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The sound of Ciara's quiet, meek voice startled Dawn ever so slightly as she and Ash ate breakfast in the Pokemon Center.
"Dawn!" the fire specialist greeted. "Good morning!"
"Good morning," Dawn said in return. If Ciara ever needed a side gig, she could definitely be a spy or something, what with how quiet she was, Dawn decided. "Wanna sit with us?"
Ciara nodded, pulling out a chair on Dawn's side of the table and sitting down. "Hi, Ash."
The trainer looked up from the pancakes he was cutting up for Empoleon and Pikachu. "Hey, Ciara!" With that, the boy returned to the task at hand.
Turning to her friendly rival, Ciara clasped her hands together. "How did last night go?"
"Last night?" Ash inquired.
"Oh! Remember, I went to practice with Clefairy? I can't give away details," Dawn said with a wink, "since there's competition in the room, but things went well!"
"Aw, well, I wanna see before the Wallace Cup!" Ash insisted, backing off as his and Dawn's starters began eating their share of breakfast. "You and Clefairy came back so late… Empoleon ended up bunking with me and Pikachu, ya know!"
"I know, and I'm still sorry about it." Dawn had to admit, though, the three of them barely fit together on the bed but it was pretty much the most precious sight. She propped her head up on her hands, then. "Tell you what, if you'll dance with me like the last time we had all those Clefairy and Clefable under the moonlight, I'll show you."
Ciara's face flushed at the conversation between Ash and Dawn. She put her hands on the sides of her cheeks, daydreaming. "M-My, that'd make such a nice d-d… date…"
"You think so?" Ash shrugged. "I guess that was our first date then, huh, Dawn?"
The poor lavender haired coordinator squeaked, looking very shocked. She looked between Ash and Dawn, positively red. "S-Sorry to pry, but does this mean you two are… dating?!"
"Oh, yeah, we are!" Dawn clarified with a laugh. "It happened not too long ago, actually! We were in Seafoam and, well… He accepted my feelings when I confessed."
The younger girl was listening in awe, mouth agape and stars practically in her eyes. "So cool…!" She buried her face in her hands, then. "Gosh, you've really got it together, Dawn…!"
"Aw, geez, thanks, Ciara." Dawn couldn't help but feel flattered at her friend's praise.
There was a brief pause when everyone returned to eating. Then, Ciara spoke up again.
"Actually… If it isn't too much trouble, would you two mind coming with me to lunch today? My… my crush is coming into port today… for the Wallace Cup!" Ciara hid her face in her hands again, giggling slightly. "I want to greet him, but I'll be so nervous if it's just the two of us. Plus, he's so cool, I'm sure the two of you would like him…!"
Throwing her arms around the smaller girl, Dawn found herself getting giddy as well. "Oh my gosh, Ciara, of course we will! Won't we, Ash?"
"I won't turn down a good lunch," Ash figured.
"Right! I'll support your romance no matter what!" Dawn promised, nuzzling her face against Ciara's as the girl giggled. Pulling back, Dawn spoke up again. "So, what's he like?"
"I-I wanna keep some of it a secret…" Ciara confessed, barely avoiding mumbling into her hands. "He's… so macho… He moves like a warrior on stage. B-But, he's got this… boyish charm…"
"What's he battle like?" Ash asked, cutting to the chase.
Ciara flushed. "I haven't been lucky enough to battle him myself… We've only met a few times in person."
The trainer nodded. "Hehe, well, if you think he's so great, and you get all impressed by Dawn, I'm sure he's gonna be a good battler! I'll battle him myself for you, so we all know for sure!"
Dawn rolled her eyes before continuing with breakfast. Of course Ash would want to battle the guy.
The town was still bustling. Despite the crowds, Ash and Dawn were out. Empoleon and Pikachu helped them try to keep an eye out for the little cafe Ciara had told them to meet at.
"Couldn't we have just followed her to it?" Ash asked, hands on his hips as he and Pikachu swiveled to look for the restaurant.
Dawn raised onto her tiptoes, trying to see the shop's sign. "She wanted to go pick him up herself as a surprise for us, remember?"
Suddenly, Empoleon squawked, pointing out their destination. "Empo Empo!"
