Chapter 3 of my first story. The longest one so far, I'm not yet sure if they are usually going to be this long but oh well.
Note: I did mention Paul, Paul in this story is going to be the same Paul for pretty much all of the anime; I've made it so that he still doesn't have much respect for Ash.
Finally, thank you all again for your great reviews, your encouragement is what keeps me going.
Remember to R&R and thanks a lot
Everyone had finally reached the boat that was to take them to The Indigo Plateau and site of The Rivalry Tournament. It was still daylight as the sun didn't show any signs of going away, the horizon could not be seen from where they were standing, but they all smiled at what the future was likely to bring to them, especially Dawn, Misty and May.
"The Indigo Plateau is just beyond the horizon, at least that's where I remember it" Ash looked into the distance, he was still excited about seeing his old friends aswell as the rivals that had proved too tough for him, thoughts of Tobias and other tough rivals came into his head. I hope I do well, Ritchie is bound to be there, Harrison, Tyson and Morrison. Maybe even Tobias will show up. He smiled at his thoughts, but quickly frowned again. And maybe Paul will be there. Ash looked to his left to find Misty, May and Dawn all looking at him smiling. "Something wrong?" Ash stood confused whilst trying to sound caring, Ash had noticed lately that the girls have taken a little more notice in him.
"Nothing, you just look really deep in thought" Dawn knew when people were deep in thought, she looked into Ash's brown eyes as she remembered last night. Oh Ash, I will try a million times harder than the other two just to be at your side, her eyes glazed as the sun made her sapphire blue eyes stand out considerably. She sure does look pretty, but right now I've got to focus on this tournament, Ash felt that he had his priorities set, but he then remembered what Tracey told him. They are acting strange, I do enjoy the attention, but it will be nice to know what is going on, Ash looked back at the clear blue sea. Tracey stood behind him worried again, maybe Kenny does know about the tournament, I've got to do something just in case, Dawn seems a lot more interested in Ash than the other two girls, if Ash begins to like Dawn back, then…then… Tracey's thoughts stopped as he thought the exact same words that Kenny told him, he had a worried look on his face as Brock, who was just beside him, looked at him.
"Something wrong Tracey, you look awfully distracted" Brock looked at him questionably.
"Yeah, he was taken away by an Empoleon" Gary intervened as Tracey looked despicably at him.
"Really, why?" Brock asked with a confused look in his face.
"Well you see…" Gary stopped halfway through his speech as he was interrupted by Tracey.
"Nothing happened! The Empoleon's trainer just wanted to talk, nothing more, nothing less!" Tracey shouted at Brock as he flinched, he didn't expect Tracey to hit him, but the look in his face was enough to even scare Brock. It fell silent as only Gary and Brock noticed Tracey's overreaction, the silence smashed as a loud noise came from the nearby boat.
"All aboard for The Indigo Plateau!" A man was standing just off the boat, as he called out to everyone nearby. Everyone's eyes lit up as they heard the call to their destination.
"OK everyone, that's us". Delia felt responsible for everyone as she led the way to the boat; everyone followed her, with May standing by Ash.
"So Ash, how are you feeling?" May walked slightly ahead of him so she could see his eyes.
"I'm feeling great; I just can't wait to begin!" Ash smiled in admiration for the future.
"Well, if you need any help training for your battles, you know who to call" May winked at him cheekily.
Ash giggled. "Funny you should say that, Misty and Dawn said the exact same thing to me earlier", he giggled again as May's face sank. Why do they always have to be one step ahead of me? Her thoughts ended soon as she tripped over and landed face first on the pavement. Ash quickly dropped his bag and knelt down. "May are you OK?" May turned to her right as she smiled at Ash, her brown eyes glazed. Ash, you're so caring, I just can't imagine my world without you. May lifted herself up as she quickly grabbed her knee.
"Oww, silly me for falling over I guess" she acted, her knee did have a minor cut on it, but nothing too serious, May used this to her advantage. "Oh Ash, could you be a gentleman and lift me to the boat". Ash looked at her sympathetically.
