Salutations ev'ryone! For my third fanfic, I want to make a more complex story with more OC's and more importantly…more romance. My previous two stories were mostly based on friendship and loyalty, but no romance! I can't call myself a Pokeshipper and not have a story with actual love; hopefully, this will satisfy you and me.

DISCLAIMER: Pokemon is owned by Nintendo

Summary: Ash tests his experience in battling, friendship, and love in the mother of all tourneys…the Pokemon League.

League Woes

And there it was…

"Slow down won't ya!" That complaint came from Misty. "I've told you a million times! We're not late for anything! Save some energy for the competition, alright Ash!"

"Sorry Misty, but I didn't listen to a word you just said!" Ash replied from a faraway distance, waving a hand in the air to signal that he was not going to stop.

"Gah! That boy will be sorry for not listening to me…"

"Give him a break for once." That statement came from Brock. "He's just reacting like we thought he would. You and I both know how hard he had to train to get this far, right?"

"When it comes to calming down the ol' Misty…no one does it better than you, Brock" Misty said with a sarcastic bend in her voice, purposely naming herself in the third-person.

"Hey thanks! I try my best."

But this was not one of those times. Wack!

"My nose!" Brock took a surprising blow, but sighed in relief when he found out his nose neither broke nor bled. "On second thought, Ash is acting really inconsiderate."

But Misty didn't sympathize with him. It seemed like there was nothing that could calm down the 'ol' Misty' today; her bad mood wouldn't allow it. Out of all days, this day was supposed one of her happiest as her best friend would be competing for a prize pursued by every trainer around the world. She would cheer for him at his side while he took the big stage, in front of dozens of cameras and millions of viewers. However, there was a small part of her that didn't want Ash to undergo all this glamour and fame. She had no idea why she was feeling this way. It was a bad feeling and she wanted to get rid of it. Did she sometimes wish Ash would fail? Absolutely not. Could jealousy be a possibility? Maybe.

"Okay, I guess I could give Ash a break…" Misty reckoned, agreeing to Brock's initial suggestion. "Thanks Brock!"

"No problem…" Brock lied, totally ignoring the problem of his damaged nose.

The two of them decided they had to run if they ever planned on catching up to Ash. If anyone knew Ash more – other than his own mother – It was his two best friends. And they knew he wouldn't stop running until he passed through those Pokemon League doors. But it turns out Brock and Misty didn't know so much about him after all. Ash stopped his running but he has yet to pass the doors.

"It's locked!" Ash was shedding tears as he tried pushing and pulling and twisting the knobs with all his strength. "No! I hope we're not too late!"

"Ash! What happened!" Brock called out, as he and Misty were approaching the doors as well.

"It's locked…I think we're late or something!"

"That's strange. We definitely aren't late. If anything, we're a few days early…" Brock verified, looking at the year's official guidebook for the Pokemon League.

"Then why are the doors locked…Misty!" Ash was staring directly at Misty in suspicion.

"Me?!"

"Yeah! You said we weren't late!"

"You heard Brock! We aren't late! Maybe your arms are just too scrawny to open the doors!"

"You're the one who's scrawny!"

Brock face-palmed in dismay, "Ash…you didn't…"

"Ash Ketchum!" Misty yelled with an echoing effect that flowed to the mountains and beyond.

It seemed that Misty's fist was about to meet Ash's cheek until a familiar voice broke into scene. "Well…isn't it Ash and his friends?"

The trio stopped their movements and turned their heads to see who was speaking.

"Mr. Goodshow!" They all spoke in unison.

"Yes, I'm glad you all remember me!"

"Mr. Goodshow, where did you come from?" Ash inquired, thinking that he should be inside the League gates rather than outside.

"Well, I heard someone scream your name and I rushed over here as fast as I could."

Misty gave an embarrassed giggle. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that…"

"So Ash, are you having some trouble opening the door?"

"Uh…" said Ash, not wanting to admit his inability to something as easy as opening a door.

"Ash! Answer the man!" Misty elbowed Ash, like a mother telling her child to stop being so shy. She decided to answer the question herself, "Yes, the door is locked and we can't get in."

"Any chance that we are late, Mr. Goodshow?" Brock added in.

"No, of course not! If anything, you're a few days early," confirmed Mr. Goodshow, almost quoting Brock's exact words from before.

