Author's Note: SUPER SORRY for the long wait, guys! I have been busy studying for my Exams! Anyway, now I am back and here's the next chapter!

I don't own Pokemon or it's characters, but I own Denise and my other OCs

Enjoy!

Pokemon: Friends to the End

Chapter 131: Strategy Begins At Home!

Denise's POV

Me, Dawn, Ash and Brock had arrived on a town, where I contacted mum via a video phone and inform her that a small box of my tasty Oranberry cupcakes were being delivered to her.

Mum was pleasantly surprised and also revealed that she was scheduled to be the chair person of the upcoming Twinleaf Festival.

Dawn and I grew excited hearing about our mum's news.

Oh my gosh!

I love the Twinleaf Festival!

It is an annual event that was originated in our hometown and includes many events like the Twinleaf Festival Battle tournament which would include Sinnoh's very own Frontier Brains!

No way, I'm ever missing this out!

Normal POV

Ash, Brock, Dawn and Denise returned to Twinleaf Town.

"Ah! I see it!"Dawn said happily. "Over there! Twinleaf Town!"

"Home sweet home."Denise chuckled.

"I see it too."Ash added.

"We made it."Brock remarked.

"Pikachu!"Pikachu responded.

"Prinplup!"Prinplup chirped.

"Torchic!"Torchic tweeted.

Dawn and Prinplup started running away from Denise and Torchic.

"Race you there, Dennie!"Dawn declared.

"Alright!"Denise answered with a smirk. "But I might win again!"

Dawn and Denise started running to Twinleaf Town with Prinplup and Torchic following them next to them.

"Dawn! Dennie!"Ash protested. "Wait!"

"We're almost there anyway."Brock reminded simply.

Soon after, the heroes arrived inside the town and notice the place had a quiet atmosphere.

"What a quiet place."Brock complemented.

"Yeah, it is."Dawn agreed with a nod.

"Our small town is known for its fresh scent of new leaves in the air."Denise admitted. "It feels like a place where adventures start."

"Twinleaf Town kinda reminds me of Pallet Town."Ash stated and looked at Pikachu. "Pikachu, what do you think?"

Pikachu nodded. "Pika pika."

Dawn, Denise, Ash and Brock spotted a man talking to an elderly couple about placing some stands, but weren't making much progress.

"Izzy! Cara!"Dawn called out. "Hello!"

"Hi!"Denise answered with a small wave.

The three adults walked up the two sisters and their friends.

"Why hello, Dawn and Denise."Cara said kindly. "Great to see you both again."

"Well, Dawn and Denise, it's nice to see you both back to Twinleaf Town again."Izzy stated.

"Thanks."Dawn thanked. "We are both planning to stay for the whole Twinleaf Featival and help out since our mum told us she is going to be the chair person this year."

"Isn't that nice? You two being around and cheer up Johanna will be simply wonderful."Izzy commented.

"Izzy, the truth is your the one that needs to be cheered on."Cara said and looked at the two sisters. "You see your mother, Izzy and I are all organising the Twinleaf Festival together. And to be totally honest about Izzy, he is being much help at all which makes me worry how all of this will ever happen without an incident."

"So who are those young men friends of yours?"Izzy asked.

"Yeah."Denise answered, gesturing to Brock and Ash. "They are travelling with us in our journey."

"I'm Brock."Brock responded.

"I'm Ash from Pallet Town."Ash admitted and looked at Pikachu. "This is my partner, Pikachu."

"Pika pikachu."Pikachu greeted.

"Prinplup."Prinplup reminded with a frown.

"Oh sorry, Prinplup."Dawn apologised and smiled at the elderly couple. "And this is Prinplup. I chose him as a Piplup to be my starter pokemon."

Prinplup smiled. "Prinplup."

"And this cute one is my recently caught pokemon, Torchic."Denise introduced.

"Torchic."Torchic tweeted.

"Nice to meet you, Prinplup and Torchic."Cara responded.

"Yes, very nice indeed."Izzy agreed.

After saying hi to Cara and Izzy, the Twinleaf sisters lead their friends to their house.

"So Dawn and Dennie that is your house?"Ash asked.

"Yes."Dawn answered.

"Let's go in!"Denise insisted.

Dawn and Denise immediately headed inside their house.

"Mum, we're home!"Dawn and Denise announced happily. "And we're starving got anything to eat?!"

Johanna greets her daughters, as well as Ash and Brock, with her Glameow and Umbreon in tow.

