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They'd be up soon.

Coming to large cities was always one of Brock's favorite times; it meant
that they had more money, and thus, Pokemon Centers which doubled as inns--
or vice versa. Hearthome certainly qualified as a large city, and thus, the
lap of luxury was his to enjoy, if only for a couple of nights.

One day he'd tell Ash how they so often managed to stay in these places for
free. After all, he always asked. Gym Leader cred and several favors to as
many Nurse Joys over the years (sadly, none of those favors were of the
type he would've preferred, but that's another story entirely) had pretty
much earned Brock and whatever party he might've been traveling with carte
blanche to stay anywhere he wanted. Still, he let it stay a secret. It was
more fun that way.

Right now, he was up before everyone else; something he was used to.
Sunrise had just broken, and he was hard at work getting together
ingredients for breakfast. Separate sets were laid out, naturally; one set
for the humans in the brigade, and another for the Pokemon. Being able to
do this in a nice, central-heated room instead of outdoors in unpredictable
weather was always a plus.

He heard a knock at the door of their suite. It was polite, but firm. Brock
pondered as he went to answer it. Sure, some trainers would be up around
now, but who among those they knew?

That was when he opened the door, saw the fire-red hair and bubble-vest to
match, and inwardly kicked himself for not knowing.

---
Pokemon (Diamond and Pearl): "Lines"
Characters copyright Nintendo/The Pokemon Company/Game Freak.
Story copyright Racewing.
Created: April 2008.
---

"Oh, hey, Zoey," Brock said, just before his eyes wondered to the Pokemon
in her arms--a sleeping penguin. "Say, isn't that-"

Zoey nodded. "It followed me home. I'd ask to keep it, but I know someone
who might want it even more than me."

"No kidding. Wonder how it got out in the first place?"

"I asked that same question when I found it. I'd have returned it last
night, but it was way too late."

"I understand. Thanks for looking after it. I'm sure Dawn appreciates it."
Brock held his hands out, ready to take Piplup back.

But Zoey held onto it--a tiny bit tighter, it seemed, at the mention of
Dawn's name. "Um... hang on."

"Hmm?" intoned Brock, narrowing his eyebrows.

In a rare moment, Zoey's voice became soft and reserved. "I know this is
going to sound weird, but... can I bring Piplup back to her myself?"

Several seconds of silence passed between Brock and Zoey as their eyes
met--each reading the other.

Finally, Brock nodded. "She's in the room behind us. Be careful and quiet.
Just in case she's still asleep."

---

She was.

Piplup must have sensed its trainer's presence, because once Zoey entered
the room, it opened one eye, then the other, and its mouth a second later,
ready to chirp in happiness at their reunion.

Before it could, Zoey placed her index finger over her lips, making a soft
"shh" sound, and Piplup closed its mouth again. Zoey cuddled it in
response, glad that the two shared an understanding by this point.

Placing Piplup on a nearby chair, she then turned to the door... and then
looked back. She hated herself for doing so, because in that moment, she
knew that she'd be powerless against doing what she, in fact, did next.

Walking to Dawn's bedside, she knelt, and looked. Gazed, even.

It was the first time she'd ever seen Dawn completely at peace, sleeping
like this. It was somewhat refreshing, considering that whenever the two
ran into each other, the blue-haired girl tended to rapidly switch between
the roles of a bouncing ball of energy, and a trainer who was forever
worried and nervous over how she would look in the spotlight, with all
eyes on her.

Ironic, actually, given her catchphrase. Oh, well.

But right now? It was a sight to behold, and Zoey concluded that, by far,
her friendly rival of a Pokemon coordinator looked her best like this.

Shame about her bed-head, though. She wondered how Dawn managed to fix that
every morning.

Still unable to help herself, Zoey softly and slowly took one of Dawn's
hands into both of her own, closed her eyes, and smiled as she reflected on
recent events...

---

Last night--the night after the Hearthome City Pokemon Contest--had been
very interesting for Piplup. It wasn't supposed to have been, though.

