HOLY...uhmmmm...WOW did I get great feedback! I don't think I would ever get so many favorites, alerts, and reviews! You guys are all awesome!

So here it is...Chapter 2. Although it is a bit lacking of real juice...it had pod plot development and some good humor and creativity. Hope you like it.

Chapter 3 I predict to be decently long.

Ash looked up at the starry night sky. He can honestly say Nimbasa City is the only big town he's ever been to that has been able to maintain smog levels so well that you could see the stars at night. He noticed a few specific ones that were really meaningful to him. The main of which was the Serebii, which was supposed to resemble Celebi. It was small and only consisted of but 5 stars. But these stars were so bright you could see the full constellation at sunset. Ash liked how bright those five stars were. Another main star was the brightest of them all – the North Star. It was connected to constellation that looked like Gardevoir. However by itself, it represented the electric pouch on a Pikcahu.

My old friend…

The Giant Ferris Wheel glowed with its bright Neon lights along with the rest of the attractions around that area. They were luminescent and were looking oddly majestic at night. It compelled Ash to go over and party the night away in the amusement park, even though it was o'dark thirty in Nimbasa.

He had just finished a solid dinner battle with Pikachu. It came down to the wire, as they had to go into overtime with dessert. His mouse won by just a few specs of whipped cream, and Ash acted like he needed to storm outside to vent over his loss.

But Pikachu knew better. One, he has beaten Ash all the time in these late night, after-battle dinner wars. Two, Ash wasn't a sore loser and would accept defeat with a smile and a laugh while he would sheepishly hold his hand behind his head while blaming it on indigestion or something. Three, he was Ash's best friend. He could smell a rat in any of Ash's badly covered up plots from a mile away. Iris and Cilan would eventually learn how to do this too, because Ash really was awful at lying. You would sooner find a vicious Chansey than you would find a deceitful lie from Ash.

Pikachu trudged through the slightly ajar door to the balcony on the roof of the Center from the fourth floor, left-wing hallway. He saw Ash leaning over the railing and staring peacefully at the sky with a bright smile. Pikachu lifted his head and soaked in the beauty of the bright moon and the aura of all the stars that melded together so well. He closed his eyes and smiled, remembering all the times he and Ash had been outside in the night sky together and all the memories than came with it.

He walked up to his trainer and hopped onto Ash's shoulder. He rubbed the red pouches on his cheeks against Ash's face. Ash laughed at the ticklish sensation this action gave him and stroked the underside of his partner's chin. Pikachu "Chaa"ed to that and was happy his trainer was still happy. If he was in a thoughtful state, he could either be deeply upset, or simply happy.

Ash's expression changed to a more thoughtful one as he went back to staring at the city from the Pokemon Center balcony.

The yellow mouse interrupted the silence.

"Pikachu?" he suddenly asked.

"Pika?" Pikachu responded.

Ash closed his eyes and took in a deep gulp of air before heaving a big sigh.

"I feel oddly happy about staying here longer. Like, at first I was raring to get to Driftveil City ASAP as soon as Elesa told me about the city. But now, I wish I could just stay here for a long time. Like longer than just the short time until the drawbridge is fixed. I dunno why…"

"Piiikaaa. Chu, pika-chu!" Pikachu scolded him.

Ash stared at him for a while and blinked his eyes a few times.

"Whadya mean I'm full of it?" He looked perplexed.

"Chaaaaa, pika pi."

Ash was taken aback by his rodent being so accusatory.

"I AM NOT THINKING ABOUT ELESA!"

Pikachu just laughed at him.

Ash blushed and quickly moved his head to the sky again.

"Well…I don't know Pikachu. I've never really felt anything like that for anyone before. I don't feel any different about Elesa, so I think its safe to assume I don't like her like that."

"Piiiii?"

Ash quickly jerked his head to confront his mouse. "How do YOU win?"

"Chuuu. Pikachu, pika." His best friend smirked like he had won.

Ash looked fuming at first and puffed up his cheeks. "Yea I was thinking about Elesa so I guess you…doo…uhh…iguessyoudokindajustsortawin."

"Piiiika?" He asked innocently.

"I SAID YOU WIN!"