"My girls, your home so early than I expected."Johanna remarked. "Please come in, Ash and Brock, it's so nice to see you both. Come sit down and make yourselves at home."

"Wow!"Brock and Ash said in unison. "Thanks very much!"

"Pika!"Pikachu cheered.

Johanna bent down to smile at Prinplup and Torchic.

"Oh my, you were Dawn's partner Piplup that now evolved into Prinplup, right?"Johanna replied and looked at Torchic. "And you must be my Denise's Torchic? Nice to finally meet both of you."

"Prinplup."Prinplup chirped.

"Torchic."Torchic tweeted.

Torchic tried to greet Glameow, but gets the cold shoulder.

The Chick Pokemon looked hurt, but tried again with Umbreon and gets the same response causing Prinplup to comfort him.

Then an older girl named Noelle walked down the stairs with her Bellossom and has finished setting up the rooms for Ash and Brock.

"Johanna all the rooms ready."Noelle declared.

"Great Noelle."Johanna answered with a smile. "That's wonderful."

"Whoa! Noelle!"Denise said happily. "It's been ages since we saw you!"

"We didn't know you were here."Dawn commented.

"I came over here to take Miss Johanna's Pokemon Coordinator class."Noelle explained. "We've been here a week now."

"Bello bello."Bellossom giggled.

"You both look great."Noelle complemented. "You must really be enjoying your journey."

"See look here."Dawn agreed as she reached into her backpack and pulled out her ribbon case to reveal her four ribbons. "I'm working on my fifth and final ribbon."

"Same with me."Denise agreed as she took out her ribbon case and badge case. "I'm working on getting my last ribbon too and need one more gym badge to enter the Sinnoh League."

"Wow, both of you are working so hard."Noelle chuckled.

Suddenly Brock pulled the two sisters aside and made his usual advances to Noelle, making the older girl uncomfortable.

"My name's Brock! Budding Breeder extraordinaire!"Brock flirted. "Of course, the world's greatest Pokemon Breeder would be considered quite a catch! So you're a budding coordinator eh?"

"Bello."Bellossom said with a unimpressed look.

"And dearest Noelle since the cupid of love has mysteriously brought us together, I now I ask for a lesson in love that only a coordinator can give!"Brock declared and held up a rose.

Then Brock gets shut down by Croagunk's Poison Jab and Bellossom's Stun Spore.

"Is it me...or are two attacks stronger than one?"Brock asked in pain.

Brock dropped on the floor and Croagunk dragged him away.

"My, my..."Noelle replied with a nervous smile.

Ash checked out the trophies and pictures on the wall with Dawn and Denise next to him.

"Look at all these cool trophies."Ash chuckled.

"Of course."Dawn agreed. "Our mum used to be a Top Coordinator."

"Though she doesn't enter contests anymore, she gives classes to coordinators who want to learn her techniques."Denise admitted. "And she'll even have contest battles with them as well."

"I'll tell you, Dawn and Dennie."Ash responded. "She's awesome."

"Thanks, my dream is to become a Top Coordinator just like mum was."Dawn remarked.

"Same with me, but I want to become a Pokemon Champion too."Denise chuckled and rubbed the back of her hair. "Then again, I can't decide still which part I really want to have in my career."

"Hey, I got an idea!"Dawn declared and looked at Johanna. "Mum, why don't you have a battle with me and Dennie?"

"Huh?"Johanna said in surprise.

Denise looked at Dawn with a unsure look on her face.

"Are you sure about this, Dawn?"Denise asked.

"Come on, Dennie."Dawn encouraged. "This is our chance to show mum how much hard we've working."

"Okay."Denise answered with a nod. "I accept."

"In that case, I accept your challenge."Johanna declared.

"Yay!"Dawn cheered.

"Prinplup!"Prinplup chirped.

"Great."Denise commented.

Torchic nodded. "Torchic."

"But before we do that, I made some of your favourite dishes that are waiting for you and you should all eat while they're still warm."Johanna insisted. "Does that sound good to you?"

"Oh yeah!"Ash laughed and punched the air.

Ash notice Dawn, Denise and Johanna looking at him causing him to freeze and blush shyly.

"See, I've have been kind of running around empty."Ash stated with a sheepish smile.

Pikachu sweat dropped. "Pikachu."

Denise covered her mouth and giggled quietly, finding it cute to see Ash blushing.

"Noelle, would you show Ash and Brock their rooms upstairs now?"Johanna asked.

"No problem."Noelle answered.

"Thanks, Noe-"Ash started.

