Oh wow I take a long time to update things.

HERE'S CHAPTER 2!

Oh well shoot. I forgot things were supposed to evolve... OH WELL. NEXT TIME I'LL REMEMBER.

Chapter 2: Pawniard vs. Gurdurr.

Of course, after the dance, Burgundy just had to storm away from him, muttering under her breath, her cheeks bright red. Cilan walked back over to where Ash was sitting, oblivious to the glare Iris had fixed on him – she and Stephen were both sitting at the table again. Ash was enjoying a plate of mashed potatoes, while Stephen was biting into a large chicken leg. He gave Cilan a thumbs up.

"You thoo wook weally goot togeher," he said, the leg still in his mout Cilan caught Iris scowling, but he smiled at Stephen.

"I'm glad you think so. Burgundy might disagree with you though."

"So what did you say to get that old guy to bugger off?" Ash inquired, shoving another forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"I told him I was her brother," Cilan replied; Ash looked mildly disappointed. Cilan closed his eyes tightly, still ignoring Iris' glare.

'I don't see what she has to be so mad about. She had me to herself for two whole dances,' he sighed and looked at her, quirking an eyebrow. She continued to scowl at him. A shout caught Cilan's attention and he looked towards the center of the room.

Georgia's face was the same color as her hair and she was glaring at Trip, who stood across from her.

"That's it! I'll wipe that condescending attitude right out of you! We're starting the battles! Right now!" she threw her Pokeball at Trip and it bounced off his chest, releasing Pawniard right in front of him.

Trip bared his teeth and called out his Gurdurr – the muscular Pokemon towered over Georgia's Pawniard.

Aislynn stepped between the two Pokemon, giving her head a shake.

"All right, since you two seem ready to go at it. We'll start the battles off with this!" a Gothielle appeared next to her and, using its Psychic powers, changed Aislynn's dress to suit, complete with high heels.

'A very feminine taste,' Cilan decided, watching with interest as Ash and Iris rushed over to join the slowly growing crowd.

"As the current league Champion, I'll personally oversee this match! Take your places! As for the observers, I'd ask that you please step back. Just so you know, this cruise ship is built to withstand powerful attacks like Earthquake and Fissure, so please don't hold back," she walked to what had been determined the center of the battlefield.

Cilan noticed with mild amusement that Trip looked shocked to see that Aislynn was the League Champion.

"Our first match is – Georgia versus Trip. This battle is one-on-one; Pokemon may not be switched out. The battle will end when one of the Pokemon faint," she looked at Trip; he nodded to her. Georgia did the same when Aislynn looked at her.

Aislynn raised an arm in the air and brought it down, announcing in a loud voice: "Begin!"

Georgia shocked Cilan by ordering her Pawniard to use Guillotine right off the bat. Trip's Gurdurr dodged easily, and hit the smaller Pokemon with his steel bar.

'If Trip's Gurdurr hits Georgia's Pawniard once... it's all over. She's at a severe type disadvantage,' Cilan wrinkled his nose, 'very distasteful.'

"Gurdurr, use Low kick!" the Gurdurr did as commanded, though Georgia hastily screamed for her Pawniard to jump onto Gurdurr's steel bar, causing her to narrowly avoid the attack.

"Guillotine!" she countered, but Trip was prepared.

"Throw it off balance," the command was calm; Cilan shook his head. Trip knew he was going to win the battle, as long as he could prevent the Pawniard from using Guillotine.

Trip's Gurdurr tipped his steel bar just enough to make the Pawniard fall off. She blinked her eyes, surprised.

"All right, now use Dynamic punch before she can recover," Trip said, gesturing to the Pawniard.

"Land on his arm and use Guillotine!" Georgia cried. Her Pawniard did as she was told, landing on the Gurdurr's arm.

"Strength," Trip called, and his Gurdurr grabbed the Pawniard by her neck and slammed her against the floor of the ship, breaking her Guillotine.

"Finish it with Low kick," Trip's Gurdurr hesitated, looking back at his trainer. Trip nodded his head, though he scratched the back of his neck. His Gurdurr shrugged, and spun on one foot, his other foot making solid contact with Georgia's Pawniard. She was sent flying into the ceiling, which she hit before crashing back into the floor of the ship. Sounds of sympathy rose from the crowd.

Pawniard didn't even twitch.

"Pawniard is unable to battle!" Aislynn didn't miss a beat, "the battle goes to Gurdurr, therefore Trip is the winner!"

