A Jewel in Water

Part 18

Misty made her way over to the Lounging Hall. Her thoughts were so occupied by Ash and why he could have to say to her, that she was at the door of the hall by the time she realised that Rudy was on her tail. How was she going to get rid of him?

"Um, Rudy?" she said to him slowly.

"Yes Princess?" He replied, and his eyes lit up. This was the first time the Misty had used a nice tone to talk to him. Could this be the sign that he was waiting for?

"I'm sorry, but this is a private meeting. Do you mind waiting somewhere else?" she tried. But he was not having it.

"Princess, I'd rather not leave you alone with that menace," he looked at her with serious eyes. He was not going to leave her alone, especially if Ash was supposed to be coming. She needed help, and she could only think of one guy who would be able to help her, albeit reluctantly; Paul.

"Okay then, but would you mind stepping outside for a moment whilst I make a call?" she asked him, but in a slightly more pressing manner. He took the hint and moodily did so. Misty whipped out her phone and dialled Pauls' number in in an instant. Looking up his name would be too slow in her eyes. Who knows when Ash would appear. The phone started ringing and after a few seconds, someone on the other side picked up. But it wasn't Paul.

Brock watched Ash and his less than gentle reunion with Charizard; Ash had been burnt to a crisp after it seemed like Ash had been about to tackle Charizard. He then noticed something brush past him and head towards Ash. It was a Caterpie. He bent down and picked it up, which shocked it a bit, but it decided that Brock was not as big of a threat than Misty was, and it decided not to attack him.

"Ash, is this yours?" Brock called over, once Ash had snapped out of his knock out. Ash looked over and a look of realisation swept over him.

"Caterpie! Oh no, I'm sorry! We were supposed to train weren't we?" he cried as he rushed over to Brock and took the Caterpie out of his hands.

"Training? Here? I thought this was meant to be a break for you?" Brock questioned Ash.

"Well Brock, there's never a break for the Pokemon Master, you see. Even now I;ve probably got battle requests piling up. I'll have to complete them you know at one point. I'll probably have to head back soon," he explained.

"How soon is soon?" Brock asked.

"Tomorrow would be the earliest. Maybe I'll be able to put it off till the day after." Brocks' jaw dropped.

"So basically, you don't even have any time to woo Misty and you're gonna leave her to the likes of Rudy and Elliot?" she exclaimed. Ash had a smirk on his face as he thought.

"You know I don't think that Elliot is going to be a problem when it comes to his love and Misty," he said to no one in particular.

"But you know that Rudy has absolutely adored Misty from day one! You told me yourself, after you first met him and had that battle with him!"

"Yeah. You know, he isn't actually that bad. Its just that love made him change into one nasty piece of work."

"Love makes us all change alright!" sighed Brock.

"Anyway, I think that I need to go and see Misty now. Best not keep her too long," Ash said as he looked down at his watch. "Would you mind keeping Caterpie with you? I think that it would be better for its' mental health if we didn't make it see Misty again."

"Sure. I'm not going to be going in there for a while," Brock said, moodily. Ash chuckled.

"You know-," he started, but Brock butt in.

"Yes I know. That's why you don't have to tell me anything else," he said, meaning that Ash should now be quiet.

"Ah, okay okay. I'm sorry! I'll be back in a bit," he called as he ran back into the castle.

Elliot got into the Royal Garages and located his car amongst the rest of them. He had to do a bit of shopping if he wanted the perfect disguise. First thing he had to do was dye his hair, from green to brown. Then he needed to perfect his costume. Although clothing was all at home, he still needed to get some items. Hopefully his 'transformation' would be good. There was a fine line between transforming himself and then turning into someone else completely. And what was the story going to be, behind his sudden metamorphosis? There were too many things to plan, it was confusing. Maybe he could say that he just got trapped by one of those makeover guys?

"Hello?" answered Dawn as she picked up the ringing phone.

"Um, this is Misty, I take it that you are not Paul," replied Misty on the other end.

"Oh hi Misty! So this is Paul's phone? No, sorry, it's Dawn. Paul was here a minute ago, but then he suddenly left the room, as if something was possessing him," Dawn informed Misty. Kenny looked over at Dawn. Now what would Misty want with Paul? And why had Paul left the room so suddenly and not even realise that he had left his phone here? He was sure that he was out to follow either the Misty and Rudy duo, or the Ash, Caterpie and Brock trio. Paul was one mysterious wonder. Dawn then put down the phone, and Kenny, Iris and May all looked questioningly at her.

"Don't ask me! As soon as I said that Paul wasn't here, she didn't tell me what she wanted at all." The rest of them looked slightly disappointed as there was no gossip to spread. Then Dawn piped up.

"Hey Dawn! Still keeping up with your contest battling?" May asked her.

"Hey, how did you know that Dawn battles in contests?" asked Kenny protectively. May sighed.

"I thought you were joking when you first met me, but it turns out that you've really forgotten who I am! We met at Snowpoint City way back!" Then Dawns' face turned from confused to sour.

"So you were the person," she said.

"Huh, what do you mean?" asked Kenny even more confusedly. Iris was just standing there, blankly. Nothing was making sense anymore.

"It's her Kenny! The one I told you about! The one that kept clinging to Ash all the time she was there! She was one of my biggest love rivals!" Dawn yelled, not particularly at Kenny though.

"Me? Clinging to Ash? What are you talking about?" May asked her, her tone slightly offended.

"It's good that I remember now! I've been meaning to contact you for a long time! Have a battle with me May!"