Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: I did it! I promised an update on Wednesday and here it is! It's a little short, but that's because I'm holding out for the next chapter. This is mainly about Misty and May whereas next chapter will be battle after battle after battle. How do I know? Well, I've already started it! I'll have it out either this weekend or early next week, yup. Oh! I have a request for everyone. I'm running out of phrases to use when a trainer sends out their pokemon. If people could please send me more phrases so that my vocabulary will expand further than 'pokeball go' I'd love it. And hey, I might just use your quote in the upcoming chapters!

You know, this is the first chapter since chapter one where I haven't opened with Misty waking up. It's also the first time in this story where I will have a single day spanning over a few chapters. So this chapter, the next chapter and possibly the one after that will all be the same day (Saturday). Just wanted to clear that up ahead of time.

And I'm giving a special shout out to -Rhii- for finally reviewing, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Happy day I finally updated on time! Reviews are the only thing that could make it better!

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Time to Shine

Chapter 11

Breaking the Girl

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The two girls silently walked out to the courtyard. It was a well hidden place and Misty wanted it that way, this was her personal vendetta and the world wasn't invited. She noticed that Brock was walking between the two of them. It was probably for the better, who knows what would've happened if he hadn't interfered? He gave her a tiny smile and suddenly the world seemed to be that much better. It was definitely reassuring that Brock didn't absolutely hate her guts for lying to him earlier. But still, there was a knot that was not allowing this matter to go unattended.

"Sorry Brock." She kept her eyes low.

"Oh Mist, I've known you long enough to know when you're really pissed. I mean, give me more credit girl!"

"Why are you apologizing to Brock when it's Ash who obviously deserves all that and more!" May snapped.

Misty watched as Brock turned to address her.

"May you should've stayed out of this. Misty's right when she says that you really don't understand what's going on."

They took opposite sides of the makeshift battleground and Brock stayed in the middle, acting as referee. If anything, Misty was highly amused with May's confidence. The kid actually thought she was going to win! She figured that May had it in her brain that she'd defeat her in Ash's honor or some shit like that. But, it was time to face reality. Ash was being a jackass and she wasn't going to go easy on May just because she was inexperienced.

"Skitty I choose you!"

Was she serious? Misty just blinked, not quite believing her eyes. A Skitty? May wanted to fight her with a Skitty? Now this was just pathetic.

"Gyarados go." Misty said icily.

"Ok, I'm making this a three pokemon match. Basic rules apply and keep in mind that the tournament battles start in 20 minutes!" Misty glared at her friend.

"Don't insult me Brock." May fumed.

"Don't you get overconfident with me! Skitty use Quick Attack now!"

Skitty bounced cutely and got a serious look on its face. It sped up and ran from side to side, becoming a white blur. May smiled triumphantly, probably assuming that this would take down her mighty Gyarados. Skitty jumped into the sky, aiming for Gyarados' head. Misty rolled her eyes. This was not a gym match against a noob trainer who was just starting out; there was no reason for her to hold back Gyarados' true ability.

"Knock it out of the sky Gyarados, Aqua Tail." Misty said calmly.

If this were baseball Gyarados had just hit a home run. Skitty flew through the sky just about to hit its target when Gyarados easily blocked its attack at swat it away with its tail. Skitty slammed into the ground hard, creating a massive crater, and May grit her teeth in anger.

"Skitty return! Beautifly show her what we're really made of!"

"Gyarados Dragon Dance now!" Misty yelled.

"Perfect now's our chance, X-scissor Beautifly!"

Gyarados powered up, increasing both its attack and speed. It growled in annoyance at its lack of time to dodge Beautifly's attack. Although Gyarados' intimidate ability cut Beautifly's attack it didn't change the fact that it got hit. Beautifly slammed into Gyarados' head then flew away fast before it was eaten.

"Blizzard Gyarados."

"No! Try to dodge it Beautifly!" May yelled in a panic.

