Chapter 18: Fun in Jublife City Part Three


Brock followed the boy to Route 204 and soon came across the gym he was talking about in concern. A Croagunk greeted them which Brock looked at the Pokemon in surprise. "Croa..." Croagunk said, watching as the trainer and Brock walk up to the gym in concern.

"Hello? Anyone in here?" Brock yelled out noticing the gym door was closed. "If you ask me, it's weird to have a gym here."

The kid nodded. "I wish I had realized that before my Pokemon got stolen from them. HELLO?"

The door soon opened and out came a young woman with shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. She appeared to be the same age as Brock - however, he noticed he wasn't attracted to her like he usually is with other women which made him wonder why. He noticed she was wearing a black dress with the letter D sewn on it, which made him wonder if she was linked to Team Shadow or another villains team.

"Hello and welcome to the new gym. I'm your leader, Liona" the woman introduced herself.

"Liona, could I have my Pokemon back please? I left them with a woman who looked like Pokemon Hunter Jay" the boy pleaded with her.

Liona looked at the boy and chuckled. "Silly boy. You said you'd come back when they're stronger. They aren't stronger yet so no, you can't have them" she told him as she folded her arms.

Brock looked at her and frowned. "Why not? What if he wants to train them now?" he asked.

"It's too late - they're already in a training session with the boys - the training is intense and dangerous" Liona informed him.

Brock looked at the boy and back at Liona. "Hm - if I beat you in a battle - could we go and get his Pokemon?" he offered thinking she'd be simple to defeat.

"Sure! Croagunk - let's go" Liona said nodding to the Croagunk who walked over to her at once.

"We'll battle inside - each trainer can use three Pokemon and the winner is the one who has Pokemon left" Liona told him as she took Brock and the boy inside the gym which was large. Its size was similar to a basketball stadium and there were seats on both ends where people could watch - a referee stood nearby.

"Who are you?" Liona asked.

"The name's Brock - I was a gym leader in Kanto" Brock introduced himself deciding not to mention the gym's name to protect his family in case this person was evil. He still had a bad feeling about this place and couldn't figure out why.

"The rule of this gym is different. If your Pokemon loses, it will have to go straight to him to train up to get stronger. We can't give them back to you until they are at a certain level" Liona informed Brock.

'Shouldn't be too hard, surely!' Brock thought. "Ladies first!"

"If you insist to lose then sure! Let's go Stunky" Liona took out her Pokeball and pressed the button, enlarging it and releasing the Dark Poison type out of it's Pokeball. Stunky landed gracefully in front of Liona. Croagunk watched the battle - Brock was surprised he wasn't used yet.

"Stun-ky! (I'm ready!)" Stunky cried out.

"Geodude - let's go!" Brock took out his Pokeball and pressed the button, enlarging it and releasing the Rock Type Pokemon out of it's Pokeball. Geodude landed in front of Brock - ready to fight.

"Geodude! (Let's fight!)" Geodude said, determined to win.

"Since you said ladies first, Stunky, use Poison Gas" Liona ordered - at once Brock was concerned - he knew what that move did.

"Geodude - use Dig to avoid it" Brock quickly ordered. Geodude managed to use Dig in time, much to Brock's relief.

"Stunky - stay alert and use Smoke Screen when Geodude comes out" Liona grinned - she had planned to steal Brock's Pokemon.

Brock watched as Geodude popped out from the ground underneath Stunky - pushing the Pokemon up from the ground, Stunky however, landed safely onto the ground on their paws and used Smoke Screen, smirking, Liona saw through it.

"Now Croagunk" Liona ordered the Pokemon - the smoke was thick and caused both Liona and Brock to start coughing due to it.

"Geodude - return" Brock exclaimed though the smoke, however, due to the thick smoke, the Pokeball wasn't able to recall his Pokemon which worried him. The kid who was watching panicked when this happened.

"Brock - this is how my Pokemon got stolen" the kid told him.

By the time the smoke had cleared: Liona, Geodude and Stunky were gone. Croagunk however, was there watching on.

"Croa? (huh?)" Croagunk blinked and looked at Brock.

"Hi Croagunk, do you know where Liona took my Geodude and the other Pokemon?" Brock asked.

"Cro-a-gunk! (Yes, I do!)" Croagunk took Brock's hand and led the way to where Liona's hideout was, the kid followed the Pokemon in surprise.