"I don't see why not" Ash didn't know that she was faking it as May smiled and jumped onto Ash's back. She was lighter than he thought as Ash walked carefully to the boat. Misty and Dawn watched from behind as they both looked at each other. May, who was on Ash's back, looked ahead to the boat.
"Wow, it's bigger that I thought" the last time May was on a boat was from heading to Pallet Town from Hoenn. She took advantage of being on Ash's back as she rested her head and the top of Ash's back, she smiled as she closed her eyes. "Thanks again for helping me Ash" May only thought it was kind of her to mention it once more.
"It's no problem, really May" Ash was still under the impression that May really hurt her knee. Tracey, Gary and Brock were also watching from behind.
"What is she doing?" Gary said whilst looking at May confused. "I guess Ash is a bit of a player, eh?" he looked at Tracey and Brock who had blank faces. Gary's face quickly turned blank. "Maybe not then" he quickly changed his mind.
May was still on Ash's back as they walked towards the boat.
"Hey, May, about your offer earlier, shouldn't you be helping Max to battle instead of me?" Ash questioned her as May's face went red and her eyes widely opened again, fortunately for her, no one could see her face. "He is your brother after all".
"Well…err…"May tried to think fast, she didn't want to reveal the fact that she wanted to spend more time with Ash. "Well, Max doesn't appreciate my battling skills like you do, and I find that you and me make a great team" May was proud of her improvisation as she smiled again.
"We sure do" Ash also smiled. Dawn and Misty looked at May from behind in disgust.
"I don't know about you Dawn, but I think that she is…you know…getting a little closer to Ash" Misty looked at Dawn as she nodded in agreement.
"True, but I'll be honest" she paused for a second as Misty looked at her more seriously.
"I also like Ash, but I'm not going to make him for in love with me, I just want him to fall in love with me naturally, not by trying too hard, like May's doing" Dawn's tone questioned Misty. "If I try too hard, then maybe I'll only be too disappointed if he says no to me" Dawn still kept in her mind the possibility that Ash may not pick her, but she deemed it as being highly unlikely.
"So…you're pulling out?" Misty smiled.
"No, of course not, I love Ash, I'm just not going to try too hard in case I get too disappointed".
"Oh, ok" Misty was intrigued by Dawn's idea, but Misty believed that Ash pretty much has no choice but to go with her.
"OK, here we are. May, you don't suppose you can walk the rest of the way?" Ash slowly let down as she pretty much had no choice but to walk.
"I'll be fine, thank you again Ash" May thanked him once more as everyone grabbed their tickets.
Everyone approached the boat as they shown their tickets to the man at the boat and walked on. The boat looked huge on the outside, but only bigger when actually on it.
"Wow, I've never been on a boat this big" Ash had been on lots of boats in his time, to different regions or islands but his hazy memory only remembers the previous boats being a lot smaller. The boat they were on had everything they needed, plus more. There were several battling areas, aswell as several pools, a restaurant and a pokemon centre.
"OK, everyone to their rooms" Delia said as her group spilt into different directions to their rooms. The three girls were staying in the same room, Gary, Tracey and Max were in another and Delia and Professor Oak were in the other room, which left Brock and Ash sharing a room.
"So Brock, here's our room" Ash informed, he tried to begin a conversation but it wasn't working so well. He's been travelling with Brock on almost all of his journeys; they pretty much had talked about everything. Ash opened the door to find two bunk beds at either both sides of the room, it wasn't too big, but there was plenty of space in it. In the corner was a TV, aswell as the floor being carpeted, overall, Brock and Ash were happy with their room.
"Not too bad, it's a million times better than sleeping in a field in tents again" Brock stated as he put his bag on one of the beds. Ash placed his bag on one of the other beds.
"I actually found it quite fun sleeping in fields in the tents" Ash smiled. "Anyway, how about we get the rest of them and get some practice for the tournament done" Ash turned around to see Brock smiling. You just can't wait to get started can you, Brock remembered the old times when he was travelling with Ash, Brock was aware of Ash's determination and willpower especially when it came to battles.
