SURPRISE! I know, I know, I missed updating on Sunday. But this chapter wasn't finished and I had just had my wisdom teeth taken out. So I wasn't really in the mood. But I JUST finished this chapter and I really like it, so I figured I'd give you all a little treat and update it now :3 I'm on spring break anyway, so I'm more inclined to update now anyway. Enjoy!

Last time: Aiden, Michelle, and Brandon split up to enjoy seperate parts of the spacious Celadon City. Michelle decides to go shopping with Pichu, while Brandon visits the move tutor to have Cranidos learn a new move. Aiden, however, meets up with Clarisse, who is not only in town for the Contest, but also LIVES in the city! She takes him to her apartment complex to meet a legendary Pokemon researcher known as Eusine, who apparently knows Aiden's father. This is when Clarisse learns that Aiden and Michelle are the children of the world famous Pokemon Master! She isn't overwhelmed, however, much to Aiden's delight. While in his penthouse, Aiden and Michelle learn from Eusine that Team Rockt might be running their headquarters beneath the city, and that he's hot on their trail. After meeting up with his sister and friend again, Aiden learns that Brandon has caught a new Pokemon: Spearow! Now, it's time for Aiden to have a gym battle at the Celadon gym...

Chapter 25: No Boys Allowed!

"EVERYBODY WAKE UP!"

Brandon and Michelle both shrieked and shot up in their beds, looking around their dimly lit room in horror. Eventually, their eyes crossed paths and both sets caught sight of Aiden standing in the middle of the room, fully dressed for the day with his arms crossed against his chest and an angry scowl plastered on his face.

"Aiden, what's the big idea?!" Michelle growled.

"You and Brandon got to do what you wanted yesterday, so now it's my turn," Aiden replied indignantly. "I'm going to challenge the gym. Now."

"It's not like you had a miserable day yesterday," Brandon sniped, which was unusual when it came to him addressing his best friend, "you trounced around the city with your girlfriend!"

At this, Michelle snickered, and Aiden's face went beet red. "Clarisse is not my girlfriend! Get that through your thick skull, Brandon!"

"Sure, whatever you say, lover boy," Brandon muttered under his breath. Snarling, Aiden pounced for Brandon, tackling the young breeder and pinning him down to the bed while trying to punch him. "OW! Aiden, get off! Quit it!"

"Not until you quit being stupid!" Aiden bit.

Eventually, Brandon managed to get his hands on Aiden's shoulders and throw the young trainer off the bed and onto the floor with a very audible thud. Aiden whined and started to rub his backside while throwing Brandon a sad look. The other boy wasn't deterred, however, and instead stuck his tongue out at the younger boy.

"Aiden, for Arceus' sake, why do you need us to go to the gym with you?" Michelle rolled her eyes while Aiden was hauling himself off the floor. "You're a big boy. Go yourself!"

"No, because you know that Mom told us we're not supposed to go off in separate directions," Aiden narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, so now you want to listen to Mom?" Michelle raised an eyebrow.

"If you don't come with me to the gym, then I'll tell Mom you ditched me yesterday to go shopping," Aiden effortlessly threatened.

Smacking her hands down on the bed, Michelle leaned forward and shouted, "Aiden, you're such a brat!"

"I don't care. I mean it."

Grabbing her pillow, Michelle chucked it at her brother and made direct contact with his head. With that accomplished, Michelle got out of bed and stomped her way over to the dresser, where she'd stored her day clothes for the duration of their visit. Before she knew it, Brandon was standing next to her, just as annoyed as the girl was.

"He's being a real pain, huh?" Brandon murmured.

"You have no idea," Michelle shook her head. "I hope he gets it."

XXX

After getting on Brandon and Michelle's nerves enough where the two actually got dressed, Aiden led them from the Pokémon Center to the Celadon Gym, where he was fully prepared to win his fourth gym badge.

"Once I get my hands on that badge, I'll be halfway to the Indigo League!" Aiden cheered.

"Yeah, you keep on dreaming," Michelle muttered.

"Pi-chu?" Pichu questioned.

"You know, you don't have to be such a pain, Shelly," Aiden sighed.

"I do when you wake me up before I'm done getting my beauty sleep!"

"You're right. I guess that's why you're so ugly."

