Geeze! This was NOT easy to write! I tried to make this as long as possible.

Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Sam Vs. Paul

Two of the few things Maddie Fenton is good at cooking are cookies and Poffins. A lot of Ash, Dawn and Brock's Pokémon enjoyed Maddie's Poffin recipes. Even Paul's Pokémon were enjoying them.

"These cookies are delicious, Mrs. Fenton!" exclaimed Ash.

"What, you don't think I sit around all day and come up with new cookie and Poffin recipes, do you?" Maddie replied. Everyone (except Paul) laughed at Maddie's joke.

~0~0~0~

Sam and Danny left the RV to prepare for Sam's battle with Paul. Sam was fired up and ready to fight.

"You seem excited to battle," Danny noted. After seeing his Pokémon rested and feeling better, Danny calmed down from his conversation with Paul.

"Well, what do you expect?" Sam answered. "Ever since we met that jerk at the tournament, I've been wanting to kick his butt into next week!"

"Just try to stay calm," Danny advised. "You heard what he said to us about how we raised our Pokémon. Don't let anything he says get to you."

"I'll be fine," Sam assured.

"Sam," Danny started as he gripped her shoulders, "Paul is going to insult and infuriate you to get the upper-hand. You have to stay calm no matter what he says about you. Promise?"

Sam thought about it for a moment before answering. "Seal that promise with a kiss?" she asked.

Danny smiled softly. "Now you're talking my language." He leaned in slowly and placed his lips gently on Sam's. Both teenagers felt more sparks than a Zapdos could ever hope of making as their tongues entered each other's mouths. Danny pulled Sam closer as she wrapped her arms around his neck, gripping his hair gently.

The sound of the RV door opening killed the mood and the two quickly parted before anyone saw them. Everyone filed out of the RV to begin Paul's match with Sam. Danny wrapped his arms around Sam. "No matter the outcome, you and I are still equally matched. Don't let what he says get to you," Danny warned.

Sam nodded her head and the two quickly caught up with everyone else. Sam stood where Danny was standing during his battle with Paul.

Jazz approached the two. "Shall we let the same rules apply? Three-on-three, no substitutions?"

"No complaints here," said Sam.

"Fine," Paul answered.

Jazz then turned to Dawn. "Could you use the Coin Toss app again?"

"Sure," said Dawn. "Call it!"

"Heads," said Paul.

"I guess that means I get tails," said Sam.

Dawn activated the Coin Toss app on her Pokétch. "Heads. Paul goes first."

Both Trainers each pulled out a Pokéball. "Ursaring, standby for battle!" said Paul as he tossed his Pokéball. A large bear-like Pokémon appeared in a flash of light.

"I choose Desiree," Sam said as she threw her Pokéball. A purple and black pig known as Grumpig appeared in a flash of light.

"And begin!" Jazz yelled.

"Ursaring, use Slash," said Paul. The bear's claws took a swipe at Desiree.

"Desiree, use Attract!" Sam ordered. Desiree blew a heart at Ursaring like she was blowing him a kiss. The heart hit Ursaring and it fell instantly in love with Desiree.

Tucker was impressed. "Wow. Sam rarely uses that move with Desiree."

"She must be really determined to beat Paul," said Ash.

"Now use Psybeam," said Sam. One of the black pearls on Desiree's body shot a beam of psychic energy at the Hibernation Pokémon.

"Ursaring, use Focus Blast!" Paul ordered. Ursaring was too distracted with Desiree to pay attention.

"Again, Desiree, use Psybeam!" Desiree shot another beam of psychic energy at the bear Pokémon doing more damage to it. "Now use Bounce!" Desiree used her tail to jump high into the air.

Ursaring suddenly snapped out of his attraction and was ready to battle. "Ursaring, use Bulk Up," said Paul. Ursaring flexed his arms as his body glowed with a red aura. Desiree began to descend from its Bounce attack but Paul was ready. "Catch it." Ursaring caught Desiree before she could land on him. "Now use Hyper Beam." Ursaring shot a bright beam of light from its mouth directly at Desiree in his arms, knocking her out instantly.

"Desiree is unable to battle," announced Jazz. "Ursaring wins!"

~0~0~0~

Sam was shocked at Ursaring's power. To be able to knock out a Pokémon in a single attack shocked the young Goth.

"Whoa! That is one impressive move," said Tucker. "They oughta call Bulk Up 'Hulk Up!'" he laughed. Unfortunately no one was laughing at his pathetic joke.

"Is he always this bad at jokes?" asked Dawn.

"You'll get used to it," said Danny. "He's worse than me."

~0~0~0~

Sam managed to recover from her shock as Jack picked up Desiree to be treated by his wife. Since Ursaring was a Normal-type Pokémon, Sam knew exactly which Pokémon to pick next.

She pulled out a Fenton Ball. "Lilith, you're up next!" she yelled as she threw the Pokéball. In a flash of light, a small Ghost Pokémon appeared.

"Hey, it's Lilith!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly.

