9th chapter. Hurrah for 5.5K hits and a load of reviews Thanks for the reviews guys, your reviews makes this fanfic possible.

This is basically the second round of the tournament and then some. I didn't particularly enjoy this chapter, mostly because it was hard to write about, also I had the ideas in my head, but I didn't know how to put it down fully, so anyway, here's what I came up with:

Enjoy And please review.

"Welcome to the 1st battle of the second round of The Rivalry Tournament!" The lively crowd cheered and roared in excitement. The second round of the tournament was finally about to begin and no one could've possibly been more confident and nervous at the same time than Gary Oak. He sat on a bench inside his locker room, waiting for his name to be called out. In his hands, three pokeballs waited to battle. OK, make it into the next round and then we're onto the full battles, Gary thought to himself excitedly. His incredible excitement contrasted with his nervousness. Only a few years ago, cheerleaders were the ones to give him support and help him overcome his nerves and bring out his overconfident side. These days, it's all up to his friends, or himself. He held his head low, concentrating and battling the nerves that he had come across.

"1 minute Mr Oak" a voice came from behind a door. Gary slowly looked up, then to his pokeballs.

"We can do this guys…" he said whilst looking at his pokeballs. He got off the bench slowly and walked towards the battlefield to be met by a blinding light and a loud eager crowd.

"In this battle we have Gary from Pallet Town!" The announcer roared out as the crowd once again cheered. In an instant, the nerves went away from Gary as he looked around to see a huge crowd cheering and screaming his name, to which he replied with a wave. "Facing off against him is Barry from Twinleaf Town!" A cheer just as loud came from the audience. Despite this though, Barry was more famous for being the son of the great Tower Tycoon, Palmer. Barry knew that he had to follow in his father's footsteps and become just as great, but to do that, he had to beat Gary. Gary looked across the battlefield to see the hyperactive trainer looking incredible psyched up. He still had the same green scarf and the white and orange striped shirt that he wore when travelling around Sinnoh, but he looked a little more determined.

"Begin!" The referee announced as both trainers reached for their first pokeball.

"Allright Empoleon! Let's get going!" Barry revealed his first pokemon to be his water type. "My Empoleon is strong, so don't think you stand a chance against me" Barry bragged.

"We'll see about that! Scizor, go!" Gary revealed his first pokemon to be his bug type. "And don't think that you'll win that easily" Gary remarked.

In the stands…

"Where is he…he said he would make it here on time…" Dawn said whilst looking around.

"Which one do you mean? Ash and Tracey said they would both be here" Brock said as he turned his head back to the battle.

"As for Ash, I am not sure. Tracey never usually is late, he must be busy" May noted. Just as she said that, Ash came running down the stairs and quickly took his seat at the end of the row, next to Dawn.

"Sorry I'm late guys" Ash said before looking at the battlefield.

"Ash, where were you?"

"Just had to make a quick phone call…"

"Oh, what was it about?"

"You'll see later…" he said as he turned his full attention to the battle with a smirk on his face.

"Scizor, Quick Attack!" Gary commanded whilst pointing at the giant penguin pokemon. Immediately, the pincer pokemon became a red blur as it charged at extreme speed, tackling Empoleon.

"Empoleon, use Drill Peck and get it away!" Barry shouted as the water type pokemon's crown and beak glowed. Empoleon jumped towards Scizor, rotating its body with its beak pointed towards the bug type.

"Dodge it Scizor" Gary said. Scizor's fast reactions caused it to majestically jump over the spinning Empoleon. "Now use Swift whilst it's not looking!" Gary called out strategically. The pincer pokemon opened up both its red claws and fired several white and yellow stars towards Empoleon's back.

"Great move by Gary" Brock admired him from afar.

"Yeah, but I always thought that Scizor was kind of slow, and that normal type moves aren't that effective against steel types" May said doubtfully.

"True, but Gary looks like he's raised his Scizor really well" Drew said, trying to avoid eye contact with May, but giving in.

"Empoleon! Turn around and use Hydro Cannon!" Barry said. The penguin pokemon turned around to face Scizor and then opened its beak where a blue flash of light gathered energy and shot its way towards Scizor.

"Block it with Swift!" As the flash of water came charging towards Scizor, Scizor opened both its pincers and let out countless white and yellow stars towards Empoleon's attack. Despite Scizors quick attempts, the Hydro Cannon overpowered Scizor's Swift, throwing it to the ground. "Now Empoleon, Drill Peck!" Barry watched the opportunity come towards him. Empoleon sprung high in the air where it spun and charged at the Scizor, colliding with it.

"That's gonna leave a mark" Brock remarked. "It was very clever of Barry to attack Scizor while it was still recovering."

"Scizor! Are you OK?" The crowd went silent as they watched the bug type lay on the hard ground, barely moving. "Come on Scizor. I'm counting on you!" Merely seconds in and Scizor was on the ground, struggling to get up.

"Sciz" the pincer pokemon cried out as it finally got to its feet.

"Hmm. Scizor, return!" Gary held out Scizor's pokeball and returned the tired bug type. I'll save you 'til later.

"Errm…why did Gary do that?" Misty asked despite her experience as a gym leader. The three girls all looked at Brock.

"I…honestly don't know" Brock amswered. "We'll see soon enough."

"OK! Kingdra, let's go!" Gary's second pokemon was revealed to be his Kingdra.

"Water type…vs a water type?" May questionably said. "What's he trying to do?"

"Agility, Kingdra! Then use Dragon Pulse!" The dragon pokemon made its way towards Empoleon at an increasingly high speed then let loose a ball of dragon energy that built up near its snout.

