Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.
Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, Gwen, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.
AN: Before anyone ever bothers reading this chapter, I'll tell you right now. I honestly, could care less if the Pokemon team I have Ash use is the canon one or not. I picked pokemon out of the Kanto series and Johto series (part of it?) to make his team for DG, as I see Nara as being mostly a combination of the two Pokemon-wise, rather then having a new set of 100. XD So, yes, don't pick on me for it. ;o I'm lazy. And I haven't watch much of Johto and only three episodes of Hoenn so far, so leave me alone. XD
I do introduce a new character in this chapter though. She probably won't get much spotlight after the whole tournament part of this story ends, but she does get mentioned and gets brought up later on.
Warning: No those adult scenes aren't in this chapter either. Go forward a few more chapters and it'll be in there, when I get that chapter up. Ha.
- Chapter Eight: Nara Tournament -
In short time, Vanika was up and back to normal, with the exception of her lame wing that was strapped against her back. The tournament was also growing closer, and the days left grew smaller. It became apparent that for Ash to have any chance of getting the remaining badges and competing, he had to start within a day or two.
Their stuff packed and supplies gotten, they were ready to go. "Wait," Ash said, earning a disapproving look from Misty, "I need to do something real quick."
He pulled May away from the others, going just far enough away that they were both out of eye and earshot. She looked at him in confusion, especially when he started digging in his jacket pocket. "I want you to have this," Ash said, pulling out a small box.
May took it, and cracked the casing with a nail. Inside was a small ring, the gemstone a translucent green, and the band silver. "What is this?" she asked, staring at the glittering thing.
"It's called a Promise Ring." Ash took hold of her from behind, and pulled the ring out from its cushion. Shakily, he slipped it onto her left hand, adjusting it so that it was righted. "It's just like a way to promise yourself to someone."
Moving her hand so the stone would catch the light in just the right way, May smiled. Turning to hug him, she felt the all-to-familiar stinging that meant she was about to start crying.
"Oh, no, no, don't." Ash said, creeping down until they both were kneeling on the ground, "Don't cry." May screwed up her eyes and nose, trying to keep the tears from falling again; she had already cried too much.
"It's going to take too long." She shook her head, biting her lip. "I don't want you to go! I'll never be able to talk to you or anything if you do!"
Ash smiled then, and pulled his backpack off. Getting the pokedex out, he opened it and showed it to her. "Right there, see that? It can double as a phone. All you have to do is call."
May frowned. "I don't have a phone."
"Vanika or Silvanus can work on that easily." Putting the electronic away, Ash turned back to her.
"But..." Hurry. Vanika's voice floated distantly in their minds, urging them to realize how urgent it was that they finished. Ash grabbed hold of her shoulders.
"Don't worry. It'll only be a few weeks, then I'll be back. Just worry about getting Vanika better, alright?" May nodded, standing with him.
"Make sure you win." Ash gave her an impish smile.
"Like I could do anything else!" She couldn't help but laugh. Seeing the opening, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her over, ignoring her startled – but delighted – yelps. "When you get that phone, you're going to call, right?"
"Yes, if Silvanus gets one," May said. His smile widened.
"Good." Actually hearing one of his companions stomping through the undergrowth, Ash quickly swung around so that he was facing the opposite direction that they were coming from. Hesitating for only a moment, he bent down and planted a kiss on May's lips, once again surprising the young girl.
"Ash! We need to go!" a bossy voice called from somewhere outside of their view, the footsteps getting closer. Pulling away, turning bright red in embarrassment, Ash put his hands up, looking apologetically at her.
"I'm sorry, I need to go before Misty or Brock bust a vein." May, blushing just as much as him, nodded and waved him off.
"Go, go, do what you need to do." With a final smile and hug, he disappeared off into the trees.
- - -
What are you doing? Silvanus asked. He was nowhere to be seen, hidden somewhere that the people of the city couldn't see or notice him, but could badger his young charge anyway. May scowled, ignoring his impatient question as she looked around the store, looking at all of the television sets that they sold.
"How might I be of some service to you?" One of the saleswomen walked up to her, wearing a slight smile and her hands folded across her thighs. May turned to look at her.
"Do you have any that run off of those battery things?" she asked, once again pointedly ignoring the Meh, what use are those? comments that the silver dragon continued to repeat, along with the Why do you bother? ones.
"Well, yes we do. The small walk-able TVs take batteries, but wouldn't you much rather a bigger one? The battery-powered ones tend to be small, depending on the battery size," the woman said. May shook her head.
