"Yeah, so what is it?" Ash asked his friend.

"I can't seem to find a partner Pokemon to take to the celebration," Gingka admitted.

Ash seemed a bit surprised, "Huh? Wait, isn't that an easy choice for you?" he asked, "I mean, Swellow's your partner, so why can't you-" He then stopped his sentence, realizing that earlier before the two boys even knew about the celebration, that Swellow was going to be kept in the Pokemon Center for some time because of his massive battle injuries. Ash realized why and thought for a moment about Gingka problem.

"Hmmm, what about-?" he started to ask while still thinking.

"Um, Ash?" Cilan asked, hoping then raven-haired boy wouldn't be in such a deep thought process, making him forget about anything else.

"I can't seem to figure anything out," Ash said, "Sorry, Gingka."

Gingka sighed, "Oh well, I probably should just decide on the partner Pokemon for myself-" he was saying, until a flash of blue and white light coming from his belt surprised him, making the others in the room step back.

"Pika?" the yellow mouse asked, wondering which of Gingka's Pokemon had come out so suddenly.

"Pansage?" the green monkey asked, as the blue and white light formed and materialized.

As the light disappeared, Gingka's Simipour emerged, making a peace sign with her hand.

"Pika?" Pikachu said, wondering why Simipour had come out.

Unfortunately, Simipour had no time to address Pikachu, as she then jumped towards Gingka, and tackled him to the ground as he cried out, "AAAAAHHH!"

When the small smoke from the crash cleared, Simipour was nuzzling up to Gingka, while he was lying on the ground, with swirls in his eyes.

"I guess Simipour must really have a huge admiration for Gingka to tackle him like that," Cilan noted, sweat-dropping.

Ash then realized something, "That's it!" he said out loud.

Cilan was confused, "What's it?" he asked while putting on his tuxedo over his long-sleeved shirt.

"Simipour really likes Gingka, right?" Ash asked.

Cilan nodded, still wondering what was the thing Ash had realized.

"So, Simipour should be Gingka's partner," Ash said, "It's perfect! After all, Gingka and Simipour are a lot alike," he noted.

Gingka, who had heard all this, sat up and turned to Simipour, "So, do you wanna be my partner for the celebration, Simipour?" he asked.

Simipour, who really wanted to go, fell to her knees, begging for the chance to go to the celebration, clasping her hands together, and trying to act all cute, "Simi Simi!" she cried out to her trainer.

That seemed to do the trick, because Gingka then said, "All right Simipour. It looks like you're my partner!"

"Simi?" she asked, about to burst into excitement.

"Yep, you bet!" Gingka said with a wink.

"Simi Simi!" she cried out, jumping all over the room. She almost knocked into Ash and Cilan at one point.

"Wow, talk about a very peppy Pokemon," Cilan said.

"That's Simipour for you, always in a happy mood," Ash noted.

Simipour then jumped over to Pikachu and Pansage.

"Pika Pika!"

"Pan Pansage!" they individually said, glad that she was going to the celebration.

Simipour's enthusiasm still wasn't curbed, and she each grabbed one of their hands, and swung them around, dancing happily. But she didn't notice that Pikachu and Pansage were being dizzied by Simipour's spinning.

The others noticed this and saw that Simipour was beginning to go even faster.

"Um, Simipour? you might wanna-" Gingka had begun to say, but it was too late. Simipour then accidentally let go of Pikachu and Pansage, and they went flying into the door.

BAM!

"Pan..." "Pika..." they both said, slowly going down the side of the door, with eyes swirling out of dizziness.

"Ah! Pikachu!" Ash cried out, running over to the door.

"Pansage!" Cilan cried out as well.

"Simi?" Simipour asked, hoping her friends were okay.

"You guys okay?" Gingka asked as he walked over.

Pikachu and Pansage got up from their fatigue and rubbed the back of their heads in pain.

"Pika Pika," Pikachu said, looking just fine.

"Pansage," Pansage said, standing up.

"Well that's good," Ash said, relieved that they were all right.

"Geez Simipour, try to be more careful," Gingka said, "I know you're excited, but you shouldn't have to be happy enough to accidentally throw those guys into a wall."