Brock couldn't help himself, he gave May an incredulous look along with Misty.

"You can't dodge a blizzard May." Misty said in a skeptic voice, not quite sure if May was serious.

"I know that dammit! Beautifly return, Combusken we will take that Gyarados down!"

Misty knew that Torchic was May's prized pokemon. Obviously it had evolved into a Combusken, meaning that it was pretty strong pokemon. But... was she serious?

"Hydro Pump at full power Gyarados." Misty said effortlessly, it was almost too easy.

Combusken was pounded by the burst of water. Misty kept her face stoic as she watched the brave fire chicken get pummeled into the ground. Once she was sure Combusken was down for the count she called Gyarados off. May ran over to her Combusken and told it that it had done a job well done before she called it back into its pokeball. Misty sighed; May really was a good girl deep down, they had just crossed paths at the wrong moment.

"Combusken is unable to battle! I'm sorry May, but the victor is Misty."

Misty saw May's eyes lower in shame. She was probably thinking that she had let Ash down by being beaten so shamefully. Honestly, Gyarados took down her three pokemon without even breaking a sweat. Misty walked over to the kid, feeling like she should try to cheer her up but not quite understanding why. May should have kept her bitchy comments to herself and shouldn't have butted her head where it didn't belong. Damned motherly instinct.

"I'm not going to gloat. You're the one who demanded this battle, after all." Was all she could muster.

They started walking to the battle arena. The first match of day 2 was set to start in about 15 minutes and Misty didn't want to miss Gary's match.

"Why did you do it Misty? I thought that you and Ash were best friends. How could you shut him out like this?" May asked.

Misty looked into May's eyes. It appeared that May was being sincere in her curiosity, so why not answer her question?

"Every single encounter I've had with Ash since he's arrived has been bad. I'm sure you've seen how stubborn he can get, especially when he thinks he's right." May nodded.

"You got that right."

"Well, he honestly thinks he's doing the right thing by tracking me down and screaming at me. He's not. I'm entitled to live my own life." Brock stayed silent.

"But Gary Oak! Misty, that's his rival!" May pleaded, still not understanding.

"You don't even know him, May. You wouldn't even know that they were once rivals if Ash hadn't told you stories of the past. Don't you see? That's the problem. Ash is too caught up in the past." Misty sighed.

"What do you mean? Arg, none of this is making sense!" May pulled at her hair in frustration.

"Ash is stuck in the past. Times have changed and Ash refuses to acknowledge that. I'll always love Ash, but I've moved on; and Gary's not the same guy he was when Ash was younger. It's actually ridiculously unfair of him to expect us to be the same people we were so many years ago."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense. But I saw him yesterday! He was being a total jerk to Clair during their match!" May tried again.

"Well, Clair was being a bitch backstage where the world couldn't see. Gary's cocky, yes, but he shows respect where it's due." Brock cleared his throat.

"You'll get to see it first hand, May. Isn't your dad in the first round?" Misty gasped.

"That's right. He drew number three, then won his match yesterday and is fighting the winner of round one from yesterday... oh."

There was silence for a second.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Misty yelled.

The three of them took off running to the stadium. Who knew what the next match would bring? Either way, someone would win and someone would lose. But, it really didn't matter too much. Misty had full faith in Gary and she was sure that May had full faith in Norman. May. She wasn't too bad of a kid. A little bit on the mouthy side, but she had a good heart. She could see why Ash treasured her so much; even if she was jailbait a la mode. But maybe, just maybe, May would figure out that Gary wasn't that bad a guy and pass the message on to Ash. And once Ash eventually cooled down? Well, then Misty would finally be ready to sit down and talk to him.