"WHY YOU-"

"Alright, that's enough out of you two," Brandon sighed, holding back Michelle while she tried to claw at her brother. "Your fighting isn't going to get us anywhere, except for maybe the emergency room…"

Fortunately, the Celadon Gym wasn't hard to miss. It was a giant green house, with the roof designed to look like the top of a Gloom's head. Excitement overtaking him, Aiden ran up the stone steps of the building and began to pound on the glass door, yelling, "hey! I'm here for a gym battle! Open up!"

"Aiden, honestly!" Michelle's mouth was agape. She couldn't believe how rude her brother could be at times.

Brandon, while not fully surprised at Aiden's actions, had to also admit they were a little embarrassing. Upon further inspection, however, the slightly older boy also realized there was a sign hung up on the right side of the door; the one that Aiden wasn't banging on.

"Hey, Aiden, read that sign on the door!" Brandon called.

Stilling his fists, Aiden turned his head to read the hanging sign that Brandon had pointed out to him. Once the boy had finished scanning the signs words, a feeling of anger managed to replace the exuberance he had just been feeling.

"WHAT?!" Aiden cried in horror. "How could the gym leader not be here?!"

"Maybe because it's too early in the morning," Michelle yawned behind her hand.

"No way," Aiden turned around and stormed back down the stairs. "I know that's not the reason! I'm gonna' find the gym leader! Come on, guys. She's got to be somewhere in the city!"

"But that could be anywhere," Brandon frowned. "Celadon is huge!"

That worry seemed to fall on deaf ears, however. Aiden just continued his way down the sidewalk, and both Brandon and Michelle knew they wouldn't be able to stop him.

"Hey, Brandon, do you know anything about the Celadon City gym leader?" Michelle asked the breeder.

"Not that much, actually," Brandon twisted his mouth in deep thought. "My Dad never talks about him…or her."

"I feel like I've heard my Mom talk about them before, but nothing specific," Michelle closed her eyes as she tried to wrack her brain. "I also feel like my Mom doesn't like the gym leader here, for some reason. I almost always remember the words "Celadon gym" and "annoying" being used in the same sentence."

At this, Brandon chuckled. "That's very likely, I suppose."

A little ways down the street, Michelle was stopped in her tracks by a heavenly scent, which she assumed must have been floating out of a nearby shop. Looking up, Michelle realized that they were standing in front of a perfumery.

"Oh, look at this beautiful perfume store!" Michelle's eyes were sparkling. "I just love perfume! I used to take my Mom's all the time as a little girl and spray it on myself."

"There's nothing better than the smell of a mom's perfume," Brandon agreed. "I wonder if they have any cologne in there?"

"Hey, guys!" Aiden snapped. "We're looking for the gym leader, remember? You guys had your fun yesterday!"

"Relax, Aiden, this will only take a minute," Michelle waved a hand at her brother. "Besides, it's plenty early. You will find the gym leader, I promise."

And with that, Michelle and Brandon made their way into the perfume shop. Aiden, however, was not about to live with this decision. Not one bit. He angrily puffed his chest out and pushed back the door of the store, a small bell chiming to alert the owner of a new customer.

"Ah, hello there!"

Standing in the center of the shop was a woman with a dark headdress, wearing a yellow kimono adorned by orange flowers and trim.

"Hi," Michelle greeted sweetly. "I could smell all of your perfume from outside. It smells wonderful!"

"How sweet of you to say such a thing!" The woman giggled. "So, may I assume you are a fan of perfume?"

"Of course, I think it's wonderful!" Michelle nodded.

"And what's your name?"

"My name is Michelle," the girl replied kindly.

Gasping, the woman covered her heart and stared at the young red head in shock. "I don't believe it! Michelle! You're the Pokémon Master's daughter!"

"Err, yeah…" Michelle blushed, obviously embarrassed by the obvious connection.

"Such a beautiful girl!" The woman clapped her hands together. "Well, I can't have you in my shop and not treat you to all of our marvelous samples! Come, sit down! I'll have my assistants shower you with only the finest in high end fragrance!"

"I don't see how I could turn up that offer!" Michelle giggled, following after the woman. "Thanks, Dad!"

"Wait! Excuse me, ma'am!" Brandon ran after the two females, leaving behind a stunned and angry Aiden. The kimono draped woman and Michelle both stopped and turned around, finding Brandon to be rushing over to them. "You wouldn't happen to have any cologne, would you? I'm sort of a scent buff, myself."

At this, Aiden rolled his eyes. It was times like these that he was almost embarrassed to call Brandon his best friend.