"Thank you so much, Noelle!"Brock interrupted lovingly. "Isn't she lovely?! Isn't she wonderful?!"

Denise sweat dropped while Torchic frowned I with a unhappy expression.

"And that is why Brock will never get a girlfriend."Denise thought honestly.

Then the heroes sat down to eat their lunch and they were impressed by the taste of their dishes.

"So Dawn and Denise what do you both think?"Johanna asked.

"So good!"Dawn murmured happily.

"It's super yummy, mum!"Denise complemented as she ate another piece of chicken.

"Good calls, Dawn and Denise."Ash chuckled.

"I've got to tell you that there is nothing that beats homemade cooking after being out on the road."Brock remarked.

"So Brock, my daughters tell me you are a accomplish chef yourself that's great."Johanna stated.

"Thank you."Brock replied. "But that is simply a case of doing it all the time."

Behind the group, Pikachu, Prinplup and Torchic were enjoying Brock's pokemon food with Bellossom, Glameow and Umbreon.

"It seems Glameow and Umbreon are enjoying Brock's pokemon food too."Johanna giggled. "And they are usually such picky eaters. It goes to show you that people chef can be great pokemon chefs at the same time."

"Well, my dream is to become the best Pokemon Breeder."Brock said. "So I appreciate the kind words."

"And you'll be I'm sure."Johnna commented.

"Wow, you think?"Brock asked. "Thank you. That's so nice."

"Brock, it would be wonderful if you give me your Pokemon food recipe."Noelle insisted.

"Really?!"Brock responded lovingly. "Absolutely Noelle! But there is more if you act now, I'll reveal to you my secret recipe of love! Sugar, spice and everything nice! We'll make it together as we step off to-"

Croagunk poison jabbed Brock and Bellossom's Stun Spore to knock out the Breeder again causing him to collapse on the floor.

When everyone finished eating, Dawn and Denise helped their mum clean the dishes while Ash talked to Professor Oak over the videophone.

"Oh, so your staying in Dawn and Denise's house?"Professor Oak asked.

"Right."Ash agreed with a nod. "I am going to be training here in Twinleaf Town for a while."

"Remember Johanna is very talented and a top coordinator in her day."Professor Oak reminded. "I'm sure there's a lot you can learn from her. Training here, training there, training well anywhere. My point being the best way is to train and learn about pokemon is wherever you are and have fun doing it."

"That's amazing!"Dawn exclaimed as she rushed forward with Denise. "The poetry man even gives you advice rapped up in a poem."

Denise groaned and face palmed as Johanna walked forward.

"Now, now, Dawn, it's not polite to address Professor Oak as the poetry man."Johanna commented.

"It's no problem, Johanna."Professor Oak assured. "Really."

"By the way, thank you for doing what we asked."Johanna admitted.

"Forget it, I am looking forward to it for the truth be told."Professor Oak stated.

Dawn looked at Johanna.

"Look forward for what, mum?"Dawn asked.

"Professor is going to attend the Twinleaf Festival as our special guest."Johanna responded.

"Cool!"Denise chuckled.

"That means we get to see you soon, right?"Dawn asked.

"That's right, boy-"Ash started.

Suddenly Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum, bumped Professor Oak out of the frame and joined the conversation.

"Hi, honey!"Delia greeted happily. "You look wonderful, Ash! Glad to see your well!"

"Hi there, mum!"Ash responded.

"I was just bringing the professor fresh herbs, so this is perfect timing."Delia remarked.

"How nice, Mrs Ketchum, hello."Johanna replied. "I am Dawn and Denise's mother, Johanna. Pleasure to meet you."

"Well, thank you for welcoming Ash to your home and if he starts misbehaving please feel free to scold him as much as needed!"Delia insisted happily.

"Aw, mum!"Ash complained in embarrassment.

"Ash, dear."Delia responded kindly. "I realised your journey is taking you far away from me, but I have no doubt your becoming a fine young man."

Ash smiled at his mother's words.

"But since his been a bit of a rambunctious young man, Johanna, a little scolding never hurts anyone."Delia commented.

Denise covered her mouth to mute her laughter as Ash nearly dropped at his mother's sentence.

Afterwards...

Brock and Happiny tend to the beautiful pink flowers in Johanna's garden.

"Oh Brock, you're such a big help."Johanna complemented. "I had no idea you had a green thumb as well."

"It's amazing."Noelle agreed.

"Doings jobs is what I have to do best."Brock declared with a smile.