"Great job, Empoleon!" Dawn praised before the group walked over that way.
Once they walked into the shop, it followed neatly. Ciara spotted them and waved them over. Dawn begrudgingly noted how small the shop was and was forced to return Empoleon. After that, though, she and Ash walked over to sit at the table Ciara was at.
"So," Dawn started. "Where's your… ah, friend?"
Too flushed at the moment to blush any further, Ciara merely laughed nervously. "Oh, he's, um, freshening up right now… Y-You know, because he was on the boat so long!"
Dawn snapped. "That's actually pretty smart. Ash, we should probably freshen up, too! We were out training."
"What? Why? It's not like we were fighting or anything. I mean, our pokemon practice, but I didn't put my hands in the dirt or anything," he argued.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm going to freshen up."
"The bathrooms are just around the corner!" Ciara supplied.
Just as Dawn was about to get up, the mysterious stranger rounded the corner. A stocky, but growing teenager with voluminous chestnut hair and a rounding jaw came into view. Just as he turned towards the crowded eatery, the male halted in his step, dark eyes growing wide at the duo accompanying the first familiar face.
Ash and Dawn halted in kind, both of their hands planting down on the table. Was that 'stranger' seriously who they thought he was!?
An awkward silence overcame the group, each frozen in place as if the entire world wasn't moving around them.
Mustering up all her courage to speak clearly, Ciara tried to carry on her introduction. "D-Dawn, Ash, this is Kenny! Kenny, this Dawn, and her boyfriend, Ash!"
That was all it took to break the silence. The other Sinnoh native's face went from shock and confusion at the sight of the duo, to hurt, and then quickly to fury. "Aw, are you kidding me?!" With no more words than that, Kenny stormed out of the cafe.
"W-What?! K-Kenny?!" Ciara squeaked, panicked and worried. Nearly in tears, she turned to her friends. "W-What j-just happened?!"
Standing up beside Dawn, Ash himself looked rather perturbed. "Heck if I know! Dawn?"
The coordinator crossed her arms, trying to figure out what had Kenny so riled up. "I'm not sure… I mean, we're childhood friends but… He's never been that angry before." She sighed. "I don't know… Ever since we started getting old enough to think about training seriously, he started telling me less and less about his feelings." She shrugged. "I'm not sure what the issue is."
Ciara blinked, taken aback by the new information. "So… You know Kenny that well?"
Dawn could only come back with nervous laughter. "Yeah… We grew up together. We were like siblings, you know?"
"Well, right now, I think we need to find Kenny," Ash butted in.
The girls nodded in agreement. With that, all three left the cafe, plans for lunch long forgotten.
It was about an hour before the group finally managed to find Kenny. He was sitting on a bench overlooking Cinnabar's port, his back to them. He was leaning forward a bit, seeming to stare at the ground, perhaps even sulking.
Ciara looked over to Ash and Dawn. "Dawn… Maybe you should talk to him first. You know him best, after all."
Dawn wondered if she actually knew him best, what with how strangely he was acting, but she supposed out of the three of them, she was the closest to Kenny. So, nodding, the coordinator walked forward.
Quietly, the bluenette approached her old friend before putting a hand on his shoulder. "Kenny, we were looking everywhere for you! What's wro-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence. Jolting up and whirling around to face her, it was clear that Kenny was probably still upset. The lightest touch of pink rimmed the bottom of his eyes. His brows were furrowed very deeply. Though his fists were balled at his sides and he was glaring at Dawn, she could tell by his posture that he wasn't actually going to fight her. All the same, this was enough of a violent reaction to get her to take a step back, shocked.
"You're so oblivious!" he shouted. He shook for a moment, trying to put his words together. Finally, his shoulders dropped and his head hung. "You've… always been so oblivious." He clutched one arm as if he were cutting himself off from Dawn, guarding himself from her. "I liked you, Dawn…" He looked up, eyes clearly full of hurt. "I've always liked you. I-I was so scared of this happening in Sinnoh… You and Ash were so close…" The chestnut haired boy laughed bitterly then. "But, it happened anyway!"
Blinking, Dawn tried to process what Kenny was saying. "W-What?!"
