Castle in the Sky

A Pokémon Two-shot by TKCat

Summary: Wild fantasies can't make something unbelievable happen; there is no such thing as dragons and fairytales coming true. There's just no way Dawn could make Paul open up, no matter how hard she wished for it. But then again; in the world of Pokémon, they do have dragons and fairytale-like creatures…

The group is once again meeting Ash's former travelling companion, May, who've just placed first in Johto's Grand Festival. She's meeting them at Sunnyshore City to give Ash a final sign of good luck for the Sinnoh League Conference – but Dawn is sensing something deeper in the meeting. Slowly, she's realizing her own chances at a love story on her journey are fading away. Then she bumps into Paul. If you have a Paul, something's bound to happen… especially if you happen to be Dawn. A meeting outside at night is all needed to light the bomb…

Rating: K+

Paring: Ikarishipping (Paul/Dawn), (hinted) Advanceshipping (Ash/May)

Genre: Romance, General

Warnings: Mild Language, Spoilers

Beta'ed by: [Unbeta'ed]

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or anything related to the series.

A/N: Ikarishipping is just a recent obsession of mine – just not in a lovey-dovey way. I can't see this pairing being head over heels in love at once, but rather in a more subtle kind of love that evolves from mild annoyance to acceptance, and then a sort of familiarity that can evolve into love. That's why I like the pairing: the relationship will take time to build, which makes room for a good story.

Cheers to Frozen Kiwijuice for writing one of the stories that "converted" me to the pairing (check out "Casting a Spell", it has great potential!), even though it's to her annoyance that my heart still lives in Advanceshipping, and that Pearlshipping also is among my favorites… sigh…

Anyway, please enjoy the story!

-Castle in the Sky-

Part 1

The morning was beautiful and filled with light in the evergreen forest, a few miles outside Sunnyshore City. Just the night before, Ash, Brock and Dawn made a stop in a clearing near a river to give everyone time to rest up before taking Ash's final steps towards the Sinnoh League. Surprisingly, every human and Pokémon of the group lived up to the status "early raiser" this wonderful morning, and the excitement in the air was not to be mistaken; especially not on Ash's part.

Dawn was gently tending to her hair while watching her good friend getting fired up. She gave a sigh of slight uncertainty as he already got down to packing his tent and collecting his belongings. Of course, it wasn't unusual for Ash to speed things up when he was nearing another Gym battle, and sure, this was his eighth and final badge, but she had this feeling that something else was burning his mind. Her feelings had lately had this habit of being awfully correct to times.

Twirling a long, cobalt lock of groomed hair between her fingers, she glanced over at Brock who was busy cooking their breakfast. She debated with herself whether it was in her place to straight out ask Ash about her suspicion, or if she should confront Brock about it. Deciding on the mature over the clueless, she finished putting her hair up and walked over to the breeder of the group.

"Hey, Brock," she started subtly to catch his attention. The humming response she got was taken as a cue to continue. "Have you noticed that Ash is a little… more excited than he usually is?"

"Oh, that," the breeder replied, lifting the stew off of the fireplace. Dawn breathed in the tempting scent and exhaled pleased. As usual, Brock's food emitted an appetizing smell worthy of any five-star restaurant out there. "Well, it could be because we're nearing Sunnyshore…" he continued, but didn't elaborate any further, much to Dawn's annoyance.

"Yeah, I've caught that mister obvious," she spoke in a sarcastic fashion, placing her hands on her hips. "But I feel like there's something else going on…"

"Mhm…" Brock agreed, placing the bowls out to fill them with the stew. "I guess it's simply the excitement of meeting May again. I mean, he hasn't seen her since the Wallace Cup, and that's a mightily long time ago now. We just got the message that she was meeting up with us in Sunnyshore yesterday… you remember her, right?"