Pikachu doubled over in laughter. Ash, blushing again, looked back to the sky.

Although, Pikachu was convinced Ash didn't like Elesa. As dense as Ash acts, Pikachu is among the few who knows it is just part of Ash's rash character that made him look dense. He is even more attentive to detail with girls that Brock was. He just hides his knowledge of the so-called feminine species subconsciously just by being him, unfortunately. It has driven away many different girls whom Pikachu knew had strong feelings for him: Misty, May, Dawn, and many others who he has met along his journey. Ash knows this fact too, but he always put girls behind battling since his dream of being a Pokemon Master would only get bogged down with a girlfriend. For a 12 year old, he really has his head on straight when it came to priorities.

However this Elesa girl was different from the norm.

Pikachu thought nothing of her. He always assumed gym leaders were too old for Ash. Having to battle against them in a Pokemon battle didn't help with Pikachu's bias there either. So he thought Elesa was like all the other girls Ash had battled—just another person to beat. Besides, she probably won't ever think about him as a boyfriend. She was too beautiful, too popular, and mainly she was too old for him. At least she looked it.

However Ash had done nothing but think about her. Pikachu knew this, and couldn't help but feel concerned like a proper best friend should.

Ash spoke again after the silence, "Yeah bud, you're right as always. But I can't help but think about how well she treated me today. All gym leaders have their own personality. Obviously Elesa is more optimistic and cheerful than anyone else we've ever met, but…she treated me today totally different than yesterday when I was with Bianca. Although she has always addressed me with the upmost respect, like I was some kind of honorary guest at the Nimbasa Gym, not just another challenger. She had her crowd more riled up than usual, and she seemed to compliment me more than any other gym leader had ever before. And don't get me started on how she acted in our battle. She posed and showed off in the battle more than she did on the catwalk, and I can swear she directed some of those looks and kisses towards me. She was practically being flirtatious! Also, she seemed distracted by my battling style, and told me I taught her something valuable at the end of the battle. Now don't get me wrong, I know I have a bad habit of teaching gym leaders the pros of battling as a one-hearted being with your Pokemon. But still, considering her personality and how well trained her Pokemon were, I think it's safe to say that that isn't a foreign concept to her. I just opened her eyes to it more…but why me? Not one of her previous challengers?"

There was a long, pregnant pause as both Ash and Pikachu didn't know what to say to that. So they just stood quietly, contemplating what he had just said.

After a while, Ash broke the silence and yawned at the same time as Pikachu. They raised the pitch and sound of their yawns in complete unison. And hilariously enough, they ended at the exact same time, too. They looked at each other and blinked for a while, then hit the deck laughing. They were even in unison with that, which didn't help the fact they looked liked maniacs up on the balcony of the Nimbasa Center. Good thing it was practically midnight, and the city was empty at the moment.

Wiping a tear from his eye from the laughing, Ash yawned once more.

"-yawwwwnnn-awwwwwiiiiIIIII think its time for bed buddy. It's been a long day. I can think about this in the morning."

Pikachu didn't hesitate to agree, exited for the chance to rest his tired, power-drained body that was screaming for a refuel after today's hard battle.

And so with that, Ash opened the door to the Center bedroom hallway and led Pikachu inside where they opened the door to room 204 where Iris and Cilan were busy snoozing away.

But he took one look back at the beautiful full moon, and felt a strange sensation in his heart. He had to pause for a moment and clutch it before he moved on.

Elesa stared up at the moon and felt a strange sensation in her heart. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. But it was there. And it was the best feeling she has ever had. And she's had a darn near perfect life.

Near.

Elesa was still up, as late at night as it was. She normally went to bed before 9, 8 on a good day. She lived by the motto, "A good night's sleep keeps one young and attractive." So as a model, she had to look as youthful as possible. Which is funny, since she looked anything but her age.

She was leaning over the railing surrounding her garden on the roof of her house. She wasn't a Grass-Type master, but she still appreciated the warmth and smell that plants produced and emanated. The aroma was nice for keeping her sense of smell true. She made sure she bought the plants with the nicest fragrances in the world. Since she was gone during the day modeling, battling, or just having a nice, relaxing day on the town, she only could flirt around the house when it was nighttime. So she also made sure to plant moonflowers and nightshades and plants that looked beautiful at night. She especially loved the way her Cornn Berry plants looked in the moonlight, what with their beautiful violet fruit and dazzling white blossoms. They looked like heaven in fruit form in the right moonlight.