"Sounds great, let's go then" Brock allowed Ash to go first as they walked around the ship to the room with Tracey, Gary and Max.
Meanwhile in another room…
Misty, Dawn and May were placing their bags on their beds, the room was surrounding with silence and tension as none of the girls looked at each other. May had an evil smile on her face that Misty and Dawn were only just able to notice.
"What was that for?" Misty didn't look at May but May was able to sense the anger.
"What was what for?" May replied innocently.
"I think you know what for, your knee wasn't hurt, it was barely even scratched!" Misty looked at May angrily, as if she had been betrayed by one of her closest friends.
"For your information, I did hurt my knee, if Ash didn't like me, he wouldn't have picked me up, would he?" May fought back at her.
"I bet it was just out of pity and kindness" Misty said sneakily, they both looked at each other angrily, as if they had both stabbed each other's backs.
"Girls, please!" Dawn decided to intervene, she felt benevolent as she commanded the girls to stop fighting.
"You do remember, back in Pallet Town, what we all said", memories of what they all said in Pallet Town came back to them. "We all said that we will stay as friends, no matter who Ash picked, you two really are setting a great example of friends now aren't you?" Dawn's words spoke sense to Misty and May as they both looked at each other with sorry looks on their faces.
"I guess you're right, sorry May" Misty apologised kindly to May.
"I'm sorry too Misty" May apologised back, they then exchanged a friendly hug. What have I become? Ash would never like me if I were like this to all his friends, Misty's thoughts set her straight as May began to think the same thing, Why am I acting like this? Ash would want someone caring and kind, especially to his other friends. Dawn smiled with pride as she thought to herself, if only Ash could see me now….Dawn looking in the mirror at her blue hair as she began moving strands of hair around.
"You know guys, if Ash was to pick only one of us, what would the other two do?" Dawn's question surprised Misty and May as they didn't really think about them losing.
"Well, that's not going to happen, but even if it does, I'll move on to a different guy. I always have good looking guys coming down to my gym anyway" Misty bragged, but really, she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she lost Ash.
"Hmm, I never really thought about it, but I had loads of boys after me on my journeys with Ash. I just said no to them all, because I love Ash so much" May followed Misty's route and exaggerated a bit. This did intimidate Dawn a little as she had nowhere near as many boys after her than those two claimed. Knocking noises came from the door.
"Who is it?" Dawn called as the three girls looked at the door.
"It's me, Ash" Ash was standing outside; Brock had went to find Max, Gary and Tracey. The three girls all rushed quickly to the door, all three of theme looking in the mirror on the way. The door opened as Ash stood smiling, for once without his hat and Pikachu on his shoulder. The three girls stood at the door smiling with their largest grins.
"Hi Ash" the girls all spoke simultaneously as the beamed at their future prize.
"Hey girls, we're all off to go practice for the tournament, you all wanna help?" Ash looked at May particularly as the girls had briefly forgotten the entire point of going on this journey.
"Of course!" The girls all spoke at the same time again, Ash smiled again as he began walking. The three girls all tried to walk beside him, but the outcome was Dawn being forced to walk behind Ash.
"Hey, Ash" Ash turned to the right to find Brock with Delia, Professor Oak, Gary, Max and Tracey.
"Hey guys, we all up for some practice then?" Ash enthusiastically said, he obviously knew the answer though.
"Of course, let's go" Max almost exploded with excitement as everyone started to walk to the battling areas that were located at different areas of the boat. They then all split up to go to the different battle areas. Delia and Professor Oak went with Max, Brock went with Gary to practice, which left Ash with the three girls and Tracey.
Within a few minutes, they arrived at the battling area, Tracey, Misty, Dawn and May took a seat on the side lines.