As Brock and the kid followed Croagunk, they heard a door being kicked down in the gym. The three jumped and turned around only noticing an Officer Jenny with an Arcanine - at once Brock had hearts in his eyes and ran over to the officer and held her hand.

"Officer Jenny! You've got my heart in custody..." before Brock could even finish it off, he felt a sharp jab in the back from Croagunk. Officer Jenny looked at him in surprise.

"Never mind..." Brock groaned, collapsing on the ground.

"Are you okay?" The kid asked looking at Brock.

"A little heartbroken but I'll be fine" Brock answered.

"I haven't got time for this, sorry, but I'm after someone from Team Darkness. I heard they're in this gym somewhere" Officer Jenny said.

Brock managed to quickly recover from Croagunk's jab. "Follow me, we think they went to this room!" he said, taking the officer to the room he and the boy believed the stolen Pokemon were in.


"Hi Paul!" Ash yelled out after noticing the trainer with Dawn. Paul flinched as he heard Ash yell out to him, Dawn noticed and looked worried. Ash, May, Jessie, James and Meowth had just finished buying the clothes in the Pokemon clothes store when they ran into Dawn and Paul.

Paul ignored Ash as best as he could - he hoped Ash didn't say anything else afterwards.

"Paul - would you like to battle?" those words alone caught his attention, but Dawn tugged Paul's sleeve, which made May wonder what was going on between them.

"Er Ash? I think they're on a date perhaps we should leave them?" May whispered to him.

"But they just met how could they go on a date without knowing one another properly?" Ash asked loudly - causing both Dawn to slightly blush and Paul to flinch.

"We're not on a date! What makes you think we are?" Paul snapped at Ash. "We're just looking for something then I'm out."

"I kinda thought you were the way Dawn tugged on your sleeve - we'll see you later then, Dawn and when did you get a Chimchar?" May said, wondering what on earth her friend saw in Paul. 'Surely she'd have better tastes then him!' she thought, making up her mind to introduce Dawn to her other friends in the contests.

"Chimchar's mine. Troublesome's just holding him while" Paul told May.

"That reminds me, before you go, Dawn - there's a Jubilife City Dance Contest tomorrow night if you're interested in joining - it's at the hall" May informed her.

"Count me in! I love dancing" Dawn gushed in excitement. "Can't wait for this one."

"Pass. I have better things to do" Paul said. He wanted to focus on training his Pokemon for the next gym battle and had no intensions to go to the dance.

"We'll catch you later. We're going to the Pokemon Center to check in then find out where Brock and Max are" Ash informed Dawn.

The group separated once again.

"The Pokemart shouldn't be too far from here" Dawn said then smiled. "I have an idea - Starly, Spotlight!" she called out her bird Pokemon which surprised both Paul and Chimchar.

"What are you doing?" Paul asked.

"I'm going to ask Starly for help. Starly - can you help us find a clown? They look a bit like this guy here on the coupon, I think it might be near the Pokemart" Dawn took out her coupon and showed her bird Pokemon the clown.

"Star-ly! (Will try!)" Starly said, then flew off for a while.

Paul stayed quiet as he and Dawn continued their search for the Pokemart and the third clown. Starly returned with news to tell them they had found the clown near the Pokemart - which made Paul and Dawn run after the bird Pokemon who showed them the way.

"Are you sure you don't want to go do the dance, Paul?" Dawn asked innocently, blushing as she and Chimchar looked at him.

"I'll pass - I find it pointless" Paul replied.

"Why? It's fun! Just think of all the people you meet, and May told us that there'd be prizes even a Pokemon Egg" Dawn gushed at the idea of raising a baby Pokemon. "Maybe that Pokemon Egg could become a strong Pokemon!" she added imagining it being a Lucario. She began wondering what Paul would be like with the Pokemon Egg then thought that might be a bad idea.

"You remind me of my brother - he loves hatching Pokemon Eggs - but it takes too long so that's why I don't bother" Paul told her.

"I guess I'll have to go on my own then. Maybe find someone else to dance with" Dawn said. "Ah well. There's the third clown huh? What's he doing, is he mad?" she gasped in surprise.

The third clown was indeed an interesting one. For a start - he was wearing stilts and attempting to walk a tight rope which was tied from one building to another.