"Happ happiny."Happiny agreed and waved a small shovel around.

"Now you two leave everything to me."Brock insisted confidently. "I'll have your garden in perfect shape in no time."

Brock and Happiny went back on tend the flowers in the garden as Noelle looked at Johanna.

"Miss Johanna, leave the garden to Brock, so that you and your daughters can have your battle?"Noelle suggested.

"That's a great."Johanna agreed and looked at her two daughters. "How does that sound to you, girls?"

"It sounds great."Dawn answered.

"Sounds super to me, mum."Denise chuckled.

Ash smiled at Pikachu.

"Awesome."Ash remarked. "They're finally going to battle, buddy."

"Pika pika."Pikachu said.

"Johanna!"

Izzy, Cara and Sayer arrive to meet up with Johanna, still trying to work out food booth placement.

"We're really sorry to bother you with your daughters being at home, but might be have a word with you?"Cara asked.

"Sure."Johanna answered. "How can I help you?"

"The problem is asked them which food stall should be placed near the Pokemon Battle Ring, which of course is our main festival event."Sayer explained. "There's also the articular snack store and candy stall to deal with."

"Yes, we can't decide which one should go where."Cara responded.

"The articular snack store sounds nice."Izzy admitted.

"But we can't forget that the children like Cotten Candy."Cara reminded.

Although Johanna solves the problem at first, Izzy and Cara continue to vacillate, forcing Johanna to postpone the battle and get more involved.

Denise let out a sigh.

"I guess there is nothing we can do nothing but wait until mum gets back, Dennie."Dawn admitted.

"She's always been busy to help others prepare for the Twinleaf Festival."Denise replied before looking at Torchic and Prinplup. "You guys don't mind waiting, right?"

"Torchic."Torchic tweeted.

"Prinplup."Prinplup chirped.

"Oh well that's the way it goes."Ash commented and smiled at Pikachu. "Hey, I know. Pikachu, how about we go for a walk and check out Twinleaf Town at the same time?"

"Pikachu!"Pikachu cheered.

"You go ahead and do that, Ash."Denise insisted. "Me and Dawn will work on our strategies against mum."

"Okay, see you later."Ash stated.

Ash and Pikachu went for a walk while Dawn and Denise worked on their strategies at home.

The two sisters set up two combinations to check with Prinplup and Torchic.

"Let's go over strategies one more time."Dawn insisted. "Now this is the formation of Plan A."

"Plan A looks good so far, but we need to remember to make Plan B be the element of surprise."Denise insisted.

Prinplup went over to the TV as Dawn noticed a bunch of clipped newspaper articles, which were about all of Dawn and Denise's Contest wins and the Hearthome Collection that Johanna framed.

"Wow! Look, Dennie!"Dawn insisted as she picked up the frame. "They're newspaper articles of all of our contest wins."

"Hey, your right, sis."Denise chuckled. "So cool that mum put them together in one frame."

Prinplup smiled as Torchic bounced in joy seeing the pictures.

"I'm home."Johanna declared as she came inside the house. "So sorry to have kept you waiting, girls."

"Hi, mum."Dawn greeted.

"Hope the plans went well."Denise complemented.

Then Dawn, Denise and Johanna headed to have their battle on the battlefield behind their house.

It was a two on two with Dawn's Prinplup and Denise's Torchic against Johanna's Glameow and Umbreon.

"Alright, this is going to be a two on two!"Johanna declared. "A double battle!"

Prinplup and Torchic stood read to battle against Glameow and Umbreon.

"Alright!"Dawn cheered.

"Let's do our best!"Denise sneered.

"This is exciting."Noelle remarked. "We're going to see a battle showdown between a mother and two of her daughters."

"And after the excitement comes from seeing it with you, my dearest Noelle!"Brock flirted.

Brock shows his romance towards Noelle before noticing Bellossom and Croagunk glaring at him which made him stop his advances.

"Best of luck to all three of you!"Brock called out.

"Dawn, Denise, you both have the honour."Johanna declared. "Both of you show me what you got."

"You bet!"Dawn answered. "Prinplup, Whirlpool!"

"Torchic use Hidden Power to power it up!"Denise ordered.

Prinplup activated Whirlpool as Torchic unleashed Hidden Power, creating a whirlpool surrounded by green sparkly orbs.

"Wow! That Whirlpool is simply sparkling!"Noelle declared. "What a spectacular move!"

"Although that whirlpool's beauty matches your beauty-"Brock started.

Brock panicked when he notice Croagunk and Bellossom's glares.