Blue eyes widened in recognition. Of course she remembered May – Ash and Brock's former companion from their journeys in Hoenn and Kanto, currently competing in the Johto region. She had been the coordinator she'd barely beaten in the final of the Wallace Cup. No one could forget the perky, sweet Hoenn-girl once they'd met her. Especially not Dawn, who looked up to May as her senior in the art of Pokémon Contests and coordinating. A smile reached her lips at the thought of meeting her friend again. She'd tell May about placing as the runner-up in the Sinnoh Grand Festival, and perhaps they could even exchange some experience from their battles.

"Alright!" the excited shout from the group's aspiring Pokémon master broke off Dawn's speeding train of thoughts. Ash grinned widely, as he skidded to a halt in front of them. "I'm packed and all ready to go!" Pikachu jumped up onto its master's shoulder, mimicking the same excitement Ash expressed with a happy yelp of "Pika!"

"Hey, easy now," Brock said, humored by the determination in his long-time friend's eyes. "What's the rush? You haven't even had your breakfast yet."

"Breakfast…? Who needs breakfast! Sunnyshore City is just a few miles that wa—ugh…" Ash's fierce protest died with the loud rumbling that couldn't be mistaken for anything but his stomach crying for nutrition – from Brock's masterly cooking, preferably. Ash laughed cheaply, rubbing his abdomen in embarrassment. "Um… whops?"

Neither Dawn nor Brock could stifle a laugh at their friend's idiocy, but they wouldn't go without it. It was something that made Ash who he was, and brought laughter into their journey. Dawn mentally concluded that the girl who managed to win over her clueless friend would never have a dull day.

"I guess someone is ready for breakfast," Brock commented, smiling and handing the now stew-filled bowls to his companions. "Dig in, folks. We'll be on our way after breakfast. May's boat doesn't arrive before this afternoon around three, so we should have plenty of time to check into a Pokémon Center, stock up on supplies and such once we arrive."

The united cry of "Yeah!" sounded through the camp, along with pleased growls from the Pokémon. Dawn smiled happily to herself. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that the coming days would bring something good into her life. Her feelings were hopefully right this time. Piplup seemed to notice the ticklish feeling her stomach was going through. It gave her a knowing, yet concerned glance, to which she grinned. "No need to worry," she soothed, kneeling down to pat the small penguin's head. "I've got a good feeling about this. Let's do our best to impress May, okay?"

"Piplup!" was the cheerful answer she received. She giggled.

Yes, this definitely was going to be a good day.

-Pawn-

They arrived in Sunnyshore and checked into the Pokémon Center at noon (a familiar experience that included some flirting on Brock's part and Croagunk action, which made it all complete). The whole trip had been cheerful and had taken less time than Brock had estimated due to the excitement and willpower driving them. Sadly, that same willpower didn't get May's boat from Johto to arrive any faster, and the gang was now left with three whole hours to spend on sightseeing in Sunnyshore.

They had surprisingly met with Volkner upon arriving at the Pokémon Center. He informed them that they were making some small changes on the Gym, as he hadn't expected that they would be arriving so soon, but he'd be ready for their promised battle in two day's time. The news did nothing to dim Ash's mood, which came unexpectedly. Dawn could only guess that meeting with an old friend again was more worth than two days wait for a Gym Battle in Ash's eyes.

Volkner also suggested that they should go see Sunnyshore Tower again, if they were looking to kill time, and they all agreed to make that a stop on their sightseeing. However, before they could get started, more surprises were waiting for them at the Pokémon Center of Sunnyshore City. This time, Dawn was the one to spot it. Or rather, spot him.

"Oh, look," she said, nudging Ash's side to have him look in the same direction as her. Brock did the same, but Ash was the first one to react with a very normal exclamation.

"Paul!"

