Hey guys! I'm so sorry that it has taken me so long to update! Winter term has started up and I have just been getting more and more homework and barely have any time left at all. But, I have not forgotten, so here's the next chapter! And it's the longest one yet!

Chapter 6: Beach Day

"Allie! Please!" Ash begged for the third time, his eyes wide as saucers.

Allie opened her mouth to reply, but didn't get the chance as Misty's mallet appeared out of nowhere and whacked him forcefully on the head.

"I've already told you, Ash! Right now, we are having girl time. We don't have a beach in Pallet Town, so therefore we don't get to tan very often. So, in conclusion, don't bother us while we're tanning!"

Ash retreated immediately, shooting Misty a rather cold look.

She gave him a fierce glare before laying back down on her towel. They had all migrated to the beach for the day after heading into Vermilion for lunch and ice cream. It was around midafternoon, as most of the morning had been taken up tidying up the campsite. All the girls had changed into swimsuits and had found a nice sunny spot where the sand wasn't too hot or too cold, and the sun was just perfect. The guys had gotten a game of beach volleyball going and after playing a few rounds, Ash had decided to disturb the "delicate balance between sun and sand" as May had so eloquently put it, by asking Allie over and over for a battle.

Allie poked Misty gently, "You know, if I battle him, he'll leave us alone for a while."

Misty grumbled under her breath for a moment then, "Fine, but kick his ass for me."

Allie patted her friend gently, "Erm…I'll try?"

Misty didn't reply, instead, she flipped onto her back, dismissing Allie.

Allie sighed and looked at May and Leaf, who both shrugged, but sat up eagerly in anticipation.

Dawn, who was on Allie's other side, put a hand on her shoulder in sympathy. "Don't worry about Misty." She said in a very quiet tone. "She's just upset about Ash flirting with that waitress."

Allie nodded. The waitress at the restaurant had been horrible to the rest of the group, well, at least the female half. The guys, even Gary had pointedly ignored her. All of them had except for Ash. He had flirted with her constantly and she had even given him her number. She had introduced herself as Melody. After she had left, Misty had brusquely asked him why he was flirting with her when she was so awful to the others. He had simply told her that jealously was not an attractive quality.

The others had been shocked, Ash was usually sweet and kind, and Misty had been so surprised that she had gone temporarily speechless. Ash had taken her silence as an agreement, and he had been supremely smug ever since, seemingly oblivious to Misty's anger.

Allie received encouraging smiled from the girls before turning to Ash.

"Alright the, lets battle!"

Ash pumped his fist into the air, "Alright!" he turned to the guys and called, "Hey guys! I'm gonna take Allie on!"

As the guys came jogging up, Drew shook his head, "Dude." He said in complete seriousness, "You're gonna get destroyed."

Ash shook his head. "Nah, I got this!"

Gary sighed, "Well, at least he's hopeful!"

The others, with the exception of Paul, all snickered.

"Well, this is definitely going to be worth watching." May said with a large yawn as the rest of the girls joined the group.

"Oh for sure." Misty said sarcastically. "Ash is gonna get his ass kicked."

Ash frowned slightly at Misty, who stuck her nose in the air and pretended not to notice.

"Well!" Allie said, as the air started to get slightly tense, "Are we ready to start then!"

Ash's grin came back full force. "Yeah let's go!"

Allie smiled. "Three pokemon sound good?"

Ash nodded and then both of them moved to separate ends of the beach, standing about three hundred feet apart.

As the group sat down eagerly to watch, Allie noted that a few other beach goers had stopped and were waiting eagerly as well. She twirled the pokeball eagerly in her hand, they would get a quite a show.

Ash gave her a grin and gestured with his hand, signaling her to start.

She gripped the pokeball tightly before throwing it high into the air, "Alright, Houndoom! Let's give them a show!"

As the pokemon materialized in front of her, she saw a few of the people on the sidelines shiver slightly.

Houndoom crouched low and bared his teeth in a savage snarl. The sunlight gleamed off his horns and teeth, and his tail lashed back in forth in anticipation.

Ash looked more determined than ever, but Allie could see the doubt lingering in his eyes. He shook his head and gave a loud "whoop!" before sending out Squirtle.

"Ha!" He called out triumphantly, "I've got the type advantage!"