Misty gave Ash a glare to show that she was right, soaking in her victory and serving no pity for Ash.

Ash maturely accepted defeat by refraining from Misty to ask Mr. Goodshow, "Why are the doors locked, then?"

"It's not locked…" Mr. Goodshow said simply.

Ash, Misty, and Brock were all confused.

"What do you mean, Mr. Goodshow?" Misty was the first to ask.

"Didn't you guys read the sign?" Mr. Goodshow pointed to a steel plate nailed on the side of the entrance with words engraved thoroughly that read:

Welcome all Pokemon trainers and

Congratulations for making it this far on your journeys!

The Pokemon League is just a door away, but here lies

One final test.

If you are truly worthy of your name as a Pokemon League participant

Then use any Pokemon of your choice to budge this door

If you aren't capable of such a task, we'll kindly ask you

To leave and try again next year.

Good Luck!

"A final test? Weren't the gym battles enough?" Misty said, fed up with this new League rule.

"It was my idea," Mr. Goodshow credited. "It's a way to weed out the weaklings from the elite!"

"Well I like it! This just makes things more exciting!" Ash reached for his waist and chose a Pokemon quickly but preparedly. "Go Snorlax!"

"Snorlax…good choice!" Brock mentioned.

The hefty, blue Pokemon surfaced from its pokeball with an unnatural eagerness in its face. A Snorlax would usually sleep all day – even during battles on occasion – and it would eat whenever it's rarely awake. But there was that saying where Pokemon take their characteristics from their trainers deemed true by Pokemon statistics; therefore, an outgoing Ash equals an outgoing Snorlax. The heavy Pokemon approached the door with the utmost confidence and had the strength to match as he pushed the doors open with ease.

"Alright Snorlax!" Ash proudly praised.

As he returned his Pokemon back into its pokeball, the doors were still swinging inwards to reveal an outdoor area filled with crowds of Pokemon trainers.

"Wow all of these people were able to pass the test too, huh?" Misty construed.

Brock gulped. "Not to mention that we're supposedly early…who knows how many trainers will end up competing."

"Don't be shy folks, go on in!" Mr. Goodshow suggested. "You'll see me later at the opening ceremonies, bye for now!"

The three trainers gave their thanks and followed one another into the League gates. There must have been at least five-hundred trainers there already, and they all looked extremely talented by their looks alone. No one had any of their Pokemon released from their pokeballs – excluding Ash's Pikachu – but there was this strange feeling of intimidation that paved its way into Ash's head.

"Ash Ketchum, are you shaking?" Misty asked over his shoulder, causing him to shake even faster.

"N-N-No…"

"Don't stress yourself. You can take these guys with your eyes closed…"

"Gee thanks Misty!" said Ash rejuvenated, although surprised at Misty's unexpected compliment.

But little did he know…Misty was just trying to contradict her feelings of jealousy by encouraging him even more than usual.

"Excuse me but I couldn't help overhearing…are you who they call Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town?" That question came from a young man, about the same age as Brock, as he emerged from the crowd of trainers.

"That's me! You hear that Misty? I'm famous!"

Misty's reaction to this couldn't have been more dismal.

"Heh. I pictured you much taller and older," The young man continued, as more of his personality began to show. "You don't look as tough as they say, either."

In no less than five minutes… Ash had experienced fear, happiness, and now anger. "As if you look so tough? How 'bout we battle to settle this?"

"You've read my mind…"

"Ash, you can't! It's against the rules to have battles outside the main tournament!" Brock warned, with a slight hint of irritation in his voice.

"Don't' worry, this will be quick!" Ash reassured Brock. "Let's go Pikachu!"

"Go Dugtrio!" The nameless Pokemon trainer announced.

"Pikachu, use your agilit-"

"Hold it!" said a blue-haired lady in a motorcycle, who stood in between the two trainers. "You guys should know that battles between participants are not permitted around here! Now I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disqualify both of you from the League's competition."

"What!" Ash jumped in total regret.

"That won't be necessary Officer Jenny…" That declaration came from a young girl, about the same age as Misty, as she emerged from the crowd just like the other trainer did.

"Oh really?" Officer Jenny raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. You see…this guy here isn't a Pokemon League participant." The young girl said, pointing at Ash's opponent.

"He isn't?!" Ash broke in.

