(A/N: Okay, I don't know it I mentioned this before but some songs in this will be repeated, just so everyone knows that. The song again is "Thirteenth Discretion.")

Chapter 10: Yuna

*"I'm afraid Zachariah is gone, my lord," Mathias said. "The Chosen One has killed him."

Xanatos was silent for a minute. "His death was not in vain. For now, we know his one weakness."

"The Pikachu?" Henrik said.

Xanatos nodded. "Together, they are strong, but divided, they are no match against you. It would be best to dispose of the Pokemon before the Chosen One can call him."

"With your permission my lord, Raphael and I can take care of this," Alicia said. She had told Xanatos about Raphael just recently, and even though he wasn't one for raw recruits, he felt that this one had potential.

Xanatos nodded. "Very well. But do not make the same mistake Zachariah did, or else it may be your last."

"I'm surprised you're wanting to join us all of a sudden," Dawn said smiling to the Pikachu in her arms. "But then again, I wouldn't be a good trainer and leave you by yourself while you're still weak."

The Pikachu didn't say anything, but just stared at her, surprised. "She doesn't seem like the other humans I've met," she thought. "Maybe she's not so bad after all."

It was starting to get dark, and soon they would have to set up camp for the night. However, before that, Dawn decided to fill up on her water bottle, since there was a lake nearby. She put the Pikachu down next to her and quickly filled up her bottle, while also getting a drink as well. "Wow, I don't think I've ever tasted water so clean," she said.

All of a sudden, she heard a noise behind her and once she turned around, saw four familiar looking shapes with glowing red eyes. "Oh no, not these things again!" Dawn groaned. The Pikachu then got up, ready for battle, but was then picked up by Dawn. "Oh no you don't," she said. "You're not strong enough to battle, and will only do more harm to yourself. Don't worry, I'll take care of this. I'll protect you from here on in."

The Pikachu looked at her, even more surprised. "Protect me? Not hurt me?" She then smiled and nodded.

(A/N: Alright, time for another song already. This is going to be Dawn's theme and the song is "Krystal's Theme" from SFC. I think it fits Dawn's character at this point.)
"So, four against one, huh?" Dawn said. She then took out two Pokeballs. *"Alright Piplup and Pachirisu, come on out!" There were two flashes of light and Piplup and Pachirisu appeared. "Piplup, use Bubble Beam, and Pachirisu use Discharge!"

Piplup then shot a round of bubbles at the enemy while Pachirisu discharged a huge amount of electricity. Both attacks hit two of them, sending them back. But the other two used it to their advantage to attack both Piplup and Pachirisu, knocking them back.

"We won't go down that easily," Dawn declared. "Piplup, use Peck and Pachirisu, use Super Fang!"

Piplup and Pachirisu then collided with their targets, knocking them back and dealing enough that the two disappeared, leaving only two left.

"Nice job you two!" Dawn said. "Now let's take care of the stragglers. Piplup, use Whirlpool, and Pachirisu, Discharge one more time!"

Piplup then summoned a gigantic whirlpool and quickly sent it towards the one Shadow Pokemon, while Pachirisu used Discharge once more against the other one. The two attacks hit and soon, the other two Pokemon disappeared as well.

"Alright!" Dawn yelled. "Great job you two. You both earned a good rest," she added, calling back both Piplup and Pachirisu. She then sighed. "I hope I can get to a Pokemon Center soon because I don't know how much more we can keep doing this." She then looked back to the Pikachu, who had watched the entire battle. "Now, I think it's time we rest for the night."

Dawn then found an open area and got her tent set up. Once she was done with that, she then fed her Pokemon with what food she had. "Now I'm really starting to think leaving was a bad idea. At least I could rely on Brock's cooking," Dawn thought. However, she had enough and her Pokemon were satisfied. She then got some food for the Pikachu. "Of course I couldn't forget about you," she said. She then thought of something. "You know, perhaps it might be best if I give you a nickname. See, my one friend has a Pikachu as well, and if I call you Pikachu as well, it might keep me thinking about him."