"OK, who wants to help me, practicing of course" Ash looked at the side lines. As expected, three hands rose in the air, Tracey was slightly worried of Kenny, and if he might just show up at any moment. Ash looked worryingly at Tracey as he tried to make him feel better.
"Hey Tracey, why don't you battle me, for old times' sake?" Ash didn't want any of the girls to help him as he didn't want to have to pick favourites when it comes to battling. Tracey put on a brave face as if nothing is wrong.
"Errr…I'm fine Ash, I'm not much of an opponent anyway, why don't you pick one of the girls instead?" The three girls beamed as they felt that they still had a chance.
"Suit yourself, ermm…would you battle me…" the girls waited for Ash's answer. Please not Dawn, just not Dawn, Tracey thought to himself as his past came back to haunt him. Ash never did want to pick favourites for battling but he was forced to.
"Dawn" Ash finalized his sentence. Dawn's face illuminated, as Tracey's face sank. May and Misty were gobsmacked by the choice.
"Thank you Ash, I'll make it a good battle, I promise" Dawn jumped up smiling, her sapphire blue eyes shone at Ash as he couldn't stop looking at her. Come on Ash, the tournament is a 2 days away, concentrate, don't get distracted, you've worked too hard for this, Ash was sent back to reality as Dawn walked to the opposite end of the battle field. But she sure is pretty… Ash smacked himself on the head which caught the attention of Misty.
"Why did you just hit yourself Ash?" Misty had a hint of sadness in her voice after not being picked.
"Errm…I forgot something" Tracey looked at Ash in a way that only said: That is a terrible excuse, Misty and May did the same, but they all let it pass.
May looked around, "Hey Ash, where's Pikachu and the rest?"
"Oh, there with Brock right now, I thought that Pikachu could do with some more rest after 6 months" Ash smiled as she looked at May. Can you blame him really? Wanting to be the best only makes him more determined, May's thoughts echoed in her mind.
"Ash, if you need a referee, I'll take the job" Tracey put himself forward; he didn't have his sketchbook on him for once, which meant all he could do it watch or act as referee.
"Sure Tracey, that'll be great" Ash accepted happily.
"OK, this is a 3 vs 3 battle with no time limits, ladies first so Dawn gets the first move, begin!" Tracey signalled the call to begin.
"OK, Quilava come on out!" Dawn called out her Quilava that she received from her friend Lyra back in Sinnoh.
"Staraptor, Go!" Ash had summoned his Sinnoh friend, Staraptor's large wingspan intimidated Quilava, its beak looks sharper than it ever was.
"Wow, Ash really has made Staraptor look tough over the last 6 months." Misty acknowledged.
"Yeah, the way it spreads its wings is truly remarkable" Tracey added.
"OK Quilava, use Swift!"
"Quil-lava" Dawn told her pokemon as what seemed to be millions of stars appeared heading straight to Staraptor.
"Dodge and use Aerial Ace!"
"Raptorrr!" Staraptor flies high in the air as the millions of stars miss, Staraptor quickly gains speed as it shoots itself towards Quilava. "Quick, use Flame Wheel" The pokemon quickly obliged as Quilava crawled itself up and covered itself in flames as the giant bird strikes with Aerial Ace causing damage on Staraptor aswell from the Flame Wheel.
"That was very smart Dawn, but I'm afraid it's not going to be so simple. Staraptor, use Brave Bird!"
"Starrr!" The large bird once again flies high in the air as it plummets to the ground at incredible speed.
"Quilava, use Smoke Screen and get out of there!" Dawn panicked as her pokemon unleashed a thick black smoke that hid Quilava and Staraptor from their respective trainers. Time passes as the smoke is beginning to clear. As the air clears up, upon the battle field lay Quilava fainted and Staraptor still standing.
"Quilava is unable to battle, Staraptor wins!"
"Yes! Well done Staraptor!" Ash congratulated his pokemon as Dawn returned hers.
"I guess I didn't call the command quick enough, sorry Quilava, you battled very well" Dawn frowned as she grabbed her second pokeball.
