Last time, on "Pokemon: The Heart of the Cards...

The Pokepals meet up with their strangest opponent yet: a young girl gifted with strong psychic power. Although most people are attracted by her ornate clothing, the one thing that puzzles our heroes is her self taken vow of silence...she will only speak to those she deems worthy enough to speak to.

However, she isn't interested in Ash's naivete or Misty's spirit...instead, she is drawn to Brock's firey passion and deep wisdom; and after a hard fought duel for the Marsh Crest, she finds Brock's skill great enough to warrant spoken words--a blessing that may carry them through the semifinals....and maybe the Legendary Cards!

What awaits our heroes today? Find out!

The Heart of the Cards, part 34: Dancing By the Dream River

"Good morning, all!" Maya smiled as she entered the room, where the group was busy getting dressed.

"Mornin'..." Brock called from the stove, where he was tending to a skillet full of simmering bacon. "Got any plans for us today?"

"Well, as far as I know, you guys have no challenges--" Maya started, when she heard some noisy clacking coming down the hall. "What's that noise?"

"Sounds to me like Ash has been dancing..." Brock replied as Ash walked into the center of the room, set a small tape deck nearby the couch, and loaded a tape inside. "What are you dancing to?"

"A song I found...it's called the 'Dream River Set'." Ash replied as he knelt down to stretch his legs. "When I took dancing lessons, that was one of the sets we often danced to...and I'm amazed that I still remember the steps to the dance after all this time!"

"A set, you say?" Maya was interested. "What tunes are in it? What kinds of dances are they? How do you do them?"...

"Easy, Maya...I can only answer one question at a time!" Ash laughed. "The 'Dream River Set' has three tunes in it, all reels: 'The Torchic's Fire'; 'The Road to Celadon', and the title reel, 'The Dream River's Reel'..."

"What's a reel?" Misty asked as she came down the hall and settled before the table. "I'm not that well versed in types of dances..."

"Okay...I'll try to explain it as simply as I can..." Ash assured Misty as he sat on the floor, waiting for his tape to rewind. "Basically, a reel is a dance tune usually played in a moderate 4-4 time..."

"That's four beats to the measure, right?" Misty asked. "Like counting 'one, two, three, four'? Or is that a polka?...no wait, maybe that's a waltz..."

"No, a polka goes 'one-and-two-and-one-and-two-and...' Brock explained as he shut the stove off and began cleaning the skillet. "and a waltz is counted in threes, like 'one-two-three, one-two-three'...in 4-4 time, you're counting 'one, two, three, four; one, two, three, four....'"

"Right...thanks, Brock..." Ash replied. "The tune, on the other hand, is divided up into two sections: an 'A' section and a 'B' section..."

"Huh?" Misty was even more confused. "I know songs are divided into parts, but sections?"

"Look at it this way..." Brock began as he found a space on the couch and got comfortable. "You know how in most songs, there's verses and a chorus?"

"Yeah..." Misty replied. "Your point?"

"The verse is the 'A' section, and the chorus is the 'B' section, so the form of the song is 'ABAB'" Brock explained. "Got it now?"

"Oh, okay..." Misty giggled. "I must not have been paying attention in music class when I was little!"

"However..." Ash concluded, "Both sections repeat twice, so you're hearing the form of 'AABB'. Some reels even have C and D sections." He was about to say more when he heard a CLACK! from the tape deck. "I think my tape's ready..." Everyone watched as Ash pressed 'PLAY', walked out in the middle of the floor, and struck a pose.

"Pika pi..." Pikachu watched intently from the coffee table. However, he was caught off guard by a sudden blast of music from the tape deck, sending him tumbling to the floor below.

"Did that scare you?" Misty giggled as she stopped watching Ash's leaping and jumping long enough to cradle Pikachu in her arms. Pikachu just smiled, mesmerized by all the twirling, jumping, and stomping Ash was doing, his shoes clicking a hypnotic rhythm to the beat...

CENTER---------/CENTER

"Wow...weren't those shows amazing?" Misty smiled.