"Nah, Little Al here was probably just pretending again. Weren't you, Little Al?" smirked the young girl, squeezing the boy's cheek like someone would do with a baby.

"Enough with the pet names already, Leslie!" retorted 'Little Al', with his tough-guy impression suddenly diluting into a mortified mess.

"Well I guess if only one of the battlers was a participant…" Officer Jenny searched for a conclusion. "No violation! I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."

She started up her motorcycle and strode off to supervise the rest of the trainers. Brock tried to fight the urge to chase her; but in the end, his curiousness for the two new trainers held him still.

Meanwhile Ash ran over to Leslie, with a huge sigh of relief. "Wow thanks for saving me! My name is Ash by the way."

"Hi Ash! But I already know who you are."

"Y-You do?"

"My name's Misty!" Misty cut in between them, as she introduced herself.

"Hi Misty! My name is Leslie. And I'm sure you've already met Little Al here."

"The name's Albert!" The young man reminded her, as he finally revealed his real name.

"Is it true that you're not a participant?" Ash asked Albert, hoping to get an explanation from him for why he wanted to battle.

Albert shrugged and ignored Ash's question completely. Instead, Leslie answered for him. "Yup he's not competing…but I am! Albert and I have been traveling together for a long time, and he cheered me on through the roughest of battles!"

"That's great! It's not everyday where we see people traveling together like me, Ash, and Brock do." Misty replied.

"You mean he…cheers for her?" Ash snickered, as a glimpse of his male dominant mind began to show.

As Ash's last statement could be reworded as 'girls can't be leaders' and 'boys can't be cheerers', Misty and Brock both smacked him on the side of the head for those reasons respectively. It probably wasn't long until Albert and Leslie decided to give him a smack. Without even trying, Ash had managed to insult four people at once.

"What do you mean by that Ash!" yelled Misty.

"Can you be any more rude!" yelled Brock.

Ash apologized to them as Leslie let out a giggle.

Leslie decided to make peace. "It's alright really...sometimes, immaturity can be cute."

Then everybody froze, especially Misty. "This Leslie girl…"

Just then, Leslie took off her hat and put it on Ash's head while she tried on Ash's hat. She and Ash shared a laugh as they saw their hats not matching with the other's clothes.

Misty continued to react through her thoughts. "Is she flirting?"

When Leslie switched back the hats, she gave a sigh of farewell. "Well, it was nice meeting you guys! Good luck in the Pokemon League Ash!"

"Yeah, you too."

Albert and Leslie turned away – shoulder by shoulder – as they walked further into the crowd, lost in sight.

.::.

Later that night…at the local Pokemon Center…

"Remember that girl Leslie from earlier?" Brock asked Ash and Misty, sitting in front of a computer monitor to arrange a scouting report for every possible opponent for Ash.

"Yeah, she seemed nice." Ash brought up.

"Ugh. Don't remind me of her!" Misty disagreed, facing a blank wall.

"What's the matter, Misty? It was because of her, I didn't get disqualified."

"I know but c'mon Ash! She was so fake! How would you explain her friend wanting to battle you! That guy took a huge risk, and you could've been easily disqualified! You were lucky Officer Jenny made an exception."

"He probably didn't know the rules…that's all. After all, he's just a cheerleader."

Misty grunted at Ash's indirect insults to her. She was Ash's cheerleader. "Well you're a participant Ash…and you don't know the rules, either. It's always me or Brock that has to remind you."

It was Ash's turn to grunt.

"That guy definitely knew the rules, all right." Brock intervened. "It says on the League website that he's been coaching a trainer for years, who is now the defending Pokemon League Champion."

"The defending champion!" Ash jumped off his seat and rushed over to the computer screen.

Misty soon followed.

They all gasped in surprise when they saw the words 'Defending Champion' and Leslie's picture posted underneath it.

To Be Continued

That's the end of part 1. If you were wondering which Pokemon League this is, I'm not so sure either. It was supposed to be the Indigo Plateau, but it wouldn't make sense since they already know Mr. Goodshow and Ash is famous. But don't worry, the region isn't an important piece to the story.

Look out for the next one! The background story to Leslie!

Significant Points:

- Ash and friends arrive at the Pokemon League

- Ash and friends meet two other main characters, Leslie and Albert

- Ash and friends find out Leslie is the defending champion