"Guys make sure to give the best you can!"Brock encouraged.

Prinplup threw his Whirlpool to his opponents.

"Glameow and Umbreon!"Johanna shouted. "Dodge it with Quick Attack!"

Glameow and Umbreon both used Quick Attack to gracefully dodge, crossing each other's paths and creating an appeal.

"Mum had her pokemon both use Quick Attack to dodge, but they look so appealing when doing it."Denise thought in awe. "She doesn't do contest battles anymore, but she still got it."

"Double Shadow Ball!"Johanna ordered.

Glam row and Umbreon stopped in front of Johanna and launched a double Shadow Ball that destroyed the Whirlpool.

"Quick Prinplup, dodge it!"Dawn ordered.

"Torchic, dodge the Shadow Balls too!"Denise ordered.

Both Prinplup and Torchic jumped out of the way from being hit by their opponents' Shadow Balls.

"Those Shadow Balls were strong."Ash complemented. "I'm impressed."

"Pikachu."Pikachu whispered.

"With pokemon that were raised by Johanna, I wouldn't expect anything else."Noelle admitted.

Prinplup and Torchic glared at Glameow and Umbreon, who looked at them with confident smirks.

"Should we start with Plan A?"Dawn asked.

"Yeah."Denise agreed with a nod. "We start with Plan A."

"Now Prinplup use Bubble Beam!"Dawn ordered.

Prinplup fired Bubble Beam at his opponents, only for them to dodge with a synchronized backflip though the water attack created a wall to cover their view on the front.

"I see a opening!"Denise remarked with a smirk. "Torchic use Fire Spin!"

Torchic leapt up from the Bubble Beam wall and fired Fire Spin which hit both Glameow and Umbreon.

"It worked!"Dawn and Denise remarked in unison before high fiving each other.

"That was very good, Dawn and Denise."Johanna commented. "But now it's my turn. Alright, Glameow and Umbreon use double attract to see if we can infatuate both Prinplup and Torchic."

Glameow and Umbreon do a double Attract that created a lot of small golden hearts, which infatuated both Prinplup and Torchic.

"Huh?!"Dawn said in shock.

"Yikes!"Denise gasped.

"Aw man!"Ash groaned and face palmed.

"Pika."Pikachu said with a sheepish smile.

"Attract worked great on those two."Noelle admitted. "Johanna is amazing."

"You know I am attracted to you."Brock flirted and notice Croagunk and Bellossom's angry looks. "Alright guys! This is no time to be letting out!"

"Let's finish this!"Johanna insisted. "Now Umbreon and Glameow use Swift! Go!"

Umbreon and Glameow hit Prinplup and Torchic out with a double Swift attack which knocked them out.

"Prinplup!"Dawn panicked.

"Torchic!"Denise shouted.

"Oh well, I guess that's it."Johanna stated with a smile.

Dawn and Denise were upset but both accepted the defeat before comforting their two pokemon.

"Thank you, Prinplup."Dawn thanked. "You battled really well."

"You battled amazing as well, Torchic."Denise assured kindly and hugged Torchic. "You did your best."

"Prinplup."Prinplup chirped.

"Torchic."Torchic tweeted shyly.

Dawn and Denise smiled at their mother with their pokemon next to them.

"Mum, you were amazing."Dawn replied. "You really are Top Coordinator that's for sure."

"I guess the skills never went away, huh?"Denise chuckled.

"That's right."Johanna giggled. "Both of you also impressed me and it is obvious the you two are bonding well with your pokemon teams."

"Aw, thanks mum."Dawn said with a smile.

"That means a lot."Denise complemented gratefully.

"Yeah!"Ash remarked. "And let's do our best too!"

"Pikachu!"Pikachu agreed.

Glameow and Umbreon looked pleased as Johanna hugged her two daughters.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter:)

Denise's Team

Torterra (Male): Solar Beam, Giga Drain, Seed Bomb and Earthquake

Vaporeon (Female): Water Gun, Shadow Ball, Hydro Pump and Aurora Beam

Luxray (Male): Shock Wave, Night Slash, Wild Charge and Ice Fang

Kirlia (Female): Psychic, Ice Punch, Magical Leaf and Confusion

Noctowl (Male): Heat Wave, Reflect, Aerial Ace and Supersonic

Torchic (Male): Ember, Peck, Hidden Power and Fire Spin

With Professor Rowan

Drifblim (Female): Ominous Wind, Thunderbolt, Will-O-Wisp and Astonish