"You're still so oblivious," he repeated. Having said his piece to Dawn and explained why he was so bothered, the coordinator looked to Ash. "How'd you two even end up together? He's just as bad as you are."
Having held back as long as he felt comfortable with how weird Kenny was acting, Ash finally marched over. No one treated his friends like this, regardless of how hurt they were! "Hey!" Ash snapped, moving to stand between Dawn and Kenny. "You can't take this out on Dawn!"
"You shut up!" Kenny yelled. "You don't have any idea what this feels like! It hurts!"
Having walked over while the two boys were staring each other Dawn, Ciara hesitantly tugged on Kenny's sleeve. The boy calmed upon seeing Ciara, thankfully. She wouldn't make eye contact with him, though. She was crying silently.
"K-Kenny… I'm sorry. T-This was my f-f-f… I messed up. I'm so sorry… I didn't know… And, because I kept secrets and tried to make it a surprise… Y-You got hurt. I'm so sorry, Kenny."
Nothing the hesitance Ciara had at touching him and the desperation she had to regain his approval, Kenny relented. He also made a mental note of the occurrence. He was familiar with the feeling himself. "This wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known."
Ash backed down, noting how gentle Kenny had become with Ciara.
Likewise, Dawn breathed a sigh of relief.
"These things are just difficult," Kenny clarified, putting the youngest coordinator at ease. "So, I'm going to need some time to myself. I'll talk to you back at the Pokemon Center." With that, he backed up from her a bit. Ciara let go of his shirt.
All three of them, Pikachu included, watched quietly as Kenny walked away, quickly exiting the surprisingly secluded seating area. Suddenly, Dawn was very thankful they hadn't caused a scene.
Ash stared after where Kenny had walked off, mulling over the whole scene. He looked back over at Dawn only to see she was hugging Ciara. The younger girl was crying loudly. The bluenette was trying her hardest to console the youth, stroking her back and whispering comforting words to her.
"Hey, Dawn," Ash spoke up.
"Hm?"
"Will you go with Ciara back to the Pokemon Center?"
Thinking about how close Kenny and Ash had come to blows - the closest Dawn had seen Ash get with anyone - she couldn't help but worry the hot-blooded trainer might go try to instigate things again. "Where are you going?"
Fiddling with his cap, the trainer swallowed a lump in his throat. "You, uh… probably weren't the only person I ignored, Dawn. With your feelings, I mean." He looked off. "I wanna think about that for a little bit."
Now, that was unusually insightful for Ash - wherever it had come from. Gawking at the trainer wordlessly, Dawn processed his response. While she herself wasn't the best at picking up on flirtations, she had never known Ash to really sit and consider anyone other than a pokemon's feelings when it came to such delicate matters. "Alright," she agreed. "We'll go back together."
"Thanks."
A few hours had passed by and Dawn and Ciara had decided to go to a small grocery store near the Pokemon Center. Though Ciara had needed some time to calm down in the privacy of her room there with Dawn comforting her, the effects of skipping lunch were soon felt. That led to the current situation of the two girls browsing the food aisles. Empoleon walked behind them, ready to help them reach a particularly heavy item or something off a high shelf.
"Oh, Cosmic Power Brownies!" Dawn cheered, grabbing the box of snacks. "Do you like these, Ciara?"
"I actually prefer the Nanab Marshmallow Pies…" She confessed. "Shouldn't we get something healthy to eat, though…?"
Dawn waved the girl off, tossing the snacks in the cart she was pushing. "After you cry, it's fine to eat all the sweets you want."
"B-But… You weren't the one crying."
Point taken, Dawn huffed before looking further down the aisle. "We'll go to the deli to pick up some sandwiches and maybe a salad. How about that?"
"That's perfect," Ciara enthused.
With that, the two girls headed away from the snack foods.
The peaceful lull between them was interrupted as Ciara got to thinking about why she was crying in the first place.
"Dawn… Are you really okay with me liking Kenny? I mean… He likes you," the youth gently asked, fretting and wringing her hands.
Looking down at the smaller girl, Dawn could only smile gently. "I like Ash, and he likes me." That should be enough of an answer, but thinking about it, Dawn found herself sticking out her tongue and making a rather displeased face. "Ew, plus, like, Kenny's like my brother! I can't think of him as a boyfriend…! We knew each other when we still couldn't wipe ourselves! … Sorry, that's probably too much info, huh?"
