Chapter 7

Disclaimer: moi-moi819 does not own Pokémon, or any of their titles therein. This is a nonprofit fan fiction. No copyright infringement was intended.

Moi-Moi: Hey guys. I have a question. Does anyone really like this fic? I write for fun and recreation, but I also write for you guys. I didn't expect an overwhelming response, but it's kind of depressing and it makes me contemplate continuing to post up this story. Anyways, Congrats Applejax XD once again. Instead of a riddle, this time I have a Pokémon Question that hit me while I was cleaning today.

Since Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, and all the other ghost types are ghosts does that mean they were alive at some point? You have to live in order to die and become a ghost right? Let me know your thoughts. : )

~:~

"There you go," I say to Chimchar. Her fur looked completely groomed and perfect. She eeped before taking my hand and running the brush down her back a few times.

"It seems Chimchar loves to be spoiled," Brock says with a teasing smile. I sigh before continue to groom Chimchar. I was mid-stroke when a loud screech sounded that made me drop the brush and made me fall over. I could hear the sounds of flapping wings before looking at Dawn's tent. What happened to her?

"Dawn? Are you dying in there? What's with that scream?" I ask.

"Dawn, are you okay?" Ash asks, now awake. He goes over to Dawn's ten, but she tells him to stay away.

"You can't see me like this. I've got serious bed head!" she objects. I give her tent a dry look.

"It can't be as bad as you claim. Just get out here and I'll help you," I say.

"Are you crazy!? You have to come in here!" she objects. I roll my eyes at her before going over to her tent. I slip inside and close the flap behind me. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see. "Stop laughing at me! You're supposed to be helping me! Gabi!" Dawn yells at me. I wipe the tears from my eyes before grabbing her brush.

"I'm sorry. I've never seen you look anything less than perfection, Dawn. You shouldn't be surprised," I say and begin to pass the brush through her hair. Just as I am sure that I've got it handled, it poofs back out into a bird's nest. She screams again and I sigh. Piplup laughs and I look at him. "I got it. Piplup, use Bubblebeam."

"What?" Dawn asks.

"Trust me," I say with a smile. Piplup lets loose the attack and a stream of bubbles bounce around the tent before popping and leaving a mist in the tent. I smiled when it landed on Dawn's head before passing the brush through it again.

"There. All done," I say and crawl out of Dawn's tent. I dust off my hands and look behind me. Dawn steps out and begins to flip her hair. I shake my head at her. She was such a girly-girl. "You know Dawn, I've never met someone who care so much about their appearance as you do."

"Well, if you're going to be in Contests, you have to look you're best," she says and runs her fingers through her hair.

"But, are the point of Contests to show off the Pokémon and not the trainer?" I ask and point to Piplup.

"She's got a point there, Dawn," Ash says with a teasing smile. I hold up my hand for a high five and laugh lightly. Ash presses his hand against mine and we watch Dawn expectantly.

"No need to worry. My Pokémon will look amazing," she says. I looked away from them then in search of Chimchar. Before I could turn back around, I heard stumbling and yelling. I don't know how it happened, but they managed to trip over each other and send a potato flying. Luckily, Pikachu was there to catch it.

"Thanks, Pikachu. That was a great catch," Brock compliments.

"I don't get it. Your hair looks the same to me. Just what did you do?" Ash asks with a puzzled look.

"It's simple really. I could help you out with your bed head, Ash," Dawn smiles.

"That's okay. I've got my hat," Ash says. Just then, Aipom stole the hat right off Ash's head. Chimchar cheered happily before joining Aipom for a game of Keep Away from Ash. I was about to say something, but it was too much fun to watch Ash fail to get him hat back from the two Pokémon. Pikachu then pursued the two and stole the hat back with a Quick Attack. However, the hat covers Pikachu's face and he lands in the middle of a path.

I could hear the sound of a motorcycle approaching as we all looked to Pikachu with wide eyes. "Pikachu!" Ash yells out. We See Officer Jenny attempt to swerve and nearly ran over Pikachu, but a Buneary jumped in and whisked Pikachu out of danger. We all went over to the two, Ash reclaiming his hat.

Buneary then pulls its fur over her face before bouncing away. I blinked at the strange behavior. Speaking of strange behavior, we all turned to see Brock on his knees in front of Officer Jenny. Just as Brock began to embarrass us, Croagunk appeared with a Poison Jab to Brock's midsection before dragging him away. Officer Jenny then showed us a picture of some thieves who were stealing machine parts. We shook our heads, saying we didn't recognize them. Officer Jenny left then, bidding us a good day. I looked around. Just where had Croagunk taken Brock?