"Yup... He's mad! I wouldn't even try it - you'd be stupid enough to do it" Paul said watching the clown. Dawn looked away - she couldn't watch in concern he'd fall especially with the fact the clown wobbling now and then which drew a crowd of curious people watching on.

After the clown made it to the other end of the building, he climbed down and made his way to Paul and Dawn - he took his stilts off and at once became shorter.

"HEY HEY HEY! I SEE YOU FOUND THE THIRD CLOWN HORRAY! THAT MUST'VE MADE YOUR DAY! LIKE THE OTHER TWO CLOWNS - I HAVE THREE CHALLENGES FOR YOU TWO TO DO BEFORE YOU CAN WIN THIS COUPON! DRUM ROLLL! QUESTION ONE: If your Pokemon falls in love with another trainer's Pokemon - does it mean both trainers have feelings for another?" the third clown asked.

Paul folded his arms. "Duh!" he simply replied.

"Yes - I've seen that happen with two of my friends" Dawn said, smiling referring to Ash and May's Pikachu and Glaceon though Glaceon was stolen.

"You are correct - unlike the other two clowns I'm not interested in battles so it's questions only. Can a Pokemon at level 20 defeat a level 30 Pokemon? Let's say the level 20 Pokemon is a Grass Type, and the level 30 is a water type - would they have the chance?" the clown asked.

Dawn wasn't sure on this as she didn't have the battle experience - most of her Pokemon except for Aerodactyl weren't close to those levels yet.

Paul had experience. "Depends on the moves and the matchup and if you have plenty of potions to keep the level 20 Pokemon going" he answered.

"You are correct and now onto the final question: What are your plans for the Pokewatch?" the clown asked.

"I plan to keep adding the apps to it as my Pokemon get stronger" Dawn answered.

"What she said" Paul replied.

"Congratulations on finding all the coupons! You may now find the creator of these incredible apps; enjoy your journey and I wish you all the best' the third clown said handing them both the coupons.

"Alright - finally!" Dawn exclaimed as she proudly examined the third coupon.

"Where would he be then?" Paul asked.

"Good question - Starly - can you help us look for this guy?" Dawn asked noticing the third coupon had a picture of the Poketech Company Owner's face on it.

"Star! (Yes!)" Starly replied and flew off once more.

Dawn smiled as she looked at her coupon and put it away in her bag. The two followed after Starly who found the Poketech Company Owner giving away Pokewatches to other trainers too.

'The only downside is - this is where we part ways for a while' Dawn thought as she looked at Paul then at Chimchar in her arms.

"Hello! Are you both here for the Poketech Watch?" the man asked in excitement.

"Yes - I'm very excited to get mine" Dawn said as she got out her coupons and handed them over. Paul handed his over too.

The man looked at the coupons and smiled. "They're real and congratulations - you both are now a proud owner of these watches" he added, smiling as he handed Dawn a pink one and Paul a blue one.

"Thank you so much! I can't wait to start using mine" Dawn gushed as she put hers on straight away.

"Thank you!" Paul said as he put his on too.

"You're welcome and don't forget to stop at certain places for the apps" the man told them. "Enjoy them!"

"We will" Dawn said smiling as she looked at her watch. "Wow this is so cool!" she said as she and Paul began walking away. Chimchar jumped down from Dawn's shoulder.

"I guess this is bye for now, huh?" Dawn asked, sounding somewhat disappointed. She wouldn't admit it to Ash and the others, but she secretly began enjoying Paul's company.

"For now - see you later - and thank you. Chimchar, return" Paul recalled his Pokemon.

"For what?" Dawn wondered what he thanked her for.

"The Poffins" Paul replied sticking his hands in his pockets.

Dawn was about to say something when a blond-haired boy with brown eyes latterly ran into Dawn - knocking her flat on the ground, making Paul concerned for her.

"Watch where you're going!" the blond cried out.

"Why don't you?" Paul snapped at the blond as he helped Dawn up - though she could get up herself.

"I was but she was in the way!" the blond cried out in alarm. "Now I'm gonna have to fine you a million dollars for being in the way and you've got seconds to pay up!"

Paul rolled his eyes. "Pathetic" he simply said. Barry looked at him in annoyance.

"Barry?" Dawn asked in surprise.

"You know him?" Paul wondered.

"Yeah - I knew him since we were young too. We were good childhood friends, but I haven't seen him since he went on his journey" Dawn explained.

Paul began to leave.

