A/N: Okay, I'm back, guys. And I've decided to look back at some of my earlier stories.

We meet our heroes in the Sinnoh region, at Lily of The Valley Island, exactly six years after Ash lost the first time he fought here in the tournament. They stand watching the two rivals, Ash and Paul, face off.

Paul stood calmly, a smirk upon his face. Ash was glaring at Paul, his old Sinnoh rival. Ash looked nearly the same, with messy black hair and the same determined brown eyes. Paul's purple hair was slightly longer, enough to reach slightly past his shoulders.

"I choose you, Pikachu!"Ash shouted. A large yellow and black mouse popped out of the pokeball. Paul sneered while Pikachu growled at him, amusing Paul even more.

"Hmph…Electivire,"Paul said, releasing his pokemon.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"Pikachu let out a massive amount of electricity aimed at Electivire from its red cheeks with a loud "CHUU!" Dawn and Brock watched the battle with interest. Electivire just stood calmly, wincing slightly as the electricity hit it, though a yellow outline formed around it, a sign of its Motor Drive ability, boosting its speed.

"Thunder,"Paul ordered. The black and yellow Electivire massed an even greater amount of electricity- enough for Dawn and Brock to take a few steps back out of fear, then launched its attack right at Pikachu. Pikachu couldn't dodge in time, and the powerful shock sent it tumbling backwards. Ash looked over to Pikachu with a worried expression.

"Pikachu!"Ash shouted with concern. Pikachu stood up, wincing from multiple cuts. Upon seeing this, Ash grinned. "Now use Iron Tail!"he shouted. Pikachu steeled itself (excuse the pun, if you would.)and ran towards Electivire with a glowing white tail.

"ThunderPunch."Electivire's fists crackled with electricity. As Pikachu whipped its tail towards Paul's pokemon, the Electivire brought its fist forwards. The two pokemon clashed, sending Pikachu once again flying back and Electivire back a few feet, its feet carving two large ruts in the dry ground.

"Finish this,"Paul said quietly. Ash shouted something to Pikachu. Pikachu stood up, panting. A yellow electricity field formed around it, as it ran forward with renewed vigor. Electivire braced itself, realizing Pikachu's move, trying to use Protect before Pikachu hit it. They met with a loud BOOM! The seconds seemed to pass like minutes as they peered through the dust. When at last it cleared, both pokemon were lying fainted on the ground.

The Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia, ran out from a nearby building, her visible eye widening at the sight of the two fainted pokemon and the trainers standing next to them. Her blonde hair covered half of her face, and only one gray eye was visible. Following her was Officer Jenny.

"Stop right now!"Officer Jenny shouted, cuing Brock's eyes to turn into hearts. Dawn sighed, watching Brock humiliate himself once again. Brock opened his mouth and looked back and forth between Officer Jenny and Cynthia. In that time, Croagunk burst out of its pokeball and gave Brock a nice Poison Jab. Then turning around, Croagunk dragged the fallen Brock away. The others looked on with a mixture of confusion and amusement, and in Ash's case, disinterest. He was, of course, still ready to battle. A second later, the ground in front of Ash exploded with a vine now retreating. Ash realized that it was a Vine Whip and sent out Infernape.

"Infernape!"The fire monkey shouted, sending a powerful Flamethrower attack at Paul's Torterra. Torterra roared and sent an Energy Ball in retaliation. The dust cleared showing Infernape landing dozens of quick hits with Close Combat. Torterra grunted in pain, but latched onto Infernape with two vines and used Giga Drain.

"No unauthorized battling!"Officer Jenny shouted, running towards the two pokemon. Paul's eyes narrowed, as he considered defying the officer.

"Whatever…"Paul muttered, returning his pokemon and walking away. Ash was about to shout for him to come back when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back to see Cynthia with a sympathetic expression on her half-hidden face.

"Leave him be, Ash. Remember what I told you the first time we met."Cynthia said quietly. Ash nodded in consideration. "Paul is just like us, on the inside. But it will take him time to understand."

Ash frowned, "Yeah...something's different, this time, though."

Cynthia nodded slightly in agreement, then walked away in the direction she came from.

"Don't cause any more trouble. We already have enough here."Officer Jenny said, looking pointedly at Ash, following Cynthia away.

"Come on, Ash! We'd better hurry or we won't be able to get a place to sleep!"Dawn shouted to Ash, running off in a cloud of dust. Ash frowned but followed her trail of dust.

Brock sighed, muttering something around the lines of, "Children…" and started walking after them.

|||||||||||| 10 Minutes Later ||||||||||

Ash arrived at the Pokemon Center first and yanked on the door as hard as he could, but lost his grip and fell back on his rear end. Brock walked over and arched an eyebrow at Ash sitting slightly dazed on the ground. He pulled at the door, but again , it wouldn't open.

"That's strange... Shouldn't it be open?"Brock said. They both pressed their faces against the window, checking the room. The Nurse Joy inside jumped a little in surprise at the two faces staring at her through the window.

Ash and Brock peeled their faces from the window, Ash attempting to comprehend how this could be ,and Brock dropping logic as his eyes turned into hearts. Brock pulled the door so hard, it nearly broke off of its hinges. He continued yanking on the door. Nurse Joy grabbed a random baseball bat that happened to be lying around and hid by the door. Soon Dawn arrived on the scene and started scolding Brock for 'attempted vandalism' of the Pokemon Center. Brock hung his head in shame while Ash sweatdropped.

"Anyway, why are you so late, Dawn?"Ash asked . Dawn smirked.

"I went shopping!" Dawn squealed, holding out a collection of new outfits, with the price tags still attached. Ash's eyes goggled a little at the four digit numbers. Before he could say anything, Dawn started talking again.

"When I arrived at the store, I realized I was broke, so I took the liberty of charging it on Ash, since he nicely decided to give me his bag to carry!"Dawn cheerfully gestured at the unmoving Ash lying on the ground. Dawn poked him tentatively, and he twitched. Relieved that Ash was okay, she she pushed open the door and walked into the Pokemon Center. Sweet realization hit home on Brock's face as he realized his and Ash's idiocy. He followed her in, pushing Ash's body a little to the left so he wouldn't be trampled over.

Ten minutes later, Ash opened his eyes to the light of streetlamps. He stood up, brushing the dirt off of his body and looking around. When he realized that Brock and Dawn were gone, the events of ten minutes ago came back to him. He grumbled about 'heartless women' and entered the Pokemon Center.

End Chapter 1

A/N: Read and Review. Thanks everybody!

Rayshipping (AshxCynthia) forever! (Will come later)

InheriM