Said plum haired trainer turned to glare in the direction of the familiar voice – a glare that would send most spectators away – but to no avail. Dawn was sure Ash had developed some immunity towards Paul's "get away from me you annoyance"-glare, or he was simply too much of an idiot to get the message. She gave a dejected sigh over her friend, but honestly she couldn't say she disliked Ash's disrespect for his rival's wish to be left alone. She had learned a lot on her journey coming indirectly from Paul, so even if she still held a small grudge towards him for not remembering her name when they met at Oreburgh City she did respect the guy for being a good – even great – trainer. Every time Ash went to speak with Paul, that meant Dawn had an excuse to do it as well – which is why she followed Ash as he ran up to Paul. Brock tagged behind.

"Paul, what are you doing here?" Ash asked, more calm and collected than Dawn could remember him to have been around his rival before. Perhaps he really did mature a bit.

"Yeah, you said you'd already been to Sunnyshore. Why are you here now?" Dawn shot in, remembering Paul's comment on Sunnyshore Gym being a disgrace to every other Pokémon Gym the last time they met. That problem had been solved already, thanks to Ash, but Paul had still already gotten his eight badges.

A small snort escaped the addressed trainer, before he frowned at them. "You're competing in the Sinnoh League, and yet you haven't figured out how to get to the stadium. How pathetic…"

Ash immediately spluttered a broken protest, as they truly never had cared to look up how to get to the league once he had all his badges. Dawn decided to try and shut down her friend's embarrassment. "Oh, so if you're here, then there's a boat going from Sunnyshore to the league, right?" she asked perkily. The silent, though not denying look she got in reply confirmed it. She smiled brightly. "Why, thank you for informing us then."

Dawn wasn't sure if it was her imagination playing tricks on her, but she was sure Paul looked a little away from her when she paid her gratitude. He always does that when somebody says 'thank you', she noted mentally. Apparently, he wasn't used to helping people and receiving their gratitude. She let on a small grin. That's kind of cute.

"Wha…! Really…?" Ash exclaimed, newly found excitement lighting up his eyes.

"Yeah," Paul admitted, regaining his smug composure. "I'm taking the boat to the conference tomorrow morning. It's starting in less than two weeks." Ash gasped at this. Paul's next words were spoken smugly, the intention being to create tension. "You should hurry up getting your final badge, unless you already have it, of course."

Ash spluttered red at this. "W-Well, I'll have it! In two days time, but I definitely will!" His look changed to one of determination. Pumping his fist, he said a final punch line, "And then we'll battle again at the conference!"

Paul's smirk was the only sign of agreement.

Dawn couldn't help but notice how much their almost childish rivalry had developed to something much more mature. At least, they seemed to get along better. And if that was the case, then maybe… just maybe they could…

"Hey, Paul," she said, meeting said boy's gaze. She shivered unnoticeably as her cobalt orbs clashed with dark onyx. Only under few occasions had she been under the same intense look, and she could honestly understand why people avoided being on Paul's bad side. But she couldn't appear immature in his eyes, so she said what she had intended to in the first place. "Well, since you're here… we're going for some sightseeing before we're meeting an old friend of Ash. Perhaps, if you don't have something better to do… you could join us?"

Paul's head dropped a little, and for a minute Dawn thought he was actually considering the offer, but then a look of annoyance found its way to his face. "As a matter of fact, I do have more important things to do," he said, then pointed an accusing finger on Ash. "And if he is seriously considering getting as far as to battle me in the Sinnoh League, he shouldn't have time for sightseeing either. If you don't train, you can't even hope to beat me."

Ash immediately felt slight dread over the truth in those words, and not even his happy mood from before could help him get over the fact that Paul was right. Dawn felt a little of the same dread as she had been the one to suggest the sightseeing in the first place, and now she appeared to Paul as the thing she wanted to avoid – immature.

Shaking it off, she put on a smiling face and dug up what she saw as quick thinking. "Well, I was thinking we could do that once Ash's friend arrives! I mean the more trainers with unknown strategies and Pokémon, the better!"

Ash caught on and grinned widely as he expressed his agreement. Paul merely kept a placid expression, but changed it into another smirk and directed it on Ash. "You should stick closer to your little girl friend, Ash. She does enough thinking for the both of you."