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Thanks to Brock and Misty's gym leader influence they managed to sneak May backstage. The only catch was that she'd have to leave once her dad's match was over. It was a fair enough stipulation. So now, moments later, both May and Misty were sitting at ringside; well sort of- they kept to the shadows so that Ash wouldn't see them. He was in his usual front row seat with an almost scary intense look on his face. The announcer called out the competitors and cheers filled the entire stadium, there was an even bigger turnout today and there was a full crowd of people in the surrounding streets watching on a big screen.

"Hey Red, why are you hiding in the shadows?" Gary cocked his head, giving May a suspicious glance.

"We're trying to avoid being seen by Ash, don't want his head to explode seeing us sitting together." Misty giggled.

"May, I'm glad you made it. Have you met my daughter Gary? I'd try to set you up if you didn't already have a beautiful girlfriend." Norman walked up, smiling.

"DAD!" May yelled, blushing hardcore.

"What? I know you have his poster up in your room back home." Norman held his hands up, feigning innocence.

"I'm sorry Sir but I don't think I'm ever letting this one go." Gary gave her a big hug.

"Oh young love. But please Gary, just call me Norman. 'Sir' makes me feel old." Gary nodded.

The announcer interrupted then.

"Where are our competitors?!" Misty giggled.

"Good luck you guys." The two men nodded and went to start their battle.

"Um, Misty, about that." May started.

"Spare me. I have three older sisters, I know how it can get." The younger girl smiled, feeling relieved.

The match finally kicked off. The two competitors stared each other down, trying to figure out the other. Misty knew that Norman was a master of normal type pokemon and, according to Ash, had a ferocious Slaking in his arsenal. Gary, on the other hand, was really sporadic in his choice of pokemon. Misty knew that he preferred to use ancient, super rare or legendary-ish pokemon; but this was still a broad guesstimate. The only real way to know was to keep watching and that was exactly what she did.

"Arcanine I choose you!" Gary threw his pokeball.

"Snorlax go! Body Slam it!"

An alert looking Snorlax emerged from its pokeball, leaping high into the air ready to land on Arcanine. It was unlike anything Misty had ever seen. Snorlax were lazy by nature and, despite being fat, Norman's Snorlax looked like it could easily run 10 miles no problem. Poor Arcanine never stood a chance. If it got hit by that Body Slam it was lights out for sure. Misty closed her eyes and looked away.

"Now Arcanine! Extremespeed!"

The crowd gasped as Arcanine literally turned into a blur. Snorlax crashed into the ground with Arcanine escaping by mere milliseconds. Gary grinned as Arcanine hit Snorlax with its speedy charge attack. Misty groaned loudly, damn him and his dramatics.

"He likes making a scene, huh?" May asked.

"That's for sure."

Norman quickly ordered Snorlax to rest. Snorlax had inadvertently took double damage from the fluke of the last attack. Misty did the calculations in her head: Gary had 3 turns before Snorlax woke up. What would he do?

"Will-o-wisp, make sure you burn Snorlax good." Arcanine grinned and did as it was told.

"Next, cast Sunny Day Arcanine."

Snorlax slept on as Arcanine powered up.

"Fire Blast!"

Snorlax awoke to the Fire Blast. It moaned in pain and bounced back, ready to pounce. Norman ordered it to Body Slam again. Arcanine once again looked as if it would be facing certain doom. Misty kept her eyes peeled to see what Gary would pull next. But, what happened next no one would have predicted.

"Arcanine dodge it quick!" Gary yelled frantically, knowing that Arcanine was a little exhausted from firing off 3 consecutive attacks.

The rest happened in slow motion. Snorlax took to the sky, roaring loudly. Arcanine didn't move and completely disregarded Gary's orders, raising its head proudly. But it wasn't out of disrespect. Arcanine turned to look at Gary square in the eye and they had some kind of unspoken conversation. Misty watched, transfixed, as Gary sighed to himself. Maybe his mannerisms had rubbed off onto his pokemon a little too much.

"Ok Arcanine you win. Overheat." Gary said.