"Actually, I think Pikachu liked Ash's dancing more..." Brock commented, gesturing to Ash, who was still stomping and jumping on the living room floor.

"He wowed the crowd, didn't he, Maya?" Michael laughed as he settled on the couch to watch Ash's second performance.

"I'm amazed he can even pull off moves like that!" Maya replied as she opened the window. No sooner had she said that, did a tennis ball come flying in the room!

"What the?" Misty was confused. "What's a tennis ball doing in here?"

"What tennis ball?" Ash walked in the room and removed his dance shoes, curious as to what was going on.

"The one that came flying in the window just now...." Maya explained, gesturing to the ball lying in the center of the floor.

Pikachu then noticed a tiny slip of paper dangling from the ball. "Pikapi! Pika chu!"

"A note?" Ash was curious. "What does it say?"

"I'll read it..." With that, Brock carefully untied the paper and unfolded it, periodically smoothing out the wrinkles. "Let's see...it says:

Hey!

Saw your dancing out on the square today...and needless to say, you're quite good, but not as good as I, Gary the Magnificent!...."

"WHAT???" Misty gasped.

Ash groaned. "And I thought Gary bothered me enough in the arena...what does he want?"

"And furthermore, why is he calling himself 'The Magnificent' all of a sudden?" Misty agreed.

"Hey, calm down, you guys, let me read the rest of it!" Brock assured the others, then turned his attention back to the note. "Let's see here..."

if you want to prove to me that you're the greatest performer, then I give you the honor of performing with yours truly. Meet at the Arts Center tonight for the ultimate challenge!

Signed, Gary." With that, he crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash. "Well, Ash, start stretching..."

"I know..." Ash sighed as he knelt back on the floor and began stretching again. "This time, I'm going to pull out all the stops and expose Gary for who he really is!"

"He does have many talents..." Maya sighed, "and he knows how to use them well...the problem is that his ego gets in the way too often, and because of that, he often winds up flat on his face..." With that thought in mind, she ran upstairs and brought down the rest of Ash's dancing gear. "You don't mind if we are your stage managers, do you Ash?" she asked as she began gathering up pairs of dancing shoes, various costumes, and several top hats and putting them in a blue bag with a gold star in the center.

"It's okay..." Ash replied as he walked off to the bathroom. "I appriciate the help though..."

---------

That night...

"Here you are, sir!" a cabbie replied as he pulled up to the curb before the Titian Arts Center.

Gary stepped out of the cab with his gear and yawned, refreshed from the ride. "How much, my good sir?" he asked as he reached for his wallet and searched for some change to pay his fare.

The cabbie thought for a moment, then replied "Your total comes to 200 credits for a 45 minute trip."

"Two hundred credits?" Gary smiled as he handed some 100 credit bills over to the cabbie. "By all means, take three hundred as my little thank you for the prompt service...besides, consider that you've had the honor of transporting one of the rising stars of Pallet Town tonight!"

The cabbie just laughed and prepared to drive off. "At any rate, thanks for the tip, and have a good evening, sir." With that, he sped off into the traffic.

Gary just smirked as he approached the entrance to the arts center. "Laugh all you like, but the marquee doesn't lie! For I am Gary Oak, star of the show!" He proudly glanced up at the glittering marquee... but did a double take when he noticed that it read "Show Tonite: Starring ASH KETCHUM And Gary Oak" Ash's name was glittering in shiny rainbow colors, but Gary's only shone a soft, golden yellow. "WHAT!!!! My rival's name over mine???"

"What's the matter, Gary?" Karina, one of Gary's cheerleaders, asked as she walked out to the curb. "Is everything okay?"

"No everything's not okay..." Gary sighed, dejected and angered. "See how my rival's name is in the special glittery letters and my name's in the boring gold letters?"

"What's so bad about that?" Karina asked as she escorted Gary inside.

"I want MY name in the rainbow shiny letters!" Gary replied, frustrated. "I'm the star, and you know it!"