Piplup had tried to go to sleep. It really had. But it just couldn't.
It'd kept smelling food. Delicious food. Pokemon food.

Late into the night, once Brock had opened the door to get some ice from
the public dispenser, Piplup had seen its chance to zoom off in the
direction of the smell. When it had gotten to the source, however (Nurse
Joy had been preparing some food for her own Pokemon assistants), all of
the food had been snatched up, and the site abandoned. It'd all been for
nothing.

Worse still, Piplup was quick to realize that it couldn't find its way
back. Every door in every hallway looked exactly the same. It was hopeless.

Alone, lost and dejected, Piplup wandered, until someone had heard its
cries. Someone who had heard them before. A door close by opened, revealing
a redhead in cotton pajamas that were clearly one size too large for her.

"Whoa, hey, I know you. What're you doing out here all alone? Your trainer
anywhere around?" Zoey poked her head outside, looking up and down the
hall. "Hello? Dawn? You there?"

Nothing.

"Huh." With a shrug, Zoey picked up Piplup. "Guess you're mine till the
morning. Hey, feel like keeping me company? All my Pokemon are asleep."

"Piplup!"

"Great!" Zoey took it into her room, shutting the door behind her.

The room was dim, with only a faint light coming from the room's bulb--the
rest came from the television. Zoey sat herself and Piplup in front of
it.

"Maybe you can help me out," she said.

"Lup?"

"Yeah. I'm watching footage of the matches from earlier today. You can
always learn from your own mistakes, and those of others--as well as
everybody's strengths. Like right here," she said, pointing to a random
trainer's performance. A Thundershock from an Electabuzz bounced off of a
set of expertly tossed coins via a Persian's Pay Day to spell a message in
the air. "Pretty keen. I never would have thought of skywriting."

Piplup stared on in awe.

"And here..." Zoey pressed a button, skipping a chapter on the disc. "This
is the part where Nando totally trounced us. I mean, for a guy who splits
his time and attention between gym battles and contests, you wouldn't ever
be able to tell the difference. He fights like a dedicated coordinator."

Onscreen, Glameow's Fury Swipes clashed with Kricketune's X-Scissor.
Organic as the involved appendages may have been, the ensuing sound effect
was not unlike swords meeting in battle. Sparks flew, and made quite the
spectacle, which wowed the audience, but in the end, the stronger attack
won out, and the victorious trainer had taken all of the points.

It was a credit to the strength of Zoey's Glameow that it had still been
standing after the clash, but her official meter had run out just the same.

Zoey looked at her Glameow now, curled up and asleep on the other end of
the couch. "Glameow tried to play the loss off, but I know it was kind of
bummed about the whole thing."

The penguin looked over at the cat, then spoke up. "Piplup? Pip-pip-lup?"

"Heh, thanks for asking." Zoey took the time to stroke the Glameow's fur. A
light purr could be heard in reply, despite its slumber. "Nah. Glameow's
made of really tough stuff. It just rests it off, then bounces back, ready
to take on all comers."

Piplup chirped again, this time with a nod.

"Yep, just like you! Don't think I don't notice." With a happy sigh, Zoey
rested her head back, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes. "Like trainer,
like Pokemon, right?" she asked, before pressing a button on the remote
once more.

Dawn's performance warped onscreen. Zoey took mild amusement at Piplup's
obvious interest at the sight.

"You and Pachirisu were phenomenal today," she said, as Sweet Kiss hearts
were engulfed by Bubble Beam bubbles. "I couldn't tell her straight out,
but I know exactly why Dawn was upset that you guys still lost the first
round. It was because she knew how well you did.

"But Pokemon coordinator competition is fierce, especially here at
Hearthome. Sometimes your best just isn't good enough--sometimes it's
nowhere /near/. Dawn learned that lesson today... and so did I." Zoey took
Piplup in her arms again, embracing it. "And despite what I told her,
sometimes all the Pokemon-hugging in the world won't take away the sting
any faster. Only time can do that."

Letting go of Piplup, she turned off the television, walked to her bed, and
got inside. Piplup followed, parking beside her. Idly placing a hand on
Piplup's head, Zoey lay on her back, staring past the ceiling, and into
space.

