A/N: Sorry, everyone. Somehow, I forgot to post Chapter 16. Please go back and read it now. It is called "Trip."


Chapter 21: Blooming Friendship

"Drew is kind of cute, you know," Shelly said from her lounge chair. She was seated in between May and Dani. The three of them were in swimsuits and currently sunbathing. Simon the Oshawott and Hiccup the Wartortle swam in the pool while Mo and Petals sat by their trainers' feet, watching their friends in the water. "Don't you think so, May?"

"What?" May said, startled. "I, uh, guess so."

"He totally likes you too."

May blushed. "I wouldn't say that."

"He can be hard to read," Dani said.

Shelly rolled her eyes. "He's not that hard."

"What about that boy?" Dani nodded to the entrance of the pool. Paul walked towards them, flanked by Gabri and Drew.

"This can't be good," Shelly muttered.

May blinked. "Who's that?"

"An annoying guy named 'Paul.'"

Dani frowned. "He's not annoying." She shivered when she locked eyes with him. This situation was kind of strange. She stood up when he approached. "Hey, Paul. Do you need something?"

"Your Oshawott," Paul said gruffly.

Dani blinked. "Excuse me?"

"He lost to me in a battle because his Zorua wouldn't obey his commands," Drew said.

"You overcame something similar with your Oshawott," Gabri explained. "Could you tell him how you did it?"

"Really?" Dani was surprised that he would go to anyone for help. He merely grunted in response, and she could not help the small smile that formed on her face. "Sure, I'll help. Let's go somewhere else." She turned to the pool. "Simon, let's go!"

"Thanks," Gabri said brightly. "I'm going to go train some more." She turned and left with a skip in her step.

"I'll take your spot," Drew said with a smirk as she strolled past him.

Dani bent down and picked up Mo. "Then you can watch him." She smiled as she placed the Cyndaquil on her friend's head.

"Quil!" Mo said happily.

May chuckled. "He really likes you, Drew."

Drew appeared surprised at this revelation. Then he smirked while he lay down in the lounge chair. "Of course all Pokemon like me."

By then, Simon had approached his trainer. "Let's go help Paul," Dani said to him. The Oshawott nodded. Then the two of them followed Paul out of the pool area.

"Drew, we were having girl talk," Shelly said to the boy beside her. "Go somewhere else." She was only half teasing him. It would be interesting to see how he interacted with May, but she also wanted to talk about him without him being there.

"Chika," Petals said in agreement.

"Am I too much to handle?" Drew said in a cocky tone.

May rolled her eyes. "No."

Drew glanced at the pool and then back at May. "Oh, I get what you ladies want." He stood up and then set Mo on the ground. He proceeded to take his shirt and pants off revealing swim trunks.

"Not what we wanted to see," Shelly said, though she was smirking because she saw May blushing.

Drew grinned widely. "Just keep telling yourselves that. See you girls later." With a running start, he cannonballed into the pool. The resulting wave caused Hiccup to go up and down. The Wartortle proceeded to use Water Gun against the boy.

May laughed. "That's one way to teach him."

"See what I mean about cute, though?" Shelly said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

May shook her head, but her cheeks were still tinted red. "He's not that cute. Gary kind of is…"

"But he's mine," Shelly reminded her.

May smirked. "Right. Any luck with him?"

Shelly's smile fell, and she sighed. "Not really. I mean, I talk to him more now, but I don't think he sees me as someone more than a traveling partner."

"I'm sure his feelings will change soon. You just have to show him what a great girl you are."

Shelly smiled slightly. "Thanks." It was good to be able to talk to another girl like this. Her weird sisters disliked talk of boys. She did not know how they could survive!


Dani knew she had to choose her words carefully when talking to Paul. He was not someone who would readily admit he needed help, and she did not want to turn him off to her. They two of them walked through the city streets, and when she caught sight of a tea shop, she smiled. "Do you want to talk here?" she asked her companion.

Paul stared at her, his emotions unreadable. "This is fine."

They took a seat at a table that sat two. Simon stared up at them expectantly. When a waiter came by, Dani ordered two tea lattes and a plate of doughnuts.

"I don't need tea," Paul said.

"It will calm you," said Dani. "Can I see your Zorua?"

Paul pulled out a Pokeball and pushed the button. The black fox appeared next to Simon. The Oshawott smiled and stuck out his paw. Zorua giggled and suddenly transformed into an Oshawott herself.

Dani widened her eyes. "Wow. That's a neat trick."

'It's annoying." Paul reached down and pulled the fluffy tail that was still sticking to Zorua. The Pokemon returned to her original form. A second later, she changed again, this time into Dani.

The girl laughed. "I think it's funny. She likes to play and have fun."

"I told you not to do that!" Paul growled. Once again, he forced her back into a fox. He shot Dani a look. "There's no time for games. We have to train and become stronger."

"Zorua! Zoru!" Zorua said angrily.