"Where are the battery powered ones?" With a sigh, she led May through the store, to the corner that held several handhold ones, along with some bigger sets.
"This one here takes two of the larger batteries, but it's better for if you want it in a car then the hand held." May smiled and nodded.
"Thank you, that's all I needed," she said, and the woman walked away, muttering under her breath. "Silvanus, I want this one. The one that she was talking about. I need the batteries for it too," she said, as the creature appeared under one of the tables.
Ten years, and May still hadn't figured out how Silvanus and Vanika managed to appear and reappear like that. Go, he said, I'll take care of it.
"Thank you," May repeated, and stepped out of the store. Walking down the street, she pulled out the small phone that her adoptive 'father' had 'bought' – though, in all reality, he had stole it – and ran a thumb over its smooth top.
Flipping it open, she looked at the buttons curiously, touching each one with the gentleness one would show to spun glass. I bought your 'television' and your batteries. Now what, Oh Mighty Princess, do you need? Where do we go?
May smiled, turning toward one of the alleyways to see the pair of green eyes staring out at her. "Back home," she said as if to herself, and turned back in the direction that the street would lead out of the city, and toward the forest.
- - -
"Only a few more days and the tournament will start!" Putting her glass down with a clink, Misty beamed at her two male companions, one of which met her happy look, and the other just shrugged. "Why aren't you more excited?"
"Because I just want to get this over with and head back to Wicker City," Ash replied, holding his head up on his palm. He had never told either of them about what had occurred out in the forest before they left, nor about the ring he had bought.
"Is the Pokemon Master-to-be lovesick?" Brock asked teasingly, getting a scowl from the younger man. Ash threw the spoon from his soup at him, not at all amused. "Come on, if you win this, you'll have something to brag about when we do get back there."
"It isn't that big of an achievement though." Ash looked at them, his eyes narrowed, and shook his head. "And it isn't like they would care about it anyway."
"No, no, I think they would." Both Misty and Ash looked at each other strangely, then at Brock. It was his turn to shrug. "From what I saw… it looked like May would have been happy as long as you tried, even if you came back saying 'I lost horribly. Too bad, huh? Oh well.' Vanika would agree with what she thought, and Silvanus… well, you can never tell with him."
"Even though, wouldn't it be better to have that little title to show off? It would certainly be an ego boaster," Misty added, albeit reluctantly. Ash smiled then, and nodded.
- - -
"Today we will be seeing the most spectacular of Pokemon Trainers competing one on one to claim the ultimate rank and title of Pokemon Master. There will be winners and losers in these heated battles, and only one can come out the true victor!" Silvanus rolled his eyes, his back to the small television set.
May and Vanika, on the other hand, watched the screen with rapt attention. It was the last day of the Pokemon League Tournament, and for the past week the television had been tuned to the battles as different trainers rose in the ranks of the tournament and fell from a bad move or order.
Silvanus shook his head, amazed at how fascinated the two females were of the human competition, when he himself couldn't see what was interesting about it. "The first battle with be between two young trainers from Johto…"
For most of the day the set was on, screeching out the commentary on what was occurring in the battle. As May started working on reading her book of fairy tales, an announcement on the TV caught her attention; she raised her head to look at it. "We are up to the final battle, folks. This will be the deciding battle of who will be the winner of this tournament."
Her eyes widened. "He made it!"
What? Vanika blinked at her. May grinned, putting her book to the side and scooting forward to watch the television. "Ash, he made it to the final round! One more battle and he's done!" she said, as the announcer gave details and stats on the opposing sides. Don't get ahead of yourself. It hasn't started yet, and no one has won.
"So?" May turned away from the green dragon, focusing on the starting battle, her eyes wide and alert. Vanika smiled, taking a seat next to her. She wondered who would prove the better in it herself.
- - -
Ash stared across the field, at the girl he was facing. She looked to be a few years older then him, and her entire stance and posture showed her overconfidence. "You ready to be beat?" she asked tauntingly, grinning mischievously at him.
"Oh no, I'm not," Ash said, enlarging one of the poke balls and waiting for the signal that the battle was to start, "because I can't lose this one."
"Oh ho ho, can't you say? And why is that?" she asked snidely. When the light above the scoreboard turned green, a cheer went up. It was time to start the match.
"Because, after this I need to have something good to tell my 'family,'" he replied, throwing the poke ball out. She did the same, and the battle was on.