Allie's eyes narrowed. Yes, Houndoom was a fire type, but he was also a dark type. Squirtle was also much weaker than Houndoom, as Allie had spent many weeks training and leveling up before she challenged the League. Ash would never knew what hit him.

"Challenger gets first move!" Allie called across the field.

Ash grinned and nodded. "Alright! Squirtle! Start with Skull Bash!"

The tiny turtle pokemon raced forward, his head beginning to glow.

"Houndoom! Dodge it and then use Dark Pulse!"

Houndoom leapt out of the way as Squirtle shot past him. He opened his mouth and a terrible black aura seemed to engulf them both. Squirtle let out a hiss of pain and dropped forcefully to the ground.

"Squirtle! Get up and use Hydro Pump!" Ash's tone suggested that he was beginning to panic.

"Don't give him the chance, Houndoom! Use flamethrower!"

"Quick Squirtle! Into the shell!" Ash sounded desperate now.

Squirtle's head disappeared into his shell just before Houndoom let loose a torrent of fire that engulfed the tiny pokemon immediately.

"Okay, Houndoom! That's enough." Allie called.

The fire was gone, and Houndoom returned to his spot in front of Allie, still growling. But there was a catch. The fire from a Houndoom has special properties, it's toxic. Squirtle's shell now glowed a soft red color. He was trapped in the shell.

"Squirtle! Cool your shell off! Use Bubblebeam!"

Squirtle stuck his head out hesitantly, but retreated immediately when it burned him. He tried a second time, managing to start blowing bubbles gently onto his shell.

Allie realized Ash's mistake. Squirtle was immobile.

"Now Houndoom! Finish it with hyper beam!"

She faintly heard Ash and the crowd gasp as Houndoom took a deep breath and unleashed his power.

Squirtle never even stood a chance. The fight was over before it had begun. Houndoom hadn't a single mark on his glossy black coat.

Ash gritted his teeth as he returned the fainted Squirtle to his pokeball, while the tiny crowd cheered enthusiastically from the sidelines.

Allie allowed herself a tiny smile. Houndoom stood proudly beside her, he head held high in the air as he breathed heavily, recovering from the strength of the attack. Ash looked mutinous at this point. Allie returned Houndoom to his pokeball and met Ash's eyes, and like Gary in her previous battles, he was waiting for her to send out her next pokemon.

As Luxray appeared in front of her, Ash gave another whoop and sent out his pokemon. Charizard. Allie felt a flicker of doubt. Charizard had a type and size advantage, but Luxray was faster. But would it be enough?

Luxray hissed, his glossy mane crackling with electricity. Charizard let out a defiant roar and shot some fire into the air.

"Stand firm, Tux." Allie whispered. Luxray bent low to the ground in a hunters crouch, his claws sinking into the earth and let out a guttural growl.

"Alright, Charizard!" Let's get started! Use Seismic Toss!"

Charizard roared, and with a flap of his powerful wings, was upon Luxray in a matter of seconds.

"Quick, Luxray! Dodge and use thunder fang!" Allie cried.

Luxray leapt to the side, but he wasn't fast enough, he managed to dodge Charizard's talons, but got caught on his tail. Charizard then flipped Luxray higher into the air with his tail before catching him in his talons and hurtling him towards the ground at breakneck speed.

Allie gritted her teeth as Luxray plummeted back towards the earth, she wasn't worried yet, but she knew that she had underestimated Ash's determination.

Allie had trained Luxray well. Just before he hit the ground, the electric pokemon went into a roll, his shoulder taking the brunt of the fall and springing back to his feet, his legs shaking ever so slightly.

"Now, Luxray! Use Thunder!"

Luxray hissed before leaping at Charizard, his hair standing on end as he released a massive current of electricity. The sound of the lightning was so loud that Allie swore she heard thunder echo in the distance.

Charizard roared and batted at in frustration at Luxray as the smaller pokemon darted around, attacking him with various electric shocks.

"Get rid of him, Charizard!" Ash called in an agitated voice, "Use Overheat!"

Charizard bent his head low before his entire body burst into flames. The fire raced out in all directions. Ash jumped to the side as the fire scorched past him. Luxray didn't need any prompting from Allie, he ducked to the ground and sprang into the air to avoid the flames. But that Allie realized too late that it was a distraction.

