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:- More battles coming up in this chapter, as well as a small sub-plot as well. Definite Shipping going on this chapter too, so I suggest that anyone offended by this genre of stories reads something a little less lovey-dovey. How about a Sailor Moon arc or something? But for the rest of you, you'll like it, I hope.Other than that, grab a lemonade or something, kick back and enjoy!!!

THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS

CHAPTER 6: RIVALRY BETWEEN ALLIES! DON'T BE SAD, MISTY!

I looked back and forth several times, trying to figure out which way Misty had slunk off to. I had managed to follow her as far as the Trainer Village, but then she became obscured from view by the crowds of Trainers. I had tried knocking on her door, but there was no answer. Not even a "go-away," as I had envisioned. Still, I continued looking for her. I had seen someone on the television use their flying type Pokemon to help search for something that was missing, but if I said to my Flying Pokemon "Find Misty," it wouldn't even know what Misty looked like. So that would be no good. After a good twenty minutes or more of searching, I shrugged to myself and kept on walking beyond the Trainer Village into the woodland area. I wanted some time to think for myself about a few things as well, so perhaps it was better off that I didn't have Misty around me at this moment in time. I walked further and further into the vegetation, not knowing where my legs were taking me. My eyes also failed to help me. I had closed them, allowing my mind to fill with vivid images. Paul… that arrogant, egotistic punk. He could have seriously hurt Misty earlier and didn't even make an attempt to help. But that was not the only thing. Casey… that girl… all I knew about her was that she was an Electabuzz Fan, an old friend of Brock and Misty and that she owned a Meganium. I would need to think of a battle strategy. And even with that knowledge, she might not use Meganium in the match. It really started to get to me… My mind seemed to wander a little bit, before…

CLONK!!!

I opened my eyes, holding my head in pain. I made a mental note to myself. Don't walk around with your eyes closed in the middle of a wooded area. Otherwise, you might just walk into a tree, like I just had done. I apologised to a Caterpie, which had fallen off its branch due to the force of which I hit the old oak, allowing it to crawl up my arm and then climb back onto the tree. I carried on walking, this time making sure that I kept my eyes open.

"You might want to watch where you're going," I heard a voice mumble behind me. I turned around, expecting to see Misty's face. But mine fell when I saw the lunatic Harley walking towards me, wiggling his hips with every step with both hands placed firmly on them. He only raised one of them to blow me a kiss, which made me fell as though I was about to be physically sick. "Hiya, hun!" he cooed. "I guess you're out here looking for a good spot to train, right?" I grinned a little bit.

"It's not a bad idea," I rubbed the underside of my chin, thinking whether or not to utilise the time I had to do a bit of training. "I guess you've been out here for most of the day, have you?"

"What? And miss your girlfriend getting creamed in the second round? HA! Don't think so," he gurned, wagging his finger right in front of my face.

"She's not my girlfriend," I began. "And I thought she did quite well, considering the disadvantages she had in the match when it came down to type difference."

"Stop kidding yourself, you dumpling," he chortled. "You're in denial. She didn't stand a chance against that purple haired plum. Why, she said to me just now that she was a total flop in that match."

"You've seen her!?" I suddenly cut in. "Where? Where is she?"

"Now, why should I tell a little tyke like you, eh?" he held his hand out in front of front of me as if to stop me from going anywhere.

"Don't toy with me, Harley," I snarled. "Tell me where Misty is."

"Fine," he snuffled. "If you want to see your girlfriend THAT badly, she's down by the stream over there," he pointed toward an opening in the trees. "But don't forget about the Beedrill around here. They get a little bit frisky when someone gets too close." I looked toward the opening, then back to Harley with little trust. But since I didn't have much else of a clue…

"Thank you," I bowed, gratefully in a sense that it was because I was finding Misty, not because it was Harley that told me. I once again made a brisk exit, running through the break in the trees. Sure enough, the trees lead into an open area. The sun at last shone down fully to the ground, no longer being cut off from the ground by the tree tops. And just as Harley had said, there was also a stream full of water gushing along the countryside. A little further downstream, I could see a figure sat by the stream's edge, throwing stones into the water. As I approached, I could tell it was Misty. I walked as calmly as I could in order not to put off the already upset Misty. As I approached, I saw her glance at me slightly, before turning away, resuming tossing small pebbles into the stream. A Magikarp leapt out of the water, flopped around in the air a little, before feebly dropping back into the water once again. I took a seat on the wet grass next to Misty. "Hey," I comforting smiled. "You know, the only thing that was going through my mind was 'Win. Let Paul eat his words." Misty looked at me, before throwing another stone across the stream. "But now, I think it's for the best." She looked over to me, with a puzzled look.