"Oh, it's always wonderful to meet a young man with such an interest in attar!" The woman beamed. "We happen to have the biggest selection of cologne in the entire Kanto region! If you just follow me, I can show you all of our different scents!"

And just like that, Michelle and Brandon were both totally distracted. They were immediately surrounded by three girls apiece, with Michelle marveling over all of the different perfumes, and Brandon simply ogling the women themselves. Aiden, however, was left standing by the door, and to be honest, he was pretty ticked off. His sister was being an incredible pain, and Brandon wasn't behaving any better! All he wanted was a gym battle, and asking them to help him look for the gym leader really hadn't been that big of a request, especially after they'd already ditched him the day before!

Needless to say, Aiden was at the end of his rope.

So, with all of his patience worn thin, the angry raven haired boy marched forward, glaring at his twin sister the entire time. Michelle didn't notice, however. She was too busy partaking in the different perfume samples she was being offered. Sure, Michelle never quite liked partaking in her father's fame, but at certain times, such as these, the girl figured it couldn't hurt to indulge just a little bit.

"And this is one of our newest creations," a tall blonde commented as she sprayed the scented liquid onto Michelle's slender wrist, "it's made from honeysuckle, mandarin, and white peach, and it's all tied together with the essence of Gloom!"

Michelle raised her wrist to her nose and took a sniff of the perfume. "Wow, this one smells amazing! What do you think, Pichu?" She lifted her hand so the baby Pokémon could also get a whiff of the stuff.

"Chu!" Pichu squeaked in agreement.

"How cute, even Pichu loves it!" A brunette, who was standing to the right of Michelle, giggled.

"Hey, Shelly, come on!" Aiden complained. "Don't you remember our mission?!"

"Aiden, not everything has to be about you," Michelle rolled her eyes for the second time that morning. "All I'm doing is smelling some of the perfume!"

"And that's a complete waste of time!" Aiden barked. "Perfume is only the dumbest thing in the whole world!"

At this, the women gathered around both Michelle and Brandon gasped in horror. Even the young trainers who were the objects of their affections looked rather insulted.

"What did you just say?!" The blonde who had just been spraying Michelle with perfume cried.

"You heard me, perfume is stupid!" Aiden bit. "It smells gross and is a complete waste of money! And girls only use it to turn guys into zombies! I would know, I've seen my Mom do it to my Dad like a hundred times!"

Before Aiden could do anything else, the woman in the headdress was right in his face, sending a shiver up the boy's spine. "Excuse me, young man, but you simply cannot stand around in my shop and insult the fine creation that is perfume!"

"Hey, I'm right!" Aiden argued. "My parents might not be here to prove it, but just look at him!" Aiden pointed a finger at Brandon. He was still seated with the three women surrounding him, practically drooling.

The woman giggled softly at Brandon before setting a glare back on Aiden. The boy didn't look at all apologetic, however, and this seemed to cement the woman's displeasure.

"Well, if you hate perfume that much, then I'm sure it won't hurt you to be banned from my shop!" The woman picked Aiden up by the collar of his shirt and dragged him towards the front door.

"Not exactly," Aiden huffed. "But I'd really appreciate it if you could ban those two also! I need them!"

"I'm sure you'll be just fine without them," the woman sniffed before tossing Aiden to the curb and slamming the door shut.

"Ouch," Aiden whined, sitting up and rubbing at his backside, which already hurt from falling on the floor of the Pokémon Center earlier. "Man!"

"You insulted the perfume, didn't you?"

Aiden looked behind him and found himself staring at a young girl with dark brown hair stretching midway down her back. Her bright green eyes were twinkling with mischievousness, and a backwards spring green baseball cap was pressed onto the top of her head.

"How did you know?" Aiden grumbled.

"Happens all the time," the girl answered nonchalantly. "I hope you weren't looking to battle at the Celadon Gym."

"I am," Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Snickering, the young brunette bent down and placed her hands on her knees so she could be at eye level with Aiden. "Because, the manager of the perfume shop is also the gym leader!"

"WHAT?!" Aiden jumped to his feet, which now made him taller than young girl. "Please tell me you're joking!"

"I don't joke around," the girl shook her head.

"Fantastic," Aiden muttered.

"You know, I don't usually offer to help people, but I think there's something different about you," the child smirked.

"So what, you're gonna' get me into the gym?" Aiden rolled his eyes.

"Of course."

This response took Aiden by surprise. "Wait…you can do that?"

