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 3: MISTY MEETS AN OLD FRIEND! DINNER DISASTER!

Although I had not seen her for months and months, we were talking as though we had not spent a second apart. Not since I defeated her back in the Cerulean Gym had I heard or even spoken to her. And yet we were both so intruiged by each other that we could not stop talking. We had been talking pretty much ever since we returned to the Trainer's Village. She seemed so warm and pleasant, it was difficult not to. We were sat in my cabin. A small, apartment like structure with basic ammenities. A bed, a television, washing facilities with towels and such things. There was also a refridgerator, in which was full of fresh fruit, candy bars and drinks, which thankfully for me were free of charge. Misty was sat on the bed in which I had been sleeping since I arrived. She held a glass of fizzing lemonade in her hand. I was stood in front of a mirror, making sure that my hair looked the way I wanted it to. It was alien to me why. I never usually feel the need to make myself more presentable when I have company. But for some reason, this time was different.

"What time do you want to go and get some dinner?" Misty asked me, before taking another small sip of her chilled carbonated drink.

"I don't mind," I replied, still adjusting the position of my dark brown, pointy hair. "Whenever it suits you."

"Oh… I don't really mind either," Misty smiled kindly. I turned around to face her. She looked back up at me with a twinkling gaze. "I suppose we should go sooner rather than later," she sighed. "Otherwise all the cafeterias will be packed." I nodded in agreement, offering to take her hand. She accepted and I pulled her up to her feet, quickly finishing off her lemonade. We both looked at each other again, but we quickly turned away. I could tell she was blushing, but then again I think to a degree so was I. She began to walk towards the door, grabbing her jacket and throwing it around her shoulders, before sliding her arms slowly down the sleeve until her hands emerged at the other end. "Ready to go?" she asked politely.

"Sure," I nodded as I too zipped up my jacket. She opened the door, allowing an icy cold breeze the blow into the cabin. Misty shuddered a little in the cold, but I did not mind it. I though to myself that it could never be as bad as the sheer cold conditions at Snowpoint in Sinnoh. We both took a step outside and I closed the door behind me as I exit. We began walking toward the bright lights in the near distance, which I could tell was Viridian City. I had placed my hands in my pockets, but Misty held her arms down by her side, but slighty in my direction. She looked down and quickly pulled it back and placed them in her own pockets. She looked a little embarrassed. It was as though she was trying to take hold of my hand. But I wasn't too keen at this point. We could easily end up as rivals later in the contest. Although I could not deny the fact that I found her kind of attractive.

Several minutes had passed and already we were on the outskirts of the city. For some reason, she did not say so much of a word to me. But neither did I. Something seemed to be on her mind. "You alright?" I broke the silence with the question.

"Huh?" She mumbled, a little surprised. "Yeah, yeah…I'm fine," she responded, lowering her head a little. "I was just thinking of something."

"What is it?" I comfortingly asked. "Perhaps I can help in some way?"

"That's kind of you, but I'm fine," Misty confirmed. "I was just thinking back to some of the times I spent with some of my old friends."

"Like me, you mean?" came a voice from behind us. We both turned around to see a rather tall teenage boy with tanned skin and spiky brown hair. His eyes were extremely narrow, but he had an honest expression. Misty suddenly began to smile almost uncontrollably. "Good to see you, Misty. You're looking well," The boy complimented.

"Oh wow!" Misty beamed. "Brock, I can't believe it's you!" She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long, somewhat neverending cuddle. I felt something inside of me sink a little bit, but I thought nothing of it. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I've just come back from the Sevii Islands with Ash," the boy named Brock began. "He's visiting May and Max over in Hoenn right now, so I decided to come and check up on you. Your sisters told me you had entered the Pokemon League, so I thought I'd drop by."

"I'm glad you did," Misty grinned with happiness. "By the way, this is Jonathyn. He's also a good friend of mine." I let out a smile to Brock, although something about Misty calling me a good friend made me feel a bit disheartened. Maybe we could be more…

"Nice to meet you," Brock said warmly, offering his hand in friendship. Without hesitation, for Misty's sake, I took a firm hold and shook it.

"Same to you, Brock," I smiled half-heartedly. "So, do you want to come for some dinner with us," I offered, figuring this might keep Misty happy.