"Charizard! Use Dragon Tail!"

"Move, Tux! Now!"

But Luxray wasn't fast enough, Charizard's attack sent him spiraling backwards, leaving deep cuts on his black coat. Luxray scrambled to his feet, panting for breath.

Allie was desperately thinking up a strategy. Tux wouldn't be able to go at this pace for much longer, especially if Charizard landed another fire attack on him. Then it hit her. Yes! That was it! If she could just bait Charizard into another seismic toss…

"Alright, Tux!" Allie called, making her voice quiver slightly for effect, "Use Thunder Fang!"

There, she saw it. Ash had picked up on her tone, he took on a look of confidence. She narrowed her eyes in triumph. Overconfidence is a killer.

"Charizard! Use Flamethrower!"

"Dodge it!"

Luxray cut to one side as he dodged the column of fire. He darted behind Charizard and leapt up with a feral hiss and sank his fangs into the back of Charizard's neck. The bigger pokemon gave a startled howl and shook violently as the electricity coursed through him. He tried to shake Luxray off, but the smaller pokemon had sunk his claws in and refused to let go. Charizard thrashed wildly, only managing to shake Luxray loose when he took to the sky and buffeted the electric type with his wings.

They were both tiring. Allie knew that Charizard was fading quickly. Ash had trained him only in strength. He lacked endurance and stamina. Luxray was breathing hard, but out of everything, Allie had trained him most for endurance.

"Store power, Luxray!"

"Finish this, Charizard! Use Seismic Toss!" Ash's voice was tremulous.

Allie stayed quiet as Charizard hurled towards Luxray.

"Allie! Do something!" Gary shouted from the sidelines, but she paid him no mind.

Luxray dodged the first attempt, but was not so lucky the second time. Charizard snatched him up in his claws and raced towards the heavens. He hurled Luxray into the air and then landed safely back on the ground.

Luxray was falling…two hundred feet…one hundred feet…fifty feet.

"Now, Luxray!" Allie called in a powerful voice. The wind carried her hair as it whipped around her face like an angry storm, her bright blue eyes crackling with energy. "Land on his back and unleash your Thunder!"

"Charizard, Move!" Ash cried out, his voice wobbling unsteadily.

But Charizard wasn't fast enough. Luxray landed squarely on top of the other pokemon. The force of the fall knocking Charizard onto his stomach on the ground.

Luxray let out a ferocious hiss before both pokemon were engulfed in a magnificent white light. The crackle of the energy could be heard from Vermilion. Allie looked at Ash, who stood there with a broken expression on his face.

The seconds ticked on, and ever so slowly, the light faded. Charizard was still on his stomach, vicious scratches covered his body, along with numerous electrical burns. He was knocked out cold. Luxray was still on his back, his claws still hooked for dear life.

Everything seemed to go quiet. Even the waves seemed to quiet their pounding.

"Luxray." Allie called, her voice ringing clearly though the heavy silence.

For a moment, he didn't move. But then he slowly raised his head and blinked before tottering off Charizard and limping towards Allie.

Suddenly, a wave of applause shattered her eardrums. She noticed that almost all of Vermilion had come out to watch their battle. She could even see some fans clustered on the sidelines, staring at her with a mixture of awe and amazement. There must have been at least seventy people, including all of her friends.

Tuning out the noise, Allie bent down and began petting Luxray and scratching him behind the ears. "I'm so proud of you, Tux." The exhausted pokemon nuzzled her affectionately, and then heaved a great sigh. Allie gave him one last pat and returned him to his pokeball.

She looked up to see that Ash had returned Charizard to his pokeball as well. He seemed to be deep in thought. Allie had sent out the first pokemon last time, so now it was Ash's turn.

He gave Allie a curt nod and then threw a pokeball into the air. A bull like pokemon appeared in front of him. It pawed fiercely and bellowed. Allie recognized him immediately. A Tauros. Allie had never fought one, but she had seen them in the Safari Zone when she was younger.

She had made her decision. "All right, Lapras! Here we go!"

Lapras appeared before her. She gave a happy snort and blew some bubbles towards Allie. Allie smiled and encouraged her forwards. Lapras was a great battler, but they were also on land. Lapras could move, but she was extremely slow. But her will was unbreakable.

