For The Love Of Art

By Chris Devlin

AN: Hey all. Yes I'm back and I've brought a semi-new fic with me. I say semi-new because I started this back in April 2002 and I saw no reason to let it all go to waste. Some of the characters are based on people I knew well back then, but whom I have since began to talk to less and less (Which is my own fault and loss) and so might not seem as true to the actual person as they otherwise would be. Also, since I thought it was getting a bit big I decided to make this a multi-parter. Hopefully part 2 won't be too far away. Anyway, hope everyone enjoys it and try and remember that I haven't watched Pokémon in a VERY long time, so my knowledge is a bit rustier than it once was. Oh, and please review :-).

Part 1 - Cars, Rocks & Blowpipes

"Are we there yet?" Chris moaned for the seventeenth time in an hour, as the small convoy of cars headed towards Goldenrod, causing the other four occupants to sigh loudly. Trish glared at him from the drivers seat.

"Will you quit asking that? You'll know when we're there because we'll stop, get out and then strap you to the roof for the rest of the day. Or at least we will if you don't stop complaining." she threatened, getting confirming nods from Erin, Mia and Karlie. Chris glanced round and saw that Mia had opened up her backpack, withdrawing a large length of rope from it. Quickly turning back he nervously turned on the radio and twiddled the controls until he caught the local station, nicotine cravings getting on his nerves.

"fzz.tt..crk...requiring doctors to use industrial lubricant to extract the Pineco from the Trainer." it fizzed as the signal stabilized. "In other news, the annual Goldenrod Pokémon Arts Festival starts today. Set to run over the next week, for its 100th consecutive year, this years festival will indeed be one to remember." Erin suddenly sat forward in her seat, excitement in her eyes.

"Hey!!! We have to go to that!" she squealed excitedly. The others looked at her with bemused looks. "What? Surely you've heard about it?" she asked. She got a reply of blank faces. Shaking her head she began to explain. "It's meant to be really great. It's lots of tents and stages where Trainers use their Pokémon to make and show art." Beside her Karlie began to nod eagerly.

"Yeah!! I remember now. They give out prizes and stuff to the best exhibits, and there's lots of other stuff like a Battle Arena, a Cinema and show's too. Erin's right. We have to go." she said.

"Well. It does sound fun." Mia said. Chris and Trish looked at each other, coming to a silent decision.

"Ok. Lets go. I mean we are on holiday." Chris said. "I'll text the others." he said, pulling his Pokégear Mk2 from his pocket and began to push the buttons.

Half an hour later they pulled into the Car Park of the Goldenrod City Park. Chris immediately jumped out, pulled out his cigarette packet and lighter and prepared to have his first one in six hours. Before he could Erin walked past, grabbed the last of his white nicotine sticks and stood on it.

"No!" she said firmly. Chris gave her a look so cold it could have frozen the sun before storming towards the Festival, sulking. Erin turned to the others. "I hate it when he does that." she said walking over to them. Trish glanced at him as he wandered off alone.

"Should someone go with him?" she asked. Mia looked at her casually.

"No. He'll be fine. Let him blow off steam, we'll catch him later." she said. "Besides, here come the others" she added, noticing the other car pull into a space a few rows away from theirs. The doors opened, allowing the five occupants out. Jenn trudged quickly over to the other girls, followed by Gary, Danny, Ash and Misty.

"God... that was an ordeal and a half." she sighed as she reached the others. "Remind me to drive the other car on the way back." she added. The other girls looked at each other.

"What d'you mean?" Karlie asked as she pulled her backpack from the car.

"Well... Danny slept the ENTIRE way, Misty and Ash wouldn't stop making out and Gary wouldn't stop complaining about Ash and Misty making out." she said, her exasperation evident in her voice. The others suppressed giggles.

"Makes us kinda glad all we had was Chris, whining about being stuck in a car for six hours." Erin piped in. The others nodded in agreement, as Gary, Danny, Ash and Misty finally reached the others.

"Hey. Where is the Scottish skirt wearer anyway?" Gary asked. "I was looking forward to talking to someone that wasn't about to fall asleep, make out, or crash into a tree." he added. Jenn and the occupants of the second car glared at him. "Well it's true." he said in reply. Trish looked up at him.

"He stormed off ahead. Erin destroyed his last cigarette." she answered him. Gary looked at Erin who was grinning like a proud parent.

"Figures." Gary replied, jogging off after Chris. Everyone nodded in agreement. Erin nodded too, but stopped after a second.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!"

The festival was huge, taking up most of the park. Erin grabbed a handful of maps and handed them out to everyone.

"Alright. We meet back here in four hours okay." she said. The others mumbled in agreement and wandered off in separate directions. "And tell Gary and Chris if you see them." she shouted after them. She was answered by mumbles of "Sure." and "Sounds like a damn school trip." from Danny who promptly got a slap around the head from Jenn.

"So where to first?" Mia asked. Erin turned round. Only herself, Mia, Trish and Karlie remained together.