"Good job, Gurdurr," Trip said, patting his Pokemon on the head. Cilan tilted his head, furrowing his brow.

'He seems quite unhappy about this win. I could wonder why he didn't use Servine, but it's clearly because he didn't want to give her a chance to win,' Cilan's eyes flicked to the Pokeball on the table, waiting for him to step up to the battles and reveal what was inside.

Georgia angrily recalled her Pawniard, glaring at the Pokeball in her hand before she spat, "you could have done better."

"The ability of the Pokemon is the same as the ability of the trainer," Aislynn pointed out, "you're the one who could have done better."

Cilan felt a chill run down his spine at the tone of her voice. Aislynn was clearly displeased with how Georgia was reacting. Trip sighed, calling his own Pokemon back into his Pokeball.

"Look, Georgia. I wasn't going to use Servine just so you could have a chance at beating me. And what was with you using Guillotine all the time? It makes it kinda' obvious you're unfamiliar with your Paw-" he stopped talking when Georgia slapped a hand against his chest.

"Shut up!" she hissed before quickly turning away and storming off. Trip stared after her, stunned.

"Who's next?" Aislynn called; Cilan shook his head when Ash dashed over to her, "me me me me!"

She laughed, "all right, you're next. And who'll be," she glanced at the Gothielle, "Ash's opponent?"

Stephen quickly walked up, "that'd be me. The name's Stephen. But you already know, don't'cha Aislynn?"

The woman shot a glare at Raphael and smiled at Stephen, "but of course."

Cilan stood, grabbing the Pokeball off the table before he made his way over to the crowd. He spotted Burgundy and shuffled through the crowd until he stood next to her. She lowered her head in a slight nod, acknowledging that he was there.

"She was crying, you know," she commented offhandedly as Stephen started the fight off by ordering his Sawk to use Bulk up. She tilted her head, "you think Pikachu will lose if Stephen's Sawk uses Close combat right after Bulk up?"

"There's a possibility of that," Cilan agreed, moving closer to her so someone could get by him, "you aren't going to do a tasting?"

"Not with you standing right next to me," she muttered bitterly. Cilan gave her a smile.

"Still sore about that comment Georgia made – ow," he wrapped an arm around his stomach. Burgundy had elbowed him.

"Don't remind me," she hissed. Cilan shook his head, tightening his grip on the Premier ball in his hand.

"So Georgia was crying?" both he and Burgundy cringed when Ash's Pikachu took a direct with from Close combat. The attack had the yellow mouse reeling, but the fight wasn't over yet, and Pikachu easily sent off another Thunderbolt at Ash's command, following it up with Iron tail.

"Hmph, I'm surprised you didn't notice," she looked up at him, crossing her arms over her chest, "I'm sure it has something to do with what they were bickering about earlier. But really... she should have known better than to take Trip on when he had two Pokemon to choose between."

Cilan thought about it, 'she should have. But I wonder what they argued about,' he furrowed his brow, glancing at Burgundy, 'come to think of it, Burgundy said that her Sawsbuck could easily take down Georgia's Pawniard. I know her Sawsbuck can use Jump kick and Megahorn, both of which are super effective against Pawniard. But she did say her new Pokemon could take down the Pawniard just as easily. Could that mean-' he lowered his head.

"Burgundy, would your new Pokemon happen to be of Fighting type?"

Her lips curled up in an unamused smile. She turned her head so Cilan couldn't see her face, "as expected. Of course you would have figured it out sooner or later. I was expecting sooner, though, A-class," she gave him a coy look over her shoulder before she started to weave into the crowd away from him.

Cilan finally noticed that the battle between Ash and Stephen had ended in a tie, with both Pikachu and Sawk lying motionless on the floor. Cilan hurried after Burgundy, Ash and Stephen congratulating each other and their Pokemon on a job well done.

"Why are you following me?" Burgundy asked, lifting a flute off the table. He gave her a look.

"What? I'm old enough," she took a sip and moved to lean against the wall. Cilan stood next to her. He didn't know what to say, so he watched as the next battle unfolded – a Beartic up against a Deino.

"So did you bring Pansage with you?" Burgundy asked, breaking the silence. Cilan had never felt so unwilling to answer a question before.

"I – was unaware there were going to be battles on the cruise."

Burgundy nearly spat out the champagne when she laughed. Cilan frowned at her, but soon found himself laughing too.