As Paul left the Pokémon Center, Ash shouted a half-hearted comment after him about being perfectly capable of thinking for himself, while Dawn couldn't decide on whether to be embarrassed for Ash's sake or flattered that the Veilstone trainer had indirectly described her as smart. Ash's rival – no, Paul – thought she was smart. Though she knew not to take it too seriously, coming from Paul to Ash, she couldn't help a small smile. That definitely lifted her mood higher than she thought it could possibly go – and at the same time, awakened something strange in her. Now she'd have to prove that statement to be true. That's how she felt about it, anyway. For some unexplainable reason, she felt she had to prove herself to Paul, even though he wasn't her rival. It wouldn't really matter, in the eye of another coordinator, if she impressed someone who wasn't even interested in contests. But somehow, a strange feeling told her it would matter… for herself at least.

Piplup tugging at her leg was all needed to tell her to snap out of her thoughts. They were leaving.

-Pawn-

At three-forty, the gang was standing among the crowd down at the harbor, watching as the boat coming from Johto slowly arrived at the dock. Dawn watched Ash's concentrated expression for a second, as his gaze rolled over the faces of the people standing on deck. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, mouth widening into a huge grin. Following his line of sight, Dawn also spotted the person they were looking for. Standing in the middle of the line of people, waving dramatically over at them, stood a bandana wearing brunette Dawn could easily recognize as May.

May kept waving, and shouted after them to make sure they could see her. "Hey! Ash, Pikachu! Brock! Dawn!"

Ash kept on grinning and waved right back, "May! Good to see ya!"

Dawn noticed the warmth in his voice and the way his excitement seemed to have quadrupled in the spite of a few seconds. She couldn't help a genuine smile as she, too, waved back to May. It must be great to be so good friends.

Few minutes later, the boat was tied to the dock, and a very joyous May all but jumped over the staircase to give her dark-haired friend a hug with the force worthy an Ursaring. Though Dawn winced slightly at the huge power behind the greeting, Ash simply laughed and hugged the brunette right back.

"Oh, it's so good to see you! I can't believe I got to meet you again so soon!" the Hoenn coordinator squealed, finally letting go of the aspiring Pokémon master.

"Good to see you, too, May! But 'so soon'! I feel like it's been ages!" Ash replied, grinning. May giggled, and then proceeded to give a similar greeting to Brock, Pikachu, and at last Dawn. Piplup also got a gentle pat on the head and a comment on how strong and healthy it looked – much to its ego's happiness…

They ended up eating ice-cream at a café not far from the harbor as they told each other of their recent – and older – adventures. Once again, Dawn couldn't help but notice the sheer warmth and happiness radiating off of the Pallet Town trainer and the newly arrived Hoenn girl. Brock had been travelling with them, too, and though he did seem to be glad to meet May again, he didn't seem to have the same radiant aura around him. A detail that also raised her suspiciousness was the small glances May would unconsciously take at Ash, even when he wasn't speaking. Dawn inwardly raised an eyebrow. The affiliation between those two could end up being deeper than she had estimated…

"So, May," Brock said, taking the attention of the group. "Since you're having enough free time to visit us, I'm guessing the Johto Grand Festival is over."

"Oh! Yeah, that's right," May replied, smiling warmly and gaining an almost distant look in her deep, azure eyes – almost as if remembering some fond memories of a long time ago. Both Ash and Dawn waited in anticipation for her to tell them the results, but when May didn't speak up Brock decided to ask.

"Well, how did you do?"

The brunettes grin split into a grin before she pulled out something that looked like a small picture book. Holding it up, she leafed through it until she came to the last page, which she showed the gang. They all immediately leaned forward. Dawn squinted. The first picture on the page was of May and three people she couldn't recognize: two males and one more mature looking woman. The woman was very pretty, Dawn had to admit. Her long strawberry blonde hair was quite unusual, though it did remind her a little of Ursula. As for the boys: the one with the green hair was giving the camera an "I'm too good for you"-look, while the other posed happily, hugging May and wearing a green outfit that reminded her of a Cacturne.