"Mamoswine, go!" Her mammoth of a pokemon appeared in front of her as Ash had a worried look on his face.
"Dawn should do well in this, ice type moves should be a challenge for Staraptor" said May.
"Mamoswine, Ice Shard!" Dawn sticks to her pokemon's ice type move as Mamoswine summons ice shards that are hurled in the direction of Staraptor.
"Quick Staraptor, dodge!" Ash's pokemon was too slow as the ice shard hits Staraptor perfectly forcing it to the ground.
"Come on Staraptor, get up and use Aerial Ace once more!" Staraptor only just makes it up as it once again shoots itself into Mamoswine.
"Mamoswine, when I say so, use Ice Shard!" Dawn waits as Staraptor approaches.
"Now!" Inches away from striking Mamoswine, the Ice shard takes down Staraptor as it faints.
"Staraptor!" Ash calls to see if his pokemon can hear him.
"Staraptor is unable to battle, Mamoswine is the winner."
"Well done Mamoswine!"
"Mammooo!"
"Return Staraptor, you did amazing" Ash thanks his pokemon for doing so well as he retrieves his second pokemon.
"What's wrong Ash, think you're gonna forfeit?" Dawn teases Ash as he smiles back at her.
"We're just getting started. Heracross, I choose you!"
"Herraa-cross" The bug type pokemon stands strong after months of training with Ash.
"Wow, Ash's Heracross sure also looks powerful" Tracey said admiringly. "If only I had my sketchbook…"
"Heracross, use Horn attack on Mamoswine" The large bug pokemon hurls itself towards Mamoswine at an incredible speed, the attack crashes into Mamoswine as Dawn was too slow to command Mamoswine to do anything.
"OK Heracross, now use Megahorn" Heracross's horn glows as it once again crashes into Mamoswine before Dawn can make a move.
"Mamoswine is unable to battle, Heracross wins."
"Great job Heracross!"
"Heeerraa".
"Why didn't Dawn call out an attack for Mamoswine to make?" Misty was confused aswell as May.
"Hey Dawn, what happened?" Ash called from across the battle field questionably.
"I…I don't know, I must've panicked and was too slow." Dawn frowned as she lowered her head. "Sorry Mamoswine. But that's all about to change, Togekiss come on out!" The elegance of Togekiss puts a smile on Ash's face as he remembers the late Sinnoh days.
"Togekiiiiss"
"Be careful Heracross, Togekiss has the type advantage. Now, use Hyper Beam!" The bug type pokemon got ready to release a powerful beam.
"OK Togekiss, use Aura sphere!" The flying pokemon charged a beam that unleashed itself as it crashes into Heracross's Hyper Beam causing a large explosion.
"Togekiss, quickly whilst Heracross can't attack, use Air Slash!" Within the thick smoke caused by the explosion, Togekiss floated towards Heracross slicing it with Togekiss's wing. "Great job Togekiss!"
"Heracross, are you OK?" Ash was once again caring for his pokemon; he didn't expect Heracross to lightly take a super effective move such as Air Slash. As the smoke clears, both Togekiss and Heracross are visible and standing strong. "Great, well done Heracross, now use Megahorn!" Heracross moved towards Togekiss with its illuminating horn.
"Togekiss, fly up high and use Sky Attack!" Dawn smiled as she knew how effective it would be against Heracross, despite this though, the impact made with Megahorn and Sky Attack caused a massive explosion. Seconds passed as the winner was still unknown, the smoke began to clear as both Togekiss and Heracross lay on the battle field fainted.
"Both Heracross and Togekiss are unable to battle, Ash is the winner!" Tracey called as May and Misty cheered on the sidelines.
"Return Heracross, I'm very proud of you" Ash smiled at his pokemon as he looked up to see Dawn returning her Togekiss.
"You did really well Togekiss, great battle" Dawn also smiled as she returned her pokemon. Ash and Dawn met eyes as they both walked towards the middle of the field.
"Great battle Dawn, you've really got a lot better since I last battled you" Ash congratulated Dawn.