She had heard stories about how Cornn Berries flourish the best when the caretaker of them was in love. She was a gentle and caring plant-lover, and thought this story meant if you were in love with the plant, it would flourish. She would pull on her thick, leather gardening gloves on some of her days off, get on her hands and knees, and sweat and work until she was satisfied with her finished product. And it worked fabulously, caring for each plant individually, as her garden was big and majestic, almost like an organized jungle with marble walkways. She was so good, the press had recently started labeling her as a master gardener, and she even made the front page of Unova Today with a full color picture of her winking at the camera and giving a "peace" sign with her right hand to the camera with her gardening glove on while holding a trowel in her left fist, balled up on her hip.

Elesa closed her eyes and let her head drop while smiling coolly. She was busy thinking, and couldn't go to sleep. The lemon-haired girl had done everything in her power to try and get out of her own mind. She was changed into her nightclothes, and had tossed and turned for over an hour under the covers. She tried throwing some Ducklett alarm clocks at her steel wall (she hated them all times of the day, not just morning). She tried running a full sprint around her house for 10 minutes. She even had a cup of Jabocacinno with extra sugar to try and drug herself to sleep. Nothing worked. Her mind was stuck thinking about that boy, Ash.

She decided to trace back to square one, when she first saw him.

She was in the middle of a fashion show, posing some of the latest fashions of the Unova region. She liked some, but other she just didn't seem to put her head around liking. Nonetheless, she was forced to wear them, and smile while doing so. And she won't complain…it's not like it's complete hell to have people drooling over you and wanting to have your clothes and cuteness.

All of a sudden she hears an exotic animal she had never seen before, she had only heard of. Her heart took a leap and started becoming dizzy. She looked over her shoulder and saw a Pikachu perched on the shoulder of a handsome guy with a Pokeball Cap. She jumped in one graceful move over to him and got in close proximity to him and his awesome mouse. She realized she had gotten a bit close for comfort to him, and blushed at her actions, but she couldn't help but examine Pikachu. She later apologized to him for being so startling.

Elesa made sure to address him respectfully at all times. She did this because he had a Pikachu, a Pokemon she had only dreamed of meeting, and now it was here in front of her face. If she was courteous enough and strong enough, maybe he would use it against her. She loved battling electric types even though she only uses them, because in the end it became a war of wits and will. She loved this, and was said to be most charismatic when facing an electric type.

And a Pikachu? PPPPPFFFF! I probably knocked people of their feet with my actions!

While she was battling Bianca, she put her all into it. She felt like making a good first impression to this young man named Ash would induce him into using Pikachu when she eventually battled him, knowing he was a challenger. She glanced over at one point and noticed he was clearly rooting for Bianca. At first she felt sad, but that went away quickly.

He's Bianca's friend! Why would he root for the opposition?

Elesa efficiently took care of Bianca and swept the match with just her Zebstrika. When the trainers left the gym, she stayed behind and signed a few autographs. But pretty soon, something compelled her to go check on how they were doing. She apologized for suddenly leaving, and blew a kiss to her audience. Her fangirls would fight over that for a few minutes and buy her some time to escape.

She saw Bianca call out her Shelmet to see how it was doing, and she almost went through the front doors to go and say "Hi". But she stayed back to see how things would unfold first.

No sense making an entrance too soon…I learned that a while back while modeling.

One thing led to another, and all of a sudden she saw Bianca in despair. She sighed and felt bad for her, wanting her to be able to stay. But her father had a point. Bianca was a bit clumsy form what she could see, and she did lose a bet. Yet…

Ash looked in despair too.

The Gym Leader had had enough.

She walked through the doors and intervened, making a proposal that no one with half a heart could refuse—go to the Pokemon Center and heal up injured Pokemon. Ash smiled. Her day was made.

…Wait, what? He was just another challenger…right?

Whatever. What's done is done. If my heart felt it necessary, it was necessary to be done.