"Sure I can! But you gotta' trust me. Do you?"

"I don't know," Aiden narrowed his eyes. "You're like…six years old. How can I be sure you know what you're doing?"

"I'm eight, genius!" The girl snapped. She managed to calm down before smiling sweetly at a disturbed Aiden and reassuring him, "I know what I'm doing. Believe me. I just can't make it work without your trust. So?"

Groaning, Aiden shook his head and decided, "Guess I don't have much of a choice. Fine, I trust you."

"Great!" The girl clapped her hands together before offering one to the raven haired trainer. "The name's Flora! Nice to meet ya'!"

"Aiden," the boy replied, shaking hands with the younger girl. "Same to you!"

XXX

"Remember when I said I trusted you?"

"Mmhm."

"Well…I don't."

Aiden was now glaring at his reflection in the mirror. Flora had dragged him to, of all places, her house, and brought him into her room. The young trainer was surprised by the lack of parents in the house, but he didn't want to start anything by asking questions.

As it would turn out, Flora's big idea materialized pretty quickly, and Aiden was less than thrilled to be taking part in it. He, for one, didn't see how it would help him to get into the gym. Not to mention it was completely demoralizing.

"You're sure this is going to work?" Aiden sighed.

"Yes, for the hundredth time!" Flora groaned.

Aiden once again stared at his reflection in the floor length, white trimmed mirror. He had a long blonde wig on his head, the strands of which were loosely curled and uncomfortably framing his face. On his body was a short petticoat dress; a nauseating cotton candy pink in color. The matching bow tied into his wig didn't much help the unsettling feeling in his stomach, either. On his feet was a pair of white sandals that Flora had managed to find. They were both shocked the shoes even fit on Aiden's feet.

"It doesn't even look like me," Aiden complained.

"Yeah, that's the point," Flora bit.

"You know," Aiden narrowed his eyes at the young girl, "for a tomboy, you sure seem to have an awful lot of girly stuff."

Flora rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. "Blame my Mom."

"Huh?" Aiden blinked.

The young brunette sighed and made her way over to her white canopy bed, draped with pink lace curtains. She settled herself on the white comforter which was printed by light pink flowers and fairies and glared at the bedding before punching it with a small fist. Aiden could tell the girl was upset, and that wasn't something he liked to see. For some reason, this little girl reminded him of his baby sister. So, he too walked over to the bed and took a seat next to the child, waiting for her to explain.

"My Mom has always wanted me to be a girly girl," Flora explained. "From the time I was a baby, she was always dressing me in pink and buying me stuff that had little fairies on it. Like my stupid bed sheets."

Aiden glanced down at the comforter and examined print. It was definitely pretty heinous in his eyes. Then again, that was the kind of stuff that Elizabeth went gaga over.

"But I'm not a girly girl," Flora continued. "I never have been! I hate pink and I hate dresses." Motioning towards herself, Flora exclaimed, "this is one of my favorite outfits! I must wear it like…twice a week because I refuse to wear what my Mom buys me!"

This finally made Aiden notice the girl's outfit. It was a pair of denim overalls with the right strap hanging off of her shoulder, and a spring green short sleeved t-shirt that perfectly matched the hat on her head. In addition, the girl's footwear, a pair of dirt covered white sneakers, definitely didn't reflect the image of a girly girl.

"It's really bad, because she teaches an etiquette class," Flora furrowed her brow. "I'm one of her students, but I hate it. I'm always skipping class and getting in trouble. But I don't want to learn how to be a lady! Those stupid classes always make me miss practice!"

"Practice?" Aiden questioned.

"I want to be a baseball player," Flora nodded. She climbed fully onto the bed and stood up, jumping up and down and messing up the bed spread. "It's my dream to play for the Celadon Ivysaurs!"

"Well, that would explain the walls," Aiden scanned the bedroom. While the walls were painted a bright hibiscus pink, they were plastered with posters of various baseball players. "What position do you like to play?"

"Third base," Flora smiled. "Sometimes, I'll play catcher, but third base is my favorite!"

"Hey, that was my position, too!" Aiden beamed.

"Really?" Flora jumped back down and grinned at the boy. "You played baseball?"

"Sure! Back when I was a kid," Aiden nodded. "Well, I guess I'm still kind of a kid. But…I mean, I played when I was younger. One time, I told my Dad I wanted to be a professional baseball player instead of a Pokémon Master, and I think it disappointed him."

"That sounds like my life," Flora sulked.