"Wait - are you sure you're not going to the dance tomorrow night?" Dawn asked - hoping he'd at least have some fun.

"I'm sure and not interested" Paul replied and began to walk away.

"What dance?" that question alone made Paul stop for a moment.

Dawn told Barry about it.

"Would you like to be my dance partner for it as a date?" Barry asked in excitement. "I'll fine you a million dollars if you reject me!"

Paul flinched when he heard Barry ask then chose to walk away without hearing the answer. He needed to check in the Pokemon Center the night so he could make ways the next day to Floaroma Town.

"Hehe - I'm sorry Barry - but I'm going with my friends" Dawn told him. "I need to meet up with them in a couple of hours" she added. Barry looked at her in disappointment then smiled.

"Could I join you with your friends?" Barry asked. "But it doesn't have to be a date if you don't want it to be!"

Dawn simply smiled in return. "Sure - I'll introduce you to them!" she said then left to head back to the Pokemon Center, leaving Barry to wonder what she said sure to.


"That's the last one - now what?" Rachel asked - she and Sophina spent the past few days putting the devices on stolen Pokemon to ensure the Pokemon will listen to their every command.

"The boss asked us to train each Pokemon to become strong and tell them to destroy certain things - we'd have to take them to an unknown location to do this" Sophina informed her as she grabbed Dawn's Piplup's Pokeball.

"But what if the trainers come and find us?" a worried Rachel asked.

"They won't be able to, Rachel. Our location will be off the map's grid and only a Team Shadow member should know where it is. If word gets out where our second base is, we'll have to move quickly. We also need to plan ahead and figure out when we should disguise ourselves as Nurse Joy - I already bought her costumes and wigs, we'll do nicely as them. Don't wear the letter S this time. We'd need to go to Route 204 in the next few days to set up a fake portable Pokemon Center and have a grand opening for it. The Pokemon Center will be made out of a demountable which makes it easier to disguise it. As for the trainers who want their Pokemon healed, we'll take them and tell them to come back a bit later" Sophina told her.

Rachel listened to her partner in crime in interest. "You're really good at this, Sophina. But what if they're suspicious?" she asked.

"We'll give them the empty Pokeballs of course" Sophina smiled. "They would feel slightly heavy to make them think the Pokemon are in it - and when we're ready to leave, we'll go as soon as we get enough Pokemon. Our target is that brat's Aerodactyl - I'm certain she's got one!" she said - referring to Dawn's.

"If she doesn't hand it over, what will we do?" Rachel wondered.

"We'll keep trying or worst-case scenario take her and make her join our team" Sophina smirked. "We need Aerodactyl to go well with our plans - we haven't got enough yet to start the destruction all at once!"

"Why can't we just start now with what we've got?" Rachel asked.

"Our Pokemon army aren't strong enough yet, Rachel. We need to wait until a certain point then we can dive in and cause chaos - you just need to be patient - it'll be worth it!" Sophina explained. The Team Shadow duo finished their job and began to plan when to go to Route 204 to set up their Pokemon Center.


"No, I haven't seen your friends at this Pokemon Center, however, I could ask the other Nurse Joys if you like and leave a message for you?" Nurse Joy offered after Cassidy chose to ask the nurse if she had seen Ash and his friends. She kept a picture of Ash and friends to show her.

"If you could - that'd be great! Just tell them it's two friends that want to meet them" Butch said, delighted that their plan was going ahead.

Nurse Joy nodded. "I'll ring all the other Nurse Joys" she said, smiling to Butch and Cassidy. "What are your names?"

"Don't worry about the names, Nurse Joy just tell them that two friends are looking for them because we have something for them" Cassidy said - that something was a plan to capture May and Max. Nurse Joy simply nodded.

"I'll let you know if I'm successful" Nurse Joy told the duo then began making her calls. Cassidy and Butch grinned at one another.


Later that day - Dawn, Ash, May, Max and Brock met in the Pokemon Center in their room - telling one another what happened while they were separated. Brock had managed to defeat the gym leader in a very tough battle and Officer Jenny came to arrest Liona, however, Liona and her team fled without Croagunk and the stolen Pokemon- concerned, Brock asked Croagunk if he wanted to join him and was able to catch the Pokemon when Croagunk agreed. Officer Jenny promised to return the stolen Pokemon to the trainers - after that she took Brock back to the Pokemon Center with his newly caught Pokemon.