"Simi Simi..." Simipour said out of apology.

"Pan Pan!" Pansage said, accepting her apology.

"Pika!" Pikachu said, also accepting the apology.

Their trainers looked upon them happily, glad that they were good friends.

"Hey, since we're at the door, why don't we get going to the party?" Gingka asked, eager to get going.

"Sure thing, Gingka!" Ash said, "Just let me grab something first, 'kay?" Ash then walked to over to one of the drawers, opening them, and grabbed two bottles.

"Huh?" Gingka said, confused at what his friend was doing.

Ash then took one of the bottles, taking the top off of it, and putting the liquid from it in his hand, he rubbed it in his hair, and looked in the mirror to see his reflection where he grinned. Gingka and Cilan just watched on, amazed at Ash's newly behavior. He then took the other bottle, which was a spray can, and sprayed the scent all over him. The scent had a beautiful smell, like the flowers in a field, and it really got Cilan's and Gingka's attention.

"Ash, what's that luscious odor?" Cilan asked, sniffing at the new air.

"It smells really good!" Gingka added.

Ash, who had just finished with his finishing touches to himself answered, "It's a cologne I got at the front desk of the Pokemon Center," he said, "Nurse Joy offered it to me since she thought it would be perfect for the celebration tonight."

"Oh, I see!" Cilan said, "Perhaps, I can try some?"

"Yeah, me too!" Gingka also said, very enthusiastic.

"All right, sure!" Ash said, handing his friends the can. They individually sprayed one another with it until they were content.

"Perfect!" Cilan said, "We now have the scents of a field of flowers!"

"And now, it's time for us to party!" Gingka and Ash said together.

All their Pokemon cheered, and with that, the gang left the room for the party.

"Try it one more time!" Kyra called out.

"All right! Just one more time Emolga!" Iris said.

"Emol!" her Pokemon said.

"Use Attract!" Iris commanded.

Upon hearing the command, Emolga winked and pink hearts began to appear out of thin air, floating into the sky.

"Now, Discharge!" Iris called out.

"EMOL!" she shouted as she sent out bursts of electricity through the air that hit the hearts from the Attract. The hearts shattered, leaving sparkles in the air.

"It worked!" Iris said happily.

"Good!" Kyra said, "Now for the final act!"

"Right!" Iris said, "Emolga, Hidden Power towards the sky!"

"Mol Ga!" she shouted, creating a greenish ball of energy that she shot into the sky.

"Now, use Volt Switch!" Iris commanded.

Emolga now created a ball of electrical energy, which she shot in the same direction as the Hidden Power.

Emolga then speedily was brought back to Iris, landing on her head as planned, and a white and blue light appeared from Iris' sleeve that she had aimed into the sky as well.

The Hidden Power and the Volt Switch collided, creating a smoky array around the once sparkling sky.

Meanwhile, the light had begun to completely form into Iris' subterrene Pokemon, Excadrill, and emerged into him.

"Now Excadrill!" Iris shouted, "Focus Blast!"

Excadrill, upon hearing the command, focused its energy into a blue sphere from its claws, and threw it into the sky, clearing the remaining smoke.

"Perfect!" Kyra said.

Skyla was also watching alongside her, for she had already practiced her opening performance.

"All right! Maybe you can get it this time!" Skyla said.

"You know I will!" Iris said, "Now, use Drill Run!"

"Exca..." Excadrill began to say, as his claws and the horn on top of his head formed together to create a drill like form, and with his speed, he span into the air, towards his Focus Blast crying out, "DRILL!"

"All right, go for it!" Iris called out. Excadrill's Drill Run went straight through the Focus Blast, making it shatter and sparkle in air. Excadrill then got out of it's drill form, and was in the wake of the sparkles, making him seem so cool and awesome.

"That's it!" Kyra said, awing the moment. Excadrill then did a flip before landing in front of Iris, who was proud of Excadrill's great accomplishment.

"Way to go Excadrill!" Iris said, hugging the mole Pokemon.

"Exca..." he said, scratching the back of his head, happy for his trainer's praise.

"That was simply marvelous!" said Kyra as she walked over to Iris.

