by the hand and turned him to fully face her. "Paul, the past cannot be changed, edited, erased or even, forgotten. But much like a person, like the one whom I facing now, the past can only be learned from and accepted." Realising her hands were still on his, she quickly pulled back and felt her cheeks slightly blush. Afraid that he might see, she feigned a cough and turned away.

Paul smirked, not as one of arrogance, but rather more of amusement. "Hm. I would have totally agreed with you, but maybe, you'd like to think about it when you said that, like the past, people don't change."

In a mere seconds, the harsh rains seemed to have come to a stop. The night sky was finally revealed, along with a bright crescent moon and dazzling stars. The breeze remained cool to the touch and now was lulling the two to rest soon.

"Let's get some rest. It's been a long day," Paul suggested as he took out his sleeping bag and lay down to sleep.

Dawn nodded and did the same. She thought about what Paul meant about reconsidering her metaphor. It was then when he told her "good night" that she perfectly knew what he meant.