Here's Chapter 4.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon; Nintendo and Satoshi Tajiri do.


FIGURE IT OUT

CHAPTER 4: TRAINING AND A BET


After school that day, Ash and May were once again working on Contest combinations in Ash's yard. Not having anything better to do, the rest of the group had joined them, even Paul. Right now, May and Glaceon were currently trying to perfect their routine for the Appeals round, and the others were leaning up against a fence watching and calling out suggestions and comments.

Dawn was waiting by the gate, while Piplup desperately tried to get out of his trainer's arms and run around the yard. Gary was smirking at Ash, who was unknowingly staring at May while she called out commands to Glaceon, and Paul was scowling at Dawn's efforts to restrain Piplup. Dawn noticed Paul looking at her, and she walked over to him.

"Soooo...which Pokemon are you going to use in the Contest, Paul?" Dawn had begged Paul to enter the contest, and he had eventually caved in just to make her shut up. "It'll be nice to see your Pokemon not fighting for once,"

"I still don't know why I even entered in the first place. My Pokemon are meant for battling, not showing off to a crowd." Paul growled, looking at Dawn with annoyance. "Probably Weavile, 'cause she's the weakest Pokemon on my current team." Dawn was about to respond, but Paul stopped her before she could. "Listen, my Pokemon don't perform, and if I don't get past the first round, so what? At least I won't have any other opportunity to make fools of my Pokemon, unlike the rest of you." He targeted this last comment to Ash and Gary, who stared in confusion. "Got a problem with that?"

"N-no, Paul. To tell the truth, we have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"You wouldn't," Paul growled again, lighting a cigarette. Dawn cringed; she hated it when Paul smoked around his friends. It just wasn't right, according to her, but she knew that Paul wouldn't stop if she told him to, so she just glared as he stood there, wisps of smoke emerging from the cigarette.

"So Ash," May said, startling them all, "what'd ya think? Glaceon's really looking sharp out there, and she can't wait to get the contest started." She sidled over to Ash and leaned up against the fence, mimicking his pose as he stood there. Dawn giggled slightly and dashed off to where May had been standing before, preparing to start practicing her appeal, while Gary smirked knowingly and Paul just scowled. "Who're you guys going to use?" she asked the other boys.

"Probably Umbreon, for the appeals round anyway." Gary told her, as Dawn released her Pachirisu and began calling out commands. "It came down to a decision between him and Arcanine, and in the end Umbreon showed me a better appeal, so he's it."

"Sounds cool. What about you, Paul?" May asked the purple-haired trainer, who growled something unintelligible and turned away. "Oh, I get it, you want to keep it a surprise until the contest actually starts!" May giggled and turned to Ash. "And Ash?"

"I dunno," Ash shrugged. "Maybe Pikachu, or Buizel. Maybe even Sceptile. I haven't given it much thought."

"Well, whoever you pick, I'm sure they'll be great!" May smiled, making Ash go slightly red, then ran over to Dawn, who had just been hit with Pachirisu's Discharge by accident. Gary smirked, and looked at Paul, who had by now tossed his cigarette aside and stood with his hands in his pockets, wishing he were somewhere else.

"Looks like a certain somebody likes a certain someone, Ashy-boy," Ash cocked an eyebrow, confused. "Oh, don't give me that, Ash, even you know it. You like May, don't you,"

"What're you talking about?" Ash responded, blushing again. "I like her, yeah, but she's my friend, what do you expect. If I didn't like her..."

"You know what I mean," Gary said with a knowing smirk. "You like her, Ashy-boy. The question is, does she like you back?"

"Does she?" Ash asked him,and Gary smirked again.

"Figure it out, Ash. But be quick about it, or Drew'll get to her before you know it. He's a wily one, that Drew, and he'll do his best to beat you to her." Ash nodded, scowling at the mention of the snobbish coordinator, and walked over to Dawn, who was shouting about how her hair was a mess. Gary turned to Paul. "You think he'll figure it out for himself, Paul? We all know May likes him, but I think Ash is too dense to find out."

"It's possible," Paul answered, scowling. "And you'd think Dawn would figure out that you like her, the way you act. It's ridiculous. If you like her, just tell her."
"Paul, everyone else knows you like her too. She seems to like you back, but she also seems to like me as well. So, what're we going to do about it?"

"Search me," Paul growled. "Again, if you like her, just tell her."

"Without beating you first? Get real." Gary thought for a moment, then plunged on. "Here's a thought. Regardless of who tells whom, they'll eventually be together, right?"

"You sound just like Dawn. She could never resist setting people up, just look at Misty and Tracey. They went to the same college just so they could be together, and guess who got them together in the first place."

"Not the point. What I'm trying to say is, you think that Ash will be able to find out for himself, right?" Paul nodded curtly, and Gary continued. "So here's the deal: if May tells Ash, I get the first shot at asking Dawn to the Winter Ball the day after the contest. If Ash finds out himself, you get the first shot." Gary held out a hand, and Paul pondered the brown-haired future researcher's words, then grasped Gary's hand with his own.

"Deal."

Alright, not much shipping in this admittedly chapter, but I'm trying to set the tone for the rest of the story. Like I said in a previous author's note, I'm still new to the whole romance thing, so I'm following a trend that I've noticed in certain situations.

Anyway, enough ranting, please read and review. More reviews mean quicker updates (I can't make any promises, though).