When she was treated to a fabulous lunch of Cilan's cooking, she was surprised even with the knowledge of him being a connoisseur. He had battled her once, way back when she was in Striaton City running an errand for a good friend of hers. They battled one on one, and it ended with her as a victor. He offered a gym badge, but she thankfully turned the offer down, stating she was trying to become a gym leader as well, since it was the one thing Nimbasa City needed. There were already 9 gyms in Unova, but Nimbasa, as thriving a city as it was, didn't have one.

She purposely sat across from Ash at the lunch table, so they could make eye-to-eye contact a lot. One time, they stared at each other for a while. Elesa closed her eyes and bopped her head to the side while holding her hand up next to her face. It was her indication of friendliness. Ash returned the favor by closing his eyes while chuckling and then opening one of his eyes while flashing a toothy smile out of the same corner of his mouth.

She was gauging his personality, since a person battled a lot like they acted. So far she had seen a kind and caring yet rash and hasty trainer. She saw no signs of malice or shrewd character. He probably battled recklessly head-on using spirit and determination as keys to victory.

That's why it was so odd how he tried to be intelligent and use strategy in his battle at first. Of course he did revert back to his, I presume, usual style at the end and win, but still…why did he try and use his brain to beat me? And from what I hear from Cilan and Iris, this was extraordinarily odd on his part. Could it be that he thought I was too good to beat without his brain…

Elesa giggled thinking about him with a pad of paper and a pencil, discussing strategy with his Pikachu on his bed…getting Pikachu fired up, and then suddenly disappointing him.

Her brain started to wander again…

He had been so quick to challenge Bianca's father for her sake. This greatly impressed the Headphone Girl. She would find out later they didn't even travel together all the time. This made Elesa all the more interested in him. However, when he made gamble risking his journey in Unova, she became both severely overwhelmed with happiness from his awesome display of chivalry, and severely overtaken by a sense of painful worry.

Happiness because Ash had just done something she had never thought any guy would do in their life.

Worry because now if Ash lost to Bianca's Papa, she would never battle him.

No scratch, that, she would never see him again.

Once again she had to intervene. She had to do something that would excuse her to make sure he stayed. She didn't know why, but she just had to.

She decided to referee. She wouldn't make a purposeful wrong call; that was going a bit too far on any level, and was too low for her. But it gave her an excuse to stay behind and make a convincing speech or something when it was done to make sure Ash could stay. For a model, she was really well spoken, and could cajole pretty puch anyone into doing pretty much everything.

But she never had to. Even though Ash lost, he still had convinced the Red Flash Warrior to let him and Bianca continue their journey, just by being him. Elesa was relieved more than any words could describe.

And today…she didn't need to recall today. She had continued subconsciously addressing him formally for no reason at all. She had been unconsciously flirtatious. She had become more convivial and intense in the battle than anything he had done warranted.

What is this feeling inside of me? It's unlike anything I've ever felt before. Ash…he's an amazing battler. A superb person. And an attractive guy, too.

She sighed and looked back at her Cornn Berries. She had no poof, but she swore to the fact they had started becoming a bit richer in their purple color since she had walked up here about an hour ago.

Elesa was exhausted now. Her mind was racing everywhere, but something just hit her out of nowhere. Something she hadn't expected. Jabocacinno?

No…I'm just sooo…

Those were the last thoughts of the Nimbasa City Leader as she crumpled to the ground in her garden, falling into a quiet, peaceful sleep.

I would like to take a moment to recognize the following line...
"Elesa made sure to address him respectfully at all times"
Although this WON'T happen in the dubbed version, the subbed version has Kamitsure (Elesa) always...ALWAYS address Satoshi (Ash) with Satoshi-kun...which is a form of respect towards guys in Japan.

I ALSO FRIGGIN HATE POKEMON, INC USA! Its almost been 3 weeks without a new episode...and the next episodes are the ones with Elesa in it! C'MON! Ash is already super far along (not spoiling ANYTHING for anyone)! :( Not only that but its been 2 weeks since they last subbed a Japanese episode...they is SLAKING (C wut I did dere?)

Anyways enough ranting. R&R.