"Okay!" Ash called out in a rough voice, "We'll start! Tauros, use Body Slam!"

Tauros reared, and barreled towards Lapras like he was shot from a cannon, his head lowered in a charge.

Allie knew that there was no point in telling Lapras to dodge, she wasn't fast enough.

"Lapras, stop him with Ice Beam!"

"Dodge it!"

Lapras opened her mouth and shot a beam of pure ice. It caught Tauros in the side as he tried to dodge. He staggered, slowing his speed dramatically. Tauros lashed his three tails in anger as he tried to remove the ice.

"Again, Lapras! Ice Beam! Aim for the hooves! Immobilize him!"

"Don't stay still, Tauros!"

The big blue pokemon obeyed. Tauros could run fast, but couldn't change direction quickly. Lapras's Ice Beam had him trapped in a matter of seconds.

Tauros struggled fiercely, but was securely stuck.

"Move, Tauros! And use Take Down!"

Allie felt a wave of pity crash over her. Tauros was fighting as hard as he could. But it was in vain. Better and just get it over with now.

"Finish this, Lapras." Her voice took on an eerie note, "Use Sheer Cold."

"No!" Ash yelled.

Lapras began to glow with a blue light, and a surge of blue energy shot from her and engulfed Tauros.

The people on the sidelines shivered at the sudden temperature drop.

When the light disappeared, Tauros was laying on his side as a life size icicle. He had fainted.

Ash heaved a great sigh and returned Tauros to his pokeball.

Allie gave Lapras a small pokemon treat before allowing her to go and play in the ocean with May's Glaceon and Misty's Vaporeon.

The crowd had erupted into thunderous applause. The girls reached Allie first, scooping her up in a massive group hug.

"Allie, that was incredible!" Misty shouted, eyes wide.

Dawn nodded, speechless.

"Really, Allie." Leaf said in her quiet voice, "That was amazing."

Allie blushed. Ash was a great trainer, but he hadn't put in as much hard work and training as she had. She was champion for a reason.

Ash approached her soon after the guys had gone over and congratulated her, "Great battle, Allie." He said with a tired smile. "I never really stood a chance, did I?"

Allie gave him a sympathetic smile. "You were great, Ash."

He gave her another smile before she was surrounded by the rest of the crowd. And Allie saw that even the paparazzi had showed up. After signing multiple autographs, bringing Espy out so a few kids could pet her, and posing for many, many pictures; did the crowd slowly disperse.

Allie sighed as she pulled on a tank top and shorts over her bathing suit. So much for a nice, calm day at the beach.

The sun was beginning to set and everyone was waiting patiently outside of the changing room. All the camping gear had been packed up and all the pokemon had been safely returned.

Upon leaving the changing room, she came face to face with Gary. And, she thought uncomfortably, this was the first true time they had been alone since he had almost kissed her two nights ago.

"Where are the others?" She asked, hating how small her voice sounded.

Gary gave her a grin, but she could tell that it was strained, and that he was just uncomfortable with this situation as she was. "They went to get tables at the burger joint, I told them I would stay behind and wait for you." He gave her a small smirk, "To make sure you didn't get lost."

She snorted. "Yeah right, I'm pretty sure I could find it."

He gave her another small smile and raised an eyebrow as they started making their way back towards town.

They were both silent as they walked, and Allie began to feel nervous.

"You battled great today." Gary said, slightly awkward.

Allie gave him a shy smile and cursed the blood that rushed to her face. She also realized that they had stopped walking at this point.

"Thanks, Ash didn't make it too easy."

"He really has gotten better, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, he really has."

More silence.

Gary took a deep breath before steeling himself and saying in a quiet, soft voice, "Allie…I…I wanted to apologize about what happened the other night."

She looked up at him then, but he refused to meet her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Gary. Just forget it." She said, her tone matching his.

He winced slightly as though she had struck him. "That's the thing though…" He whispered, suddenly sounding very vulnerable. "I don't want to forget it."

"Gary, just-"

"No, stop." He said abruptly, cutting her off. "Just hear me out."

Allie sighed, feeling the headache coming. She really didn't want to deal with this right now. But Gary was on a roll. His next words came out rushed,

"You're an amazing friend, Allie. And I'm glad that you're my friend, I really am. But…over these past few weeks, I've come to realize that I have stronger feelings for you…and…I'm not sure what to do about them."