- - -
May 'ooohhhh'ed as the combating pokemon lashed out at each other, neither of them relenting as they dished out attacks. "No, no, Pikachu!" she yelled, when the television set showed the yellow mouse pokemon being flung across the field, the Hyper Beam used by the laughing woman's Dragonair creating enough energy to send a larger pokemon through a wall.
She bounced on her heels, her eyes wide as the battle continued, with both Dragonair and Pikachu getting beat as time went on. As the snake-like one fell into a heap, the set blasted with the sound of the audience at the stadium yelling and cheering, and the announcement that 'Side Red' had two of three pokemon left.
There was a moment as there was almost no sound, the crowds calmed down as the scowling woman pulled another poke ball out and unleashed her next pokemon, one from the Johto region – Espeon. "That must be another one."
There are many of those Pokemon creatures. Hundreds. Silvanus said, matter-of-factly. Vanika swatted him with her tail, not turning away from the television – she didn't want to miss a thing that happened.
- - -
"Pikachu!" Ash leaned forward over the railing, as his Starter made a long, low cry and crumpled to the floor, going still. The referee stepped out onto the field, taking the fainted Pokemon to the sidelines to rest.
"Pikachu has fainted! Side Red and Blue are tied one for one!" the speakers boomed, as Ash called out another pokemon – Bayleef. His opponent's eyes widened. He grinned.
"You're not the only one that's been in that area!" Ash said, "Bayleef, use Razor Leaf!"
Espeon dodged out of the way of the attack, and countered it. The two animal-like pokemon ran at each other, tackling and letting off their own special attacks. "Baaay!"
"Not too bad, kid!" the woman, smiling, called over the roar of the crowds and of the fighting pair. Ash could only nod to her. Just then, there was a crack, and Bayleef sent Espeon sliding across the ground.
"Two to one, in favor of Blue!" As the psychic pokemon was returned to its poke ball, she spat bitterly, and let her last one out – a Beedrill. "Side Red has used a Beedrill!"
"Never let yourself become overconfident, though!" she commented, "My love, use Poison Sting."
"I don't think I'm the one that should worry about that," Ash breathed, barely able to hear the words himself. "Bayleef, Solarbeam!"
Beedrill flew up, pointing its stingers at the grounded Bayleef and shot several poisonous darts out at the darting pokemon. When there was an opening, the grass-type powered up for the attack, letting loose the bright beam of light. There was a moment of total chaos, as the field was so lit up that neither pokemon could be seen. "Bay, leeef!"
When everything appeared again, everyone froze, waiting to see the results. Beedrill floated in midair, unmoving, until it dropped from the air like a bug that had been swatted. "Three to one, Blue! Side Blue has won the match!"
- - -
I'm never going to hear the end of this. Silvanus put his claws over his head, as May jumped up, dancing with Vanika. "He won he won he won he won!"
Looking back at the television set, they went quiet as the announcer appeared on the screen. "There you have it, folks. This year's Pokemon League Tournament has came to an end. In a few minutes we will be working on getting an interview with our new champion and Pokemon Master, Ashura Ketchum!"
Vanika stilled, watching as the announcer went on in great detail about what usually occurred after the tournament, what the Pokemon Master usually had to do, and the schedule for the ending celebrations. "Doesn't that mean…" May said, sitting back and staring at the screen, "Doesn't that mean it'll take even longer?"
Yes, it would seem so. Even Silvanus wasn't pleased with the sudden news, and they sat in silence as the television continued to rattle on. Abruptly, May stood and drifted off, leaving her guardians behind at the clearing.
She felt sick at the thought of what had been said. It would most likely add several weeks onto the already too-long separation, if not add on months. May wiped a hand across her eyes, blinking away the tears that sprang up, and took a deep breath.
"'It'll only be a few weeks…'" she said softly, repeating the words that had been said. May wondered if it would still hold true, or whether the tournament would hold rein for longer then any of them had expected. "I guess I'll find out soon or something…"
- - -
Ash returned his pokemon quickly, the referee giving him the stirring Pikachu as he ducked off of the field hurriedly. Taking the quick way around to the locker room, he grabbed his bag off of one of the benches and retrieved his remaining two poke balls out of the small locker that he was given to use.
The few trainers in the room smiled and congratulated him on the won battle and the new title, some of them coming up to try to talk. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't," Ash said, pushing past and exiting.