"A little," Ciara agreed. All the same, the girl was pretty relieved. Dawn wasn't upset with her like Ciara was worried she would be. It was a strange fear, but with how shy and nervous Ciara always was, she couldn't help but get anxious over a friend being angry with her. It was bad enough that Kenny might not be interested in her; Ciara didn't want to lose Dawn's friendship over this.
Thinking about her relationship with Kenny, Dawn spoke up again. "Hey, make sure he respects you. I didn't know what to do about it because I didn't think about it, but back when I was in Sinnoh, Kenny was kind of… mean to me. I guess he was just confused, but I should have put my foot down sometimes."
The purple haired coordinator blanched. "No way! Kenny's such a gentleman with me. I can't imagine that he was ever mean or rude…!"
"Hm… I guess being around Jasmine was good for him, then," Dawn wondered.
Ciara hummed in agreement. "Y-Yes! He said Jasmine was very strong and taught him lots…!"
Soon, the girls reached the deli and fresh produce section. They browsed around before settling on some packaged salads for themselves and getting in line for the deli counter.
"I-If it's not too much to keep asking… If… you two are both as oblivious as Kenny seemed to think, how did you two get together…?" Ciara asked, looking up at Dawn.
Dawn blushed, looking off. "You know, I couldn't really be mad at Kenny for being jealous, because that's what it took for me to realize I liked Ash. We met Ash's old friend Misty, and they had, er, have a certain… chemistry. I mean, like, Misty was over him by that point, so she kind of treated me like I'm treating you now? She wanted me to go for it, haha." Dawn scratched the back of her head. "So, I'll do the same as her! I'll wish you luck."
Ciara smiled warmly. "Thank you, Dawn! But… How did you two get together?"
"Oh! Well, you know, back on Seafoam, we, uh, watched a sunset together… This Slowpoke was fishing for Shelder. It caught one. It was magnificent." Dawn stared ahead, smiling. She was remembering the scene vividly. Ash had been so stupid at first, but it was completely and utterly worth it. "I told him I wanted us to be like that Shelder and the Slowpoke - get stronger together. He understood that."
The younger girl giggled behind her hands, bouncing on her heels. "That sounds so cute! Very romantic, Dawn."
She was sure glad Ciara thought so, because that evening hadn't exactly been easy on the two of them. But, Ciara didn't need to know that.
Speaking of the two of them, Dawn suddenly realized there would be two more hungry mouths to feed. "Oh, dang, Ash and Kenny haven't eaten!" An idea struck her. Dawn grinned down at Ciara, plotting already. "Say… Ciara, why don't you pick out something for Kenny to eat, huh? I'm gonna decide on what to get Ash."
Picking up on Dawn's implication, Ciara blushed. She fiddled with her skirt. "T-That's alright for a girlfriend to do for her boyfriend, but would Kenny be okay with me just… C-Choosing things for him like that?!"
The older girl waved off Ciara's concerns. "It'll be fine; you're just showing him that you care." Looking up at the menu, Dawn shrugged. "I guess I should order number eight for Ash."
"... Dawn, that's a family lunch…!"
"Trust me, he'll eat it all."
Taking Dawn's lead, Ciara looked at the menu. She smiled upon seeing one particular meal combination. Maybe Kenny would like that?
Still aflutter at the thought of doing something like this for her crush, the lavender haired girl hid her face in her hands again, giggling. "Gosh…"
After a long walk with Pikachu, Ash felt certain of his feelings, motivations, and influences. Some of them he hadn't really thought about in years. It had been unfair to push people away as he had done, but he couldn't beat himself up over it. He knew better now. He could act on it better now.
"Thanks for listening, buddy," he gratefully said to his companion pokemon as the duo entered the Pokemon Center.
"Chu," Pikachu earnestly answered, happy to lend an ear to his trainer.
Just as the two were about to pass the nurse's station and head back to their room, they spotted the catalyst of Ash's emotional growth for the day.
The two boy's eyes met. Ash paused mid-step and Kenny froze from where he was gathering his pokeballs off the tray the nurse had left for him.