"How is it for the best?" she questioned.

"Think of it like this," I continued. "You may not have beaten Paul, but after all the back talk and the taunting that he's been giving not just to you, but me as well, it would be a privilege to beat him myself." I cracked a wicked smile, not one of evil intention but of somewhat selfish desire. Misty didn't seem too enthusiastic, though.

"It wasn't about beating Paul," she muttered. "It was about my ability as a Pokemon Trainer. Sure, rubbing his face in it would have been an added bonus for me. But I lost. Pure and simple."

"Why be so down about it?" I smiled, kindly. "You win some, you lose some. And the battle was intense, was it not?" Misty paused before answer.

"One of the most intense battles of my life."

"Well then, there you go," I grinned. "You gave it your best and the although the outcome isn't what you wanted, the actual match itself tested your abilities. And you still put on a great show. And if you've done your best, then isn't that worth something?"

"You're right," she conceded. "I never thought about it that way." She beamed at me, having found happiness once again. "Thanks, Jonathyn. I'm glad you came…"

"How precious," came a familiar voice. Misty and I quickly got to our feet, as Harley walked towards up, shaking his hips with every step once again. "It's so wonderful to see that the young couple is so happy now that everything's worked out."

"She's NOT my girlfriend!"

"He's NOT my boyfriend!"

We both responded simultaneously. Harley simply smirked to himself.

"Come on, give it up," he mocked. "We're all adults here. So why don't you get on one knee. Surely you have a ring somewhere… I hope you do," he chuckled.

"Listen, you sicko," I roared, frustrated with Harley's constant abuse. "I came here for one reason and one reason only. That was to make Misty feel better about her match. The last thing she needs is you gallivanting around us…I mean her." Harley tried to hold back laughter. "You can laugh all you want. It changes nothing."

"Well then," Harley then sneered slyly. "Perhaps I will just have to get you to admit your undying emotions using other methods," he chuckled, pulling two Poke balls from his belt. My eyes widened.

"If you insist," I grinned back, ready to grab mine as well. Misty reached for one of her Poke Balls as well. "Don't worry," I stopped her. "I've got this one covered." With that, she obliged and stepped back, giving a look to Harley that was as stern as mine.

"It's good to see you're so willing to be beaten. I guess your girlfriend can't stand losing twice in one day." Misty seemed about ready to clock this clown, but I rested by hand on her upper chest, stopping her from getting too carried away. With a huff, she calmed down. "I guess I'll have Banette and Octillery teach you a lesson!" he called, hurling the two Pokeballs into the air. From the first emerged an octopus-like creature with a head that resembled the turret of a tank. From the second came a sinister looking ghost with a mouth that looked like it could be zipped up. I reached for the two Pokemon that I wanted him to face.

"I'll go with Gabite and Lairon! Go!" I bawled, throwing the balls containing my Pokemon into battle. My trusted companion Gabite, which had helped me defeat the unorthodox Rhyhorn in the first round appeared looking refreshed and ready for battle. From the other emerged a Pokemon not dissimilar in appearance to a Rhyhorn, but with a metallic hide and no horn protruding from it. Gabite and Lairon both took a look at each other and began snarling. It was as though they wanted to battle each other. "Stop it, guys! You're fighting those two. The Octillery and the Banette." My words seemed to fall on deaf ears. I knew that my Gabite and Lairon had some sort of rivalry, but I thought that in the amount of time they had spent training together, they would have buried the hatchet. I could just see Harley, laughing himself silly rolling around on the floor.

"What's the matter, hun?" he giggled squeamishly. "Have your two darlings there had a bit of a tiff? Don't worry, I'll make them forget all about it." He got back up to his feet, brushing some dust off him, before reverting his voice into that sly, cunning tone we all know. "Banette, use Will O Wisp on the Lairon, darling!" The ghost began laughing maniacally, before surrounding itself with a ring of blue flames, before launching the attack in the direction of my Lairon.

"Dodge it and use Shockwave on Octillery!" I shouted, thinking on my feet. "Gabite, use Crunch on Banette!" Instantaneously, my two comrades charged at their opponents. Lairon fired a large spark of blue electricity at Octillery, which struck it hard without fail, as Gabite clenched Banette between it's powerful jaws. Harley squealed in horror, as the two super effective attacks hit their marks. Octillery and Banette quickly dodged backwards towards their squirming trainer. "Hmm…" I hummed with a small hint of laughter. "Looks like I've got you on the ropes already."