Misty and Brock met him outside the door. "That was great! This is going to be fun, there is supposed to be a ball tonight even-" the redhead excitedly cried, mentally planning what to wear.
"Well, you can go without me." Ash ignored the shocked looks they gave him, neither caring nor wanting the lecture he was about to get. He readjusted his backpack so that it didn't bounce around as he walked, letting his exhausted electric-type rest in it. Brock grabbed hold of his shoulder and spun him around to face them.
"What do you mean 'you can go without me'?" they demanded. Ash folded his arms across his chest, his mouth set in a line.
"It means exactly what I said. You can go without me. I'm not going." Turning back around, he went down a side corridor, seeing the onslaught that would occur if they kept down the main one. "There isn't much to figure out, really."
"And why aren't you going?" Misty asked, "They hold it to celebrate the conclusion of the Tournament! You're the Pokemon Master! You'd be the main guest there, they have no reason to if-"
"Too bad, they can find someone else to be the main guest," he said, purposely not answering the first question. Ash pushed the door that led out open, and peered out warily. Just as he was about to swing it open to leave, it was slammed shut from the girl behind him.
"Not so fast! Why aren't you going?" she repeated. Ash pushed her hand out of the way, opening the door and slipping out. Before shutting it, he looked back in, frowning.
"I don't want to." With a snap, he closed the door, leaving his two best friends to wonder what exactly had just happened.
Outside was not as calm as it had appeared. Ash froze when he had been about to round a corner, wanting nothing more then to return to the hotel – fate had other plans for him.
The crowds of people that was swarming the area was almost overwhelming. He edged back, hoping that none of them had noticed his presence, but that wasn't his luck. "Oh, hello, I'm from-"
Looking around at everyone that suddenly surrounded him, Ash couldn't have felt any worse then he did at that moment. "Let me through!" he yelled over the chattering, trying to get past the first line of clamoring people.
"Please wait, we have questions-" Ash looked at the man that spoke sharply.
"And I have someplace to be. Now do me a favor, get out of my way and leave me alone." Several of them went quiet, hearing the statement clearly.
The barrage of questions started again: "Someplace to be? Where is that?" "Why are you in such a hurry?" "Are you going to be attending the ball tonight?" Ash felt like tearing something apart at that moment; he knew he was turning red.
"That is my, and only my, concern." he replied, "No, I will not be attending. Now move."
"Clear away, clear away! You'll all get your chance soon enough!" Ash stared in amazement as the crowd parted to let a middle-aged woman in, as she waved her hands. "You don't all need to gang up on the kid!"
There was a unified moan, as they were forced to dissipate and leave the area by the local police. Ash turned to his new savior. "Um, thanks I think."
She smiled. "It's the least I could do for my successor. Not used to this type of attention, are you?" she asked.
Ash shook his head, smiling faintly. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, leading him over to the main building. "I don't like it. All I want is to go get my stuff and head back to…"
He broke off, hesitant about whether it was safe to be telling the ex-Pokemon Master about the situation, especially in such a public place. Seeing his sudden embarrassment, she grinned. "We haven't been introduced. I'm Gwen."
"I'd say hello, if it wasn't a little late for it." Ash said, "I'm Ash, even though you already know that probably."
"Yes, yes…how would you like a drink? I know you're underage for Nara…but a glass or two couldn't hurt," Gwen asked, getting a nod in response, "We can go to my office."
- - -
The office itself was small, furnished with a desk, chairs, a small couch, and a wood cabinet. Gwen indicated one of the seats as she passed, and opened the cabinet up to look inside. "Have any requests?" she asked.
Ash sat down, shaking his head. Pulling out a bottle of whiskey, she took two glasses out and set them in the center of the desk. Taking her own seat behind it, she popped the cork and poured the liquid out. "Now, if you don't mind me asking…why exactly are you so set in not going?"
He blinked, his hand inches from one of the tall glasses. It took him a moment to realize she was talking about the party that would be later, and he frowned. "I have someplace I need to start heading to as soon as possible," Ash admitted, "so I rather not stick around for that."
Gwen watched him over her own glass, raising an eyebrow. "Someplace to go? So soon?" She smiled. "Who's waiting for you?"
Blushing, Ash stared at her. "What?" he asked, "What are you talking about?"
The woman leaned back in her high-backed chair, crossing her legs under the desk. "Drink up." she said, "I'm talking about you wanting out of this town before you've even gone through the normal rituals for a new Pokemon Master. There has to be a reason other then shyness, so I'm guessing by the fact you keep evading answering the where's and why's that this has to do with someone else."
