Midsummer Dreams

Midsummer Dreams

By Trish

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. I don't own Puck or any Shakespearean quotes - they belong to William Shakespeare. I do own Callie and the rights to this series.

A/N: This is the sequel to my Pokéspeare fic "Midsummer Madness". YOU MUST READ THAT FIRST - OTHERWISE THIS WILL NOT MAKE SENSE. This is a light-hearted, slightly insane fic in which I mess with the characters (again). Not to be taken too seriously. This takes place two years after the events of "Madness" so Ash & Misty are both 26. Oh yeah - and look for small cameo appearances from some of my pals and fellow FF.Net authors. And me, of course. Can't just let you peeps have all the fun - and you know who you all are too….. ^_^

Prologue: Something is happening in the Stadium of Indigo Plateau

The small town of Indigo Plateau was bursting with curiosity. For the past few days, there had been a steady stream of traffic and people passing through to the international headquarters of the renowned Pokémon League down the road. This, was not unusual of course, as Indigo Stadium was the venue for both the Indigo League and Pokémon Master competitions. However, what was unusual was that this was taking place in July, in the middle of summer.

Summer was the traditional off-season for the major Leagues - Indigo, Orange and Johto. The competitions were always scheduled to take place in the cooler months of the year - Indigo was held in April, Johto in May, Indigo in September, and the Masters Competition was held in October. Summer was when the Gyms were allowed to close down and the Leaders to take their annual holidays, allowing those with families to spend the summer vacation with their kids. The Headquarters was pretty much deserted at this time of year, with only a skeleton staff to handle any trainer enquiries.

But, for the past week, there had been a constant coming and going of large trucks, construction equipment, and official cars down that very road. Loud noises coming from the Stadium indicated that some major construction work was going on. The Headquarters seemed to be a hive of activity with more staff than was normal for this time of year. The local hotels, motels and inns were experiencing a sudden increase in the number of bookings over the coming weeks. The townsfolk noticed that the League's small fleet of private jets were constantly on the move. They knew that these planes were for the exclusive use of the President, the Committee, the Grand Master, the Elite Four, League Champions and the leaders of the Orange and Johto Leagues. What in the world was going on?

The Stadium bustled with frenzied activity, so no one noticed a small boy with his pet Mareep walk through the huge gates and pause at the entrance to the general stands. "Joe, what are you doing? You know we're not supposed to be here!" a voice cried out. The boy, Joe, turned to see his older brother Chris run up to him.

"I just wanna have a look," Joe tried to explain, but his nine year old brother wouldn't let him.

"The sign said that only special people are allowed in here for the time being."

"But I'm a special person! Mummy said so last night."

"Not that type of special. Anyway, you shouldn't be so curious. Curiosity killed the cat you know."

Joe looked confused. "But I'm not a cat!" Chris sighed. He didn't know why he bothered to explain things - his brother was only five years old after all. Might as well have a look while they were here.

Wooden floor boards covered the whole field to protect the battle area from any damage. Huge white marquees were being erected over them, the sea of canvas stretching from one end of the stadium to another. Large stalls were being set up in rows and different coloured banners were being strung up. Workers were scurrying to and fro with poles, boards, machines, equipment and sign boards. The two boys stood in awe, until at last Joe spoke up, "Is there gonna be a fun fair on here?"

"Not exactly," came a voice from behind them. They swung around to see a dark-haired young man leaning against the opposite wall. The man looked to be in his mid twenties, and was dressed casually in a black t-shirt and blue jeans and sun glasses. A laminated pass swung from a long chain around his neck, and Chris guessed that this man was one of those 'special' people allowed on the site. The man smiled. "What's going to happen here is something that the League's never done before. A Pokémon League Convention and Conference set to last for two weeks. It's gonna be huge - all Gym Leaders from the three major Leagues will be there - Indigo, Orange and Johto. The Elite Four, the League Champions and the Pokémon Masters will all be there. Plus the top scientists, breeders, you name it - they'll be there. Anyone can come - it's open to the general public. You might see your favourite trainer there and ask them for a few tips."

"Wow!" the two boys exclaimed. "Sounds great!"

"It does, doesn't it?" Their new acquaintance agreed. The Mareep, which had been sitting quietly at Joe's feet, got up and trotted over to the stranger. The man grinned and knelt down to the Pokémon before putting his hand on it's fleece.

"Uh, sir, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Chris said hurriedly. "He might…."

"Shock me?" the stranger finished for him. He chuckled, "Don't worry about me. I'm used to Electric Pokémon." He proceeded to stroke the soft wool, and the Mareep bleated in contentment. "What's his name?"

"Rambo, sir" Joe piped up.

"Rambo eh? Well, Rambo, buddy," the man addressed the sheep, "One day you might evolve into Flaaffy and then into Ampharos. Perhaps you can meet my Ampharos at the convention." The two boys giggled as Rambo answered him with a single "baaaa".

The stranger stood back up and stretched. "That's a very nice Mareep you've got there, kids. You've done an excellent job of raising it."

"Thank you, sir."

A shout from behind startled them, "I've finally found you!" The two boys watched as a purple-haired man rushed up to their new friend. "Professor Oak's on the phone for you, Ash," he managed to gasp.

Chris's jaw dropped. Ash? As in Ash Ketchum? The Pokémon Grand Master? They had been chatting to him? And he had praised their Mareep too!

Ash noticed his expression and grinned. "Yeah, it's me. And the guy who just blew my cover is my personal assistant/public relations spokesman, James." James gave them a goofy smile.

Ash shook each boy's hand. "Nice meeting you two. I hope to see you at the Convention next week," he said before he walked off with James.

The two boys stood there, speechless. Then Joe said the one word which summed up their feelings, "Cool."

The next day, the workers had finished setting up the Stadium. All that needed to be done now was to prepare for the arrival of the various Gym Leaders and the members of the public who would be attending the event. And so they came, in ever increasing numbers until they were all there. For the next fortnight all would be gathered in the one place, under the giant marquees of Indigo Stadium. It would be perfect.

It would be the perfect opportunity for anyone with a mischievous sense of humour to wreak havoc. Especially if that someone could work magic……

A/N: You peeps wanted a sequel - you got it! This is a romantic comedy - so please do not take everything that happens seriously. I know that the name for the Mareep is rather feeble - but hey - that's what I named one of my Mareep in Gold. My Ampharos is called "Lamb Chops" ^_^ . Read & Review Peeps! Flamers will be fed to my Tassie Devils.

One more thing. Please do not tell me in the review that the thing you disliked about the story is my portrayal of Pikachu as a female because Pikachu is a male. Pikachu has never been referred to in the show as any gender other than "it" and I am not going by the magna. This is my story and so my view that Pikachu is female stays. We are all entitled to our own opinions. We should respect that right. We are also entitled to disagree with other opinions. We should also respect that right. But we should never flame an author just because we dislike his/her opinions on a certain character. Please review a story for the story's sake and not the characterisations. Thank you.