"Y-you of all people d-didn't know there were g-going to be battles! Oh, that's rich, Cilan," she shook her head, dragging her finger over her lips, "so who's Pokemon is that?"

"Raphael's. Apparently it's female, as he told me to take good care of her," Cilan sighed, leaning his head back against the wall, "I have no idea what kind of Pokemon she is though. I haven't checked."

"So you're looking to surprise yourself," Burgundy commented, "by not even checking to see if you'll have a good marriage with her before using her in a battle.

"Don't forget I'm an A-class Sommelier. I'll figure it out."

"But you don't even know what kind of moves she has. On top of that, you don't even know what type of Pokemon she is. Grass, Fire, Water... you don't know that," she took another sip of the champagne, smug smile on her lips, "A-class or not... that could be your downfall, couldn't it?"

"You would like to see me fail?"

"Oh I would love to see you fail," she purred, elbowing him lightly.

Irritated that she was refusing to even humor him by giving him the benefit of the doubt, he moved to stand in front of her, bracing his forearm against the wall above her head. Burgundy stared up at him, taking another sip of her drink – but it was obvious she was doing her best not to let his proximity get to her.

"How about we battle, Burgundy? If you win, I'll do whatever you say for a week. And if I win, you'll be my apprentice. Sound good?"

She tensed, her lilac eyes widening. Her hands started quivering.

"Whatever I say..."

"Yes."

"For a whole week?" she was looking at him like he was crazy to even suggest it, but he thought it was fair. After all, it wasn't like he could be her apprentice.

"I do believe that's what I said," he muttered, leaning down, "or was there something else that would be more enticing a taste for you, Burgundy?"

The blush he had been hoping for rose to her cheeks; she nearly dropped the flute of champagne, fumbling to keep her fingers around it.

When she blushed, her thinking was usually impaired. She would accept his challenge.

"You're on," she pressed the top of the flute to his chest, her eyes serious, "and I won't give you the chance to figure out what even one of her moves is."

'That's what you say,' he returned her serious gaze, 'but I won't lose.'

'Just where has she – ah! There she is,' Trip paused in the doorway that led to the deck. His sharp eyes surveyed the city; quickly he pulled out his camera and snapped a shot. Castelia was brightly lit up at night, lights dancing over the water. They were only half way around the city by now.

He turned his gaze back to Georgia and snapped a photo of her without a second thought. A light behind her was lighting her up so beautifully against the deep blue sky as it steadily got darker; unfortunately she had heard the camera go off and snapped her head in his direction.

"Oh it's you," her voice seethed with anger. Trip sighed and pocketed his camera, taking careful steps towards her.

"You didn't think I would actually use Servine against your Pawniard when I have Gurdurr with me, did you?" the way her eyes narrowed informed him that yes, she had actually thought that.

"I wasn't going to deliberately give you a chance at beating me. Unlike Ash, that's not how I work," he informed her, standing an elbow's length away from her. She jabbed her finger at his chest.

"I'm not gonna' blame you for the fact that I lost, but you could have used your Servine to prove it was strong!"

"And you could have used your Pawniard's other moves instead of stubbornly sticking to Guillotine," he reminded her, "you made the same mistake when you battled Ash's Snivy."

"That was the terrain it had nothing to do with-"

"Oh come off it, Georgia!" he snapped angrily; she pulled her hand back, lips quivering, "why would you waste your Pawniard's ability on an attack like Guillotine? It's incredibly unreliable! It's a move that should be used as a last resort or when you have a clear type advantage – but constantly trying to use it against a Gurdurr? A fighting type? Your Pawniard is quick on her feet, she should have – it would have been easy for her to dodge the majority of my Gurdurr's attacks!" he wrapped a hand around the railing, resting his other hand on his hip, "if you had stopped trying to end the battle so quickly your Pawniard could have beaten my Gurdurr with her speed. Using Metal Claw would have been effective enough."

Trip finally noticed the tears on her cheeks; she sniffed. She was like him, someone who didn't take losing too well, but different than him, for not accepting any of her losses. Always having to blame the loss on something else, or not accepting it entirely, like she had when she had battled Iris' Excadrill with her Beartic.

'Iris... sure that battle had ended in a tie but even Georgia should have accepted that,' Georgia tried to move away from him but he caught her around the waist, pulling her close enough to give her a gentle hug.