"Gary, Gary, going far! He's our little superstar!" chanted the other cheerleaders as Gary trudged inside.

---------

"Here we are, Pikachu!" Ash laughed as he opened the silver door with the star on the front. "This is the room where the star gets ready!"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu giggled as he handed over Ash's dance shoes.

"Do we have everything for the show?" Ash asked Misty.

"Don't look at me..." Misty replied as she set out Ash's dancing gear. "Brock's the one with the checklist..."

"Then, let's go over it really quick, just to be sure." With that, Brock reached for the list and looked over the items. "Costumes?"

"Check!" Maya replied as she laid a pile of different costumes on a nearby cot.

"Hats?" Brock read off the next item.

"Check!" Misty replied as she laid out the differently colored top hats in a row on a small table.

"I pick the red one..." Ash interrupted as he took the red top hat and the matching costume, then ducked behind a screen in the corner to change.

Brock was about to read off the next item when he heard a door slam, followed by footsteps. "What was that?"

"Sounds like Gary's here...and he's pretty steamed." Maya replied. Sure enough, the group heard Gary's ranting coming from the manager's office. "Oh yeah? Well, Ash couldn't draw Venonats even if he were covered in syrup!"

"We'll see about that..." Misty giggled. Brock smiled in agreement.

Just then, the office door opened, and the group heard Gary proclaim "Okay, this performance will prove I'm the star!" With that, he stormed down the hall in a huff.

"What was that?" Ash asked as he emerged from the screen, now completely decked out in red.

"Oh, Gary's just mad that he didn't get the sparkling rainbow letters on the marquee and you did." Misty replied.

"Now, where were we..." Brock studied the checklist for a moment, then continued naming off items. "Shoes?"

"Pika!" Pikachu replied, handing Ash his shoes.

"Cane?" Brock replied.

"Double check!" Maya replied, handing a black cane to Ash. Just then, she heard a loud "HMPH!" from the door, followed by the door across the hallway slamming. "I think that was Gary's opinion of you getting the starred door..."

"You know how he is...has to prove he's the best at everything..." Michael sighed. "Ash, your Pokeflute and a few other things are in your prop box in the wings...I already brought it out there."

"Thanks!" Ash replied as he checked his appearance in the mirror. "How do I look, you guys?"

"Pika..." Pikachu was impressed.

"You look handsome!" Maya agreed. Just then, the group heard more ranting coming from across the hall. "There can only be one explanation for white tile in a dressing room! And THAT'S it!"

Michael sighed. "Calm down, Gary...Ash is the star, so get over it."

"Really..." Misty grumbled, annoyed from all the complaining coming from the hallway.

Just then a knock came at the door. "Five minutes, Sir Ketchum!"

"Be right there!" Ash called back, then opened the door. "Wish me luck, you guys!"

"Break a leg!" Brock smiled.

Ash was puzzled. "That would affect my dancing!" he protested.

"That's show biz talk for 'good luck'. Misty sighed as Ash disappeared into the wings...

---------

"Gary?" Ash stepped out into the wings, where Gary, clad in a blue outfit, was nervously glancing at the clock, counting down the minutes to show time. "You ready?"

"I guess..." Gary sighed. "One thing, try not to trip me up, please..."

"I'll try, Gary..." Ash sighed, breathing deeply to rid himself of the Beautiflies that were fluttering in his stomach.

Just then, Gary saw the clock flash 'IT'S SHOW TIME!' "We're on!" He lead Ash out to their places onstage to the cheers of the crowd. When the applause subsided, the band struck up a light, bouncy melody...

The pair started by cross-stepping in place, then moved off towards the left, where they touched heels, then toes, to the floor, then took three steps back...heel, toe, and three steps back...then they paraded across the stage, kicking up their heels in time to the beat. Upon return to center stage, they did another set of cross-steps before dancing offstage. When they were done, the crowd applauded.

Misty stood waiting for Ash backstage. "Great job!"

"Go, Go, Gary, Go, Go!" cheered Gary's cheerleaders as Gary returned to his side of the wings.