She looked up at him them, surprise making its way across her face. But before she could reply, he charged on.

"The other night, I just didn't know what to do. I kept thinking that I shouldn't do anything rash or stupid…but it seemed to have happened anyway…and now I want to know, what is going through your head, Allie?"

Allie closed her eyes and willed her heart to stop beating so fast. Damn it, she liked him. Damn it, damn it, damn it. She couldn't get attached, not now and not ever. She had to tell him. Dawn was the only one who knew part of it, and she had been quite unhappy with her…she probably still is, especially since Allie forbade Dawn from following her.

"It won't work, Gary." She mumbled quietly in a brittle tone. She gestured between them. "Us. It won't work."

She could see the hurt and confusion flash across his face before it disappeared under an expressionless mask, "Why?" He said patiently.

"Because, I'm leaving."

"What?" That had caught him by surprise.

Allie gulped and closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. "I'm leaving, and I'm not coming back for a while."

She opened them when she felt a hand on her arm. She opened her eyes to see that Gary had moved closer to her, concern and confusion swam through his eyes.

"Where are you going?"

She didn't reply.

"Allie?" He sounded slightly angry now.

Still, she didn't reply.

"Damn it, Allie!" He had grabbed her other arm and shook her slightly. "Answer me!"

"I'm going to find Di" She said in a hoarse voice.

Gary seemed to deflate. Whatever energy he had, had left him and he sagged against her.

"Why?"

"Something is wrong, Gary. I can feel it, and I know you can feel it too." She paused slightly, and then continued, "The pokemon can all feel it, haven't you noticed how jumpy they have been lately?"

Gary was quiet for a moment and then nodded. Now that he thought back on it, he definitely noticed it. Arcanine had almost lit his leg on fire the previous night while trying to light to coals.

Allie heaved another sigh. "Besides." She said quietly, "We're too different, Gary."

He looked back at her, his eyes taking on a hard edge. "You're lying." His voice was sharp, like a whip being cracked.

Allie winced, she knew she was lying, but she didn't want to cause him any excess pain. Her life was too unpredictable. She had only been with Jenny for a year, before that she was bounced from foster home to foster home. Who knows where she would be when this term was up?

"I'm sorry, Gary."

He looked back at her then, and what she saw surprised her. She expected to see sadness and acceptance, but all she saw was fierce determination.

"I'm going to prove you wrong, Allie."

Allie sighed, feeling her heart weighing heavily in her chest, "How?"

Gary was about to reply when a ringing filled the air. He pulled out his pokenav in surprise.

"It's Gramps. I wonder what he wants."

He pressed the accept button as they both gathered around the tiny screen. "Hey Gramps, what's up?"

What they saw next shocked them. Professor Oak appeared on the screen. But something was wrong. Very, very wrong. The Professor looked like he had beaten up. He had a split lip and several nasty scratches on his face and it looked like half on an eyebrow had been singed off. Then there was the background. Everything was on fire, smoke spiraled towards the heavens and people screamed in the background.

Allie covered her mouth in shock, at a loss for words.

"Gramps!" Gary called out in panic. "What's happening?!"

"No time to explain!" The professor said, panting. "Under no conditions should you return to PPA! Do you understand me?"

Gary and Allie both nodded, still speechless.

Allie gave a tiny scream as the burning beam above the professor creaked and fell, he jumped out of the way at the last second and then paused to catch his breath before saying.

"You need to get out of Kanto as soon as possible! Meet me in Professor Elm's lab in Johto in exactly one week. Do NOT use anything too public. Do you understand?!"

He was yelling now, desperately trying to be heard over the roar of the flames in the background.

"Yes." Gary said weakly. "Grandpa, are you going to be okay?"

Professor Oak nodded and then turned his head sharply to the side. "I have to go. Stay off the main roads, stick together and stay safe! I'll see you all in a week."

Again, they both nodded.

"Gary." Professor Oak said suddenly, his voice had taken on a note of extreme sadness and finality. "I love you."

Gary looked utterly broken. "I…I love you too, Grandpa."

Professor Oak gave them one last solemn nod before the line went dead.

Allie felt numb, she looked at Gary, but on his face, she only saw her own horrified expression staring back at her.