"Oh God! Empoleon, do something!" Barry said whilst flailing his arms about. The Kingdra's speed coupled with the forceful Dragon Pulse startled Barry, but his Empoleon remained calm. As the ball of dragon energy came closing in towards Empoleon, it quickly illuminated its wing and smacked the dragon pulse back at Kingdra.

"Great tactic by Barry! And to make it even worse for Gary, Kingdra's one weakness just so happens to be dragon" Prof. Oak smiled admiringly at Barry's tactics.

"Way to go Empoleon!" Barry shouted, congratulating his pokemon. The ball of dragon energy crashed into Kingdra with an incredible force, hurling it far across the battlefield.

"Kingdra, are you OK?" Gary's pokemon looked very hurt from the attack; nevertheless, it stood up with determination and glared at Empoleon.

"Return for now Empoleon" a red light returned the penguin pokemon to its ball. I'll need you later. "Now, Skarmory!"

"Skar! Skar!" The armor bird pokemon spread its wings to show its bulk to the crowd.

"Wow, Skarmory almost looks scary with its wings spread like that" May said slightly cowardly.

"Well, you did get kidnapped by one" Drew taunted whilst giggling.

"Who told you that?" she angrily shouted at Drew, who kept giggling.

"I heard it a long time ago, back in Kanto" May quickly turned away from Drew as she began to remember the last day she was in Kanto with Drew. The heartbroken May let out a few tears at the thought of it. The thoughts of her first ribbon, Brianna, and May's old feelings for Drew all seemed to have been whooshed away by a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Dawn's friendly hand on her shoulder, and her gracious smile.

"Don't worry about it May" she quietly whispered to her.

"Return Kingdra" Gary said, pointing a red flash at the dragon pokemon. "OK, Magmortar, I choose you!" Gary said, revealing his strong fire type.

"So it evolved" Ash said to himself.

"Barry should be careful. Last time his Skarmory went up against a Magmortar, it was down in one hit" Brock said.

"Use Flamethrower Magmortar!" The blast pokemon placed its cannon in position and fired an orange beam at Skarmory.

"Quick, dodge it Skarmory!" The steel type cleverly spun around, avoiding the attack.

"Keep using Flamethrower Magmortar!" Gary said, slightly annoyed that the Skarmory got away.

"Quick! Dodge, dodge and dodge it!" Barry said as the armor bird swiftly evaded Magmortar's flamethrowers. After only a few seconds, it was visible that both pokemon were tiring.

"Magmortar, use both cannons and use Flamethrower!" Gary's Magmortar slowly held up both its cannons and began charging up a powerful Flamethrower.

"Be careful Skarmory, Magmortar's getting tired" Barry warned his pokemon. Two powerful beams of fire shot out of Magmortar's cannons, aimed towards Skarmory. "Dodge it Skarmory!" Barry's hope that Skarmory would dodge it never happened. The tremendously powerful Flamethrower attack sent the armor bird pokemon crashing to the ground, surrounding it with a cloud of dust.

"Well, fire type moves always beat steel types…" Brock said.

"That's one pokemon down, but he still has two more to go, and one of them hasn't even battled yet" Professer Oak noted.

"Allright, well done Magmortar" Gary said, cheering for his pokemon.

"Mag…mortar" Magmorter said whilst panting. Despite that though, the referee didn't say that Skarmory was unable to battle. Gary glanced at the referee once more, but he stood completely still and glared at the dust. As the cloud of dust cleared, the silhouette of a bird appeared. No way… As the dust scattered, what was left was Barry's Skarmory still on its feet, but looking very tired.

"But…how?" Gary said, shocked at how a Skarmory could survive a super effective attack such as Magmortar's.

"And Skarmory's Sturdy ability leaves it standing" the announcer said as the crowd looked in shock and awe at Barry's incredible tactics.

"Well would you believe it, Gary didn't see that one coming" Misty said, just as surprised that Skarmory survived such an attack.

"And now that Magmortar is tired, I think it's time that I fought back. Skarmory, Spikes!" Skarmory spun rapidly whilst letting out sharp metallic spikes. "Now you can't switch out" he said with a smug look on his face.

"Magmortar, Thunderbolt!" Gary commanded his pokemon. Magmortar held out its cannon and let out a powerful thunderbolt.

"Skarmory, dodge it quick!" The armor bird pokemon, despite its lack of endurance, evaded the blast of thunder. "Spikes then spikes again!" The steel type spun rapidly in the air twice in a row to let down another two layers of spikes.

"This is bad" Brock acknowledged.

"It can't be that bad, could it?" Dawn asked.

"Spikes will do damage whenever a pokemon switches in" Brock started. "And when all three of your pokemon are on extremely low health, spikes could be the difference between going into the next round and going home"

"So whatever Gary does now is fatal right?" Dawn asked once more.

"Every move he makes" Brock replied.

"Magmortar, finish it with Thunderbolt" the highly fatigued flame pokemon tiredly heaved its cannon and shot out a thunderbolt.

"Dodge it Skarmory and use Brave Bird!" The armor bird evaded Magmortar's bolt of thunder and flew high in the air before plummeting towards Magmortar.

"Flamethrower, whilst it's in the air!" Magmortar held out both its cannons towards the sky and built up the energy for a powerful Flamethrower. "Now!" Magmortar shot out the powerful Flamethrowers from its cannons just as Skarmory used Brave Bird.

"Wow! Skarmory is actually going through the Flamethrower!" Misty said, surprised. Skarmory's Brave Bird crashed into Magmortar's Flamethrower, piercing the flames and getting closer to making contact with Magmortar.

"You can do it Skarmory!" Barry encouraged. Still piercing through the flames with Brave Bird, Skarmory edged itself, despite its low energy, towards Magmortar.