Arcanine nodded its approval and started its attack with Snorlax closing in fast. Misty leapt out of her chair as she figured out exactly what was happening. Arcanine chose not to dodge so that it could use its most powerful attack and knock out Snorlax for sure. The only catch was that it would be a self sacrifice situation in which it would be wiped out by Snorlax's Body Slam. Suddenly she understood exactly why Gary was so adamantly against it. But, sure enough, the plan worked. Snorlax landed and Arcanine let of its attack. An explosion was caused and when the smoke cleared both pokemon were knocked out; it was a double KO.

"You're Arcanine is remarkable Gary. It's amount of loyalty is amazing." Norman commented.

"Yeah, Arcanine has been with me since the very beginning. Your Snorlax is something else, though." Gary replied.

"Hmm, it seems that we're both down to our last pokemon. If I could make a request, I'd love to battle that Aerodactyl of yours." Gary grinned.

"Very well, but don't hold back. I've heard about your legendary Slaking and I won't battle anything less."

Misty and May watched, silent, as the two gym leaders requested their opponents. It was kind of surreal, you don't just choose who you fight in a tournament. But, as Aerodactyl and Slaking exited their pokeballs it showed that Norman and Gary had done just that. The pokemon stared each other down and charged forward. They exchanged blows and started throwing fists, shooting beams and dodging all over the place. The two trainers spouting out commands at a rate that really didn't seem humanly possible.

"I haven't seen my dad this excited over a battle in a while." May said.

"Yeah, I feel bad for whoever is battling next. This is going to be a hard battle to top."

"Dad'll cream him." May said suddenly.

"Dream on Kid." Misty grinned.

Gary had complete faith and never once doubted her. It would be pretty crappy of her to start doubting now. She jumped out of her chair, still hidden in the shadows, and cheered him on. She saw him turn his head and he gave her a true smile. She blew him a kiss and blushed, feeling like a lovestruck schoolgirl. She saw him smirk and go back to his battle. She smiled and watched on even though she felt May's eyes boring holes into her back, probably analyzing their relationship. Whatever, who gave a shit what she thought?

"Aerodactyl stop messing around. Fire off a Hyper Beam!" Gary yelled.

"Slaking you use Hyper Beam as well!" Norman pointed forward.

The two pokemon stopped charging and fell back, gathering energy. The crowd watched on, mesmerized, as Aerodactyl and Slaking fired off their Hyper Beams simultaneously. Misty laughed as she saw Ash in the crowd, jaw dropped at the intensity of the battle. The beams met in the center of the arena, creating a mini-earthquake. Misty watched the ball grow and knew that this was it. Once it burst one pokemon would stand victorious while the other would be defeated. She felt the ground shake again and grabbed onto her chair just in time to avoid flying into the air as the ball burst.

"Tell me, Gary Oak, how is it that such a young trainer has gotten his hands on an Aerodactyl?" Norman asked curiously.

"I'm also a full fledged pokemon researcher on top of just being a gym leader. I was on location with a team of scientists who were able to resurrect fossils."

"Really? Now that's something. You're going places, I'm sure of it." Gary nodded.

"Thank you Norman. This has been one hell of a battle."

The spectators were all on the edge of their seats. Although they heard the exchange the smoke still hadn't cleared. Once it finally did the results were unbelievable: both pokemon were standing! Who was the victor?!

Thump!

"No way."

"Slaking is unable to battle, the winner is Gary Oak!"

Misty looked at May as the crowd went wild. The younger girl looked like she couldn't believe her eyes. Her father had lost; yet he still acted as if Gary were a friend! Misty then looked at Ash in the crowd. It was pretty obvious who he had wanted to win this battle. She sighed, they would talk sooner or later. As for now it was back to May. As Gary and Norman shook hands in the center of the arena Misty stood to look May square in the eye.

"Will you stand down and leave us be, May?" She asked sincerely.

"Yeah. Yeah I will." Misty smiled.

"Thank you."