The moment ended with Kenny frowning, snatching up the rest of his pokeballs and turning his back on Ash very quickly.
"Hey! Wait!" the trainer shouted, jogging over to catch up with the coordinator.
Standing in front of the brunette, Ash spoke again. "I wanna talk to you!"
Kenny narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "What do you want?" There wasn't anything Ash had to say that Kenny figured he wanted to hear. "I'm not your rival," he snarled, "I'm not even a close friend or anything. So, what do you want?"
Caught off-guard, Ash winced. He thought he and Kenny were rather close. Was the shorter boy really going to throw the friendship they'd built up over the course of Ash's journey in Sinnoh over a girl? Sure, the girl was Dawn and she was magnificent, but did that mean they couldn't be friends? "Kenny, don't be like that. I know how you felt, buddy."
That set the shorter boy off. He was moments from shouting in Ash's face before peering at his surroundings. He let out a huff, crossing his arms over his chest.. "I don't think you do, but go on."
Scratching the back of his head, the trainer gestured with a tilt of his head towards the stairs. "I kinda wanna talk about this in private."
"There's balconies on the second floor," Kenny curtly suggested. "I'm sure there's an empty one. We can chat there."
The sun was edging towards the horizon when they walked out to the balcony, but orange light wasn't yet filtering their world. Kenny at once leaned against the wall near the door while Ash rested his weight against the railing, where Pikachu stood. A heavy silence rested between the two. They didn't make eye contact.
Crossing his arms, the trainer looked off. "I, uh, wasn't being oblivious. Before, I mean." He looked up. "I think I was ignoring romance."
Confused by this revelation, Kenny's nose crinkled while he narrowed his eyes. "What? Why?" he scoffed.
"You ever heard of the fourth Sensational Sister of the Cerulean Gym?"
The coordinator nodded. "Yeah. I took a train from Johto to Kanto a few months ago as a little reward. She was there, managing the pokemon during one of the underwater plays."
"I used to travel with her." He finally looked up, making eye contact with Kenny. "There was… Well, dammit, there was something there!" He grew frustrated, scratching the back of his head before shoving his hands in his pockets. "I don't know what it was. I mean, I think we liked each other? We didn't do anything about it, though. Then, we split up and it just - it bothered me! So, I didn't wanna think about it and I did pretty good job not thinking about it for a long time."
Snorting at the end of his own spiel, Ash looked at the ground, kicking at the air absently. "So, don't go running your mouth like that anymore, alright? I know what it's like. Stop thinking no one's on your side."
After a brief pause of waiting for Ash to continue, Kenny sighed. "I guess that's what Brock was trying to protect me from when he told me to go for broke with love." He clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "As much as I'm not crazy about what happened, I guess it'll be okay, huh? I tried to make myself understood and I don't have any regrets about what I did. I tried to approach her."
Rolling his eyes, Ash tried to lighten the mood again. He wasn't the biggest fan of dwelling on negative feelings. "Yeah, yeah, we all benefit from my screw-ups. Wish Brock could have warned me, too."
Laughing a bit at Ash's humor, the coordinator walked over, putting a slight distance between the two boys but looking out over the city. "So, what happens now? I'm not mad anymore. I actually wasn't for the most part when you spotted me down stairs. My pride and feelings are hurt, yeah, but give me a little bit and I can be happy for you and Dee Dee. I'll move on."
"Well, first, you should probably stop calling Dawn Dee Dee. She hates that name." Reaching over to ruffle the shorter boy's hair, Ash put on a cocky grin. "And, second: give me a rematch. A real rematch. I thought about it while I was thinkin' 'bout Misty, and you just battled me way back in Sinnoh just because you wanted Dawn's attention, didn't you?"
"Yeah… Just her attention," Kenny mumbled, knowing his intention to make Dawn travel with him hadn't been the noblest thing he'd ever done.
"So, let's go for it! Floatzel deserves a good match against Empoleon! Plus, it'll be fun and then we can be friends again! Nothing like a good battle to clear the air!" Ash encouraged.
"You know what? You're right!" Kenny agreed, pushing himself off the railing. "I'd like that a lot."
"Heh." Walking towards the door after allowing his partner to mount his shoulder, Ash kept his chin high… Before making a mad dash. "Last one out the door is a rotten Exeggcute!"