"Fight it Magmortar!" On impact, a huge explosion of dust and smoke surrounded the field. Both pokemon were invisible to the trainers and the crowd, who stayed in utter silence as the smoke and dust cleared up.

"I don't know how either one of them could survive something like that" Drew said. The smoke cleared up, revealing the flame pokemon, on the floor, fainted.

"Magmortar is unable to battle, Skarmory's the winner" the referee called out. The crowd cheered and roared in surprise at how Skarmory was still standing.

"Oh man, poor Gary" Ash said, lowering his head.

"Don't be too disheartened, watch" Brock smiled as Ash looked up quickly. A red sparks of energy struck Skarmory softly.

"Skar! Ska" A huge thumping noise occurred when Barry's Skarmory fainted and hit the ground.

"Skarmory is unable to battle" the referee announced.

"Recoil" Brock said smiling. "Barry wanted to take out Magmortar using Skarmory's strongest move, and now that Skarmory has laid three levels of spikes, Gary isn't in a good position"

"But Gary is a tough opponent" Dawn said.

"So Gary, what do you think?" Barry boasted.

"I'll be lying if I said I wasn't impressed" he muttered to himself quietly. "OK Scizor, go!" Gary let out his bug type. As it landed on the battlefield, it shook and fell to its knees. "Scizor, are you OK?" Gary forced himself not to go on the battlefield and help his Scizor out; instead he stayed a fair distance from it.

"Barry's Spikes has brought Scizor to its knees" the announcer said. "But who will Barry bring out?"

"Sciz" Scizor slowly, but surely got to its knees and glared at Barry.

"So who's next?"

"Allright Hitmonlee, let's go!" Barry summoned his fighting type to fight against Scizor.

"Hitmon-lee!" The kicking pokemon took its stance.

"This'll be interesting. A bug type versus a fighting type" Professor Oak said.

"Wait a minute. If they both resist each other, why did Barry pick Hitmonlee instead of Empoleon?" Misty complained, secretly defending her fellow water type.

"Blaze Kick" Dawn said, briefly remembering the Sinnoh league. "Barry's Hitmonlee knows Blaze Kick"

"That's right, and a fire type move against a steel bug type move would destroy it. Gary has to be very careful" Brock said.

"OK Hitmonlee, Blaze Kick!" The kicking pokemon, extending its legs, threw itself towards Scizor.

"Dodge it Scizor!"

"Close Combat!" Barry said, taking advantage of the fact that Hitmonlee and Scizor were right next to each other.

"Keep dodging and use Bullet Punch!" Scizor's pincers illuminated as they were thrown towards Hitmonlee, whose fists and extended legs were fighting Scizor. Dodging and hitting, both pokemon pursued and didn't back out from the boxing match. "Come on Scizor! Keep dodging and using Bullet Punch!" Scizor carried on dodging and using Bullet Punch, but Barry's Hitmonlee was quicker and able to dodge easier.

"Take a step back and use Blaze Kick!" Hitmonlee jumped back, far out of reach from Scizor's Bullet Punch, and extended its leg at a blazing speed towards Scizor.

"Dodge it!" Gary called out. As the blazing kick of Hitmonlee came crashing in, Scizor stood still.

"Why isn't Scizor dodging?" May asked.

"Scizor maybe tired" Drew noted as he turned his attention back to the battle. As Hitmonlee's long leg came charging in, Scizor grabbed it with its pincers.

"Scizor has just caught Hitmonlee's Blaze Kick! Incredible!" The crowd went into a frenzy of cheers. Catching the speedy Hitmonlee's Blaze Kick was hard enough, but catching it when you are very weak to fire was something else.

"Huh? But how!" Barry said, very surprised at Scizor's bravery. The long extended leg of Hitmonlee kept it a far enough distance for it use and non-kicking attacks. The more Hitmonlee fidgeted to get its let free from the grasp of Scizor, the more Scizor tightened its grip. "Hmm…contract your leg and finish it with Close Combat!" At the sound of Barry's command, Hitmonlee contracted its legs with its fist engulfed in a bright flame, ready to knock out Scizor.

"Bullet Punch!" Gary called out hastily. Scizor pulled back his illuminated steel pincer and punched Hitmonlee's hand causing a huge explosion. Both Gary and Barry covered their eyes as the dust and smoke surrounded the battlefield. The crowd stayed in silence as they waited for to see if the two pokemon survived.

"That's some powerful explosion" Brock said. "I don't see how any of them are going to survive that." As the smoke cleared up, two faint figures, resembling pokemon, lay on the floor motionless.

"Both Hitmonlee and Scizor are unable to battle" the referee announced.

"Another draw" May sighed. "I'm sure Gary will find a way to win" she said smiling again. At that moment, Tracey walked in and quietly sat down next to Ash.

"Hey Tracey, what took you so long?" Tracey didn't reply. He merely sat down and gazed at the battle before him. Ash moved his eyes towards Tracey and quickly flinched at the sight of him. "Wow Tracey! What happened to you?" Ash's eyes were fixated on the black mark just below Tracey's eye.

"I…don't really wanna talk about it" he said, looking back at him.

"Why not? It looks pretty serious" Ash attracted the attention of the others.

"What's wrong with your eye Tracey?" Dawn said from far across the row.

"I don't really want to talk about it" Misty and the rest then turned their attention to him and glared at him in horror aswell as curiosity.

"That looks painful Tracey, are you OK?" Brock asked.

"Look guys, I'm fine" Tracey confirmed with a hint of anger. The group quickly turned their attention back to the Gary's battle.