"As we go further on in Sinnoh - we should still keep an eye out on our missing Pokemon and watch for something suspicious. I wonder if Team Galactic know of Shadow?" Ash said.

"I agree - and we need to keep an eye out on Team Darkness who were posing as gym leaders" Brock said. "I really hope we can get our Pokemon back - I'm worried about them. I now own Croagunk from Team Darkness - he'd be great help for future battles."

"Me too. I miss Glaceon and the others" May agreed, thinking of them wondering what they were doing.

"Piplup..." Dawn said, with tears forming in her eyes. She tried blinking them away but this time the tears won.

"We need to plan what to do and how to get them back" Max added. "Say we know the location, what will we do?"

"We'd have to split up" Ash told him. "Obviously we'd have to battle them to distract them while the others find the missing Pokemon."

"Who would do the battling?" Brock asked.

"That depends on how strong we are by then and who wants to do what" Ash answered. "I'll go with Dawn to help her get Piplup back."

"Then the three of us will hunt for our missing Pokemon" May said looking at Max and Brock.

"Right!" Dawn nodded as she wiped her tears away. "Are we all going to the dance tomorrow night? It sounds fun."

"You bet!" Ash said smiling to her. "Can't wait. I wonder what Pokemon will be in the egg" he added remembering the last time he hatched a Pokemon and how excited he was.

The five friends excitedly talked about the dance then made their way to have dinner together with their Pokemon, Dawn noticed that Barry was there with his Pokemon and got teary eyed when she saw a Empoleon - it reminded her of Piplup. Other trainers had their Pokemon out too. She introduced Barry to her friends.

"I'm guessing he left already" Dawn said referring to Paul - she wanted to give him the towel back which she had washed and dried earlier - it was now in her bag ready to give to him. The five of them found a spare table to sit at and released their Pokemon. Dawn and May were sitting together at one side of the table while Ash, Max and Brock were at the other side with their Pokemon.

"Who?" Ash asked.

"I'm guessing Paul?" May wondered - Dawn nodded.

"Do you like him?" May whispered to Dawn.

"It's complicated" Dawn whispered back. She wasn't sure of her feelings towards him though she appreciated him protecting her and helping her up when Barry knocked her down - though she didn't get the chance to thank him for that. She enjoyed his company when it was just the two of them as he was nice to her.

May smiled to Dawn. "Let's go and get something to eat - and let our Pokemon out as soon as we get back" she said as she got up from her seat.

Dawn nodded - figuring this would be a good time to talk to May after they left Ash, Brock and Max. "As to your question, I think I do... but - I don't know if you guys would support it!"

"But Dawn, he's a jerk - why would you go with someone who is mean to his Pokemon? There's plenty of other guys out there who are nicer. I know what it's like to have a crush though. I remember when I first met Ash, I fell in love with him and hope to tell him in Floarama Town" May said smiling to her. Overhearing May was Sakura who smiled. Dawn was a bit disappointed that May called Paul a jerk, but she knew she wasn't wrong.

"They say Floaroma Town has a beautiful meadow where it's said couples who confess their love in the meadow, have a strong and loving relationship afterwards - sort of like seeing a Luvdisc" Sakura told May. "It's said the meadows is supposed to have a lake that only appears when two people are in love. Couples get married in that meadow"

"Wow - that's so beautiful" May gushed, imagining herself sharing her first kiss with Ash at the lake, surrounded by flowers with Pikachu and Glaceon watching on. She blushed at the thought of it.

"That's so romantic" Dawn said, smiling. "Do you have feelings for anyone, Sakura?" she asked figuring she might.

Sakura simply nodded. "It's a secret though - I'll tell him when the time's right. You?"

"Kinda but I'm not really sure yet!" Dawn answered. Dawn and May got their meals and returned to Ash, Brock and Max who went to get theirs and returned soon after. Dawn told Ash what Sakura had informed them about the meadow in Floaroma Town.

'I think that would be the perfect spot to tell May my feelings for her' Ash thought, imagining himself sharing his first kiss with May at the lake, surrounded by flowers with Pikachu and Glaceon watching on. He was unaware May had the same idea and blushed at the thought of it.

"What are the plans for tomorrow?" Brock asked.

"I think training - we need to get stronger" Ash answered. "Then we can have fun at the dance and get ready for the contests!"

"I want to train Magikarp so I can evolve him into a Gyarados" Max said imagining how cool it would be to have one by his side. "It takes a lot of skills to train one from what I've heard!"