"I changed my mind back after a few months," Aiden chuckled. "But…I think that even though my Dad was kinda' upset about it, he wouldn't have been mad if I hadn't changed my mind back."

"My Dad doesn't mind that I'm a tomboy," Flora sighed. "But he's almost never home. He's always away on trips for his job! He's a businessman, so he travels all the time."

"Just because you're a tomboy doesn't mean your mom doesn't love you, though," Aiden smiled sympathetically at the girl. "She'll always love you, no matter what!"

"Sometimes I'm not sure," Flora frowned, sinking back down onto the bed from her feet.

"Trust me, I would know better than anyone!" Aiden smiled. "Even though I didn't want to be what my Dad dreamed of me being, he still loved me. Our parents are supposed to love us for who we are! I'm sure your mom understands that."

"How do you know?" Flora narrowed her eyes.

"Because parents are really good at that kind of stuff," Aiden shrugged. "I don't know how, but they always know what to do. It's like they've got super powers or something!"

At this, Flora giggled. Aiden smiled; happy to see that he had succeeded in making the girl feel better. It couldn't have been fun, feeling that they you were continuously disappointing your mother just because of who you were.

"Come on," Aiden nudged gently, "let's go to that gym and get me a battle!"

"Sounds good to me!" Flora grinned at the boy currently disguised as a girl.

XXX

It was completely humiliating to walk around Celadon City dressed as a girl. None of these people knew there was actually a boy beneath all of that blonde hair, of course, but that didn't make Aiden feel any less awkward.

"I don't understand how girls wear these stupid things," Aiden tugged at the frilly skirt of his dress. "My legs are freezing!"

"I don't get it either," Flora scrunched her nose up.

She had soon led him back to the giant greenhouse that was the gym. Aiden was about to make his way back up the stairs, until Flora called out for him to stop.

"The gym leader won't be inside right now!" Flora warned.

"What do you mean?" Aiden spun around.

"At this time, she's in the garden," Flora explained. "We have to go back there."

"The garden?" Aiden questioned.

Flora led the disguised Aiden around to the back of the gym and peered behind the glass paneled green house. Aiden followed suit, and found what must have been the gym leader sitting at the head of a long table. She had the same face as the perfume manager from before, but was now missing the headpiece and kimono. Instead, her natural hair, which was blue and cut into a bob, was apparent, and she was outfitted in a fitted, dark green dress with a white apron layered over it.

"So, that's the gym leader, huh?" Aiden murmured.

"It might help you to know her name," Flora snickered.

"Oh…right," Aiden sweat dropped. "What's her name?"

"Erika," Flora replied simply.

At this, Aiden's eyes widened. He had definitely heard his mother say that name before. And usually, when he heard that name, it was his mother complaining to his father about the woman.

"Well, good luck, Aiden!"

The boy was shaken out of his trance by the feeling of a pat on his back. Looking over his shoulder, he found that it was Flora patting him, and after a few more touches, she started to walk away.

"Wait, you're just gonna' leave me all by myself?!" Aiden panicked.

"I have something I need to do," Flora shrugged. "Besides, I'm a kid. What does a big kid like you need me for?"

"Moral support?!" Aiden was frantic.

"You're funny," Flora giggled. "Maybe I'll come watch your battle later! See ya!"

"Flora, get back here!" Aiden shouted as the small brunette made a dash for it. Unfortunately, the small girl was running far too quickly for an unprepared Aiden…especially when he was wearing a dress. Grumbling, the boy shook out his artificial, curly blonde locks and mumbled to himself, "oh well. Go time, I guess."

With one last deep breath, Aiden stepped into the garden and made his way towards Erika. As he got closer, the disguised boy realized that his sister and best friend were both seated by the gym leader's sides, watching her pour tea into several small tea cups.

Clearing his throat, Aiden piped up in a high pitched voice, "e-excuse me? But are you the gym leader?"

Erika looked up at what she thought was a female visitor and smiled sweetly. "Hello there! Yes, I am! Can I help you with something?"

"Oh, yes!" Aiden nodded. He hated using this stupid voice. "My name is Ai-I mean, my name is Adrianne, and I want to challenge you to a gym battle!"

"A gym battle, huh?" Erika giggled. "I would love to! But I'm a little busy at the moment, could we perhaps do it after my class?"

"Uh, class?" 'Adrianne' squeaked.