"Return Scizor" Gary said with an unusual smile. "You did your best and I'm proud of you. You've got him right where I want him to be" he said as he reached for his third and final pokeball.

"Return Hitmonlee, you have a good rest" Barry said, returning his fighting type pokemon and reaching for his final pokeball. "Empoleon, let's get going!" Barry threw his pokeball in the air and let out his penguin pokemon.

"Kingdra, I choose you!" The seahorse-like pokemon appeared before Gary before feeling a sharp pain. Skarmory's Spikes was having an impact on Kingdra as small explosions appeared just below where the water type was.

"Right I completely forgot" Dawn said, leaning forward. "Spikes is still there, and it looks like Kingdra doesn't like it one bit."

"Gary's gonna have to pull off something special to win this one" Drew said, also leaning forward.

"We've gotta win this Kingdra! Dragon Pulse!" Kingdra charged up a ball of dragon energy near its snout and fired it straight at Empoleon.

"Hit it right back with Steel Wing!" The penguin type pokemon illuminated its wing and hit it right back. "Great job Empoleon!"

"I knew he'd do that" Gary quietly said to himself. "Kingdra, use Dragon Pulse to cause an explosion" Kingdra once again shot out a ball of dragon energy from its snout which collided with the Dragon Pulse that Empoleon hit back, causing a huge explosion. "OK Kingdra, Focus Energy!" Kingdra rested for a moment as its body began to glow luminously. Meanwhile, Barry waited for the smoke to clear up.

"Wow, that was some explosion" Misty said. "But why would Gary use a useless move like Focus Energy?" She turned to Brock.

"…I think I know why…" Brock said, looking closely at Barry.

"Come on, come on come on! I've got no time for this!" Barry shouted, complaining that the smoke was still there. "Empoleon, Hyperbeam let's go!" Empoleon obeyed and opened its mouth to gather energy before firing it and making a clear hole through the smoke.

"Kingdra, look out!" Gary said, very alarmed and surprised at Gary's attack. The beam of energy struck the unknowing Kingdra, hurling it across the battlefield.

"Bullseye! Way to go Empoleon!" Barry cheered for his pokemon. The crowd fell silent as the dragon pokemon fell to the ground.

"Kingdra! Are you OK?" Gary said worriedly. His water type remained motionless. Gary quickly glanced at the referee, who was slowly lifting up his flag. "Come on Kingdra, I know you're tired, but we have to win this one" Gary pleaded.

"Does this mean that…" May stopped half-way.

"I…I don't know" Drew replied. "Gary's too good to fall now" Suddenly a small black cloud of smoke came out its snout.

"Kingdra?" It slowly got up from the hard ground and glared straight at Empoleon. "Allright Kingdra!" The crowd roared and cheered as the water type got up again. Black smoke…could it be…

"Yes! Go Gary!" Gary's friends stood up and cheered.

"Oh man, so close" Barry complained. "Oh well. Empoleon, use Drill Peck!" The huge penguin pokemon spun rapidly as it charged at Kingdra.

"Kingdra, dodge using Agility!" Kingdra quickly got out of the way of Drill Peck. "Great! Smokescreen let's go!" Kingdra released thick black smoke from its snout, surrounding the battlefield and making it impossible for Barry or Gary to see their pokemon. Looks like you learnt it just in time Kingdra. "Focus Energy again Kingdra!" Gary told his pokemon despite it being not visible. "OK now! Dragon Pulse!" The ball of dragon energy formed at Kingdra's snout, the Dragon Pulse pierced through the thick black smoke when it hit something. A huge crash was heard when something heavy fell to the ground.

"What was that?" The thick black smoke was thinning. The crowd didn't make a sound as they gazed at the battlefield in anticipation. As the smoke cleared up, all that was visible was the dragon pokemon standing strong, and the penguin pokemon laying on the floor, fainted.

"Empoleon!" Barry rushed towards his pokemon.

"Empoleon is unable to battle, which means the winner is Gary Oak of Pallet Town!"

"Allright! Well done Kingdra!" Gary cheerfully said as he walked towards his pokemon. "Return" the red flash sent Kingdra back to its pokeball. He looked up to see the crowd cheering and chanting his name.

"Gary! Gary!Gary!" Gary smiled. This must've been the feeling Ash was talking about back in Pallet Town. The feeling of respect aswell as importance rattled inside him. Gary turned and looked across the battlefield and saw Barry in the centre with his Empoleon.

"Well done Gary!" Drew shouted from his seat.

"But how did Gary do that? I thought steel types resist dragon type moves" Dawn asked.

"Kingdra's ability is Sniper. Sniper makes critical hits even more powerful, so with the so called 'useless move' Focus Energy, doing a critical hit not only was more frequent, but more powerful."

"So really, it was all about luck" Max said.

"Good battling out there Bar-" Gary was rudely interrupted by Barry.

"OK Gary, I admit that you maybe a tiny weeny bit better than me" he held up his hand to emphasise the difference between them. "But you won't be so lucky next time" he quickly said.

"Wow, you are just like how Ash described you" Gary mumbled.

"Ash is here?" Barry's eyes lit up in excitement. Garry replied with a nod. "Awesome" he said in a surprisingly high pitched voice. "I can't wait to see him battle! Later Gary" Barry said before sprinting off.

"Well, it's time I got moving" he said quietly to himself. The crowd were still chanting his name and cheering for him, a certain few individuals more so.

"Go Gary!"

"Way to go Gary!" Gary turned to where the voices came from to see Ash and his friends all standing up and cheering for him. "With friends like that…" he said to himself as he waved to them and walked into his locker.

"Let's go see him, come on" Tracey got off the end of the row and walked towards where Gary was, the rest soon followed on.