"I wouldn't be so sure, cutie-pie," Harley taunted. "Banette… Torment those two rapscallions!" Banette then sprung into action, pulling faces around Lairon and Gabite. I could see that they were both getting more and more agitated. "Octazooka on Lairon!" Harley grinned, as his Octillery launched a projectile of ink straight at Lairon. It connected with deadly accuracy. "Who's got who pinned down, hun?" he mocked, as he fed off my frustration.

"Crunch, Gabite!" I ordered once again. "Lairon, use Shock Wave one more time." I waited and waited, but they didn't even move. "What's going on?" I shouted, getting more and more wound up by Harley's shenanigans.

"Banette used Torment on your Pokemon," Misty called over to me. "Torment stops a Pokemon from using the same move over and over, so you can't use Crunch or Shock Wave twice in a row." Upon hearing that, I frowned a little.

"No matter, I've got more moves than that. Gabite, use Dragon Claw on Banette!" I instructed to my bipedal shark-like Dragon Pokemon. It's claws gleamed a pale green, but just as it was about to strike…

"Dodge and use Will O Wisp," Harley commanded. The plush-doll like Ghost levitated into the air and spun itself behind Gabite, before firing another round of blue flaming orbs at Gabite. This time, the attack hit. I could tell that Gabite could feel the burn by the disgruntled snarls it was producing. Harley seemed impressed not only with his Pokemon, but also with himself. "Octillery, Octazooka on Lairon, one last time." The octopus bounded forward using it's tentacles and shot a second missile at Lairon. It did not even move. The super effective attack had left it vulnerable. I was in trouble. Both of my Pokemon were in deep trouble. "My buddies are simply overwhelmingly better than your silly little toddlers, there," Harley smiled, overenthusiastically. But he was proving a point. Lairon was helpless…

"Use Metal Burst!" I ordered. With that, Lairon surged forward with it's eyes squinting. It hurled itself at Octillery, sending it flying backward. It collided with my Gabite, which was still suffering from Banette's Will O Wisp. Gabite got back up to it's feet and ran straight towards Lairon. It stopped and began hollering at his partner. Lairon argued back in a language that I could not understand. Harley looked on, whilst tending to his Octillery, which seemed to have taken a lot more damage than I first thought. Lairon and Gabite had begun to get right in each other's faces, Misty had a look on her face as if to say "this could get ugly." Although to a degree I thought the same, I thought it would be best as their trainer to sort it out. "Listen, you two," I shouted as I ran over to them, getting in between them. "I know you two aren't very fond of each other. But Gabite, that was just an accident. Lairon was defending itself from Octillery. It didn't mean to nail you in the head with it."

"Gab-Gabite," the dragon began. "Gab-Gaba-Gab. Gabite-Bite-Gabite."

"Ron, Lair-Lairon," the Steel Pokemon retorted. "Lairon Lairon Lair. Lairon-Ron."

"Look, I don't know why you don't get along but it's not going to help us if you're rivalry interferes with the league. We could lose it all." Gabite and Lairon hung their heads in sympathy. "All right. Let's get you both back in your Poke Balls. You both need to rest." With that, I withdrew my Pokemon from view and back into their Poke Balls. Harley was rolling on the floor again. Banette and Octillery were seemingly imitating him.

"Awww… their relationship is almost as troubled as you and your girlfriend's is," he chuckled. Misty stomped up to him.

"He's NOT my boyfriend," she bellowed. "And anyway, what do you know about love?"

"I know all about it, sugar," Harley winked. "But as a top Pokemon Trainer and Coordinator, I don't have time for a special someone in my life. My Pokemon are the only things I need to keep my heart pumping. The love of Pokemon is so sweet and rich," he seemed to sing a little, whilst spinning his Banette with a pirouette. A sweatdrop appeared on Misty's head. "They're so wonderful, I don't know how I'd survive without them. But where there is love… there's also HATE!" Harley suddenly sounded a lot more sinister. "And I hate all those who disrespect me and my Pokemon. Now, seeing as my Pokemon are still standing, I guess that makes me the winner of this little battle."

"What!?" I snapped. "How did you win?"