"Oh, it's Drew!" Ash suddenly said, pointing at the green-haired boy.

"And Harley, and Solidad, too," Brock added, referring to the other people. He smiled at May. "So you and Harley have finally worked things out?"

"Gee, people, no! And that's not what I wanted you to look at!" May exclaimed in faked annoyance, but with an undertone of humor. She pointed to the picture on the second page, and the group followed her finger. Dawn gasped as she immediately recognized the person and the item in the picture. Ash and Brock did, too. May Grinned at their reaction. Raising her other hand she gave them a victory sign. "I placed first!"

The group immediately erupted into excited cheer.

"Whoa, congrats, May!" Ash said, and May happily said her thanks.

Brock nodded and smiled. "Good job, May. That means you are a top coordinator now, right?"

"Ah, well… yeah," May replied in a slightly embarrassed manner. Now Dawn was the one to be impressed. A lousy runner-up didn't seem worthy of anything against a true top coordinator. May quickly kept talking. "But I still don't feel completely content with myself. I barely won against Solidad – it was a fluke, really!"

"But as a top coordinator… don't you have a lot of things to do?" Dawn wondered, thinking about the TV-attendances, photo-shots and interviews her mother did in her time as a top coordinator. "Fluke or not, do you really have the time to visit us?"

"Why, of course!" May's reply came happily. "Like I said, I'm not really content with my victory… after this I'm going home to see my family, but after that I'll be out on the road again to aim for another Grand Festival in another region. You see, when I first started journeying, my idea of Pokémon was an excuse to travel and see the world. Though I'm into coordinating now, my heart still desires to travel. Coming to Sinnoh again was one of my top priorities! And, then… I got to see you guys again."

The group was happy with the explanation, and Dawn suddenly found herself even more amazed over May's goals and determination. She also realized how weak her own seemed at the moment. She didn't know what to aim for, and she hadn't really spent her time after her loss to Zoey training to become even stronger. In everyone's eyes, she probably looked like a scratched puppy that was still licking its wounds even after they were healed. She really needed to get out there and do something… anything. And then she'd decide further after the Sinnoh League, and take any opportunity presented to her.

"By the way, I saw you on TV! You did really great!" It took Dawn a second to realize the statement was directed at her.

"Um, thank you," she replied hurriedly, a little embarrassed that May had actually followed her battle against Zoey.

"That thing you did using Togekiss to show off both of your Pokémon was simply amazing!" May kept praising, pulling out every good point in the battle. Dawn also commented on her own mistakes, and in few minutes the girls were in a heated conversation about contests and showing off one's Pokémon correctly. They laughed, shared theories and ideas, and Dawn really felt like she was learning something – and at the same time she realized she had a long way to go when she was up against coordinators like May: coordinators who'd been through three Grand Festivals.

"Girls, how about this," Brock broke into their chat with a suggestion. "You two have a contest battle using the two Pokémon you used in your finals. That way, I'm sure we'll see some amazing contest moves, and you guys will both earn more experience!"

"Whoa, that's a great idea, Brock!" Ash immediately agreed, and May also stated her interest.

The top coordinator smiled at the Twinleaf coordinator. "What do you say, Dawn? Are you up for it?"

Dawn grinned. "You know I am! We're gonna show you how to really shine!"

"Don't celebrate before the victory is yours!" the brunette grinned right back at her, winking playfully. "How does tomorrow sound? We'll have our battle at noon, okay?"

"That's perfectly fine with me."

"I'll ask Nurse Joy if we can use the grounds outside the Pokémon Center," Brock suggested, also smiling with excitement. "It's by the ocean, to the scenery should also become a challenge to you. How does that sound?"

They all agreed on the terms, and Brock was also nominated the judge with no protests.

May smiled over at Dawn. "You should do your best no matter what, but I've got to say I have an advantage." Dawn stood confused at the statement, trying to figure out what she meant, but didn't get the chance to ask before May suggested sightseeing Sunnyshore City, as she'd never been there before.