"So Gary's made it into the 3rd round" Dawn said, walking next to Ash.

"And I'll join him there" he said with pride.

"Well, you are up against Harrison" Dawn teased. "Someone you've never beaten before."

"No need to worry Dawn, I've got it all figured out" he said winking. Did he just say my phrase again? Dawn squealed silently to herself, as she soon blushed.

"Err…Dawn, are you OK?" Ash looked at Dawn's red face with his concerned face. "You look like you got a fever or something…" Dawn quickly turned away to hide her cherry blush.

"It's nothing" she said, still hiding her blush. Wow…dense.

"You sure?"

"…No need to worry" she said, winking back at him, now with her blush gone. They walked up the door with a sign saying: 'Trainer A Locker Room. No unauthorised access.' They opened the door to see Gary sitting on a bench rummaging through his bag with a huge smile on his face.

"Oh, hey guys" Gary exclaimed with a huge smile on his face. The three pokeballs that took him to victory sat beside him.

"Hey Gary, congratulations!" Misty said with an equally as big smile.

"Well done Gary" Professor Oak said.

"Thanks Grandpa, I guess I just got lucky" he said, trying to be modest.

"Of course you were lucky. Everyone knows that scoring a critical hit is down to luck" Max put it bluntly.

"Thanks Max" May said, embarrassed by her little know-it-all brother.

"It was kind of down to…err…" Gary stopped whilst scanning his friends. His eyes came to Tracey. "Tracey, what happened to you? You look like you got in a bit of a scrap" he chuckled lightly. Misty quickly glared at him evilly. Gary cleared his throat and then continued. "Yeah so anyway, I'll meet you guys outside." Professor Oak walked out first, then followed by everyone else expect for Tracey, Misty and Brock. "Oh and Tracey…" Tracey turned around, aswell as Misty and Brock. "What did happen?" Gary asked as he took an apple out his bag.

"I-I don't really want to talk about it" he said frowning. Misty and Brock walked out the locker room slowly. "Anyway, I better get going…" he turned around and walked to the door.

"OK. See you later Tracey" Gary said, taking a huge bite out of his apple and walking to the mirror. He glared at his reflection, and then moved his hand to his eye. What happened to Tracey… he thought to himself.

On the way back to the hotel…

"Ash! Wait up!" A voice came from behind Ash as he walked back to the hotel with his friends. He quickly stopped and turned around just as Barry crashed into him. "Ash, watch where you're going!" Barry said rubbing his head.

"You know Barry, maybe you shouldn't run so fast" Dawn sheepishly said.

"Speed is of the essence when you need someone's attention" he philosophically exclaimed. "Now Ash, how about we have our own battle to see who really the best trainer in the tournament is?"

"Awesome! When?" Ash asked.

"Now, if you want"

"Sure"

"Errm…Ash, don't you have a battle this afternoon?" May asked, ruining his fun.

"Oh, I almost forgot" Ash said, putting back his pokeball. "Maybe later Barry." He said whilst walking away from Barry.

"What? But I want one now!" Barry shouted, flailing his arms.

"Sorry Barry, my pokemon need their rest, some other time" he turned away and carried on walking.

"Ash, you turn around or else I'm gonna have to fine you!" Barry shouted again. "You've got 10 seconds! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6" Barry gazed at his poketch. "5,4,3- Why are you still walking Ash?"

"Barry, what a klutz" Dawn mumbled to Ash who giggled at the comment.

"You can say that again, he's crashed into me more times than Brock's been jabbed by Croagunk" Dawn laughed and smiled at him.

"Anyway, are you ready for today?" Dawn asked, trying to start a proper conversation.

"Errm…ready for what?" Ash said, having no clue what she was talking about.

"The battle this afternoon of cour-" Dawn was started, but then rudely interrupted by Ash.

"The battle, I almost forgot! Gotta go Dawn, someone's waiting for me"

"Wait Ash…" Before Dawn could finish, Ash had already ran off. He sure is…quick. She sighed and lowered her head. Is this all he's ever going to notice me as? Just behind her walked Drew and Max.

"So Max, are you ready for your battle?" Drew asked the young trainer.

"Ready? Ha!" Max laughed sarcastically. "I've stayed up all night sorting out my secret pokemon"

"Secret pokemon?" Drew asked, intrigued at Max's mysterious comment.

"Yep"

"What is it?" he asked curiously. Drew didn't expect anything too amazing. Max loved pokemon too much, so much that really any pokemon he sees is great.

"You'll see this afternoon" Max said. Drew quickly glanced behind him and saw May with her head held low looking sad for some reason. Drew was going to make his way to her and try and cheer her up, but his brain stopped him. I think her brother should deal with this one…He turned around and focussed his eyes on the girl in front. Dawn also had her head lowered, walking without any emotion or enthusiasm, not like her normal bubbly nature. Hmm…what's wrong with her I wonder?

"Hey Max, why don't you go talk to your sister, she looks a little down" Drew said, glancing quickly at May. Max complied as he walked up to his sister.

"Hey sis, Drew says that you look a little sad, so I'm here to cheer you up" Max said to May ebulliently.

"That's sweet of Drew" she mumbled softly to herself whilst blushing slightly.

"Anyway, what seems to be the problem May?" Max asked, concerned for her older sister. "You haven't been acting so great lately"

"I'm fine, sorry for worrying you Max" she said chuckling. Her mood was lifted up slightly. Just ahead of May, Drew ran a few steps forward to catch up with Dawn.

"Hey, Dawn" Drew said.

"Oh, hey Drew, how are you?" Dawn said, sounding slightly sad.