"Oh, thank you Kyra," Iris said, returning Excadrill and Emolga to their Poke balls, "I'm sure this'll impress Ash. He's seen performances like this before," she added.

"Really?" Kyra asked. Skyla then walked over.

"Where has a he seen performance like that before?" Skyla asked.

"Around the Sinnoh, Kanto, and Hoenn regions," Iris said, "He says he's been to every one of those regions and competed in every Pokemon League he was there for."

Skyla and Kyra were surprised, "Wow, he went to all of those regions?" Kyra asked.

"And he competed in the Pokemon Leagues in those regions?" Skyla asked as well.

"Yep!" Iris said, "That's why he's so interesting, because he's been to so many places, and has so many Pokemon. I even heard he has a Dragon type himself!"

"Well, it sounds like that you really admire this boy Iris," Kyra noted.

Iris blushed, "Well, maybe I do... But that's only because he's been such a good friend! He's not exactly on with romance..."

"You can never be too sure Iris," Kyra said.

"Huh?" Iris said.

"Who knows? Maybe tonight, things will change for that silly boy," Kyra said.

Iris looked up at the sky, and saw that the sun was beginning to set. Kyra also noticed the setting sun and freaked out.

"Oh dear!" she cried out, frantically looking to find out what time it was, "It must be very late! We have to hurry and get you ready!"

She then ran back to the mysterious salon tent, but not before shouting, "Hey! Are you two coming?"

"Huh?" both girls said, confused together. But then, they decided to just go with it, and followed Kyra back to the tent.

Meanwhile, Ash, Cilan, & Gingka were walking along the halls of the Pokemon Center, ready to head to the celebration hall, located at the far end of the Pokemon Center.

"Man, I'm so excited!" Ash said, pumping his fist.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said, mimicking his trainer's action.

"I'm excited too," Cilan said, "A party for the trainers that have made it into the Champion's League is something I don't want to miss!"

"I know, right?" Gingka said.

"Pika?" Pikachu said, raising his ears.

Ash took notice of this, "What's up buddy?" he asked.

Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and ran down the halls, Pansage and Simipour followed behind.

"Hey!" Ash said, "Where are you guys going?"

Pikachu turned around to gesture that they were headed to the mess hall, "Pika Pika! Chu Pika!" he said running straight ahead.

"Let's follow them," Cilan said.

"Right!" Ash and Gingka said.

In the mess hall, the karate Pokemon Sawk was giving the Muscular Pokemon Conkeldurr a cold, hard glare, as Conkeldurr shot one right back at him. Both were eager to fight each other.

Their trainers, Stephan and Trip, whom were also both dressed for the party, watched upon them, amused at the situation.

"Heh heh! I guess those two really want to throw down! Whaddya you think Trip?" Stephan asked.

"That would be a waste of time for me..." Trip said.

Stephan snapped, "Hey! Just because I lost in the third round to Hinata, doesn't mean I'm weak!"

"Sawk!" his Pokemon said, backing up his trainer.

Trip sighed, and then noticed that Pikachu had just run into the mess hall as well, with a Pansage and Simipour following him.

"Hey, isn't that Pikachu?" he asked.

"Huh?" Stephan said before turning around to see that Ash, Cilan, & Gingka had entered as well.

"Yo! Ash, Gingka!" he called out.

The gang turned towards the voice, where Stephan was waving to them from a table, and Trip was there too, sitting down with the same smug look on his face as always.

"Hey! Trip, Stephen!" Ash called out, walking over to his friends.

"So are you guys ready for the party?" he asked.

"Well, you still got my name wrong..." Stephan began to say, "But yeah, I'm totally psyched for the celebration!"

"Yeah, I'm good too," Trip said coolly.

"That's cool, but where are your dates?" Gingka asked.

Stephan then rubbed the back of his head, while Trip sighed, seeming bored.

"To be honest, I have no idea where Bianca is at all..." Stephan admitted.

"Madoka's going to wait for me at the celebration, so I have no worries," Trip said.

"Well, all right then," Ash said, "Say, have you guys seen Iris at all around here lately?" he asked.