"We should do our final practice rounds for the contests too" Dawn suggested.

May nodded. "Are you and Max going to join the contest too?" she asked as she looked at Ash.

"You bet! We'll also practice for it - I need to figure out who will enter it!" Ash answered smiling to May.

"Count me in! I think Treecko and Zubat would be great in the contests!" Max said smiling as he imagined himself winning a ribbon with Treecko and Zubat's help.

"There's a question that bothers me the most. Will we do it the same way we do the gyms?" Brock asked.

"What do you mean, Brock?" Ash asked in confusion.

"Will we stay until each of us gets a ribbon or will we move on after one of us does - I think that's what he meant" Dawn said - Brock nodded.

"Hm - that's a good question - what do you guys think?" Ash looked at May, Dawn and Max. Sure, they all wanted to win the contest ribbons, however, they knew there was only to be one Grand Festival winner at least that's what they thought.

"I think it depends on how long we need to wait for the next contest" May said. "If it's weekly, then it'd be difficult since we'd have to stay a lot longer and that would take ages to get to the Pokemon League!"

"May's right - if it's weekly then I guess we can move on towards the gym badges" Max said.

"I think that's fair!" Ash nodded in agreement. "I can't wait to get my second badge!"

Dawn nodded in agreement. "Even if I don't win this contest - there's always another one to enter."

After dinner, the five friends made their way to their room and ran into Paul on the way - much to Dawn's relief - she wanted to return his towel.

"Paul! Hang on" Dawn quickly grabbed the towel out of her bag which she had washed and dried and gave it to him, which confused the rest of her friends.

"Thank you, Troublesome" Paul simply replied as he gently took it from her and put it in his bag.

"Paul - did you want to have a battle tomorrow?" Ash asked looking at his rival - though he was very confused to why Dawn gave Paul a towel - he didn't appear to look wet. "Why did Dawn give you a towel - you look dry to me!"

"It's none of your business and yes - if you're ready to lose, see you around ten in the morning outside the Pokemon Center" Paul replied then walked away.

"Dawn, did Paul forget a towel?" Ash asked oblivious to what happened earlier - Dawn laughed at Ash's question and was relieved that Paul wasn't in hearing range when he said that.

"It's kinda of a long story!" Dawn replied. "But he lent me his and I washed and returned it" she added.

May wondered what happened but shrugged. She wasn't going to push Dawn for the answers. "What are we going to wear for the dance tomorrow night, Dawn?" May asked eager to know.

"I bought a cute dress today" May gushed, as the five made their way back to their room with their Pokemon.


The next morning, Ash met up with Paul outside the Pokemon Center with Dawn, May and Brock. Dawn's eyes met Paul's in concern - wondering how he'd treat his Pokemon after Ash's battle.

"Are you ready for the battle? It'll be one on one - I want to train my Starly!" Ash said with a grin.

"Duh - if you're ready to lose" Paul replied, folding his arms.

"I'll be sure to win!" Ash said with confident, turning his hat around. May smiled at Ash when he did that.

Dawn watched Paul and wondered what he'd do next.

"Chimchar - stand by for battle" Paul pulled out Chimchar's Pokeball and pressed the button, enlarging it and released Chimchar from it. Chimchar landed in front and smiled when he saw Dawn.

"Hi Chimchar - you're a cutie!" Dawn gushed. 'Just like your trainer - though he's a jerk!' she thought.

"Chim-Char! (Thank you!)" Chimchar said, smiling to Dawn.

"Chimchar - get ready!" Paul ordered.

"Starly - I choose you!" Ash called out his bird type Pokemon.

"Starly - Tackle" Ash quickly ordered.

"Chimchar - Flame Wheel" Paul simply replied - knowing he was going to win easily.

"Char! (Okay!)" Chimchar obeyed Paul and used Flame Wheel on Starly, knocking the Pokemon out at once.

"Oh no, Starly!" Ash exclaimed watching as his Pokemon fainted. "I didn't expect it to end that quick - Starly, return - you did your best. It looks like we have a lot of work to do!"

"Pathetic - if you're going to continue losing then there's no point battling me" Paul snapped at Ash as he recalled Chimchar. That only made Ash determined to beat him in a battle someday. "I want to battle strong opponents not weak ones" he added. "I'm out - maybe next time I see you it might be worth while battling you!"