"Thanks Ash, but I'm nowhere near as good as you" they both shook hands as they walked to the sidelines to Misty, May and Tracey.
"Great battle Ash" Misty and May also congratulated Ash whilst looking in his eyes. They both hardly noticed Dawn.
"Thanks, but I couldn't have won without my amazing pokemon" he grinned, proud of himself for raising all of his pokemon to an amazing standard.
"Yeah, you must've trained all your pokemon really well whilst you were gone" Tracey added. "I know you're going to do well in the upcoming tournament." Ash beamed as he remembered the opponents he is likely to face, Tracey's encouragement made Ash think more deeply about what his tactics are.
"Thanks Tracey, I think I'll retire for the day, I've got to work out some tactics". Ash was still unaware of who is going to show up; just that he knew that they were going to be tough.
"I'll help" the three girls wanted to spend more time with Ash as they all spoke simultaneously.
"I think I'll be fine, how about you go check up on Gary and Max?" The girls felt shot down, but they understood that Ash needs some time alone to figure out a plan.
"OK, bye Ash" Ash walked off as the three girls were left with Tracey.
"Well, I'm going to get my sketchbook and check out Gary and Brock" Tracey felt missing without his sketchbook as he went to go get it. Misty followed.
"I'm right behind you Tracey" Misty smiled as she quickly caught up with Tracey leaving Dawn and May.
"So, you wanna see your brother Max?" She thought that Max could do with some company.
"Sure lets head there, just one thing though…" May frowned. "Why did Ash pick you instead of me or even Misty?" Dawn had a hidden smile on her face, Because he loves me the most!
"Errmm…Maybe because I've been travelling with him lately and I know his battle style, he probably wanted to go against someone who knew what he was going to do" Dawn improvised as she really thought that Ash loves her the most. May was still frowning.
"I still love him, but he never picks me for battling or anything like that." May solemnly said. "You don't suppose he thinks that I'm not challenging enough to go against". Dawn felt sorry for May, she knew that May had been travelling with Ash for a long time, but she also knew that May was one of Ash's close of friends.
"Of course not, when I went against you in the Wallace Cup, I knew that you were a powerful trainer, but not as powerful as I imagined you would be, Ash would battle with you soon anyway" Dawn tried her best to cheer up May as it didn't seem to work. "I tell you what, I'll have a talk with Ash, and I'll get him to battle you, what do you say?" May's face lit up, Yes! She fell for it! Now's my chance to get Ash for myself! Dawn was not aware of May's intentions, but she was a good enough actor to fool Dawn.
"Wow Dawn, thanks" she embraced her with a friendly hug as they both walked off to see Max.
Back with Tracey and Misty…
"OK, I'm just off to get my sketchbook, and then I'll meet you where Gary and Brock are training" Tracey looked at Misty's eyes for a couple of seconds as he slowly turned to his left to head to his room. Misty soon went right to go to where Gary and Brock are.
As Tracey walked out of his room with his sketchbook, he began heading left to where Brock and Gary are when something caught his eye.
"Hey there Tracey" the voice came from behind him as Tracey stood still. The air in the room began to chill as the voice that Tracey wasn't expecting called out his name.
"Kenny…what are you doing here?" Tracey still had his back to him as he refused to even look at him.
"I was just wondering why Ash and Dawn were getting along so well on the battle field!" Kenny spoke fiercer as the sentence went on.
"That's not my problem Kenny, you're just too useless yourself a girl!" Tracey fought back, he never wanted to accept Kenny's deal, but was always scared on what would happen if he didn't.
"I'm afraid you have no choice, because, you know what will happen if you don't" Kenny walked up to him slowly as Tracey turned around. "He dies…you wouldn't want one of your best friends to die would you? And don't you just want to see your friends faces when someone tells them it was your fault that Ash mysteriously died?" Kenny sadistically smiled, the evil in his eyes were worse than before. Tracey stood his ground as he looked at Kenny emotionless but secretly destroyed on the inside.