"W-What?! Ash, you dirty cheater!" Kenny yelled before bounding after.
Despite this, the two of them laughing could be heard down the stairs.
"You cheater…!" A growing, broad-shouldered brunette growled in the midst of a huff as he rushed down railed stairs, the smile spreading on his cheeks betraying him.
"You're only saying that 'cause you're losing," Ash quipped through a grin, forcing himself to a halt when he found the center to be a bit more crowded than he'd remembered. Skidding to a stop, Pikachu only barely managing to cling to his collar, Ash pulled down the brim of his cap, heat raising in his cheeks at the few dirty looks he got. Maybe he was getting to the age where that behavior was less tolerated.
Kenny's playful beaming turned to a mischievous, self-satisfied smile. While Ash had gotten the jump on him in speed, Kenny got to keep his integrity as he strolled through the center, unnoticed by the cluster of trainers and their pokemon in the lobby. While Ash dragged his feet in shame, Kenny had kept his self-respect. So, who was the real winner here?
"Smooth," the coordinator prodded after they both passed through the sliding glass doors.
"Shut up," was all Ash had to say. When he finally lifted his gaze from the ground, though, his slump dissipated quickly. A collection of marked battlefields lay parallel to the next outside of the Pokemon Center, making full use of the grassless patches of land that peppered the island.
A majority of them were taken, occupied by pairs of trainers who competed and practiced appeals, giving any onlooker quite the sneak preview of the Wallace Cup. Flames spat in attempts at coordinated, beautiful patterns, pairs of quadruped pokemon attempting to gracefully trounce one another, and flashes of lightning and ice preluding what would soon become appeals and battle round performances. The lack of flashy outfit's characteristic of Sinnoh's Super Contests made it a bit harder to tell, but the island was clearly crowded with coordinators attempting to make a name for themselves.
"Never mind that," Ash dismissed his embarrassment, beaming at all the activity. "Look at all these coordinators! Looks like you've got some serious competition." He looked to Kenny.
"Look, if you're trying to psyche me out…"
"You kidding? I'm kind of jealous! You'll get to test yourself against all these different opponents… I gotta wait a couple more months for my chance." He jerked a thumb towards one of the few open fields. "C'mon. I'm sure our match'll get you pumped for the big event!"
"I'll make sure Empoleon's ready to wipe the floor with everyone else!" Kenny boasted, rushing to his box on the field before casually tossing one of his pokeballs towards the ground before him.
A flash was spat from the ball, soon taking the regal form of Empoleon, himself. Upon spotting Ash, the creature cawed in greeting. "Empol!" He crouched with his wings hovering outward, his well-polished crown glimmering under the bright noontime sun.
"Good to see you, Empoleon!" Ash greeted, quickly gripping a sphere of his own to toss.
"Floatzel, you're up!"
The grown Sea Weasel crossed his arms over his chest in typical tough-guy fashion, eyeing the opposite water type like a hawk. "Float!" A toothy grin formed. He definitely remembered this guy… It was time for a rematch with a very different result.
"Pol…" The emperor's pitch-black eyes glimmered. If this was the same Buizel he'd faced in the past… well, that was something of a comfortable win, but not only had he evolved, but he looked more experienced. This would probably end up being an actual challenge. A perfect way to start the Wallace Cup off.
"Alright, time for round two!" Ash grinned, throwing a finger forward. "Floatzel, Aqua jet!"
A torrent exploded around the mammal, launching his body with a grunt towards Empoleon in a missile of raging water.
"Nice try," Kenny quipped with confidence. "Stop it in its tracks with Grass Knot!"
Before an exclamation of shock could even leave Ash's lips, two glowing, vibrant green roots shot out of the ground, quickly ensnaring and capturing Floatzel. The water veil burst and dissipated, leaving the water type helpless.
Or, so Kenny would like to believe.
"Grass Knot…! That's a new one." Ash grinned, a toothy smile picking up in the corner of his mouth. "But, it's not enough to stop us! Break out of that with Ice Punch!" He raised a fist.
"Float…!" Floatzel raised an arm, his paw quickly glowing with chilling energy.