At that moment, two figures brushed by 'Adrianne's' legs, alarming the disguised boy. Looking down, he realized they were two young girls, both dressed up in kimonos. There was a blonde in a cherry blossom pink kimono, printed with darker pink butterflies, flowers, and edged in the same shade of pink. The brunette next to her was in a lilac kimono, adorned by violet dragonflies and flowers.

"Good morning, Cambry and Claudia," Erika smiled at the girls.

"Good morning, Miss Erika!" They both greeted simultaneously.

"Oh, they're so cute!" Michelle giggled. At this, Aiden turned his head away in order to roll his eyes.

"You two can both take a seat at the table," Erika motioned down the long slab of wood. "We'll begin our lesson shortly!"

Cambry and Claudia carefully made their way over to the table and took seats next to one another, on the right side of where Erika sat.

"Adrianne, perhaps you'd like to take part in our lesson today as well!" Erika suggested brightly.

Aiden had no idea what kind of lesson Erika was teaching, and he didn't really want to find out. But he had already made the gym leader mad once, and he wasn't about to do it again. Especially when Erika didn't even know it was him beneath the wig.

"Oh, I would love to," 'Adrianne' smiled weakly. The disguised boy made his way over to the table, trying to tide the blush that was fighting to form on his cheeks. Regardless, he managed to sit down on the left side of Cambry, noting that the two young girls were very close friends and refused to separate themselves from one another.

Erika seemed a little disappointed when she looked around the table, but never the less, she was able to put on a fake smile and continue, "now, aside from Adrianne, we have two very special guests with us for today's lesson! And they're two real Pokémon trainers!"

"Real Pokémon trainers?!" Cambry and Claudia chimed excitedly.

"Yes!" Erika giggled. "We have Brandon, who is a Pokémon breeder, and Michelle, who is a coordinator!"

"Oh, I want to be a coordinator!" Cambry beamed. "They're so lovely! I want to wear pretty dresses and show off how beautiful my Pokémon are!"

"Me too!" Claudia agreed.

"Being a coordinator is really fun," Michelle nodded. "I think you two would make great coordinators! If you keep your dreams, I'm sure you'll reach them one day!"

This prospect excited Cambry and Claudia very much. 'Adrianne,' however, was not as impressed. It was just his sister, after all. Why was she so inspirational?

"I'm sorry I'm late!"

Everyone at the table, including the disguised Aiden, looked over towards the entrance to Erika's garden. A third young girl, this one with very dark brown hair, had arrived for the class, and when Aiden saw who it was, he gasped.

It was Flora.

She had changed out of her baseball cap and overalls and into a dressier and more girly kimono, this one sky blue and printed with darker blue roses. Her hair, however, was still messy. It was very obvious she'd had that hat pulled over her head for quite some time.

"Flora, where have you been?" Erika frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry, I was exploring the city and I lost track of time," Flora gave an apologetic bow.

"Again?" Erika scowled.

"Yes," Flora was apologetic.

"I don't know what in the world I'm going to do with you," Erika shook her head before motioning towards the table they were all seated around. "But at least you're here now. Take a seat."

"Yes, Mom," Flora murmured, shuffling up next to the disguised Aiden and sitting on his left side.

The boy stared down at the little brunette girl in pure shock. Her mother…the one who didn't approve of her being a tomboy…the one who pushed her to be a little princess…was Erika.

Well, he thought acidly, this situation couldn't get any worse.

"Now, as I already told Cambry and Claudia, we have three special guests for today's class," Erika repeated. "They are Michelle, Brandon, and Adrianne."

Trying not to snicker, Flora glanced up at the "girl" sitting next to her and mumbled, "Adrianne, huh?"

Before Aiden could retaliate, Erika scolded, "Flora, no mumbling! It isn't lady like!"

"Sorry," Flora sighed and gave another small bow, this time with just her head. It was obvious in her face, however, that she hated what she was doing.

"How rude," a squeaky voice quipped. Aiden and Flora both looked up, finding that the source of the jibe was none other than the little blonde girl in the pink kimono, Cambry. "You show up late, and then you act out!"

"That's not good etiquette," Claudia agreed, a strand of her light brown hair falling into her light blue eyes.

"Now now girls, let's all settle down and carry on with our lessons," Erika warned as she cast Flora a cautioning glance. She could tell that her daughter was prepared to attack the other girls, obviously not amused by their comments.

Bending "her" head down, "Adrianne" frowned and whispered to Flora, "What's up with those two?"