"I... I know Dawn thinks that being like me is some kind of goal she needs
to reach; and I'm flattered. Really, I am. But the truth of the matter is,
it goes both ways." Her voice took on a faraway tone . "She has qualities I
wouldn't mind having. She's so /carefree/. I don't know how she does it.
Even beyond that, we both have lots of things to learn. Hopefully, we can
learn them together.

"I know she's on the right track, though. The Pokemon should always come
first in a coordinator's life, and the love she has for you guys is written
on her face--even if something else, deep down, always seems to be
bothering her."

Zoey turned to face Dawn's first Pokemon, and to give it a heartfelt
request.

"Take care of her, okay, Piplup? I want her to realize her dreams. All the
better if she does at the same time I realize mine."

"Piplup," said the penguin, now determined.

---

I wish you knew the line I walk, every time we meet.

I can't go easy on you for anything, because you've got so much potential,
Dawn. You know it, I know it, and somewhere along the line, I promised
myself I'd help you bring it out. Which means I can't ever have you resting
on your laurels.

But at the same time, if I'm too hard on you, I might drive you away.
Away from coordinating, away from your dreams... away from me. If that
happened, I'd never be able to forgive myself.

There's so much I want to tell you, Dawn. Not silently like this, not
through your Pokemon, but right to you. Maybe one day I'll know when to do
so--not to mention how.

---

The redheaded trainer could feel her solar plexus twisting as she poured
out her heart through concentrated thought, as if somehow Dawn could
somehow hear her--through /sleep/, no less.

The uneasiness only became stronger with each passing second, until Zoey
knew she had to do something. Anything/. Anything more than the /nothing
that she was doing right now, and which was only making things worse.

She decided she would.

After gathering all of her nerve--and then throwing it all out of the
window--she leant forward, and placed her lips to Dawn's cheek. Having
closed the small distance between them, she could make out the aroma of the
hotel's flower-scented powder mixed with the slight musk of sweat as she
stayed where she was.

Zoey savored the scent, and the moment, for almost a minute, not really
wanting to end any of it, but knowing that the longer she waited, the
harder it would be to do so.

She sighed as she finally pulled her lips and hands away. No change could
be seen in Dawn's blissful slumber--clearly, the young coordinator had been
none the wiser about the whole thing. Zoey stood, and turned around,
towards the door. It was just as well-

-then Dawn groaned, showed signs of stirring, and Zoey just knew she'd
pushed her luck too far. When Dawn woke up--which would surely be in mere
moments--things were going to get very weird, very fast.

Only Dawn didn't wake up. She simply rolled to her side, and clutched her
pillow, whispering in her sleep:

"I... I'm sorry, Mom--I still wasn't good enough..."

And just like that, so much was made clear.

Sometimes, Zoey hated being right; especially in this case, because this
was clearly something that Dawn would have to work out for herself.

She wished her luck.

---

"Ahh, there you are. Dawn still asleep?" Brock asked as Zoey closed the
door to Dawn's bedroom.

"Last I checked. Hey, thanks for letting me in. Um... you won't..."

Brock shook his head. "I won't tell her. It looked like something you
needed to do--and we trust you. More importantly, Dawn trusts you."

A sigh of relief escaped Zoey's lips despite herself. "Thanks. I hope you
guys have fun today." She reached into the pocket of her vest, and took out
a piece of paper. "Oh, could you give this to Dawn when she wakes up?"

"Sure," Brock said, just before looking at it. "Hey, this is a pass for the
tag battles they're going to be holding here today."

"Yeah, it was mine, but I think I'll let Dawn have it. I'm thinking...
maybe if she isn't concerned about how only she looks during battles, she
might feel better during them, you know?"

Brock nodded. "You may be on to something. So what are you going to do?"

"Same thing I always do."

Zoey slung her traveling bag over her shoulder, slipped her glasses over
her eyes, and grinned with confidence.

"Go on ahead of you guys," she finished, walking out the door, and waving
behind herself. "See you when you catch up."

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