"Pika pika?" she said.

"Well, it has to be a nice name, and one we can both agree on," Dawn said. She thought for a minute. She then snapped her fingers. "I know. How about Yuna?"

The Pikachu thought about it. It did sound like a nice name and it did seem to fit her. She then nodded, smiling.

"Alright, Yuna it is!" Dawn said.

(A/N: Alright, if you got a problem with Yuna, that's too bad. Anyway, we got another song coming up here. The name of it is "Missing You," from KH. Didn't I say I have a lot of KH songs?)
"Pika pi pika?" Yuna asked.

"Oh, my friend?" Dawn said. "Well, his name is Ash and we met here in Sinnoh. It was kind of crazy how we met since I found his Pikachu and quickly befriended it. After that, we started traveling together and we've had plenty of adventures for sure. *The thing is though, since we had been traveling together for so long, I started to have feelings for him." She then looked up at the stars in the night sky. "The chemistry we have together is rather surprising. We're alike in so many ways, you can say. It took me awhile to gather the courage to tell him, but once I did, it didn't quite end the way I had planned it. I felt so distressed that I had to be on my own for awhile. But, soon I'll go back to them, once I get over it."

"Pika pi," Yuna said.

"Well, it's possible," Dawn said. "Sure, he may have been a little confused, or maybe not sure what to say. But, I won't press it against him. Still, I can't help but think what would happen if we did get together." She then giggled. "It would be like a fairy-tale, with a happy ending. Well, we had better get some sleep, you especially."

Yuna was still interested in this story but nodded in agreement. However, as much as she liked Dawn, she knew that she couldn't stay with her. She had her reasons and wasn't willing to explain them yet.

Earlier, Ash and Brock were making their way through the large forest. Ash had something on his mind and Pikachu could easily see that.

"Pika pika?" he said.

"Huh? Oh, I don't know," Ash said. "It's all I ever hear now, being "the Chosen One." I heard it before in the Orange Islands, being referenced with Sir Aaron back when we were helping Lucario, and here it is again. Is it all just a coincidence?"

"Pikapi?" Pikachu asked him.

"Well, I think maybe my destiny involves more than just becoming a Pokemon master," Ash said. "I was never really up for it, but if my duty is to help the world as well, then so be it."

"Say Ash, since it's about noon, why don't we have some lunch?" Brock said.

"Sure," Ash said. "After our little battle, I think Pikachu and I have both worked up an appetite."

"Pikachu," Pikachu said, agreeing.

As if on cue, they were rudely interrupted by some "old friends." "You know, this is really starting to get old!" Ash said.

(A/N: I'm just going crazy with the songs aren't I? Sorry, but we have another one, and this will end up being another character's theme. Whose? You'll find out. Anyway, the song is called "Victory is Near" from Fire Emblem. Might as well use the Brawl version if it's different.)
But before he could call out anyone, one of them was hit by a flamethrower. They looked over and saw that it had come from a Blaziken.

*"Blaziken?" Brock said. "Is that who's I think it is...?"

He then found himself correct as they both a familiar friend running up to them. "Is that...?"

"May!?" Ash said.

"The one and only!" she said. "Alright Blaziken, use Overheat!" Blaziken then shot out a huge beam of energy, incinerating all but one. "Now, let's finish this with Blaze Kick!" Blaziken ran towards the last Shadow Pokemon and jumped into the air and hit it straight in the face, knocking it down and destroying it.

Ash and Brock were stunned. There were at least four or five of them and Blaziken had obliterated them with two attacks. "What's wrong Ash, are you surprised to see me?" May said, giggling.

"Well, that and the fact that your Blaziken has gotten stronger," Ash said. "So how's everything going, May?"

"Pretty good I say," May said. She then looked behind her and saw someone running towards them. However, he collapsed onto the ground before them.