"Piplup!"

"And begin!" Jazz yelled.

"Lilith, use Will O' Wisp!" said Sam. Lilith summoned tongues of blue fire and threw them at Ursaring, burning him. "Now use Psychic!" Lilith's eyes lit up as well as Ursaring's body. Lilith then lifted the Hibernation Pokémon into the air and then slammed him into the hard ground, knocking him out.

"Wow, that was quick," muttered Jazz. "Ursaring is unable to battle! Lilith wins!"

~0~0~0~

As Jack carried Ursaring into the RV, Ash, Dawn, Tucker and Danny stared in shock that Paul didn't even make a single command for Ursaring.

"Why didn't he say something?" asked Tucker.

"This is just like what happened at the Battle Pyramid," muttered Dawn.

"Pika," Pikachu nodded.

"What do you mean?" asked Danny.

"Paul did the same thing at the Battle Pyramid," Ash explained. "When Ursaring became paralyzed by Brandon's Regice's Zap Cannon, Paul gave up on Ursaring and let it lose."

Danny frowned. "That's not fair to Ursaring. Paul could have switched out his Pokémon."

"Not in this battle," said Ash. "The rules of this battle are just like yours, Danny, remember? No substitutions allowed."

"So that's why Paul didn't do anything," Dawn realized. "Lilith is a Ghost-type. Normal and Fighting-type moves don't work on Ghost-type Pokémon. And since the rules for this battle say substitutions are not allowed, Paul just gave up on Ursaring."

"After witnessing what that bear did to Desiree, I'm terrified at what else Paul has," Tucker shuddered.

~0~0~0~

Paul pulled out another Pokéball. "Torterra, standby for battle!" A giant green turtle-like Pokémon with a small tree on its back appeared in a flash of light.

Sam smirked. "Grass-types, my second favorite type."

"Go!" yelled Jazz.

"Torterra, use Stone Edge," Paul ordered. Torterra summoned a bunch of stones and launched them at Lilith.

"Lilith, use Psybeam on the Stone Edge!" Sam called. Lilith released a beam of multi-colored energy at the oncoming stones, destroying each of them before they could hit her. "Now use Will O' Wisp!" Lilith unleashed several tongues of blue fire at the Continent Pokémon, burning it. Paul sneered at what the Ghost Pokémon did.

"Torterra, use Leaf Storm!" he yelled. The tree's leaves on Torterra's back glowed green and then released a storm of glowing green leaves at Lilith. Fire flashed around Torterra's body, causing damage to be done to him. "That little Ghost Pokémon stands no chance at battling. Not even evolving it will help improve its battling."

Sam sneered at her opponent. "I bet you thought the same thing when your Torterra was just a Turtwig," she responded. "Lilith, use Psybeam!" Lilith fired another beam of psychic energy at her opponent directly in the head.

"I chose Turtwig because it had potential," said Paul. "Now, Torterra, use Frenzy Plant!" Giant spike-covered vines erupted from the ground and attacked Lilith repeatedly until she fainted.

"Lilith is unable to battle," Jazz announced. "Torterra wins!"

Sam ran up to Lilith and picked her up. "You okay?"

"M-Miss…" Lilith mumbled weakly.

"Don't let anything that jerk said get to you," Sam said to her Ghost Pokémon. "You were awesome." Brock then came and took Lilith into the RV for treatment.

~0~0~0~

Ash frowned at the outcome of the second round of the battle. Torterra was Paul's strongest Pokémon. Ash could not recall a time when Torterra actually lost a battle. Sam would have to choose her next Pokémon very carefully if she wanted to beat Paul.

Sam pulled out her next Pokéball. "Shadow! Come out and show no mercy!" she exclaimed. The Absol came out of its Pokéball in a flash of light.

~0~0~0~

"Wait a minute," said Dawn. "How come Sam chose Shadow? Paul was so mean to Ember during the tournament. I figured that she'd want to use her to prove that Ember is stronger than Paul thinks."

Ember was the nickname for Sam's Houndoom. Normally Sam would have chosen her but remembering what Danny said about staying calm, the Goth decided to change her strategy. Hopefully it would work to beat Paul.

"Yeah, I wonder why she changed her mind," said Danny.

"Well, Shadow is one of her strongest Pokémon," Tucker stated. "She was probably thought Shadow had a better chance at beating Torterra. Besides, if Ember did lose then Paul would probably just insult Sam and Ember both."

~0~0~0~

"Go!" Jazz called.

"Shadow, use Shadow Claw!" Sam ordered. Dark energy enveloped Shadow's paw as he took a swipe at Torterra.

"Leaf Storm," said Paul. Torterra unleashed a storm of glowing green leaves at Shadow. Fire flashed across Torterra's body again, causing more damage. The Disaster Pokémon braced himself as he took damage.

"Shadow, use Night Slash!" Sam ordered. The horn on Shadow's head glowed purple. He swung his head and a blade of purple energy was launched at Torterra.

