DISCLAIMER:- I do not own Pokemon or any of their characters portrayed herein. I only own characters that have not been seen either in games or in the anime.

MESSAGE TO READERS:- Thank you for taking the time to read this little bit of fiction that I have created. To warn those that are not interested in PokeShipping and all that other lovey-dovey stuff, there will be some content associated with this in later chapters. If you are offended by this, or dislike stories of this genre then either skip the parts or don't bother reading. Reviews are welcomingly accepted, as well as "constructive criticism." The style of this is supposed to combine the game engine of the Nintendo Games, along with the anime physics provided in the TV Show. In other words, there may be events in this story that you might think would never happen in the Pokemon World. That is a warning to you. Other than that, grab a lemonade or something, kick back and enjoy

THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS

CHAPTER 2: RIVALS! WHO ARE FRIENDS? WHO ARE FOES

"Hey," I heard a sly and sinister voice call to me. I looked around, but there was no-one there at all. I was all alone until I turned back around to face the direction I had been walking. At the other end of the tunnel, a teenage boy with purple hair stood in front of me. He had his arms crossed and his eyes closed, yet his head was bowing slightly. I took a step forward towards the boy, but he slowly unwrapped his arms and paced toward me as well. He stopped just a couple of yards from my position. He opened his eyes and looked at me with an unimpressed stare. "If that was your best, you may as well go home," he frowned apathetically. My eyes narrowed slightly at hearing this comment, but then I simply chuckled at him. "What so funny? I wouldn't be laughing after a match like that," he scowled at me. However, I took no notice.

"If you think that's my best, you're sadly mistaken," I retorted, glaring at the demeaning youth. He simply smirked back at me.

"Then I guess that your best still won't be good enough to get through to the next round," he mocked cunningly. I snarled at him a little, his mind games were starting to get to. "You're Jonathyn, right? And I hear that you're from Johto. The Pokemon there are pathetic. There's nothing there that can really hold a candle to some of the Pokemon back where I come from."

"Is that so?" I snorted back, trying my best to hide the frustration that he had given me. "Let me guess, you must live somewhere where there's a whole bunch of different Pokemon. Route 101, perhaps?" I began to mock him back. "I heard that the Rattata out there can grow up to level 2 or something…"

"You can make all the jokes you want, actions speak louder than words. I'm from Sinnoh." The purple haired antagonist smirked. I put on an unphased look, I had travelled to Sinnoh a couple of times before… but only briefly. That was the time I captured my dear Gabite, although it was only a Gible at the time…

"Listen… whoever you are…"

"I have a name, you know," the boy sneered. "It's Paul. It's a name that you won't soon forget."

"Really?" I smiled. "I've forgotten already. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get my Houndoom and my Gabite to a Pokemon Centre. Not to mention find out who my next opponent is…" I began to stride past Paul, but he seemed to block me off by shoving his shoulder in the direction of which I was walking. "Watch it, I've got things to do."

"I hope you win your next match. I look forward to proving to you that you really are a loser." With that, he shoved past me and headed down the other direction of the corridor. I glared at him as he placed his hands in his pockets and strolled casually into the distance. I could feel a lot of anger building up inside of me, but before I could unleash it, I felt someone bump into me.

"Hey, watch where you're going, would you?" I bellowed in frustration. However my anger quickly vanished when I saw the person who had collided with me. A tall teenage boy with curly purple hair that was almost the same colour as Paul's. However, this guy seemed a little bit more… flamboyant.

"Ooh," he giggled "I thought I broke a nail. But never mind, it's fine. What's the matter, little fella. You seem a bit hot under the collar." I could not believe how camp this guy sounded. But nonetheless, I thought it would be best to apologise.

"Ummm… sorry about snapping at you. I'm just a little frustrated right now, that's all." I tried to sound as sorry as possible, but at the same time I just wanted to get away from this weird man.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it," beamed the man, who I had just noticed was dressed in a familiar way, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "So, I suppose you're through to Round 2, good for you! I'm just about to go for my first round battle now."

"Well, the best of luck to you," I began to walk by, but he seemed to bound right in front of me.

"I saw the way you handled your gorgeous Houndoom. Quite a strong Pokemon you have there," he grinned.

"Thanks. I just need to get him and Gabite to a Pokemon Centre to heal, so if you wouldn't mind…"

"Oh, not at all. Be my guest. The name's Harley by the way," he chuckled once again. Harley… that name sounded familiar as well, which is when I noticed he was dressed in clothing that mimicked a Cacturne.

"Hold on," I suddenly pipped up. "Aren't you a Pokemon Coordinator? You entered the Johto Grand Festival last year, right?"

"Oh, I have a fan!" Harley squealed with overenthusiastic delight. He began to squeeze me rather tightly, yet affectionately. I went a bright shade of red that rivalled that of a beetroot, through both embarrassment and lack of oxygen. He finally let go of me, at which point I started panting for breath. "That's right. I did! My wonderful Pokemon were so fantastic I got through to the final four, but sadly I lost out to some girl named Soledad. I came back to Kanto to try out my skills as a trainer. As beautiful and wonderful as Coordinating is, I just thought my Pokemon have enough power to beat anyone."

"Fair enough," I smiled weakly. "Well, nice to see you." With that I quickly made my exit.

"Take care of yourself, sugar beet," Harley waved behind me in a cooing style. My brisk walk turned into a near sprint. The flamboyance of that guy disturbed me a little. As I turned the corner and followed the corridor around to the main lobby, I noticed someone waving me over.