~:~

While we were eating lunch, Ash declared that he wanted to catch Buneary. I raised an eyebrow at him. He didn't look like the type to want "cute" Pokémon. "Ash, you can't. I haven't even caught a Pokémon yet," Dawn objects.

"Did you see the way Buneary jumped to save Pikachu? I gotta catch it," Ash says.

"Yeah. I also saw the way it bounced into a tree afterwards," I say with a smirk. Just then, Buneary jumps out of some bushes and bounces away. Ash and Dawn both get up to pursue it, leaving the dishes to me and Brock.

I sigh before looking to Brock. "Go make sure they don't hurt themselves. I'll handle the dishes, Brock," I say. He gives me a grateful smile before heading out after them. I sigh and begin to get to work.

~:~

It was a good while before I had finished the dishes and they were dry. Thanks to Chimchar's speedy drying, we were able to put them all away and set out in search of the others. When we found them, Dawn was cheering happily. "What'd I miss?" I ask.

"I caught a Buneary!" Dawn says.

"Congratulations, Dawn. That's great. Now, you'll definitely win that Jubilife Contest," I say. Dawn goes on cheering for some time before releasing Buneary. I smile at her. "Since you've got two Pokémon now, what do you say to having a battle with me?" I ask her.

Dawn looks at me before grinning. "You're on," she says.

"This will be a two-on-two battle. The first one to knock out their opponent's Pokémon is the winner," Brock says, acting as the referee.

"You can go first Dawn," I say.

"Thanks. Go, Buneary!" Dawn says and throws her Pokeball. "Now, use Dizzy Punch!"

"Dodge it, Chimchar! Use Ember!" I yell. Chimchar moves to the side, which throws Buneary off long enough for Chimchar to fire Ember at it. "Scratch!"

"Dodge it! Use Ice Beam!" Dawn yells.

"Flame wheel!" I yell. Buneary fires an Ice Beam, but Chimchar's already rolling. She rolls head on into the Ice Beam causing it to melt and bounce off her. I noticed Chimchar getting slower before seeing the ice start to encase her. Suddenly, Buneary stopped her attack. "Flame Wheel, Chimchar!" I yell. I'm not sure if it could be counted as a Flame Wheel. Chimchar's whole flame was covered in an ice casing. It shone in the light just before colliding with Buneary and sending her flying.

"Buneary is unable to battle. Chimchar is the winner," Brock says.

"What was that?" Ash asks. I look to Dawn. She seemed shocked at what she saw. I was shocked as well. I didn't think that was possible. But, I wasn't about to question it.

"Alright Piplup, spotlight!" Dawn yells. Piplup came out of its Pokeball in a pose and looked over at us.

"Watch out for its contest moves. Use Scratch!" I yell. Chimchar closes in on Piplup with a nice speed.

"Dodge it, quick! And use Bubblebeam!" Dawn yells. I watch as Piplup gets away long enough to fire a Bubblebeam from behind. "Now, use Peck!"

"Chimchar! Get up and use Flame Wheel!" I yell to my fallen Pokémon. Chimchar slowly picks itself up before its eyes widen.

"Bubblebeam!"

"Chimchar is unable to battle! Piplup is the winner!"

"Chimchar, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how much stronger Dawn has gotten," I say lifting Chimchar and taking her back to my side of the field. "But, don't worry. I'm gonna win this. Pepper, let's go!"

"Alright Piplup, use Bubblebeam!"

"Use Whirlwind to blow it back!" I yell. The large gusts of wind stop the bubbles mid-air before sending them backwards to rain down on Piplup. "Now, use Quick Attack!"

While Piplup was dodging falling bubbles, it didn't notice Pepper closing in on it. Pepper's speed had improved so much. "Piplup! Quick, get up and use Peck!" Dawn yells.

"I don't think so! Use Wing Attack!" I yell. Just then, Pepper spread its wing before a bright light encased its body. I watched, mouth agape, as Pepper's body became larger and thinner. I let out a disbelieving gasp. My Pepper had evolved! I pulled out my Pokèdex to check it out.

Staravia, the Starling Pokémon. It flies around forests and fields in search of bug Pokémon. It stays within a huge flock.

A Staravia. And according to my Pokèdex, Pepper just learned a new move. "Pepper, use Aerial Ace!" Faster than ever, Pepper moved in close tailing a now panicking Piplup.

"Piplup is unable to battle. Which means Gabrielle is the winner!"Brock announced. I cheered loudly with Chimchar and Pepper by my side. I was sure of it now. That Oreburgh badge would be mine.