Kenny frowned. "You're not getting away with that. Empoleon, Drill Peck!"
Empoleon twisted his burly form, launching at Floatzel like a spinning top.
"Zel!" A swing of the frosted limb snapped through the roots like a Scyther's blade and a brittle branch. By time the frosted plant began to descend, though, Floatzel found himself face-to-face with the spinning drill, ready to do him in.
"They've gotten fast… Brick Break!" Ash ordered.
Gravity hadn't reeled him in yet. The suspended Floatzel raised both of his paws over his head, canines glimmering as fighting spirit was packed into both of his paws. A twist of his hips just eluded the fierce drill. Floatzel took this opportunity to cry out, swinging both of his shining limbs down upon Empoleon in an axe handle.
The ground broke and tremored in a show of brutality not quite characteristic of contest battles. Floatzel distanced himself from the dusty debris, grinning at his success. Nice try, Happy Feet.
Kenny scowled, his thumb digging into his palm. "Hydro Cannon!"
The dirt began to disperse, what remained illuminated by a large, teal orb before Empoleon's beak. The proud pokemon cawed with one steely flipper supporting him, firing the blast.
Ash's heart began to pound at the sight of the most powerful known water type move. But he had to keep his cool. Brows furrowing, he threw his arm up to point towards the sky. "Dodge, with Aqua Jet!"
Floatzel launched off, ribboning around the watery blast to escape it above.
"Now they're trapped… Keep up that Aqua Jet!"
Already airborne, Floatzel peaked, turning into a straight dive towards Empoleon.
Huffing and low on energy, Empoleon was struck. Skidding back, he dragged his wings across the dirt with grace that did even his vulnerable position justice. That Hydro Cannon had been tiring, but if a single Aqua Jet was the price, he'd be fine to carry on.
This upset was beginning to wear on Kenny's pride. Just how strong was Ash? "I've gotta admit, you've gotten stronger. Let's see just how much you can handle! Flash Cannon!"
"Pol!" Empoleon shrieked, firing a silver burst of energy from his beak.
Ash's fist closed. Floatzel was just landing and that was coming in fast. "Sonic Boom!"
Floatzel didn't miss a beat, landing on one foot to twist his hips, launching a sound wave from his tails. "Zel!"
The projectile collided with Flash Cannon, causing the lustrous blast to splash and slow, but it continued on its path, stubborn to run down the water type.
"More Sonic Boom! Stop that attack!" Ash encouraged.
"Zel! Zel! Zel!" Floatzel continued to spin, launching one wave after the next, cutting into the Flash Cannon. The attack soon began to splinter and lost its momentum completely, dissipating.
Kenny's canines bared. How hard could it be to beat this guy? "Grass Knot!"
"Aqua Jet!"
Another pair of vibrant roots shot up, only to claw and reach for their target in vain. By time they surfaced and struck, the watery jet was well above ground, shooting towards Empoleon.
"Now, time for our signature… Let's make this an Ice Aqua Jet, with Ice Punch!"
"Float!" The soaring pokemon chanted, raising a fist inside his jet, covering it in an icy glow. With that, he spun, pulling a swirling trail of frost through the current. What had just been an Aqua Jet had turned into a spiraling drill of ice, spinning towards Empoleon.
"Now he can make Ice Aqua Jet on his own!?" Kenny gawked, nearly seething with jealousy. Though, this time, it was over skills, rather than the bluenette they both knew well. "That's too risky. Empoleon, stop it with Drill Peck!"
Empoleon mirrored his opponent, launching at Floatzel like a spear-tipped, spinning top.
Both trainers kept their eyes locked on the spectacle, hearts skipping a beat when their pokemon collided.
Over everything else, shattered ice could be heard in an ear-ringing crash. Floatzel and Empoleon hovered above, their momentum cancelled. Their narrowed eyes met, looks of competitive fury challenging one another.
This was their chance, Kenny figured, watching them from below. "Hydro Cannon!"
Empoleon grinned before parting his beak wide, gathering power.
"Brick Break!" Ash shouted, motioning an uppercut.
"Float…" The Sea Weasel streamlined his body, diving at the attacking Empoleon. The shining, teal orb in the penguin's mouth made his heart jump. "Zel!" He ducked, throwing a fist forward.