Nearly spitting out the drink, Ash had to hold his breath to keep from coughing. He couldn't believe it; everyone was making a fuss over his refusal to go to a dance. Swallowing, he shrugged. "I just want out is all."
With an amused glance, she smirked. "Indeed so. Whatever the reason though, it couldn't hurt to at least go to the ball. You surely couldn't leave tonight anyway."
Ash tilted his head slightly, looking at Gwen strangely; she reminded him strongly of Vanika, if the dragon would have been human. "Why not?" he asked.
"Well, for one, this town is filled to brimming with people that would give a limb to just see you, my boy, let alone actually get a chance to meet you. If you wait a few days for this to die down, you'd have an easier time whisking away to wherever you wished to get to." Ash's eyes widened, the weight of what the battle had done finally fully falling on him.
Downing the rest of his glass in one gulp, he shivered, amazed that within an hour his life had taken such a drastic turn. If the thought of having to stay put was enough to make him feel ill, the thought of having to stay put because of the hordes of people made him really ill. "I can't though."
She rose an eyebrow again. "Why is that?" she asked.
Shaking his head, Ash hugged himself, rocking back and forth in his seat to ease the nervousness. "I promised..." he said, "I promised!"
Gwen wondered if perhaps she should have opted for the wine instead of such strong liquor; the young man obviously didn't have any tolerance for it, and the beginning of the hysterics proved it. Quickly clearing the glasses away, she went around the desk and kneeled in front of his seat, taking his hands in her own. "Ash, slow down, calm down."
He laughed bitterly. "I'm screwed! Screwed! I promised to her, Iactually promised!"
The situation was getting stranger by the moment. "What did you promise? To who?" Gwen insisted, reaching a hand up to turn on her intercom to call a doctor, then deciding against it.
Ash rubbed his eyes, making a sound that was unmistakably a sniffle. "I promised, I promised that I would come back immediately after the tournament, but now I have to wait for a bunch of people to ask a bunch of dumb questions and to do god knows what. It could take forever!"
"Now, now, be calm." Gwen stood and circled around, and carefully started to message his tense shoulders. "Cry your heart out if you like. None of this will leave this office."
"I miss them," he said, closing his eyes and leaning back. Gwen nodded, staying the listener instead of the talker; she had a feeling it had been a while since the teenager had been able to just talk, without someone judging or talking back to him. "even Silvanus, though he can be mean."
Gwen wondered who Silvanus was. As she was about to ask, Ash started talking again. "I really miss May though. She's too nice. She's really pretty. I really like her eyes. They're green you know?" He paused, thinking over what to say next. "Oh, she has this new dress too. She looks good with it on…not that she doesn't with something else on or nothing on, but I just like the dress too."
Her eyes widened. "Nothing?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah. I was taking a bath once, and I guess she decided to wanted to take one with me, so she just showed up at the lake, already striped and everything. I was going to tell her to go back to the camp, that it isn't right, but she thought it was because of Vanika and Silvanus and she's just so nice and innocent and stuff, so I thought that there couldn't be any harm in it. Not like we were 'doing' anything."
She wondered if he was talking about the person that she had been referring to earlier in the conversation. Ash actually smiled, turning to look at her. "Misty got real upset though. She thinks I'm nuts or something."
"Well…."
Ash twisted in his seat, sitting on his knees then, and grinned. "I even bought her a Promise Ring. I'm serious. I'm really serious. I'm really, really, really, really, serious."
Gwen looked at her watch, checking to see how much time they had, before smiling at him. "That is good to hear. You'll get there; you just have to be patient. Have you changed your mind about tonight at all?"
"Yes, yes…I think I'll go after all," he said. Gwen nodded, putting a hand out to help him up.
"Come on then, you need to get some rest before getting ready. We don't want our Pokemon Master walking in tipsy, do we now?" Gwen teased, getting a short laugh out of him. Ash shook his head, standing from his seat. "I have a couch in here you can lay down on for awhile."
Leading him over to the small red couch, she pulled the blanket that was folded next to it out, shaking it out. "Thank you, Gwen," Ash mumbled, plopping down on the thing and pulling his legs up.
"It's alright. Just get some sleep, and I'll wake you up when it's time," she said, putting the blanket over him. Closing the shades on her windows, she checked the locks before leaving, giving her successor some quiet time. The night certainly wouldn't give it.