They went everywhere, from shopping to visiting monuments like Vista Lighthouse and Sunnyshore Tower. They ate at restaurants which May picked out from a handbook, and Dawn learned that the Hoenn girl had a hobby regarding tasting food at all the restaurants she came across. They had a lot of fun, but Dawn couldn't get what May said out of her head. It became a buzzing annoyance that wouldn't get out of her thoughts, and she couldn't get herself to ask May about it.

When they returned that evening to the Pokémon Center to find their beds, it hit her like Pikachu's Thunderbolt. She was merely glancing at the TV-screen where the lady from Sinnoh Now announced that the Sinnoh region would start hosting Pokémon contests in a month's time. They also showed a small glimpse from her battle with Zoey, the Snowpoint coordinator being the one in focus. That's when it cleared for her, and dread flushed through her.

May had seen her performance on TV. She knew all her tricks. Dawn didn't even know what Pokémon May used in her battle.

She was at a huge disadvantage, indeed…

-Pawn-

Dawn was sure it was nearing midnight as she walked along the seashore, not too far away from the Pokémon Center. The air was colder than it was during daytime, but it still remained warm and humid. The sky had grown dark, and stars were beginning to show up. To Dawn's delight, it was a full moon that night. She had always loved those nights, as they helped her relax. She had a lot of things on her mind – she truly needed to relax right now.

But even the beautiful night sky couldn't help her relax tonight.

The others were fast asleep when she snuck out. Somehow, she couldn't get herself to catch some sleep. She'd need it if she was going to battle a top coordinator the next morning.

A deep sigh escaped her. She had just promised herself to do better, and now it seemed like she couldn't even keep a promise to herself.

May expected a good fight, but with the Hoenn girl knowing all her tactics, Dawn knew she didn't stand a chance. Not only was May a great coordinator, but she was also just about unknown to Dawn. The battle they had in the Wallace cup had been a single battle. She didn't know how May would do in a double battle, but apparently she was good as she had won the final in a double battle. Also, she knew about most of May's Pokémon, but for all she knew May could have been using any other Pokémon in the final.

"Oh, why does this have to happen to me!" she screeched to herself, tugging viciously at her hair as if it would ease her troubled mind. Realizing it wouldn't work, she let go and sighed again.

But she couldn't give up now. She said she was going to impress May, become a top coordinator herself someday… prove herself to Zoey, to Kenny… to Paul. Her heart skipped a beat as the last mentioned entered her line of thoughts. Again, a strange feeling bubbled up in her. Of course, impressing her rival coordinators was important, but once again her mind came to the conclusion that impressing Paul would matter the most. It would matter to Dawn.

Yes, she'd impress Paul, someone who didn't seem to ever be impressed by any contest move. And what would the Veilstone trainer do if he was in her position? He'd train. He'd train and come up with a new awesome technique, Dawn concluded. And I'll do the same.

Holding up the Pokéballs containing Togekiss and Piplup, she spoke assuring words to herself and her Pokémon. "I can do this. We can do this. Even if we'll be up all night, we'll definitely find a way of beating May. Guys, let's give it a shot! Togekiss, Piplup, spot—"

"Little girls shouldn't be up so late."

Dawn nearly tripped over while performing her pose as the deep voice startled her. She immediately regained her composure, only to lose it to surprise as she saw who was talking to her. There, in the moonlight, staring at her with the same intense gaze as she had felt earlier that day stood none other than Paul.

Dawn swallowed. What's he doing here?

End Part 1

A/N: There! Part 1! The Pawn-ness will be turned to the max in part two, so stay tuned, and until then: tell me what you think. Will Dawn be able to beat May? What is Paul doing on the beach? What will happen between the two? Will they realize something dearly important? Will Ash ever become SMART? Please wait for the next part!

Thank you for reading! *bows* (_ _)

-TKCat