"Osha?" said Simon. He looked at his trainer, and she nodded.

"I think I know what's going on," Dani said. "It's similar to the problem I had with Simon. He did not like my battling style, so he did not trust me to make the right choices."

"My battle style gets the best results," Paul said.

"Not for Zorua. Every Pokemon is different. Simon started to listen to me once I understood where he was coming from. I realized that he likes to battle hard, so when I let him battle that way, it brought out the best in both of us."

"Sometimes I think Zorua doesn't want to battle at all." He shot his Pokemon a hard look. Zorua stuck her tongue out at him and then transformed into the waiter, who was there to give them their order.

"Wow, you're handsome," the waiter said with a grin. He left chuckling. Zorua then turned back.

Dani smiled. "I bet she'll battle hard if you let her have some fun every once in awhile. You can try it out and see what happens. Tolerate her eccentricities. And when you are in a battle, listen to the signals she's giving you. If she doesn't want to sacrifice herself to win the battle, then don't force her to. She'll respect you more for it."

"Pokemon should respect the trainer, not the other way around."

She shrugged. "If you keep thinking that way, nothing will change. I'm not telling you to abandon your entire strategy. That's not what I had to do for my Oshawott. Just take her feelings into consideration."

Paul did not respond as he sipped his tea. Zorua jumped up on the table and grabbed two doughnuts, one of which she gave to Simon. Dani smiled at him. Somehow, she knew everything would work out fine.


"Are you ready to get started, Gabri?" Elesa said to her challenger.

Gabri nodded. "Yes." It was the following day, and she stood opposite of the Nimbasa City Gym Leader. Dani, Shelly, and Gabri stood on the sidelines. Dragon was by her side, ready to be called on when she needed him. She was nervous about her battle, but she had trained hard and trusted her Pokemon.

"Then this is my first Pokemon. Joltik!" She tossed a Pokeball in the air, and a tiny yellow bug Pokemon appeared. The crowd went wild.

Gabri knew better than to underestimate this small creature. She knew what Elesa could do. "Go, Cashew!" Her Emolga now knew how to fly, and he soared in the air before her. "Use Quick Attack!"

"Thunder Wave!" Elesa said.

Cashew zipped forward in the air. He got in close to the Joltik and attacked. Right after he hit her, she sent a wave of electricity coursing through her body.

"It's alright," Gabri said. "Thunder Shock!"

"X-Scissor!"

The two moves clashed, Joltik's having slightly more of an impact. The battle continued in this way. Both Pokemon took damage, but Cashew was obviously sustaining the majority of it.

"Time to kick it up a notch," Elesa said. "Joltik, Volt Switch!"

The tiny bug shot out electricity, which struck the flying type. Then she was suddenly sucked back inside her Pokeball. In her place was Elesa's Emolga!"

The gym leader smirked. "This will be interesting. Usually a gym leader can't substitute Pokemon, but Volt Switch allows me to do just that. Let's see who's Emolga is more stunning!"

Gabri was surprised by the turn of events. She felt confidence from her Emolga, so she knew she had to try her best. "Cashew, Thunder Shock!" Her eyes widened in horror when her Pokemon sailed to the ground, unable to move.

Elesa smirked. "Too bad. Emolga, Acrobatics!"

Emolga flew in close to the male Emolga and attacked him. Gabri gritted her teeth as she watched her electric type suffer. "Get out of there and use Charge!"

"Attract," Elesa said.

Cashew was suddenly able to move, and she flew up high, somehow missing the attract attack. He took a deep breath as he charged up his electric type moves. Then his trainer ordered him to use Thunder Shock, and the move hit its mark.

The Pokemon continued to battle it out. Cashew held up well, but in the end, the other Emolga's strong attacks took him down. Gabri smiled sadly as she returned him to his Pokeball. He had battled well, and now two of Elesa's Pokemon had a good amount of damage done to them.

"Tepig!" Dragon said.

Gabri looked at him and smiled. "Ok. You're up." The Tepig stepped forward to face the Emolga. "Start off with Ember!"

"Dodge that and use Electro Ball!" Elesa said.

Emolga attempted to fly up and avoid the fire balls coming her way, but the damage done to her caused her to be too slow. She cried out as she fell to the ground. She soon stood up and formed an electric ball.

"Smog!" Gabri called. It was a new move that she and Dragon had been working on, and she was eager to see how it would play out in battle.

Thick, black smog came out of the Tepig's mouth. In the mess of it all, he managed to avoid the attack coming at him. Emolga coughed. When the smog cleared, it looked like she was sick.

"I hope you have not poisoned by beautiful Emolga," Elesa said in dismay. "This isn't over yet. Attract!"

"Flame Charge!"

Dragon stomped in place, covering himself in fire. The Attract hit him as he ran forward, but he did not slow down. Emolga's eyes widened right before she was struck. After he stopped, Dragon seemed surprised at what he had done.

"Dragon, use Tackle," Gabri said. However Tepig simply stared at his opponent with a goofy grin on his face.