"For starters, your Lairon was almost down and out until you used that Metal Burst. And even after that your own two Pokemon started on each other and then to top it off, hun, you removed them from the match before it was officially over. So therefore, I win." I could not help but sigh. There was nothing I could do about it now, though. He was correct. And through no fault of battle technique, but due to the simple reason that my Gabite and Lairon could not co-exist. At least that's the impression that had been left on me after that incident. Although I could not just blame them. In fairness, if I had trained them better, then perhaps they would at least have some form of respect for each other. I began walking off into the woods. "Come on, Misty," I muttered to her as I walked past.

"That's right, walk away!" Harley taunted once again. "Hang your head in shame and walk away!" Even though I tried my best to block his irritating voice from my mind, it was no use. He had gotten under my skin. And to some extent, I think that it may have been his whole ploy all along. Misty followed me, although she kept looking back at Harley. I too took a slight glance, only to see that he was pretending to wipe tears from his eyes, before waving us goodbye sarcastically and as flamboyantly as ever. Fortunately for us, we were soon out of earshot of the bizarre male. I let out a long and weary sigh, before looking back at Misty.

"Guess you know how I feel now, huh?" she whispered. I complied with a small nod of my head. "But I appreciate you standing up for me back there," she bowed. "Not only against Harley, but being there for me during the match too." I huffed a little, hoping it was quiet enough for her not to hear. The image lingered in my head. The Leaf Storm, the fall, the broken expression on Misty's face. The look of disconcern that Paul showed right after the accident. I clenched my fist as tight as I could. Then even more images came into my head…Harley…Casey…then Paul again… these three… they were all powerful trainers, although I hadn't seen much of what Casey could do. But that Meganium of hers sure did look healthy and strong. It was as though I was going paranoid. I then looked back down at Misty, who was gazing at me for some reason. All my negative feelings, my fears and my grief seemed to melt away into nothing. Just looking at her made me feel so much better about myself… "You feeling ok?" she asked softly, a lot calmer now that we had escaped from Harley.

"I'm fine," I replied, smiling a little. I took a moment to absorb the surroundings. We must have walked a lot further than we originally thought. We had arrived at a small lake. The water was clear blue and the skies above were equally so. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Misty seemed to be absorbing the atmosphere really well. I knew she liked the water. She always had done. "You want to sit down?" I asked, the solitude being just what I needed right around now.

"Sounds fun," she smiled. We both found a tree that provided enough shade from the sun, but also not too far from the water. "I'm going to let my Pokemon have some fun while we're here. Is that all right with you?" she asked.

"Why would it bother me?" I replied. "Go ahead." She smiled, before throwing all six of her Poke Balls into the air. The first appeared and splashed in the water. It was Caserin, Misty's Luvdisc. The second was Marshtomp and the third was her Staryu. From the fourth, the colossal figure of a surprisingly calm Gyarados slid into the water. The coral-like Corsola appeared from the fifth Poke Ball, before finally a Psyduck appeared on the land, apparently not too fond of going into the water. "Wow," I stammered a little. "I knew you liked Water Types, but that's a fine selection you have there."

"Do you have any Water Pokemon?" she asked. I knew that if I didn't, she wouldn't be best pleased. Fortunately, I had recently obtained myself such a thing. I smiled at Misty, reaching for the Pokemon that I would hope to amaze her with. I flung it randomly skyward, when my Water Pokemon literally flew out of it. With a mighty flap of its wings, it came down to rest just in front of me. "Hey, that's a nice looking Pelipper you've got there."

"Thanks," I grinned, looking over to the blue and white pelican-shaped Pokemon. "How about you relax with Misty's Pokemon, huh?"

"Pelipper!" it called happily, as Misty's Psyduck strolled up to it, holding it's head. It tilted it slightly as it stared bluntly at my Pelipper.

"Psy--" it quacked, starting a conversation of sorts with Pelipper. Pelipper seemed more than willing to have some fun with Misty's Pokemon.

"Are you not going to let your other Pokemon out?" she asked.

"You really think Lairon and Gabite would have fun together?" I replied. Misty lowered her head a little and smiled.

"Yeah, I see your point," she said, curling herself up against the tree. "What about your other Pokemon?"

"Well… Houndoom's not exactly the best to be around Water Pokemon, being a Fire Type and all. And I still need to withdraw my other Pokemon when we get back to the Indigo Plateau. I can transfer my Pokemon using one of the PCs that they have there."