"I'm allright thanks. What's wrong with you?" Dawn lifted her head to look at Drew.

"What made you think there was something wrong with me?"

"I'm a genius Dawn. But really, what's wrong?" Drew sarcastically said.

"I-I'm fine. Just…thinking" Dawn replied.

"Ah right. Well don't think too hard, I need to ask you a favour" Drew said, intriguing Dawn.

"What kind of favour?" Dawn said sceptically.

"…Can I trust you Dawn? I mean, can you keep a secret?"

"Of course I can, what is it?" Dawn said caring more about the knowing the secret than keeping the secret.

"It's just that…I kind of like May and I need your help in-" Drew started but was immediately interrupted.

"Forget it! Not after what you did back in Kanto to May!" Dawn snapped.

"Back in Kanto? What do you mean?" Drew asked innocently.

"You know very well. May was crazy in love with you and then it turns out you were with a girl called Brianna"

"May was in love with me?" Drew said unbelieving.

"She was, but then you broke her heart by not standing up for her when Brianna insulted her" Dawn said.

"So she's been like this all this time, all because I didn't stand up for her that one time?" Drew said, thinking to himself if that's a legitimate reason.

"It's not that" Dawn said. "May was in love with you and pretty much thought the world of you. And for you to not even stand up for her despite you meaning that much to her really is something. She's really depressed about it and now every time someone mentions Kanto, she immediately thinks about how you didn't stand up for her"

"Oh, I see. Is that why she avoids me?" Drew asked.

"That's right" Dawn replied. Drew sighed heavily.

"I guess I shoulda known really"

"Why is that?" Dawn asked looking more intrigued as the conversation went on.

"Ever since we took part in contests in the Johto region, she's been…kind of underperforming" Drew said reluctantly.

"Underperforming? May?" Dawn said trying to make sure that May didn't hear what she said. "But May's the best co-ordinator I know. How is that even possible?"

"Yeah…thanks. Whilst Harley, me and Solidad all made it into the Grand Festival, she barely got her fourth ribbon. I always thought that it was because she stopped travelling with Ash, Brock and Max" Drew explained.

"I see. That must've been embarrassing watching your friends all get close to their dreams…and you're left behind because of something that you can't get over"

"Embarrassing is a bit of an understatement" Drew said. "I felt really sorry for her when she didn't make it."

"Poor May. She's too focussed on the past that she couldn't keep up with herself" Dawn said sympathising for her friend. "Who's Brianna anyway?" Dawn changed the subject completely.

Drew sighed. "She was just one of my fans, except she was clingy. Eventually, I found myself liking her from being around her too much. But I left her back in Kanto."

"Did you like May back then?" Dawn asked.

"I barely spoke to May back then. There was always an army of fans that wanted me to sign something or have a picture taken with them or something like that. She also spent a lot of time with Ash so I only assumed that she liked Ash."

"Yeah, she told me that you had a huge fan club" Dawn said. "She was heartbroken, and it didn't help with you giving her roses all the time"

"Those roses were for Beautifly" Drew argued.

"You could've told anyone and they wouldn't believe you" Dawn argued back. A heavy sigh from Drew occurred when he started walking slower. "Not such a genius now are you?"

"…Does she still love me now?" Drew asked as he felt that that was the most important question.

"I…don't know. After what you've done to her I don't think she can love anyone else again"

"I see" Drew lowered his head. He was usually a confident and suave person, but it was like seeing a sad clown. "Do you think it was my fault that May didn't make it into the Grand Festival?" Drew said feeling guilty for once.

"You shouldn't blame yourself Drew, or else you'll be living in the past, like May did"

"…So what should I do about it? Or don't you want me to be around May?"

"I'm sure you can win her back Drew, just show her that you were sorry and willing to make up for it" Dawn said, bringing back the confidence in Drew.

"Do you really think so?" Drew said with his spirit lifted.

"I'm sure you can do it Drew, just take it slowly and carefully. She'd never accept your apology if you just rushed it, she's still recovering after all" Dawn said.

"Thanks Dawn, and in return, I'll help you get with Ash" he said winking. Dawn looked at him, outraged at his statement.

"W-what made you think that I like Ash?" she shouted whilst blushing. She quickly turned away to hide her face from Drew.

"Because, I'm a genius" he said bigheadedly. Dawn chuckled at his playful arrogance.

"Well, you're obviously not, because I don't like Ash that way" Dawn lied.

"I doubt that. You've spent the most time with him ever since we got here, you were the last person to travel with him and really…I think he likes you back" Dawn's eyes illuminated unknowingly.

"You really think so! I mean err…oh, doesn't bother me" she blushed but chose not to hide it this time. Drew looked at her red cheeks and smiled.

"Busted" he said. Dawn gave up after realising that her secret had been revealed to Drew.

"…Can you keep that a secret?" Dawn asked.

"Well I don't know, it sure is tempting but I-" he joked.

"Drew!" She shouted viciously.

"OK allright I will"

"Thanks" Dawn said.

"No problem Dawn" Drew replied.

Not so far away…

"First Ash, then Paul…and now Drew?" Kenny lurked behind a tree. "If he gets in the way, he's gonna get what everyone else gets." Kenny was a master of camouflage, but it wasn't enough to fool one person.

"Who's gonna get what?" Gary startled Kenny. The trainer who had recently won his battle against Barry was standing right behind Kenny as he was speaking. The co-ordinator quickly regained his composure and turned around to see Gary.

"Gary! Nice to see you, and congratulations on your win against Conway" he said trying to flatter the trainer.

"Thanks Kenny, except that I beat Barry, not Conway" Gary folded his arms and glared at Kenny.