"If you even touch Ash, then…then…" Tracey was a peaceful person, but listening to Kenny torture him like this drove him to boundaries.
"Then…then…then what?" Kenny mimicked Tracey patronisingly. "You can't do anything to me, you're useless." Kenny's words echoed in Tracey's mind. You're useless… You're useless… You're useless… "And yes, I am going to be at The Indigo Plateau, and more importantly, I'm going to there at the dance, with Dawn, so you better stop Ash and Dawn from getting too close or…" He paused again. "Well, you know what's going to happen." The same words that Kenny told him back in Pallet Town still haunted Tracey. "You have until the final to get Ash off Dawn, and don't think I won't be there, because I will be there every second of it" Kenny walked off in the opposite direction as Tracey stood in fear. He's here! How did he find me? I have to do something, tell Ash, tell Dawn or even Brock or just someone? Tracey tried to reason with himself, I can't just isolate Dawn from Ash or Ash from Dawn, especially if Dawn loves Ash, I can't just openly say that Ash needs to stay away from Dawn. It should be up to them two, not Kenny. He was frustrated at himself for even getting mixed up in it. I have to act soon; he ended his thoughts as he began walking with his sketchbook to Misty, Gary and Brock.
Back with Max, Delia and Professor Oak…
"Great battle, Max" Professor Oak stated "no doubt you are going to get very far in this tournament". Max grinned as his hero supported him.
"Wow, thanks Professor that really means a lot to me!" Max called out from across the battlefield. May and Dawn walked in just as Max finished his battle with Professor Oak.
"Hey guys, how's the training getting on?" May smiled at her younger brother.
"It's going great, I've still got to get my head around tactics though, but I can handle that" Max's glasses shone. "How did Ash's training get on?" Max was curious, he didn't know Ash's battle style so well, but any information was good enough in case they ended up battling eachother.
"Me and Ash battled, and of course, Ash won" May and Dawn both sighed dreamily. "He's gone to his room to work out some tactics now". Delia looked surprised.
"But he doesn't know who he's against yet, or who is going to be there" Delia looked from the sidelines at May and Dawn.
"He probably just wants to imagine some scenarios when battling; it's not normally like Ash to do things the night before" Professor Oak stated. "Max, maybe you should do the same, battling maybe about one's pokemon, but it's also about the trainer's intellect."
"If you think it's best for me professor" Max smiled as he walked to his room to go figure out some tactics. Professor Oak also smiled.
"Well, I think I better go make a call to a friend." Professor Oak said as he walked in the same direction as Max, which left May and Dawn with Delia.
"Hey girls, I need to talk to you both" the girls were worried at what Delia was likely to say. Despite this, they both walked towards her and took a seat either side of her. "I noticed that both of you and Misty have been acting rather strangely lately, is there something you need to tell me?" Delia looked at them in a strange way, she wasn't certain on what was wrong with them, only that there was something. May and Dawn blushed as they both looked away to hide their red faces.
"Nothing is wrong" May said as her face was still turned away.
"I'm fine too" Dawn slowly turned her head back as her face was beginning to turn back to a normal colour. Delia looked suspiciously at the two girls.
"Oh well, must be just me" she said whilst walking away from them. Dawn and May looked at each other.
"Do you think she knows?" Dawn asked May.
"I sure hope not, more people knowing would just make everything awkward" May looked worried. They both looked worried. "Maybe more people, Brock and Tracey for example, may just think something is up." The last thing any of the girls want, apart from not being with Ash, is more people knowing about their situation.
Gary's training with Brock, Pikachu, Piplup and Marill…
"Wow Gary, your Electrivire and Blastoise are really tough" Brock's knowledge makes every positive comment something to be proud of. "Anyone will be lucky to even stand a chance against you."
"Thanks Brock, that means a lot" Gary replied. Just behind him was Misty.
"Hey guys, how's the intensive training?" Misty said whilst smiling.