"It... it wasn't my intention to make you cry. I'm sorry," he muttered, looking her in the eyes; the green was more vivid from her tears. She roughly shoved him away, stomping off down the deck.

Trip sighed.

'What a troublesome girl,' he thought, pulling his camera out of his pocket. He turned it on, looking at the photo he had caught of her looking out over the water. His heart jumped a little.

'But... the camera loves her.'

"And the next battle will be between Cilan and Burgundy!" Aislynn announced. Cilan briefly wondered if she ever got tired of refereeing all the battles. She glanced at him and smiled.

'Well here it goes. And the stakes are high,' he was impressed that Burgundy was holding his gaze.

"The battle will be one-on-one. No switching Pokemon. Please call them out now."

Burgundy said nothing, but kissed the top of her Pokeball and threw it at the center of the designated battle area. Cilan stared, awestruck almost, when a Mienshao stared back at him. It was poised perfectly, prepared for whatever he threw at it.

"This is my new vintage, Mienshao," Burgundy announced, bringing a hand up to her hair and then flipping some strands over her shoulder, "her elegance suits me, don't you think, Cilan?"

He was certain he was the only one who caught the nervous twinge in her voice, but he agreed with her, "yes, her elegance suits you," and he quickly sent out the Pokemon Raphael had given him.

Of all the Pokemon Cilan expected, Liligant wasn't one of them.

And as Burgundy called out to her Mienshao to use Acrobatics, Cilan remembered her statement earlier: "And I won't give you the chance to figure out what even one of her moves are."

'Darn it!' he cursed inwardly, telling the Liligant to dodge. She did so, but her shoulder was clipped by the end of the attack. Burgundy's Mienshao retreated, dashing away from the Liligant. The Liligant glanced back at Cilan, and he nodded to her, 'I just need some time. I can figure this out.'

"Mienshao, continue using Acrobatics! Concentrate!" Burgundy ordered. Her Mienshao sprinted forwards before leaping into the air - the Liligant did her best to dodge. She glanced back at Cilan again, twirling on her feet.

"Quiver dance!" and so the Liligant did, and while Cilan ordered her to continue using Quiver Dance to dodge Mienshao's attacks, he thought hard.

He sought out Raphael and saw the dark haired man attempting to do some kind of action.

'Is he -' he flinched when Mienshao's Acrobatics made a direct hit, sending Liligant flying back, screeching in pain '- trying to make snow? How is that supposed to help me!'

Cilan furrowed his brow further when Raphael pretended to fall asleep – and then Cilan understood.

"Scatter Sleep Powder all over," he calmly told Liligant – and he could have sworn she smiled a little.

Now much faster because of using Quiver Dance multiple times, Liligant danced about Burgundy's Mienshao, scattering a green dust. Unless Mienshao knew an attack like Whirlwind or Rapid Spin, it was virtually impossible to avoid Liligant's Sleep Powder.

'I honestly feel like I'm cheating,' Cilan chided himself inwardly – he should have taken the time earlier to find out everything he was discovering now.

Burgundy's Mienshao was fighting against the sleep, but as she collapsed to the floor Cilan watched Raphael pretend to grab something out of the air and eat it.

'That must be Dream Eater... I'm lucky for this move set up,' he shrugged at Burgundy – she was very distressed, her stance tense and her hands balled into fists.

"Liligant, Dream Earter," Cilan shuddered when he saw purple-black smoke rise from around the gentle Pokemon – the smoke took the shape of a mouth and encased Burgundy's Mienshao. Cilan watched her carefully; he watched her bite her lip, watched her straighten a little.

Burgundy held his gaze but for a moment before looking away. She already knew who was going to win.

"I forfeit," she suddenly called out, "Mienshao, return."

The audience let out a variety of gasps, surprised that Burgundy would forfeit. Cilan was shocked as well, staring after her as she walked away. Aislynn shook her head a little and raised her arm, pointing at Cilan.

"Burgundy has forfeited the match. Therefore, Cilan wins by default," she announced; Cilan clenched one hand. Raphael was by his side then.

Without waiting for him to say anything Cilan returned the Liligant's Pokeball, muttering a thank you before heading off to find Burgundy.

'I don't quite understand. Why would she do that? She could have still made a rebound, her Mienshao wasn't weak at all...' he pressed two fingers to his forehead, about to make his way to the stairs when he ran into Iris.