"That's alright then," she wriggled closer to me, staring out towards the water. She rested her head on my arm. Without realising, I had lifted it up and draped it behind her back. Her head was now resting on my torso. I was feeling incredibly relaxed. I too looked out over the lake. All the Water Pokemon were playing, I was surprised to even see the usually ill-tempered Gyarados was having a whale of a time with the smaller Pokemon. I could see the Psyduck walking back and forth, still holding it's head, with my Pelipper flapping after it. "Hey, look," she lifted her head. "The sun's setting." I did not even notice this at first, until I looked up into the sky and witnessed something beautiful. The sky had turned into a collage of purple, pink and dark blue. The clouds in the sky reflected the magnificent colours, flowing throughout the sky like ribbons. The sun itself had now turned a darker shade of orange. Slowly, it was descending behind the trees on the other side of the lake. Even the Pokemon stopped playing to watch in awe. "Isn't it pretty, Jonathyn?" she whispered.

"It sure is," I replied almost silently, now staring down at Misty, who was still looking into the sky. I also turned, as a flock of Swablu passed above us, following an Altaria. It was the perfect picture.

"This is so nice," Misty yawned, burying her head deeper into my chest, now placing her hand on my hip. "I could stay like this forever." I became a little nervous.

"Stay like what?" I replied, mentally hitting myself for coming up with such a stupid remark. It was blatantly obvious that I too could just sit here with Misty for a long time. But luckily, she simply replied with a giggle before looking up at me. She began to blush a little bit, turning away and staring back out towards the water, which was now reflecting the sunset. "What's up?" I asked, fidgeting to get myself a little more closer to Misty. She simply smiled.

"It's nothing," she tittered. "It's just nice being here with you…" I was a little taken aback by this. She looked up at me and was now blushing even harder. "No… sorry, what I meant was there's no Harley, no Paul, no-one to bother us." I too started to blush. "You know what I mean," she sighed. I couldn't help but laugh in trepidation. She mimicked. She then stopped and gazed at me like she had done before. She sweetly smiled at me. I tried my best to smile back, but it seemed impossible. I slowly got up to my feet and offered my hand to pick her up. "Where are you going?" she asked with a sad look on her face. She took hold of my hand, but I didn't pull her up. I had to take a moment to absorb the situation fully. But before I could, the ground shook.

"What the heck was that?" I stammered, looking around. "An earthquake?"

"I don't know," Misty responded, getting up to her feet. "But the Pokemon don't like it." I turned to see that all of Misty's Pokemon as well as my Pelipper were staring into the woods. "We'd better check that out," she called.

"Right," I nodded in agreement. Misty called for her Pokemon to return. "Pelipper, return," I called, as a red beam of light shot from it's Pokeball. It's figure turned into a red opaque shadow, before is dissolved back into the sphere in which it resides. Just as I had done so, the ground shook again. This time, a cloud of billowing smoke rose up into the sky not far from where we were. "Let's go!" I called to Misty, running towards the location of where the loud noise had come from. Misty soon caught up with me. Soon enough, after just a minute or so of running we found the cause of the quake. Misty simply froze with fright. I was shocked in my own right. Laying on the ground in front of us were several swarms of Beedrill. All of which had been completely obliterated. Literally hundreds scattered the forest floor. None of them posed a threat. A couple of them tried to stand, but simply fell back down in exhaustion and defeat. I put my finger to my lip in order to shush Misty. I knew that there was still the risk of other Beedrill. And we still didn't know why all these Bug Type Pokemon had fainted. Misty nodded, acknowledging the danger. We tip-toed past the Beedrill, following them like footprints. As we descended deeper into the woodland, I could start to hear a lot of buzzing noises. I motioned for Misty to keep help guard up. I grabbed a hold of Houndoom's Pokeball. If the buzzing was coming from more Beedrill, Houndoom's Flamethrower would be able to ward them off. However, I heard a voice shouting as well. Although I could tell it was female, what she was trying to say was completely drowned out by the volume of the buzzing. As we turned around a sharp corner, we saw it…

Combee… lots of them. They were attacking the Beedrill using a move that I hadn't seen them use before. They seemed to be a little smaller than one would usually find in the wild. But why would Combee be attacking Beedrill? Then I saw something that sent a shiver down the length of my spine. Behind the swarm of Combee and the rain of fainting Beedrill, I could see the faint outline of a female Pokemon Trainer. And hovering several feet from the ground just in front of her, their Queen… staring directly at Misty and I with a remorseless look in its eyes…

TO BE CONTINUED

Next Time: Can Jonathyn and Misty escape from the violent Pokemon in front of them? And something terrible happens to Casey…