"Grr" Ash muttered as he glared at his rival. "You don't have to be a rude jerk you know, and you could at least thank your Pokemon!" he hissed - May at once quickly jumped by Ash's side worried, he and Paul might get into a fight.

Dawn looked at Paul then at Ash. 'Paul...' she thought wondering why he was nicer to her than Ash. 'Why are you like this?' she thought.

"I'm out!" Paul began to walk away until Dawn stopped him.

"Paul, wait!" Dawn quickly ran up to him, making Ash, May, Brock and Max look at one another in confusion.

"Troublesome?" Paul looked at her curious to know what she wanted.

"I saw on the poster... that... in the dance contest tonight - you can have battles with your partner... I thought maybe you'd be interested in the battle part" Dawn asked - she wanted to see him at least have some fun with his Pokemon. That was true though about the poster - before Ash, May, Max, Brock and Dawn left to challenge Paul, she noticed the poster near the Pokemon Center's doors and read the advertisement. "Barry wanted to take me... but I said no..."

Ash, Max, May and Brock listened to her then looked at Paul.

Ash grit his teeth, hoping that Paul would reject. 'Surely, Dawn can do better than that!' he thought in annoyance. Just the thought of him being there, made him annoyed. He liked Dawn as a friend but worried about Paul's attitude towards others and was certain the boy mentioned would ruin the dance.

"Reminds me of the restaurants where you can battle and eat at the same time - do you have to dance all the time though?" Paul asked - not interested in the dancing part, he rather would battle.

"No - it said you can choose to battle instead" Dawn informed him with a smile, hoping he'd come to at least have some fun.

"I'll think about it - can't make promises. Later" Paul simply replied, making Dawn a bit hopeful he might change his mind. She watched as he walked away hoping he'd turn up. When Paul was out of sight, Max asked the question before Ash could.

"Are you out of your mind, Dawn?! Paul's a jerk - he'll ruin everything if he comes!" Max asked in anger. "He's awful to his Pokemon! Can you imagine him with a Pokemon Egg? He'd break it because it wouldn't hatch!"

"I'm with Max on this one, Dawn" May nodded, agreeing with her brother. Brock stayed quiet - as Ash sided with May and Max.

Dawn was silent before she gave them a big smile. "Everyone deserves a chance to change" she simply replied. "No need to worry!" she added.

"That's when we worry the most, Dawn..." Ash commented, placing a hand on the bluenette's shoulder. "What about Drew?"

"There's always Barry - he seems nice" May put in, hoping to convince Dawn otherwise.

"And Kenny! I'm too young for this stuff anyway!" Max added.

"There's most likely a lot of other guys that will be at the dance tonight, Dawn" Brock added, giving in and joining his friends...

"They're really nice guys but..." Dawn said.

"Also, Ritchie and Brendan" Ash chimed in, remembering them. "They're really nice to their Pokemon."

Dawn let out a sigh - she wasn't sure what to do.


Do you think Paul will join the dance or will he go his own way (more importantly, is he in character? I want to ensure he's not too OOC!)
What do you think should win the dance?
Who do you think should win the Pokemon Contest?
Will Cassidy and Butch find out where Ash, May, Max and Dawn are?
Is Team Shadow going to be successful at setting up their Pokemon Center in Route 204?
Where do you think Team Darkness is located?
What do you hope to see in the next chapter?
More importantly - who do you want to see win Sinnoh's Grand Festival and why?: Ash, May, Max and Dawn will be entering contests!
Please let me know if this story feels rushed - I certainly want to ensure its smooth and enjoyable to read.
To be continued...

Badges:
Dawn: 1
Ash: 1
Max:
1
-

Ribbons:
May: 0
Max: 0
Ash: 0
Dawn: 0

Pokémon:

Ash:
Current: Pikachu, Starly, Sceptile and Swellow
Stolen: Noctowl, Turtwig and Charizard
May:
Current: Bidoof, Skitty and Munchlax
Stolen: Blaziken, Shinx, Beautifly and Glaceon
Dawn:
Current: Aeordactyl, Starly, Cubone and Shinx
Stolen: Piplup
Max:
Current: Treecko, Magikarp, Kricketot, Zubat and Shinx
Stolen: Azumarill and Ralts!
Brock:
Current: Geodude, Croagunk and Onyx
(Stolen: Bonsly)

To be continued...