"Looks like he's in love," Elesa said. "Emolga, Aerial Ace!" The flying type Pokemon moved fast and struck hard. "Great. Now Electro Ball!"

Gabri knew she was not in a good situation, so she took out Dragon's Pokeball and returned him. She sighed in relief when the Electro ball harmlessly fizzed out She had an idea. "It's your turn, Grace." The Deerling was a female, so Attract would have no effect on her. "Use Leech Seed." Grace spit out a seed, which landed on the Emolga.

"Wise move," Elesa said. "Emolga, Acrobatics!"

"Double Kick!" Gabri said.

Emolga swooped down to the grass type. Before she could strike, Grace turned around and hit her twice with her hand legs. Then the vines from the seed to affect, and the combination of moves caused Emolga to fall to the ground.

"Good job, Grace," Gabri said with a smile. She watched as Elesa brought her Joltik back out. It was time for the next round. "Now use Tackle!"

"X-Scissor!" Elesa said.

The two Pokemon continued to battle it out. Thought both were wearing down, the Joltik fainted first. Gabri waited to see which Pokemon would be Elesa's last. It turned out that the gym leader chose Flaafy. The challenger knew this was going to be a very tough battle.

"Ok, Grace, use Leech Seed!" she said.

"Flaafy, Take Down!" Elesa called.

Grace dashed out of the way while aiming her seed. She hit her target but the Flaafy did not.

Gabri smiled. "Good job. "Now Double Kick."

"Dodge and use Thunder Shock!"

Both attacks hit their mark. The following time the two of them went at it, however, Grace finally fainted from exhaustion.

"Thank you, Grace," Gabri said, smiling sadly as she returned her to her Pokeball. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was all down to her partner now. "Dragon!" She released the Tepig once again. Thankfully, Attract had no affect now that they were up against Flaafy. "Flame Charge!"

"Take Down!" Elesa said.

The Pokemon ran at each other and collided. They skidded back, neither of them out.

"Smog!" said Gabri.

"Thunder Shock!" said Elesa.

Dragon's Smog hid him from view, but this was not enough for him to doge the Thunder Shock.

"Now Ember!" Gabri said. She tried to remain calm. This battle was getting too close.

"Take Down!"

"Dodge and use Flame Charge!"

Dragon fired out his Ember attack in rapid succession. Flaafy ran towards him, shielding her face with her arms. The Tepig got out of the way just in time. Then he rounded on her and struck her with his flame-covered body. The Flaafy cried out before collapsing.

"Flaafy is unable to battle," the referee said. "Dragon is the winner and victory goes to Gabri, the challenger!" The crowd went wild.

"Tepig!" Dragon said excitedly. He turned and ran towards his trainer.

Gabri bent down and rubbed his head. "Great work."

"Congratulations, Gabri," Elesa said as she strolled towards her. "You were fabulous. Here's your badge."

Gabri smiled and took the badge from her. "Thank you."

Gary and her sisters came forward and congratulated her. She felt great. She had won a gym battle on her first try. She was confident now that she could really do this.


"What should we do now?" Gabri said as the group entered the Pokemon Center.

"I need to train more for my contest," Shelly said. She glanced back at Gary and smiled shyly at him. This was her chance. "Could you help me?"

Gary looked at her in surprise. "I don't know much about contests, but I could help you with your battling skills."

"That would be great. Thanks, Gary."

"What should we do?" Dani asked her youngest sister.

"Are going to go out on the town?"

The two girls spun around to see Drew standing there. "Oh, that's a great idea!" Dani said brightly. There was a lot to see in Nimbasa City. "Do you want to come with us?"

"I'm not a fan of big cities," Drew said.

"Neither am I," said Gabri, "but it might be fun if we're all together." She then caught sight of someone else entering the room out of the corner of her eye. "Paul can come to!"

Paul froze on the spot. "What?"

Dani smiled at him. "Walk around Nimbasa City with us." She was glad that Shelly and Gary had already left. She did not want to hear them complain.

Paul frowned. "No."

"You too good for us now?" Drew said in a teasing manner. "The city too good for you?"

"I have no need to go anywhere with you."

"You need to relax," Dani said. She grabbed hold of his sleeve and smiled at "Wasn't it nice when we relaxed yesterday? We can get some work done as well. We could talk about your Zorua some more."

Paul flicked his eyes to her hand on his arm and then looked back at his face. "Fine." He pulled away from her and started to the door.

"This will be fun," Drew said with a smirk as he walked after him.

"How did you do that?" Gabri whispered to her sister.

Dani held the Pokemon Center door open for her and shrugged. "We connected yesterday?" Whatever it was, it made her happy.

Gabri watched Paul and Drew walking side by side, both of them pretty stiff. "You sure this is a good idea?"

Dani smiled. "Of course it is! What could go wrong?" Against all contrary evidence, she had a feeling that those two boys would turn out to be good friends.