"Go on Ash!" Misty urged, lightly shoving Ash towards the stage entrance.

"What?" Ash was confused.

"Go out and take a bow, dance master!" Brock coaxed. With that, he watched as Ash stepped out before the crowd and took a sweeping bow, then returned to the wings.

Maya smiled. "You're good at taking bows, you know that?..."

Gary, however, was elated by the applause. "Boy, listen to that, girls! They love me!" He raced out on the stage to take a bow...only to be greeted by silence so quiet, you could hear the Nincadas chirping. Some audience... he thought as he stormed backstage.

Ash meanwhile, peeked out from the wings...and the crowd began to cheer again! Humbled by the applause, he took a second bow...only to have Gary block his exit. "Huh?"

"I'm sick of people taking bows for my talent!" Gary grumbled. "Now, do your own dance! I challenge you! Dance, if you know what's good for you!"

"Okay, okay..." and Ash did a quick step. "Shave and a haircut...two bits!" The audience cheered even louder!

Gary was unimpressed. "Har-dee har har...if they liked that mess, then they've got the fever for some real hoofing! I'll show'em!" He motioned to the band. "Maestro, something with a feverish tempo, C major, shuffle feel..." The band obliged, and began playing a song Ash recognized as "Fever" from Dr. Mario!

Misty watched as Gary twirled and jumped about the stage to the pounding beat. "He said the audience has a fever..."

"How appropriate that the band played 'Fever'...since Gary's dancing like he has one!" Brock laughed. At this, Gary slid before the audience, eager for applause...only to be greeted by the chirping Nincadas again!

"I don't think the audience has that fever..." Ash sighed...

---------

Ash watched from backstage as the lights came up on a table that read 'GARY and his Trained Pidgeys'. "Gary's stil trying to one up me?" he asked as he watched Gary set up various props: a tiny swimming pool, a Pidgey sized tightrope....

"Knowing him, the Pidgeys are all going to fly out the balcony window right about..." Brock started, just in time to see Gary open the cage containing the Pidgeys. "...now..." Sure enough, the Pidgeys fluttered out of the cage, around the stage, and out the balcony window...Gary, befuddled by his mistake, tried to appease the audience by dancing a little--only to be the recipient of a tomato!

"Hey, Ash, I have an idea..." Michael started, gesturing for Ash to come closer...

"What?" Ash was curious...

"Read up on these magic tricks...I've done them before, and they're crowd favorites...especially the "sawing a lady in half" one..." Michael whispered, offering a book with '100 FAVORITE MAGIC TRICKS' on the cover.

"Ooh! I want to be sawed in half!" Misty cried.

"Me too!" Maya agreed.

"Hey, I can only do one of you, okay?" Ash began...but was unheard over the girls' begging.

"All right..." and Brock dug a coin from his pocket. "Heads, Misty gets sawed; tails, Maya gets sawed..." The coin went up...and landed on heads!

YES!!! Misty thought to herself as Michael escorted her to the dressing room.

---------

"And now, here's Ash the Amazing!" proclaimed the announcer as Ash returned to the stage clad in magician's attire.

"Thank you!" Ash called to the crowd. He then removed his hat and laid it on the table. "See? Nothing in there...now watch as I wave my wand and summon a Pokemon from it!" With that, he weaved the wand in circles over the hat and chanted: "Hocus pocus, slickety slam; a razzle-ma-taz, and Alakazam!" On 'Alakazam' a rainbow puff of smoke came from the hat, revealing Pikachu inside. "Pika pi!" he smiled, waving to the applauding crowd.

"Ho hum...I've seen that act before..." Gary sighed from stage right.

"Oh yeah?" Ash asked as he approached Gary and knelt down before his ear. "Are you sure you're getting your money's worth?" At this, he pulled a quarter from Gary's ear!

"Boring..." was Gary's reply.

"All right...for this next one, I'll need some help from my lovely assistant..." Ash smiled as Misty appeared from stage left in a flowing rainbow gown, causing some in the crowd to ooh and ah...even Gary was enraptured!