"Use Giga Drain," said Paul. The tree on Torterra's back lit up with green light. Vines shot out of the tree and wrapped around Shadow's abdomen. Shadow's body lit up with green light as his energy was drained.

Sam knew how to get Shadow out of his bind. "Now, use Hyper Beam!"

Shadow fired a beam of energy from his mouth and hit Torterra point blank freeing Shadow. Torterra then fell to the ground and fainted.

~0~0~0~

"Torterra is unable to battle! Shadow wins!" Jazz announced. Danny and Ash's friends cheered for Sam's little victory.

Ash was especially impressed. He's never been able to beat Paul's Torterra. He made sure to remember this battle for his next battle with Paul.

Torterra then stood up and walked behind the RV to await treatment. Paul stopped him. "Why did you stop? You could have kept going," he muttered to the giant tortoise. Torterra then looked away nonchalantly and kept walking. Paul didn't question his Pokémon further, knowing he had his reasons.

Torterra stopped again and looked at Shadow. "Terra, torterra-tor, terra-ra," he said to Shadow.

"Sol?" Shadow looked at his former opponent in shock. Sam noticed the conversation and took note to ask Danny about the conversation (Spooky came back out to watch the battle).

~0~0~0~

"Honchkrow, standby for battle," Paul said as he threw another Pokéball. A black crow-like Pokémon appeared in a flash of light.

"Again, you have good taste in types," said Sam.

"Go!" Jazz yelled.

"Honchkrow, use Aerial Ace!" Paul ordered. Honchkrow charged towards Shadow, his body lit up with energy.

"Shadow, dodge!" Sam ordered. Shadow jumped out of the way in the nick of time. "Now use Razor Wind!" Shadow's horn lit up with white light. He swung his head and launched a blade of white energy at Honchkrow.

"I'll admit that Absol of yours knows how to battle," said Paul. "But I still refuse to admit that you and Daniel are equals."

"Say what you want about me," said Sam. "I don't care if I lose. The fact that one of us beat you made my day."

Paul scowled at that. "Honchkrow, use Dark Pulse!" A beam of purple energy with black rings fired from Honchkrow's beak hitting Shadow.

"Come on, Shadow! Keep going!" Sam cheered.

"Pika-pika!" Pikachu cheered.

Shadow struggled to get back up. He was barely on his feet when Paul said, "Shadow Ball!" Shadow was blasted with a sphere of dark energy, knocking him out cold.

"SHADOW, NO!" Sam screamed.

"Shadow is unable to battle. Honchkrow wins and the winner of this battle is Paul!" Jazz announced.

Sam ran to Shadow and embraced him. "Shadow, are you okay? Say something!"

"A-Ab-s-s-sol," he grunted as he tried to get back up and continue to fight.

Sam held him tighter. "Shadow, stop! It's over! Just stay down," she pleaded.

"Honchkrow-honch-honch-honch!" Paul's Honchkrow taunted.

"SOOOOOOL!" Shadow tried to lunge for the crow-like Pokémon but Sam held him down.

"Spooky, a little help please?" Danny asked his Gengar. Spooky nodded and used his Lick attack on Shadow until it paralyzed him. Jack then picked up the Disaster Pokémon and carried it into the RV.

Paul called his Honchkrow back and approached the Goth. "I'm surprised that you didn't use that weak Houndoom of yours. What did you do? Release it like I suggested?"

Sam sneered at him. "Like I'd do something like that."

"I'll be honest though. Your Absol is rather strong," Paul admitted. "It's a pity that you're its Trainer."

That did it! Sam slapped Paul's cheek leaving a red handprint on his face. Everyone stopped at what Sam did. Ash was especially shocked that Sam was bold enough to do something like that. Dawn and Danny ran over to Sam to make sure she didn't plan on hitting Paul again.

"You have no right to say that," Sam hissed. Paul just grunted and walked to the RV to get his Pokémon.

While Dawn walked off to follow Paul, Danny wrapped his arms around his girlfriend in comfort. "You were awesome," he whispered in her ear.

"All those things he said got to me," Sam mumbled. "I tried to stay calm like you said, Danny, but he pushed the wrong buttons. I'm sorry."

Danny gave Sam a reassuring kiss. "No, he had no right to say that about Shadow. What does he know?"

Sam nodded but something was still bothering her. "Did Spooky catch what Torterra said to Shadow?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah. According to Spooky, Torterra decided to throw in the towel for Shadow's sake. If he kept going, we'd have to go to the Pokémon Center to treat Shadow. My mom's first aid kit would not have been enough."

Sam smirked. "Ironic, isn't it? Who would have thought that Paul's big bad Torterra was a big softie?"

Surprised? Well, the fact that Sam managed to hurt Paul makes up for it. Plus, there was fluff so that also makes up for it.

Sorry if I disappointed you guys! I didn't want to make it too predictable so I threw in some twists and turns.

I've seen enough episodes to know that Paul's Torterra is a big softie underneath that tough exterior. Look at how he helped Ash's Grotle!

Stay tuned! The real story begins next!