~:~

You could easily tell that a Contest was coming up. Jubilife City was crowded with Coordinators and Pokémon alike. Everywhere you looked, someone was grooming a Pokémon or feeding them a Poffin.

Dawn was leading us through the city with her face in a magazine. "What exactly are we looking for?" Ash asks her.

"We're looking for a Pokétch Shop," Dawn answers. That's all?

"What's a Pokétch?" Ash asks. Dawn stops immediately before yelling at ash for not knowing what the newest fad in Sinnoh entailed.

"Dawn, Ash is from Kanto. Pokétches aren't as big over there as they are here. And even so, they are still new," I say, saving Ash from Dawn's frustration.

"Well, even so, I have to get one. All the Top Coordinators have one," she goes on.

"But, you're not a Top Coordinator," I say cheekily. Dawn gives me an annoyed look before continuing down the street. Just then, Dawn notices three clowns giving away Pokétches. She pushes her way through the crowd and receives a Pokétch from a clown. They insist that Ash, Brock, and I take one as well, even though Ash says that he doesn't want one. "Live a little, Ash. Take it," I say and bump him. He relents before taking the device and strapping it to his wrist.

We decided to sit on a park bench while Brock decided where we would go for lunch. Dawn admires her Pokétch just before a Shinx approaches us. I immediately go to it and begin to pet its fur. "Aren't you adorable? Please tell me you don't have a trainer," I say and rub its head.

Just then, a little boy walks up to us and speaks. "Yes. That Shinx is mine. And those Pokétches you're wearing are fake," he says.

"What? You're kidding! There's no way!" Dawn objects, clutching her Pokétch.

"How do you know that?" I ask him, scratching the electric Pokémon's ears. He takes Dawn's Pokétch before running it under some water causing the paint to smear.

"My dad would never make such a dumb color," the boy says. Dad? I stood with Shinx in my arms, to happy to let it go.

~:~

We found out the boy's name was Landis as he took us back to his father's factory. Inside the Pokétch factory, Landis's Father apologized for his son's behavior. "You shouldn't apologize, it's those clowns who should apologize," I say. The father then tells us that he had the Pokétches pulled from the stores when he found out about the fakes that were circulating.

Landis then discovers that Dawn is a Coordinator, which prompts his father to show us a prototype Pokétch, which has a Friendship Checker. That sounds interesting. Ash asked him to try it out on him and Pikachu. I was curious as to what kind of reading they would get. Apparently, Ash and Pikachu's bond was "almost off the graph".

At the Pokémon Center that night, Dawn paced angrily, complaining about Landis, when Pikachu noticed something outside. We looked out the window and see a large group of Pokémon walking along outside. We go outside only to run into Landis. His said that Shinx had run off after a Psyduck's cry came out of the Pokétches.

After following the Pokémon who seemed to be in a trance, we found a large metal box in the middle of the forest. Landis spotted Shinx in the box, and moved to get it, but a metal door started to shut the front of the container. Dawn rushed up and grabbed Landis out of the way, just before the door slammed shut. Dawn and his father ask if he is okay, before Dawn demands to know who is behind the scheme.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?"

"It's speaking to me loud and clear."

"On the wind…"

"Pass the stars…"

"In your ear!"

"Team Rocket! You give back those Pokémon!" I yell.

"No! I will not let you interrupt our motto again!" Jessie yelled at me. I glare at her before commanding Chimchar to use Ember.

"I could care less about your bad rhymes and stupid poses. You give back those Pokémon! Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!" I yell. Before they could do anything, Chimchar hit them with a Flame Wheel attack that destroyed the container and sent them flying. I let out a sigh and shook my head.

The Pokémon begin to walk out of the container and Brock speaks, "The explosion must have broken the trance." Landis's father tells the Pokémon to go back to their Trainers. That would have been a disaster to the Contest if all those Coordinators lost their Pokémon.

Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy then arrive, saying that they got there as fast as they could. Brock goes all heart-eyed, and starts to talk with them, but Croagunk was waiting with its Poison Jab. Croagunk then dragged Brock away before he could hurt himself. Landis turned to me and thanked me for saving Shinx. I shrugged it off. It was the right thing to do.

~:~

As a thank you from Landis's father, he gave me a Pokétch the next day. Not really seeing the need for one, I gave it to Dawn. She was ecstatic and wouldn't stop showing it off. I contemplated taking it back, but maybe next time. She would need a calm head for her Contest in two days.

Moi-Moi: There you have it. Please Review!

Next Time: Enter Zoey and Staravia!

Edited: 12/15/12