One pokemon's focus was shattered, his resolve breaking.
A terrible, breathtaking pain knocked all of the oxygen from Empoleon's lungs, his pupils shrinking to the size of pin points. He squawked a painful squawk, bested by a punch to the abdomen. The punch even followed through, knocking him upward before gravity took over.
Soon enough, Empoleon hit the ground.
"...! Empoleon!" The chestnut-haired coordinator panicked, leaning forward to peer at his pokemon. He was disappointed to find that, unsurprisingly, there were swirls in his eyes.
Floatzel landed on his hind legs, huffing, his pride sated.
"Dang," Kenny said, shaking his head. He looked up at Ash after, smiling. "Congrats."
"Thanks!" Ash enthusiastically said back. "Floatzel, you really ruled out there!"
"Flo," the orange pokemon responded, swishing his tails proudly.
At that time, both boys heard clapping. They looked over, spotting Ciara and Dawn both standing on the sidelines. Dawn was, as typical of her, much more enthusiastic about it, clapping wildly and hooting while she was at it. Ciara, on the other hand, did something akin to a golf clap.
"Haha, you guys saw that?" Kenny asked with a chuckle. After the girls nodded, he looked to Ash. "Well… At least I got some ideas out of the match. I've been wanting to teach my Floatzel that Ice Aqua Jet move of yours since I saw it back in Sinnoh. Seeing it again might help…"
Ash, grinning, put his hands behind his head. "Huh? You gonna steal my moves, Kenny?" He laughed then. "Nah, it's fine if you do!" The trainer was then distracted. "Mm… What's that smell?"
Dawn picked up one of the bags she'd left on the bench behind herself and Ciara. "We brought dinner!"
"Dinner?! Oh boy!" Ash at once picked up Floatzel and ran off the field. The shocked pokemon needed a moment to process the fact he was being carried like luggage. The dash didn't stop there. Dawn let out a yelp, too, as Ash picked her up by the waist, making a beeline for the nearest table he saw.
"... Wow," Kenny said after that affair.
Ciara, realizing this was her chance, picked up the box of food she'd picked out for Kenny. She walked over, shyly holding it before her. "H-Here. I picked this up for you."
The older coordinator's eyes widened but he accepted it. "Oh! Thanks." After a brief moment of opening the box and realizing the food was actually pretty good looking, Kenny looked back to Ciara. "Hey, wanna help me eat this? Just the two of us?"
Blushing, the dark skinned girl shook her head. "A-Ah, I'm already full!"
"Well… I'm not quite ready to hang out with Dawn yet," Kenny confessed. "So, will you keep me company?"
Fiddling with her hands before nodding, Ciara meekly followed after Kenny.
Across the way, Dawn couldn't help but smile as she watched. "Aw, I'm so happy for Ciara."
Putting down the cup of mashed potatoes he'd polished off already, Ash burped before wiping his mouth. "What's up?"
"They're eating alone. Er, Kenny's eating with Ciara." Turning to Ash, Dawn tilted her head. "What did you two even talk about?"
Ash chuckled, holding a sandwich in one hand. "Um, well… Romance."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Huh," she tutted, crossing her legs and leaning on her hands. "Never would have expected that. I figured that you two would have just battled and made up."
"Well, that's a part of why we did battle-to get rid of any bad feelings."
"I wonder if Kenny'll be okay…"
Ash nodded, taking a huge bite out of his sandwich. "Kenny'll be fine. He just needs time."
"I hope you're right," Dawn mused, her vision turning to the large structure that would serve as the home of the Wallace Cup. Even from another part of the island, it was impressive. "I'd hate for him to feel less than his best for a contest like this. Especially if it was my fault."
"Hey, he'll be ready by then." Ash laid a gloved hand upon the girl's shoulder, a wide smile brimming with confidence. With a fist raised, he continued. "No need to worry, right?"
Her lips creased upward, the urge to roll her eyes fondly too strong to resist. "There you go again, using my catchphrase."
"Only because it's true."
"Right… No need to worry!" Ash's enthusiasm was contagious. Dawn's eyes homed in on the building once more, blue brows knit and a smirk picking up on her glossed lips. "Once we get in there… May the best coordinator win!"