"Drew?" Ash said, surprised.

"Nice to see you Ash," Drew said, exhausted. "May, could you warn me next time you go off running? You know I can't keep up with your speed."

May laughed. "Sorry Drew, but I saw Ash and I had to make sure to catch up with him. Plus I saw that he needed some help, am I right," she said, looking at Ash.

"Actually, I could've taken care of them myself," Ash said.

"So May, what are you doing here and when did you and Drew start traveling together?" Brock said.

Both of them started blushing. "Well, we met up in Johto..." May said.

"And then we decided to travel together despite the fact the two of us are rivals," Drew said, completing the sentence.

"Ash, we passed by Jubilife City," May said. "What in the world happened there?"

"Well, it's a long story," Ash said. He then explained to them what had happened up to this point, including the dream he had and the battle he fought in while they continued walking.

"That sounds very strange," May said.

"Sounds like a video game I once played," Drew said.

"Well, I guess the good part of all of this is that the contest had been postponed," May said.

"You were going to enter the contest as well?" Ash said.

"Well, we almost didn't make it thanks to Drew not knowing where to go," May said.

Drew hung his head. "I said I was sorry," he said.

May punched him playfully. "I'm just kidding! Besides, we would've watched the Contest anyway."

"You know," Brock whispered to Ash. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that those two have gotten together recently."

"I could've told you that," Ash whispered back, smiling.

"Speaking of which, where's Dawn? She's normally with you two?" May asked. She then saw the gloomy look on Ash's face. "Wait, she's alright isn't she?"

"Oh no, she's fine," Ash said. "She just left on her own for now."

"I see," May said, and said no more about it.

"So May, how are all your Pokemon doing?" Ash said.

May smiled. "You could say they've grown up a bit." She then took out two Pokeballs. "Come on out you two!" There were two flashes of light and a Blastoise and Delcatty.

"Wow! Your Wartortle evolved into a Blastoise and your Skitty evolved into a Delcatty," Ash said.

"She may be a Delcatty now, but she still has Skitty's personality and cuteness, isn't that right Delcatty?" May said, petting Delcatty while she purred.

"What about you Drew? Anyone new to the team?" Ash said.

"No, my Roselia had evolved into a Roserade, but that was awhile ago," Drew said.

"You know May, with a Blastoise, Venusaur, and Blaziken, you have quite an aresenal under your belt," Brock said.

"Well, if it wasn't for you two, I don't think I'd be as strong a trainer and coordinator as I am now," May said. "So how about it Ash, let's have a battle."

(A/N: Okay, so I was on Youtube the other night, and I found this one person who took like all these songs from games, and slowed them down, changing the tempo. I must say, most of the music sounds pretty cool, so I'm going to try this out. I can only give you the link to this, sorry, but here it is: .com/watch?v=bqrSzcGkWbI&feature=related. It's King Dedede's theme but if you listen to it, I think it kind of reminds me of Pokerap IMO. Oh well, just check it out. Oh yeah, since I'll be doing a lot of these, just ignore the video as it pretty much shows nothing.)
"Sounds good to me," Ash said. "Now it's time to bring out a new friend of mine as well. Go Gliscor!"

Gliscor appeared ready for battle. All of a sudden, it then had a confused look on it's face. May apparently was a little creeped out by him.

"Uh May? Are you alright?" Ash said.

"Oh, it's nothing," May said, grinning sheepishly. "Your Gliscor is just a little creepy, that's all."

Gliscor felt rather insulted and hung it's head. Ash quickly ran over to him. "Oh come on Gliscor, you're not creepy, you're just a little intimidating, that's all." But that didn't help as Gliscor hung his head even lower.

May then felt bad. "Oh Gliscor, I didn't mean that," she said. "Of course you're an awesome Pokemon!"

"Gliscor!" Gliscor said happily, causing Ash to face-fault onto the ground.