"Sure, I'm starved," Brock nodded, rubbing his stomach in ecstacy. "I know a great restaurant that's not too far from here. If we hurry, we can get a good table before it gets full."

"Sounds good to me," Misty giggled, as we began to continue walking. This time alongside Brock, who had reached into his pocket and pulled out something. It looked like a small present. It was spherical in shape, roughly around the size of a Pokeball. But it was wrapped in paper with a pattern of Psyduck on it and topped off with a blue ribbon. "What's this?" she asked Brock, taking an indulged look at the object.

"I thought you might be able to use this in the tournament," Brock replied, holding it out in Misty's direction. "I figured that you could put it to good use. But open it later, after we've eaten."

"Sure. Thanks Brock," Misty smiled with gratitude for her gift. I felt a little bit uneasy with this gesture, but still I thought that Brock was genuine and that seemed to make me feel a little bit better about the situation.

Soon enough, we had taken a seat in a large restaurant called "Hippow-Chow-Down," a rather corny named restaurant with a neon sign of a Hippowdon advertising it. All three of us had taken a seat just beneath a large TV monitor and had ordered our food. Already, we had begun eating and were approaching completion of our meals. Misty and Brock were both enjoying their meals and we talking of past memories. However, there was one name that kept on coming up again and again… Ash… who was he? And why were there so many memories of him. But before I could ask, I noticed something on the screen.

"And this match is getting more and more intense. Harley has already demolished his opponent's Kingler using his Cacturne, but which Pokemon will come out next?"

"Hey, it's that Harley guy," I pointed, screwing up my face at the mere mention of his name. Misty and Brock stopped talking for just a moment to look at what was going on.

"Harley!? What's he doing here?" Brock yelled. Several other people looked to face him with angered looks. He soon put his hands across him mouth. Many people resumes eating, although a couple of people made unheard comments.

"Do you know that guy?" Misty asked.

"He's a total fruitcake," Brock began. "He used to be a real thorn in May's side when she was at Pokemon Contests. All in all, he's not a nice guy." Brock then began to frown. "Although he is very cunning, not to mention strong."

"I'm just going to watch the end of this battle," I said, peering up at the screen with deep interest. I noticed that Harley's Cacturne was now facing a large, walking pig with several black orbs protruding from it's forehead and body. The Grumpig appeared to launch some form of Psychic type attack. "That'll never work," I groaned. "Cacturne's a Dark Pokemon, Psychic attacks don't do much." Misty and Brock seemed a little taken aback about my knowledge of Pokemon moves and techniques. But to me it was common knowledge. I then noticed Harley ordering his Cacturne to attack from the air. With one bound, it leapt up and launched itself from a tall boulder that was standing tall from the Rock Field. It spread it's arms out wide, when I suddenly spotted a frightening sight. Several long razor sharp spikes had shot out from the innards of Cacturne's arms. It was using Needle Arm. However, it began to float back and forth in midair. I thought to myself that this was impossible. That is until I came to realise that Cacturne must be combining Needle Arm and Faint Attack. "I can tell he used to be a Coordinater. Just look how perfectly he combined those two moves," I once again noted to myself, although Misty and Brock could still hear me. Cacturne's attack had knocked the opponent's Grumpig into some rocks, but still the Psychic type came back. It used it's Psychic powers to lift Cacturne into the air, although it was doing quite well to resist the attack. The pig then curled up it's tail and used it to Bounce up and attack Cacturne. "Bounce is a flying type move, so it's super effective against a grass type." I whispered to myself, hoping that Misty and Brock would not be able to overhear. Although this indeed was a good hit, Cacturne was still standing. I noticed it sway a little as it darted toward Grumpig. It was using Faint Attack again. It disappeared into thin air, before appearing right in front of Grumpig, knocking it down and out. The official had raised his flag. Harley had won. "Damn it," I scowled. This time, everyone turned around to face me with the same angered looks as they had given Brock. In turn, I too held my hands in front of my mouth and apologised silently. I looked back at the screen, where Harley was flamboyantly celebrating.

"Cacturne, you're an absolutely dime and a treasure!" I heard him cheer from the screen. I turned away in disgust, when I noticed Brock was shuffling toward the edge of his seat.