"Cilan!" she was happy to see him, "how did your match go? Ash told me you went up against Burgundy."

"She forfeit," he replied bluntly, "I'm looking for her to find out why. It's not like her to just back out of a match."

Iris' face fell, "oh... um... I hope you find her."

Cilan gave Iris a quizzical look, "do you know where she went?"

The girl frowned, lowering her head, "yeah... she's on the deck," Cilan stepped around Iris, thanking her. When he was half way up the stairs he heard her say, "she looked pretty content though."

He didn't know why it worried him, for Burgundy to be calm about forfeiting a match.

Cilan found her leaning against the railing, staring out at the bridge – the cruise would be coming to an end soon. He frowned and walked over to her, stopping to stand slightly behind her.

"So I see you've found me," she muttered, looking over her shoulder. He narrowed his eyes.

"Why did you forfeit?" he asked as he moved to stand behind her, leaning against the railing himself. She straightened, pressing her back against his chest.

"You'd like to know, wouldn't you? I think I made a good choice," she replied. He thought she might be more upset, but she was – as Iris had said – quite content.

"Your Mienshao stood a chance," he argued, gripping the railing more tightly.

"You figured out three of her four moves. That, and my Mienshao was asleep. There was nothing I could do in that situation, except lose or forfeit," she countered, turning around to face him.

"It doesn't count as a win if you forfeit!" he exclaimed – then it hit him. And Burgundy had clearly been thinking about it during the match, because her lips curled up in a sly smile.

"I thought you might see it that way," she grabbed his bow-tie and tugged on it a few times, "as a forfeit not counting as a win. And since neither of us won, the deal is off. You don't do anything for me," she released his bow-tie, letting it snap back, "and I'm not your apprentice."

Cilan couldn't help smiling as he hung his head. She was right about that.

"You got me. Then neither of us win. But," he raised his head to gaze at her, "that doesn't mean I'm giving up."

He nearly laughed at the distress that passed through her face, but he refrained. After all, the distress was quickly replaced by a look of determination.

"Then until you give up on that endeavor, I'll stay determined to not be your apprentice," she pushed her hands against his chest. Cilan held onto the railing, refusing to budge.

"First you'll have to get away from me," he reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "then maybe I'll leave you alone."

Burgundy crossed her arms, glancing down at the floor. As she lifted her head to look up at him he noticed that her eyes drifted to the doors, and suddenly her eyes got wider.

She got up on her toes and whispered, "or maybe you'll leave me alone because a certain purple haired travel partner is staring."

'… shoot,' Cilan pulled his hands away from the railing, freeing Burgundy.

"So..." but he couldn't think of anything to say. He glanced nervously at Iris; she looked upset, but for what he wasn't quite sure.

'Or I know, and I'm just denying it,' Burgundy walked away, heading towards the door.

"I guess I'll see you around, A-class," she said, nodding slightly at Iris. He flushed when he heard Burgundy add, "I don't know why, but he seems to like cornering me. You might wanna' be careful, in case he starts doing that to you too."

A smile appeared on Iris' lips and Cilan leaned back against the railing, watching as she approached him.

"What was that about?"

"I was just trying to keep her from... running away like she normally does. I'm guessing it looked more suggestive?" he laughed a little when Iris nodded. She settled with leaning against the railing next to him. Cilan was comfortable with the silence, though after a while he noticed that Iris was fidgeting. He quirked an eyebrow at her, and elbowed her lightly. She looked up at him.

"What's bothering you?" he asked – to his surprise her cheeks darkened with a blush; she looked down at the deck, tapping her foot against it.

"N-nothing," she eventually replied. Cilan shook his head, looking up at the sky.

And then Iris reached over and grabbed his left arm, pulling with all her might. He was forced to corner her against the railing, lest he wanted to send the both of them over the edge of the boat. He stiffened when she pressed her hands to his chest.

"Iris...?" he ventured, loosening his hold on the railing – the boat was coming to a stop. Iris looked up at him, smiling, and patted him on the chest.

"It's nothing, nothing at all," she told him and the moment he pulled his arm back she made her way to the door, a bounce in her step.

Trip has a crush. Iris is jealous. Cilan and Burgundy are flirting but they won't admit it. Hurrhurr~ Moving right along and GOSH you don't know how hard it is for me to just... not skip to the romance.

And Burgundy is cheeky :3

I also need to write more fight scenes... a lot more... gosh.