"No," Stephan said, "I haven't seen her since I ran into you guys this morning."

"Not anytime today, that's for sure," Trip said.

"Okay then..." Ash sighed.

"Don't worry Ash," Stephan informed him, "I'm sure that Iris will be there to be your date."

"Thanks for the nice words Stephen!" Ash said.

"Getting my name right would be more thanks..." Stephan sighed, "Hey, that reminds me!"

"Huh?" the gang asked.

"Gingka, since you're gonna be going, who'd you ask?" Stephan asked.

"Yeah, you're all dressed up for a prom night, so you've must be going to the party," Trip pointed out.

Gingka began to blush a bit as he rubbed the back of his head, "Well, you see-" he began to say, but didn't have time to finish as he noticed his Simipour eyeing Stephan's Sawk.

"Sawk?" the karate Pokemon asked, wondering what Simipour wanted.

"Simi Simipour! Simi!" she said, pleading to Sawk for some reason. The others were trying to understand what they were saying.

"What do you think they're saying, Gingka?" Stephan asked.

Gingka thought about it for a moment, noticing what Simipour was doing with her gestures, "Maybe Simipour wants to battle your Sawk, Steven!"

Stephan sighed, "You got my name wrong again..." he sulked, then realized that he had been asked for a battle, "Oh yeah! Whaddaya say Sawk?"

"Sawk!" he said, accepting the challenge.

"Simi? Simipour!" Simipour said, excited for the challenge.

"Awesome!" Gingka said, pumping his fist.

"I guess I could stick around for your battle until it's time for the party to start," Trip said, "After all, it might actually be interesting considering that you're using Simipour against Sawk for the first time."

"Yeah, that's right!" Gingka said, "In fact, I think this is the first time me and Stephen have actually battled."

"Please say my name right for one..." Stephan said, "Whatever the case, we should really get to battling! Sawk, you ready?"

"Sawk!" his Pokemon said, raising his blue hand towards Simipour, indicating he wanted to battle her.

"You all good Simipour?" Gingka asked.

"Simi!" she said, enthusiastic for a battle.

"All right Stephan, to the practice fields!" Gingka said, dashing out of the center with Simipour.

"Ah! Hey, wait up!" Stephan said, following behind.

Ash, Cilan, & Trip watched as the two trainers left the center for their first battle.

"Guess they must pretty excited since it's the first time they've actually battled each other!" Ash said.

"That must be true!" Cilan noted, "They are quite high spirits!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Trip asked sarcastically.

"Huh?" Ash said as Trip walked past him.

"With their enthusiasm, the battle's probably already started," Trip pointed out.

"Oh, okay," Ash said, walking towards the exit with Cilan, trying to catch up to Trip.

"Hey, wait a minute guys," Trip said.

"Huh? Now what?" Ash asked.

Trip pulled out his camera, "Hey Conkeldurr, could you come in between Ash and Cilan?" he asked.

"Conkel!" his Pokemon replied, going in between Ash and Cilan.

Pikachu and Pansage understood the situation, and each jumped upon each of their trainers' shoulders.

"All right, smile!" Trip said as he pressed the button on his camera, flashing up the entire room.

He then took a quick look at it, "Hmmm... Not bad at all. All right let's go," he said, walking out the door.

"Conkel!" his Pokemon said, following his trainer.

"Jeez, what was that about?" Ash wondered.

"Probably Trip being generous," Cilan said.

"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked.

"He's probably just wishing you good luck tonight with a nice picture. Either that or he wanted to take one to chronicle his journey... But oh well, let's go," Cilan said, walking out of the Pokemon Center, after the others.

Ash stood motionless for a few seconds before turning around, to see that there was no one there at all.

"Where are you Iris?" he asked himself.

End Chapter 9

Ugh! I hate long chapters!

Whatever, there's lots more Negaishipping here.

Plus, there are always some good old familiar faces.

I would've made this chapter longer, if only I had more time on my hands.

I usually like to complete a chapter within a day or two, so that's why this may seem rushed.

Anyways, Stephan VS Gingka up next! Plus, more Negai and SkyShipping to come!

Until next time, Best Wishes!