"My mistake, I always did get Barry and Conway mixed up" Kenny chuckled innocently.

"Right…anyway, what are you up to?" Gary asked, finally getting to the point.

"Ermm…you know, it's a nice day and I was just err" Kenny discretely looked around for excuses. "I was just standing in the shade." That was until he picked the best one. Kenny watched Gary's eyes glare at him intensely, hoping that he would believe his excuse.

"…Yeah, it is kind of hot I guess. Anyway, I better get going" Gary walked away without saying goodbye. Uses the same excuse twice, uses flattery to avoid my question, is staring at Dawn for the second time. That's strike three. He's up to something… Gary thought sceptically.

"He could be onto us…" Kenny said quietly to himself as he watched Gary stroll away.

Back with the group…

Misty was walking between Tracey and Brock. The temptation to talk about Tracey's black eye was almost impossible. Eventually, curiosity got the better of them both.

"Tracey, we have to talk" Misty said in a serious tone. Misty and Tracey slowed down so they were a far enough distance to have a private conversation, but Brock walked just slightly ahead of them, close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation. "Allright Tracey, what really happened in the alley?" Misty sounded slightly angry.

"Why do you want to know?" Tracey replied.

"Because I'm concerned" Misty looked into his eyes to try and get him to look back.

Tracey sighed. "It was just a mugger" he said whilst trying to make it sound like not much of a deal. Misty was the only one that was told by Tracey that it was a mugger.

"Tracey Sketchit, tell me what kind of a mugger would beat someone up and not take anything?" Misty said, proud of her findings. "And yes, I know they didn't take anything."

"…I-I…can't tell you…" he looked as if he was going to burst into tears, but he stood strong and didn't.

"Why not? I'm trying to help you" she shouted at him, so angry that she has lost of patience with the pokemon watcher.

Tracey sighed once more. "I know you're trying to help…but I can't tell anyone" he said with his head lowered.

"But why not Tracey?" Misty asked. She looked into his eyes and gazed at them for a few seconds before being awoken from the hypnotising trance.

"And if you tell anyone…you friends will suffer the consequences with you"

"…I don't want anyone else to get hurt" he mumbled before turning away. "I'm gonna go for a walk now."

"Why can't you just tell me Tracey?"

"I'll tell you later, with Brock" Tracey walked off on his own, whilst Misty watched him, feeling sorry and scared for him. As he walked off, she felt a sharp pain digging in her heart. What's Tracey hiding? She held her hand on her heart as her emerald green eyes watered up. She stood still for a moment and watched Tracey walk away from her. Her eyes shook in anxiety as she fought back the tears that leaked from her eye. I'm worried about you Tracey. You may not know it, or want to know it, but I'm worried.

"You know Misty-" Misty was startled by the breeders voice. She quickly rubbed her eyes and turned around to see Brock.

"Brock, were you just listening to that conversation?" Misty said slightly angrily.

"I was, but that's not important right now" Brock said firmly. "You've got to be kinder towards Tracey. We don't know what happened, for all we know, it could be something terrible."

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about" she said lowering her head.

"Well, if he's afraid to tell anyone, not even his best friends, then it must be bad" Brock said in a serious tone.

"Poor Tracey…"

"Hey! Are you guys coming?" Max shouted from far in front.

"Yeah, sure" Brock and Misty replied as they caught up with the group.

"Hey, where did Tracey go?" May asked.

"He's just gone for a walk…" Misty replied solemnly.

1 hour later, at Stadium B…

"Welcome to the 6th match of the second round of The Rivalry Tournament!" The lively crowd stood up and cheered. "It's Max from Petalburg City!" A pause was followed to allow the crowd to cheer for Max.

"Go Max!" May shouted from the stands.

"Hey, does anyone know what Max's special pokemon is? All these hints and I still don't even know" Dawn squealed with excitement.

"He's very secretive. Truth is, I don't even know" May replied.

"And facing off against Max, we have Conway from Gerbera Town!" An equally as loud cheer came from the crowd.

"Wow, Conway's pretty popular isn't he" May said whilst looking around the crowd.

"I'm not surprised really, Conway has played a major part in competitive battling" Brock said.

"Major part? What do you mean?" Dawn asked, intrigued on how someone like Conway can make 'a major impact'.

"You know when Ash faced Conway's Dusknoir and it used Trick Room?"

"How could we forget? That was an amazing battle" Ash said reminiscing of his time back in Sinnoh.

"Well you see, no one had ever used Trick Room quite like that before. People often discarded the idea of using Trick Room as it was not only rare to find a pokemon that can learn that move, but people didn't see how useful it could be until Conway used it against Ash" Brock said. "Which is where the phrase 'Trick Room teams' come from."

"Teams that revolve around just that one move?" Drew asked.

"Exactly. It's difficult to pull off, but it's possible and could be extremely effective" Brock said.

"Let's just hope Max knows what he's doing"

"This match will be a 3 on 3 battle with no time limits. Begin!"

"Dusknoir. Let's go!" A loud cheer came from the audience as the ghost type was let out onto the field.

"Hmm. Gardevoir, I choose you!" Max threw his first pokeball in the air to reveal his psychic type.

"Max's Gardevoir is beautiful" Misty said, admiring Max's pokemon. Misty chose to sit as far away as possible from Tracey to avoid asking about his eye.

"Trick Room!" Conway told his pokemon.

"Dusk-noi." For a split second, Dusknoir's eye glowed red as the field was then surrounded with a large blue rectangle, before immediately fading.

"And there it is! Trick Room!" The announcer called out as the huge crowd gazed at the marvellous spectacle.

"It's even scarier than before" Dawn said.