"Lets head to the main area. We can figure it out from there." Karlie suggested.

Chris wandered down one of the paths on the eastern side of the park, walking towards what the map he'd picked up said was the commercial area of the Festival.

"Might get some cigarettes there." he muttered to himself as he walked. As he walked he spotted a few stones at the side of the path, a prime target for the frustration he felt from lack of nicotine. Walking up to them he kicked one violently, sending it flying down the path, where it bounced off a few tree's and disappeared round a bend in the path.

"Ooooowww!!!!" came the cry, and a few seconds later an irate Officer Jenny appeared round the corner. Chris gulped and looked around to see if anyone else could take the blame. Realizing he was alone he resigned himself to his fate and offered his wrists to the Police Officer, who promptly cuffed him before dragging him back to the Police Tent.

Gary entered the main section of the Festival. It was the central clearing of the park and it was busy. Hordes of people swarmed around the area, each one trying to get to their next destination. Surrounding the clearing was tent after tent of exhibits, refreshment stands and shows. He wandered about for a few minutes, stopping occasionally to take in some of the art on show. One of the so called "modern pieces" was merely a Squirtle standing still and shooting a Water Gun attack in the air like a small fountain. Gary shook his head in disbelief and continued to walk round. Eventually he came to a sign pointing him in the direction of the Battle arena. Smiling he headed towards it.

Mia, Trish, Karlie and Erin wandered into the main area, the sun beating down on their faces.

"Wow! Look at all the exhibits!" Erin exclaimed as she saw the full extent of the tents laid out before her. "Look, there's a Modern Art section. Oh and a Classical art section!" she added darting off towards the Classical tent. The remaining three set off after her when something caught Karlie's eye. Grinning she snuck off, unnoticed by Mia and Trish. The two remaining women made their way over to where Erin was gushing over a painting that had been done by a Trainer and her Bulbasaur. As they approached she noticed them and turned to face them. "This is so cool. Just look at some of the paintings. Have you ever seen.... " she started but stopped when she noticed Karlie was missing. "Where'd Kaz go?" she asked. Mia and Trish looked around, surprised to find the young woman missing. Eventually Mia shrugged her shoulders.

"No idea." she said. "I'm sure she'll turn up though." she added. Erin thought about this for a sec before dismissing it.

"Yeah, you're right. She'll turn...." she began, but was again cut off. This time by the tanoy, it squawked and squealed before settling down into a recognizable human voice.

"This is a Public Announcement. Could Trish Quan please come to the Police Tent immediately." came the unmistakable voice of Officer Jenny. "Could Trish Quan please come to the Police Tent immediately. Thank You." it repeated before dying. The girls all looked at one another in confusion before one thought hit them all.

"Chris."

Chris shifted uncomfortably in his chair, waiting for someone to come and question him, as he sipped from the glass of water in front of him. After a few minutes the tent partition opened and in walked the Officer Jenny who'd arrested him. Sitting down she glared at him silently causing the young man to sweat-drop in embarrassment.

"So d'you want to explain why you assaulted me with a rock?" she asked plainly as she leant back, her arms crossed. Chris sweat-dropped more.

"Well you see... The funny thing is... I didn't mean to hit you." he started. Jenny eyed him suspiciously, not yet convinced. Noticing this he continued. "I was just angry. My friend Erin had taken my last cigarette from me, after a six hour car drive which I couldn't smoke during, and destroyed it. I was frustrated so... I kicked the rock. I honestly didn't mean to hit you." he explained. A look of compassion came over Jenny's face and she broke into a smile.

"I know how that feels. Here." she said, reaching into her pocket and bringing out a pack of cigarettes. "I'm about the only Officer Jenny that smokes, you can have one." she offered, smiling at him. Chris cautiously reached over, half expecting her to start trying to beat a real confession from him. He had a vision of her pounding his head off the flimsy table before stamping on him in her heels. Chris winced at the thought but took the cigarette, placing it on the table in front of him, his nicotine addiction temporarily forgotten. Glancing up he realised that the Jenny in front of him was really quite attractive.

"Thanks." he replied. "If Erin could see this she'd kill me." he joked. "She's one of those anti-smokers that's so against it she's practically militant." This got a laugh from Jenny.

"She can't be that bad." Jenny replied. Chris seemed to think about this for a minute.

"Well... No I guess not. I suppose it's only because she cares." he said, reaching into his pocket for a lighter. Jenny nodded at this, her face now wearing a broad smile and an almost imperceptible blush. Chris lifted the cigarette to his lips and lit it, inhaling deeply.

"Damn right it's because I care!" came a semi-angry voice from the tent partition. Chris spluttered, the cigarette falling from his lips and into the glass of water, fizzing as it splashed and went out. The two looked round to see Erin standing there, Trish and Mia behind her. Chris was still coughing when Erin advanced on him and pinched him by the ear. "Now I thought you'd have gotten the message earlier." she growled as she eyed the now soggy cigarette at the bottom of the glass. Turning her gaze back to him she frowned. "So what have you done? Why have we been pulled away from the festival?" she questioned. Chris squirmed as her grip on his earlobe tightened. Jenny stood up, a rather angry look on her face.