"Jonathyn, could you come here for a second?" I could make out the words that Nurse Joy was saying to me. I sighed, but figured that she could heal my Pokemon for me there and then potentially. I walked over to her, holding Houndoom and Gabite's Pokeballs in my hand.

"What's up, Nurse Joy?" I asked in a more polite fashion than I had addressed certain other people throughout the day.

"It's time for you to select your next opponent," she smiled kindly at me. "Here, I can heal your Pokemon while you pick your opponent." She produced a tray in which six Pokeballs could fit perfectly. I placed my two Pokeballs into the tray, when she said to me, "If you go over there to the pond, grab a fishing rod to catch a Feebas. Your opponent's code will be on the one you catch. Good luck."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," I nodded appreciatively as Nurse Joy handed her tray to a relaxed Blissey. I anxiously strutted over to the fishing pond, where other trainers were fishing for their opponents. I joined the back of the queue, where there were a good five people in front of me waiting for their turn. The trainer in front of me, a girl with spiky ginger hair was holding on to a custom made fishing rod that seemed to resemble a Gyarados. I went to take a closer look at the amazing craftsmanship of the rod, when she stepped forward. The hook caught the back of my ear. I winced in pain as I struggled to get the hook free. The girl turned around to notice my predicament. She quickly helped me out and untangled the line. I held the lobe of my ear in pain, but fortunately there was no blood.

"I'm really sorry about that!" she warm-heartedly apologised, when she recognised my face… "Oh my goodness! Jonathyn!"

I looked up and took a look into her twinkling eyes. Mine widened when I finally put a name to her face. "Misty! What are you doing here?" I smiled, happy to finally see a kind and old friend.

"My sisters are back for a while and are taking care of the Gym back in Cerulean City for me. So I thought I'd take on the Pokemon League. I've already got my badges and got through the first round. Although I know it seems a bit strange for a Gym Leader to be taking on the Pokemon League challenge." She giggled a little to herself in a more sincere way than Harley did. "In fact, they came back just two days after you won your Cascade Badge from me."

"Really? Wow. It's great to see you here. I hardly know anyone," I sighed.

"That's OK," she smiled. "I'm sure there will be other people that you have met on the road or you could even make friends here."

"That's true," I bobbed my head, although somewhat half-heartedly. I took a small glance in front of Misty and noticed that there was no-one in front of her. Some other trainers behind us were getting a little impatient with us. "You'd better pick your next opponent, Misty," I prodded her. She looked in front of her and chuckled a little bit. "OK, here I go…" she smiled as she lowered her fishing rod into the pool. She waited for a few moments, but it wasn't long before a Feebas took a bite! With one quick yank, she pulled it out of the water. The Feebas wriggled and writhed in her arms as she took it over to the main counter. "Use my rod if you want to," she nicely offered. I nodded with a content smile. Without delay, I threw the hook into the water. Almost instantaneously, a Feebas leapt up and took hold of the hook. I simply grabbed it before it flopped back into the water, dropping Misty's rod to the ground with a clatter. With one small glance, I read the code that I had been written on the side of the Feebas. KAN-101. Obviously, the KAN was a reference to the Kanto Pokemon League. However, the identity of "101" would be mysterious to me until the officials told me. I walked over to where Misty was stood, dragging her rod behind me. I looked up to see who she was facing and I took a step back, somewhat shocked. Her face on the left had been paired to battle a boy with purple hair. The boy I recognised as Paul, the arrogant kid who confront me early.

"Misty, do me a favour," I scowled. "Beat him. And beat him well."

"Don't worry," she said with a battle-ready look on her face. "I have no intention on losing." I smiled, hoping that she could wipe that sick grin of Paul's face for good. But my vengeance could wait. It was my turn to see who I was facing. Nurse Joy smiled, handing me back my Houndoom and Gabite.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy. So who am I facing? KAN-101 is what I got," I shook with nerves. I wished that I could have faced Paul, but even getting rid of Harley would quench my thirst for victory. But the face that appeared on the screen looked alien to me. I had never seen it before. It was that of a young girl wearing a black and yellow baseball shirt in a cap with a distinctive "Let's Go Electabuzz!" slogan written across it. Misty smiled at me. "Do you know who that is?" I asked.

"That's Casey. She's also from Johto and a huge fan of the Electabuzz Baseball Team." Misty seemed to have her eyes fixated on the picture of her old friend. I simply saw the picture and thought to myself "so that's who I've got to beat." I noticed that Misty was looking at me somewhat coyly. I looked at her, she blushed a little before letting out a small laugh.

"What's so funny?" I asked, softly.

"It's nothing. You remind me of my friend, Ash. He is a lot like you." She had gone pink, I smiled at this notion. "Say, do you fancy going to get something to eat?" She asked.

"Sure, why not?" I smiled with glee. We both started walking toward the exit, when Misty suddenly looked over with a snarl at something. I looked over, only to see Paul stood on the other side of the lobby. Once again, his arms were folded and he had propped himself against the wall. He was shaking his head unapprovingly. I sneered at him too. Paul laughed to himself before walking away, leaving Misty and I feeling the aftermath of his mocking taunts…

TO BE CONTINUED

Next Time: Misty meets another old friend, who gives her something that could come in useful. And Harley finishes his first round match. Will he progress to Round 2?