"It's going great, I don't think it could be going any better" Gary stated he looked at the pokemon on the sideline which caught the eye of Misty as she began walking over there.
"Hey guys, how are you all?" Misty knelt down to get to the pokemon heights.
"Pikapi".
"Pip-lup"
"Mariiill" the three pokemon stood up as they all smiled at the same time.
"You guys are all so cute", Misty smiled back at them, Tracey then walked in with a worried look on his face.
"Hey Tracey, you look a little down, something wrong?" Misty turned towards him, as did Gary and Brock.
"Hey guys, everything is fine" Tracey calmly replied, he didn't want to share is problems about Kenny to the rest of them. "How did the training go?" He quickly changed the subject.
"It went great; Gary sure will be a formidable opponent." Brock smiled as he kindly talked about his battle with Gary. The sunset sky shone on the water, groups of Wingull could be seen flying around the ship.
"If Wingull are around, then that must mean we're there" Tracey noted.
"Wow, already, that sure was fast" Gary noted as the four of them all ran to the edge of the boat. Not far in the distance was land, groups of buildings could be seen from the boat aswell as some hills beginning to take focus.
"The Indigo Plateau and site of The Rivalry Tournament" Brock remembered the many times that they arrived at The Indigo Plateau. Ash, Max, Delia, Dawn and Professor Oak appeared as they all admired the sunset scenery.
"Wow, doesn't time fly when you're having fun" Ash smiled as he looked at Dawn, this caught the attention of Tracey, come on Ash, keep it together.
"So everyone, the first thing we do head to our hotel rooms while Ash, Gary and Max all get registered for the tournament" Delia said cheerfully.
As the boat hit land, everyone got off smiling once again at the future, The Indigo Plateau and the rest of the smaller stadiums were right next to both of the hotels, which was very convenient. The three boys went to get registered for the tournament as the tournament begins tomorrow.
At the pokemon centre…
Gary, Max and Ash walked inside the pokemon centre to find it crammed with trainers from all different regions around the world.
"Wow, this tournament really is a big thing, I surprised I've never heard of it 'til just a few days ago" Max said. They all gazed at the large number of trainers and their pokemon, at the end of the room was Nurse Joy behind the counter, the three of them approached her.
"Hi, the three of us are willing to compete in The Rivalry Tournament" Ash spoke as Max and Gary stood either side of him.
"Hi, do you have your invitations and your trainer ID's?" Nurse Joy replied with her naturally cheerful voice as the three boys all shown their trainer ID's and their invitations to the tournament. "OK, all set. You will need to report to the main stadium to find out who you would be up against tomorrow at 2 o'clock, from then on it begins. The Rivalry Tournament is a knockout tournament consisting of 64 of the world's best trainers, if you lose one battle, you're out, but you will be still invited to the tournament ball at the end on the final day of the tournament." Nurse Joy kindly informed the boys, "it will be explained in more depth tomorrow, now you three better get some rest as you will face your first battle tomorrow."
"Great, thanks Nurse Joy!" The three boys smiled as they walked out of the pokemon centre just before it turned dark.
"Well guys, I think we better head to the guests hotels to check on everyone else, then head to our hotels" Ash stated, he wanted to see all of his friends before the end of the day.
"Great idea" Gary and Max agreed as they walked towards the hotel, not so far behind them though, was Kenny though.
"So Ash, I see what you're doing, but nothing is going to work, Dawn will be at my side soon or you won't be alive to even see what happened next." Kenny spoke to himself. "You better not let me down Tracey, or else".
So, will Kenny's fiercer threats have more of an effect on Tracey, who out of the girls will finally get Ash and what does The Rivalry Tournament have in store for Ash, Gary and Max?
R&R please, I don't even mind if it's a short comment. Once again, I am no writer, so don't be surprised to find some embarrassing grammatical errors or spelling mistakes etc.
Next chapter is coming up, but I'm not sure when it's going to be because I have school in the way and stuff, but when I'm free, I'm writing the next chapter.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, it is very much appreciated