"It was all a misunderstanding. We put out the announcement before I could talk to him, otherwise you'd still be out there." she explained. "So I guess I'm sorry about that, but I'll have to ask you to not do that to him." she added, indicating Chris's ear with Erin's thumb and forefinger clamped to it. The girls looked at Jenny suspiciously. There was something in her voice that sounded oddly over-protective of the young man, as if she was personally annoyed at what Erin was doing. Erin glanced at Chris, who was mere seconds away from tears such was the power of her grip, and released him. He sighed as she released him and began rubbing at his ear, all the while staring sadly at the floating ex-cigarette.

"Well if that's all I suggest we get back to the festival before we miss too much." Trish suggested as she began moving towards the entrance to the tent. Erin and Mia nodded in agreement and left before Trish. "We'll be waiting for you outside Chris." Trish said as she went after the younger girls. Chris nodded and gave her a half smile as he tried to get some of the feeling back in his ear. Officer Jenny walked over to him and took a look at his red and swollen ear.

"It'll be alright in an hour or so." she said and smiled at him again, resting her hand on his shoulder. Chris smiled back at her. She really was the most attractive Officer Jenny he'd ever seen. Admittedly they were all pretty much identical but this one seemed slightly different to him. He tried not to dwell on it for too long as he could hear the others shuffling about outside, waiting for him. As he went to stand up Jenny crouched down so that she was lower down than him and he sat back in his seat. She looked up at him, staring into his eyes with his own. "Listen, I uh.... We're not technically meant to do this but... I get off duty in about an hour or so. If you're still around do you want to... I dunno..." she stalled and glanced nervously around, her eyes catching the glass of water with the cigarette floating in it. "You know, meet and go for a coffee and a cigarette?" she finished, a playful smile on her lips. Chris smiled down at her, totally surprised by this but not knowing what else to do.

"Uh, yeah, sure. That sounds great." he replied shakily. "Meet you here in an hour?" he suggested. Jenny's smile got bigger and as she stood up she gave him a peck on the cheek before whispering into his good ear.

"In an hour."

Kaz looked out over the main area, trying to catch a glimpse of him through the throng of people. She was drawing odd looks from several passers by, but what else could she expect when she was eight feet up a tree with some binoculars. Glaring through the lenses she caught a view of him, confirming what she'd thought from her glimpse earlier. It was her ex-boyfriend Tracey. She sighed slightly, her head going light and her heart beating slightly faster, enough to cause her to almost lose her balance. If it had been any of the other so called "boyfriends" she'd had she' be out there clubbing them to death with a blunt instrument for being scum, but Tracey was the only one that she'd had a mutual break up with. The only one that deep down she still wanted to be with. They'd met on the last holiday she'd taken with everybody, a two week tour of the Orange Island region, and they immediately clicked. Chris had insisted he was gay from the moment he saw him but she'd championed his cause and eventually proved the other young man wrong as well as taking him for herself (Not to mention ritually humiliating Chris at every opportunity for even suggesting that he was gay). For those two weeks everything had been perfect. They spent every waking moment together, going to the movies, taking in the beautiful scenery that only the Orange Islands could offer and generally being young and in love. But it had to end. Karlie had to return home and Tracey had decided to tour the Orange Islands again to meet some old friends. They'd agreed it was best for both of them to put a lid on their relationship for now, at least until things became more settled in their lives. That had been five long years ago. There had been a couple of guys since then, but none of them could even hold a candle to him. Climbing down she stuffed the binoculars into her backpack before sitting down and pondering what to do now. She could always just go over and say hi but that was something a normal girl would do to her ex-boyfriend. No, she would do something daring, exciting and possibly even dangerous. Well whatever she did she wanted to get him alone, not something that was going to happen in the crowd of the main area. Snickering to herself she had a thought and began to rummage through her bag producing a foot long piece of hollow bamboo and a few other assorted items. She picked up one of them, a small toothpick with some coloured feathers attached to one end, and jabbed it into the small, sealed glass bottle she held in her other hand. After a few seconds she took it out, making sure that it had soaked in some of the bottles contents. She smiled evilly and pushed the makeshift dart into one end of the bamboo pipe. Reaching into her bag once more she removed two items, some very dark lipstick she'd picked up somewhere and a bandana. Applying the lipstick to her face like Jungle camouflage she took the bandana and tied it around her head tightly. By this point the passers by were giving her a wide berth as well as odd looks. Grabbing up her blowpipe she slinked into the undergrowth surrounding the main area and began to stalk her prey.

To Be Continued....

AN: Well, for my first piece of writing in over a year I'm quite happy with it. Anyway, part two will follow shortly (Hopefully) so please keep an eye out for it. Also please review this piece and tell me your thoughts. Thanks.