"Yeah, she's pretty...but what's so nice about a pretty face like her?" Gary chided.

"Glad you asked, my friend!" Ash replied. "She is the only known lady to survive the trial of the Dividing Box!" A spotlight came up on a seemingly normal box, save for spaces to accommodate a person's head and feet.

Gary was dumbfounded. "You mean..."

"Yes...when the box divides, so too will she divide." Ash mused as he paused to grab a fake saw lying in the wings. "Watch carefully...." he instructed Gary as Misty stepped inside the box.

Gary watched, unimpressed as Ash began sawing the box. "I know how it works...Misty's all scrunched up in one end, and that's really a pair of fake feet on the other end..." The crowd paid no heed to his musings.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a lady...divided!" Ash announced, gesturing to the two halves of the box to prove his point. The crowd applauded as Ash reassembled the box, allowing Misty to climb out in one piece...

---------

"Will someone please make him stop?" Maya sighed as she listened to Gary tell one bad joke after another. "He's so desprate to be the star..."

"He wants to be the star, does he..." Misty grumbled as she grabbed a cream pie from the clutter of props. "I'll be glad to show him some stars!" With that, she hurled the pie at Gary with a SPLUT!

"Thank you..." the announcer sighed, relieved that someone had gotten Gary offstage.

Ash peeked onstage, double checking to see if Gary was anywhere nearby...after assuring himself that Gary had disappeared, he stepped out onstage again. "Okay...now, since we were so rudely interrupted...fancy a solo?" The crowd cheered with excitement!...

----------

"Ash...playing a solo?" Gary snickered as he continued taping up the fingerholes to a Pokeflute. "Once Ash takes this instrument, it won't play a single note, no matter what fingering he tries or how hard he blows!" he chortled as he set the taped up Pokeflute in a place where Ash could find it, then slipped to the wings, eager to watch Ash attempt to play his booby trapped instrument.

"For my first number, I'll play the air 'Season of Hope'. Ash began, nervously fingering the Pokeflute in his hands. "Maestro..." He waited as the strings started an ethereal drone, then began to play a soft and mournful melody...

Gary couldn't believe his ears! "Funny...I thought I taped up all the fingerholes...so why is the Pokeflute still playable?" He pondered this question until he heard the cheers of the crowd...then, he grabbed a Pokeflute lying nearby and walked out onstage. "Ash...I'm sorry I've been trying to one up you all night...so can I take a crack at playing something?" he asked.

"Sure..." Ash smiled, stepping aside to the wings as the band began another drone.

"While you keep him busy, look what I found in the prop box!" Brock began, gesturing to a pair of stilts lying in a corner, gathering dust. "Want to try dancing in them?"

"Yeah, after I watch Gary play..." Ash replied, giggling as Gary desperately blew into the instrument, trying to get a note from the Pokeflute.

"He picked up his own boobytrapped instrument!" Maya laughed as Gary threw the instrument backstage and resumed telling half-baked jokes. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees Ash towering over him."

"Look onstage..." Brock whispered, gesturing to a shaking Gary looking up at Ash--who was now in an ornate rainbow costume, complete with a feathered mask; not to mention several feet taller than him!

"Wha....Okay! I give! You're the star!" Gary screamed in panic as Ash whirled about to the beat of the music, amazingly keeping his balance atop the stilts. The crowd roared with laughter as Gary tried to make a beeline for the wings...only to get caught in the path of the giant Ash every time...

---------

"Ash, you're a genius!" Misty smiled as the group returned to the room later that night. "You should've seen the look on Gary's face!"

"I know...too bad Brock didn't take a picture..." Ash replied as he tucked Pikachu in for the night. "Bet you didn't know I could dance on stilts, did you?"

"Pika pika..." Pikachu smiled, then pulled up his covers.

"Okay, guys...the seventh round is tomorrow, so rest well tonight..." Maya cautioned as she turned to leave.

"Night, Maya..." the group called back as they got ready for bed...

What awaits the Pokepals in the next round? Find out!