"Glad to see you're so forgiving," Ash mumbled.

*"Alright then, I choose Beautifly!" May said, calling out her butterfly Pokemon. "Your move first."

"Alright Gliscor, use X-Scissor!" Ash said. Gliscor crossed both it's arms and two beams of light, resembling an X shot out towards Beautifly.

"Use Silver Wind!" May said. Beautifly flapped it's wings, sending silver crescents towards the X, deflecting it. "Now use Aerial Ace!"

"Gliscor counter with Steel Wing!" Ash said. The two flying Pokemon charged and hit one another, but Gliscor's Steel Wing proved to be stronger as Beautifly was blown back. "Alright, nice hit Gliscor!" Ash said.

May smirked. "Impressive Ash, but you forgot one thing. Beautifly, Morning Sun!" Beautifly started to glow and suddenly, Beautifly looked fully healed. "You can attack me as much as you want, Ash, but Beautifly will keep recovering."

"So we'll just have to take it out in one hit!" Ash said. "Alright Gliscor, use Sand-Attack!" All of a sudden, Gliscor surrounded itself in a giant dust cloud.

"Nice try, Ash, Beautifly use Whirlwind and then use Psychic!" May said.

Beautifly used Whirlwind to sweep away the dust cloud and was about to use Psychic until-

"I was waiting for that. Now Gliscor, use Screech!" Ash said. As Gliscor appeared, it used Screech, which hit Beautifly and paralyzed it temporarily. "Now, finish it with Fire Fang!" Gliscor flew straight at Beautifly with fire in his mouth and then bit Beautifly in the face, a direct hit. Beautifly hit the ground and was knocked out.

"Oh no, Beautifly!" May said. She then looked up to Ash and smiled. "Wow Ash, your skills have definitely improved."

"You've gotten better yourself," Ash said, calling back Gliscor.

"Well, that's partly due to training with Drew," May said, blushing slightly, while Drew did the same.

"In other words, she owes me," Drew said, trying to keep his cool. May however, said nothing in return.

"Well, I guess after a battle, it can sure work up an appetite," Brock said. "We might as well get some grub as it's getting dark."

After finally getting some food, the group set up camp. At some point, May realized she had to talk to Ash as to why Dawn wasn't with them.

"So Ash, tell me the truth, why isn't Dawn with you guys?" May asked him, while Drew, Ash, and herself were sitting near the fire.

Ash sighed. "Well, I'm not exactly 100% sure, but the night before she left, she told me that she had feelings for me,"

"And what did you say?" May asked.

"Well, I said I wasn't quite ready for a relationship yet," Ash said.

May sighed. "Same old, typical Ash. I guess some things never change." "And did you really mean that?"

"Well... I'm not sure now exactly," Ash said. "I mean, there were some points where I really felt attracted to her, but I wasn't sure if that was really me thinking that or not."

"I think I know what the problem is." Ash and May both looked to Drew. "What it sounds like is that you do have feelings for her, but you're just hesitant to express them. Trust me, May and I experienced the same thing, but eventually we were able to tell one another," Drew said, taking May's hand into his.

May blushed slightly. "It's true," she said. "I never really thought we'd be a couple since we're rivals, but that doesn't mean anything. What you have to do Ash, is find her and tell her how you really feel about her. I'm sure she can forgive you then."

Ash thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, you're right," he said. "I can't be afraid to express my own feelings, it won't do me any good. Thanks, guys."

"No problem," Drew said. "Just don't expect to get a lot of advice from me often, it's not quite in my character."

The three of them laughed, and soon they went to bed, getting ready for another day of unexpected surprises most likely.

(A/N: Well, now you understand the title of the chapter now, well you should by now at least. Anyway, NO I did not pick that name just because of Final Fantasy X. I happen to like that name a lot. You know, I never really thought that slowing down or increasing the tempo of a song could change it in many ways. I like this idea and will probably add more songs like that. Well, until then have fun reading.)

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