"That's the least of my worries. Gardevoir is a very fast pokemon, with Trick Room, it will be extremely slow. Also, ghost type moves are super effective against psychic types" Gary stated.

"So Max is in trouble already?" May asked.

"Seems so".

"It's OK Gardevoir, stay strong" Max reassured his pokemon.

"Garde" Max's Gardevoir kept its composure.

"Allright Dusknoir, Shadow Punch!"

"Wish Gardevoir" the embrace pokemon closed its eyes and hummed slowly and beautifully. Gardevoir's singing echoed around the stadium softly, captivating everyone in its trance.

"Wow! I want a Gardevoir so bad now!" Dawn squealed.

"I know, it's beautiful-" Misty's opinion was interrupted by Dusknoir's unavoidably quick Shadow Punch.

"And Dusknoir lands a very super effective hit on Gardevoir" Gardevoir flew right across the battlefield.

"Gardevoir! Are you OK?" The psychic type stood up bravely once more. "OK great! Use Psychic"

"Dusknoir, Thunderpunch!" The gripper pokemon teleported right behind Gardevoir, where it pummelled its electrified fist into psychic type, throwing it to the ground and causing it to faint.

"Gardevoir is unable to battle" the referee called out.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. What did I miss?" Gary took his place next to Ash on the end.

"Where were you Gary?" Ash asked him.

Flashback

"Marowak is down! Which means moving onto the third round is Jasmine from Olivine City!"

End Flashback

"I was just…getting something to eat. I didn't miss much did I?"

"You missed Gardevoir singing! It was beautiful" May said squealing.

"Oh, right. It looks like Max is losing out there" Gary noted.

"Yep, but he'll will beat Conway" May adamantly exclaimed.

Max frowned as he watched his Gardevoir lie on the battlefield, motionless. "Return Gardevoir, you did awesome."

"You too Dusknoir, well done" Conway returned his pokemon, shocking the crowd. Whispers and murmurs aswell as the occasional boo came from the crowd.

"Why is he returning his Dusknoir?" Ash asked.

"Knowing Conway, it's all part of his plan" Brock exclaimed.

"Now that Dusknoir has gone, it should be easier" Max said to himself as he grabbed his second pokeball. "Slaking! Go!" He threw the pokeball across the field to let out his second pokemon, Slaking.

"Slaking is tough, it should be a good match-up against any of Conway's pokemon" Tracey said. After hearing him speak for the first time in quite a while, Misty leant forward and looked across her friends to see Tracey smiling for once. She moved her eyes to the huge black mark under his eye and quickly looked away. Why can't you just tell me Tracey?

"Aggron, let's go!" Conway unleashed Aggron as his second pokemon. The moment Aggron hit the ground, the blue rectangle returned.

"Trick room, I almost forgot" Ash said.

"It's not a great type match-up either. Aggron is a rock steel type, which means normal moves won't do much at all" Brock stated.

"Still, Max will find a way. You can do it Max!" May cheered for her brother"

"Slaking, use Hammer Arm" the heavyweight normal type lifted its arm above its head.

"Get ready Aggron" Conway readied his pokemon. Slaking came charging in with its massive arm held high above its head until it was right next to Aggron.

"OK Aggron, Iron Head!" The massive pokemon vanished then reappeared right behind Slaking. "Now!" Aggron's pointed head crashed into Slaking's back.

"Conway really is using Trick Room to the best of its ability" Professor Oak noted.

"Slaking, grab Aggron!" Slaking spun round quickly and grabbed Aggron with only one hand.

"Max is really using those big hands of Slaking to his advantage" Drew noted.

"Now! Hammer Arm!"

"Slak-Slaking!"

"Use Iron Head once more!"

"Aggronnn!" Aggron's steel head crashed into Slaking's heavy fist, throwing both of the heavy weights across the battlefield.

"That sure did damage. Aggron's biggest weakness is fighting type moves, and with such high attack power, Aggron will be lucky to survive that attack" Brock pointed out.

"Both Slaking and Aggron are unable to battle" the referee announced. Max was now down to his last pokemon, and what his friends believed to be his special pokemon.

"OK, this is it" Drew in particular, moved forwards considerably. Conway reached for his pokeball and threw it across the battlefield.

"Slowking, let's go!" Conway's main pokemon was unleashed from its pokeball and ready to battle. The royal pokemon stood strong, watching Max from across the field.

"Max, you need to choose a pokemon or you will be disqualified" the referee told him. Max slowly grabbed his third and final pokemon with a cunning smile on his face. He gazed at it for a few seconds before throwing it into the battlefield. It's all up to you know…

Gary…Barry…Garry…Bary…I apologise if I get them mixed up at any point, it's an easy mistake to make. Yeah so anyway, Gary beats Barry after some good luck. Barry's introduction to the story, he will appear a lot more often in this story, so hurrah! Drew talks to Dawn about May, and now Drew is going to try and win May back, whilst Drew is going to help Dawn out a little which conflicts with Tracey's assignment from Kenny and Paul's thing etc. Misty is especially worried about Tracey's eye, aswell as Tracey being uncomfortable with all the attention. He's not willing to tell anyone, except Misty and Brock, but will he tell the truth? Or bend the truth slightly? Ash's phonecall. And of course, Max's special pokemon is finally up.

First off, this is not going to be a Belleshipping (Drew and Dawn) story. It's a long chapter, but hey, they all are. Next chapter is about Max's battle continued, aswell as some other stuff which I'll think of later. I'll also make it so Conway plays a major part in the love decagon.

I really hoped you enjoyed it, and remember to review. I need reviews to live. Please no flaming, I'm too sensitive and need motivation Thank you.