"Well, I'm going to head back. It was a long walk here," Brock yawned, stretching his arms. As he did, a pretty young waitress walked past. "Pardon me, miss," Brock suddenly leapt out of his seat in front of the girl quicker than a Ninjask. "Could I get a delicious serving of your love?" he wooed with hearts in his eyes. I suddenly noticed from nowhere, a Croagunk had appeared and dragged Brock away by his ear. Misty started to laugh as the waitress stood completely bemused by what had just happened.

"Well, I suppose it saves me doing it," Misty chuckled, as the Croagunk dragged Brock all the way out of the restaurant. "Well catch up with you later, Brock!" Misty called, waving. But she suddenly stopped as Paul walked past us.

"Even your friend is pathetic," he snorted, taking a seat as far away from the two of us as possible. Misty snarled and raced over to where he was sat.

"What did you say?" she boomed angrily. Once again, people turned to look at her, but her hard stare made them all turn back around again. I caught up with her, although I felt impressed by her anger.

"You heard me," Paul uttered, as he started to read from the menu.

"What makes you think that you're so special?" Misty snarled.

"Do you even know when we are scheduled to battle?" he asked, looking unamused. Misty pondered, trying to think. "It's tomorrow, in the morning. Arena 5." He snickered mockingly at Misty.

"I've just realised something," I said out loud, but as if I was talking to myself. "Paul actually has about as much skill as a school of Magikarp," I laughed in an attempt to mock Paul. Paul stood up threateningly, although I was far from intimidated.

"Your words mean nothing to me. I have no time to waste on a couple of losers like you," he sneered. "I look forward to beating you tomorrow," and with that he abruptly left.

"Wait," Misty roared. But Paul took no notice. He carried on walking out of the restaurant into the hoards of people out on the street. "Grrrrr," she growled. "I can't stand that guy."

"Relax, let's go get some sleep," I suggested. "You'll feel better in the morning."

"Yeah, you're right," she sighed. With that we grabbed our jackets and headed for the exit. Night was descending quickly, so we walked faster. It seemed to be even colder than before…

We arrived back in the Trainer's Village as darkness fell. Misty had stopped by her apartment, situated in a large block of flat. Several trainers were walking with their Pokemon, mainly the night-dwelling types such as Noctowl and Golbat.

"Thanks for today, Jonathyn." Misty smiled at me. "I had a nice time with you today, even if things did get a little crazy at the end."

"Don't worry about it," I comforted her, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Awww… young love. Isn't that the most precious thing?" I could hear Harley's voice chuckle as he walked past with his Cacturne alongside him.

"Congratulations on your win," I said, hoping that would be enough for him to leave us alone.

"Oh, so you watched my match then?" he suddenly pipped up. "Cacturne and I didn't even have to break a sweat! I might as well have just left my gorgeous Ariados at home. Wanna see it?" Before I could answer with a straight 'No', he called for his spider Pokemon to appear. It took it's form right in front of Misty, which made her jump out of her skin.

"Yuck! Gross! Get it away! Get it away," she screamed in fear.

"What's wrong, hun?" Harley leaned over to approach Misty's face. "We're not afraid of a sweet little Bug Pokemon are we?" he scorned.

"I HATE BUGS!" Misty shrieked, cowering behind me. I wrapped my arm around her.

"Look Harley, it's no offense to you," I commenced saying, "but Misty doesn't have a good history with Bug Pokemon. Although that is a fine Ariados you have there."

"Hmph," he huffed. "At least someone has good taste. I suppose I'll let you two go. But you, sister," pointing at Misty, "need to get a grip. It's only a bug!" Without hesitation, he carried on walking. Misty seemed to have a tear in her eye, but I soon shushed her and calmed her down.

"Thanks for standing up for me just now… and against Paul too," she bowed gratefully.

"Don't thank me," I gleamed. "You just go and get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay," Misty concurred. She leaned over to me as gave me a small kiss on the side of the cheek. She took a little look at me and I stared at her back in a minute state of shock. She blushed slightly like she had before, before turning her back on me and walking back into her residence. I let out a confused sigh, staring at the door even after it had closed. Moments passed, until I ultimately knew that I had to get back to my own dorm. It was time for rest.

TO BE CONTINUED

Next Time: Misty begins the battle against Paul. Who will take the early advantage?