"I hate them," was Flora's quiet but seething reply. "They're snobby little brats who always get their way! And they think they're better than me just 'cause they're girly."

"Flora, no whispering at the table!" Erika scolded in an exasperated fashion.

"Sorry," Flora hissed, trying not to lose her temper.

From Michelle's shoulder, Pichu stared at "Adrianne" and curiously twitched her big ears. There seemed to be something familiar about the girl, but Pichu wasn't sure what it was. Hopping off of her trainer's shoulder, Pichu scurried over to "Adrianne" and jumped into the disguised boy's lap, pawing at the dress and sniffing all over. Flora glanced over curiously, raising a dark brown eyebrow as Pichu examined an obviously tense "Adrianne."

"Pichu, go away," Aiden whispered urgently, making sure to keep his voice low so none of the females at the table, or Brandon, would realize he was actually a boy.

"Pi-pichu!" Pichu squeaked happily.

"No, Pichu!" Aiden's hushed voice grew fiercer.

Growling angrily, Pichu thunder shocked "Adrianne" without any other warning, completely charring what everyone assumed to be a girl. His entire body was now doing an excellent job of representing a toasted marshmallow, and soon enough, the blonde wig on his head disintegrated into nothing more than a pile of dark, smoking ashes.

"AIDEN!" Michelle and Brandon cried.

"Yeah, it's me," Aiden grumbled, Pichu proudly hopping off of his lap to return to Michelle.

"You again…" Erika seethed. "You're the same boy who insulted the perfume before!"

"I didn't know you were the gym leader!" Aiden defended himself.

"That isn't a valid excuse!" Erika replied in a fiery manner. "Besides, where did you even get the idea to sneak back into my grounds? Where did you find that dress? It looks awfully familiar…"

Having heard enough, Flora let out a small cry before jumping to her feet and yelling, "It was me, Mom! I disguised Aiden so he could get back in here!"

"Flora, how could you?!" Erika sounded very disappointed in her daughter.

"I found him outside of the perfume shop, and all he wanted was a gym battle," Flora explained, her tone slowly becoming more timid, "so I decided to help him. Please don't be mad at me or him, Mom. Aiden is my friend."

"Your friend?" Erika repeated almost acidly.

"He's nice," Flora nodded. "He talked to me about stuff. Like…how when he was little, he changed his mind about what he wanted to be for a little while. His Dad got upset because he didn't want to be a Pokémon Master anymore, and-"

"A Pokémon Master?" Erika's eyes snapped open. She stared at Aiden for a few seconds before turning her attention onto Michelle, who was still glaring at the raven haired boy in the dress. "Aiden and Michelle…oh no…"

"What?" The two siblings chimed simultaneously.

"You two are Misty's children!" Erika gasped, covering her eyes with her hands in obvious anguish.

"Misty…that's Cerulean's gym leader!" Flora murmured in realization. "I know who she is! And I know…she's married to the Pokémon Master!" Gasping, she stared up at Aiden with eyes full of shock and shouted, "your Dad is the Pokémon Master?!"

"Yep," Aiden couldn't help but to smile at Flora's fascination. "Mine and Michelle's dad. Michelle is my twin sister."

"Whoa…" Flora looked over at Michelle, who was now blushing and looked slightly less angry.

"If I don't give you a gym battle, Misty will never let me hear the end of it," Erika muttered, mostly to herself. Grimacing, she looked up and gave Aiden a determined look, which he whole heartedly returned. "Fine. I'll battle you. But it'll have to wait until after my class. And it's not going to be easy."

"I don't want it to be," Aiden replied easily. Sighing, Erika shook her head and finally smirked, much to Aiden's confusion. "What?"

"You know, I don't know what it is with you Ketchum boys," Erika chuckled earnestly. "You all have to go to such great lengths to battle me. And for some reason, they all involve a dress…"

Aiden just blinked. He had absolutely no idea what the woman was talking about. His father had never told him anything about his own battle at the Celadon City gym.

Obviously, Aiden was going to have some questions for his father the next time they spoke.

Like father, like son :P I absolutely HAD to parallel Ash's experience with Erika. I had to. It helps when, in my 'verse, Misty and Erika have some serious tension between them. So, yeah, Ashley and Adrianne. Delia and Misty must be so proud ;)

The battle will commence next time, since it's Aiden's first three-on-three. And we're in for quite a ride! Until then, leave a review and bring a smile to my still pained face? Pretty please? :)