Disclaimer: I don't own the Pokemon franchise or any of its associates. The majority of the characters in this story belong to Nintendo/GameFreak.

THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS

CHAPTER 15: ENTER THE DRAGON BREEDER! EVIL TRIO!

I don't know how I managed to do it, but I had slept right the way through to one o'clock in the afternoon. I had to blink twice when I looked at the clock. What on earth was wrong with me? Usually, I am quite an early bird. But for some reason today I just seemed to sleep right the way through. Possibly where I haven't been getting as much sleep as I normally do, mainly due to my excitement. Either that or the events of yesterday and the day before made me more tired than I actually realised. I glanced over to where Misty was the last time I saw her, but she had gone. It hardly surprised me. Even she wouldn't want to wait around up until this time for me to wake up. I quickly got dressed into the same clothes that I had been wearing since I arrived. It was foolish of me not to pack an extra shirt and trousers before heading here after visiting my family again... As soon as I had won the Earth Badge from the Viridian Gym, I had taken some time out to do some training back home in Azalea Town, as well as to catch up with my family… my mother, who worked in Goldenrod City, was very rarely home as she hated walking through the Ilex Forest by herself. Sometimes, my dad would go with her. But he worked in Violet City, so they were very rarely at home. I would often call them though. Sometimes, Bugsy would call. The Azalea Town Gym Leader and a total freak when it comes to bug type Pokemon. Although he is my best friend. I suppose really I shouldn't talk that way about him, since he's certainly a powerful trainer. He developed a move for Pokemon all by himself. Fury Cutter, the move's called. He even owns a Scyther that knows how to deflect Fire Type attacks, which are otherwise match-deciding moves against bugs! I looked up at the time once again. Had I really been reminiscing for fifteen minutes now!? I quickly headed for the door, grabbing my six Poke Balls with me.

"What's my agenda today?" I asked myself, thinking aloud. "I need to decide which two Pokemon to use against that Dar-ken guy…Dar-KHAN…" I chuckled to myself. "Dar-KHAN… what kind of stupid name is that anyway?" I continued to laugh to myself even as I opened the door. There was no-one that I recognised as I left the building. The sun was shining brightly in the sky. Truly as a glorious day, as I took in a deep breath, before stretching my arms out to the side and letting out a long yawn. I felt like going back to sleep, but I thought I'd better not. "What am I going to do first?" I thought to myself. "No point trying to find Misty. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack around here. I suppose I might as well go and train." I nodded to myself and began walking along the path leading towards the forest, but instead of walking into the forest via the path, I started to walk in the tall grass where Pokemon usually hide. Most of the Pokemon outside of the forest was mainly first stage Pokemon, such as Pidgey, Sentret and Rattata. However, I sometimes came across their evolutions like Pidgeotto and Furret. For some reason, all the Pokemon that I came across ran away from me rather than try and battle. I'm guessing that most trainers come through these grassy patches and defeat them with ease, which is why they tend to steer clear. The main reason I decided to head out this way was the fact that even though it was quieter and out of the way, there would still be the odd trainer who wouldn't mind sparring before a match. I looked around and spotted no-one of particular interested. There were a couple of people already battling, a youngster no older that five was attempting to catch a Wurmple in its net, but was failing rather miserably. I soon made it out of the grass and found myself in a large clearing, where several Pokemon trainers had congregated to train. There were trainers of all shapes and sizes, along with their Pokemon. Even in the sky, trainers were flying on their Pokemon. A Flygon swooped down, just missing my head. I cursed slightly, but quiet enough for her not to hear. Or so I thought… the Flygon re-appeared and landed in front of me. It's trainer, a female in her late teens, jumped from its back in front of me. She had sweeping black hair that hung down half the length of her back, not quite as long as Cynthia's hair. But it also had blue streaks running down it. It also seemed to curve away from her a little. She was wearing a green top that almost identically matched the colour of the Flygon's skin. She wore a pair of worn out jeans with holes and graze marks covering a large portion of them. She seemed to glare at me, almost in a trance.

"You had your second round match already, didn't you?" she asked.

"Uhh… yeah," I replied with a confused look on my face. "Why do you ask?"

"And you own a Gabite?" she added.

"Yeah… I own a Gabite," I answered her again.

"Good. I was hoping to run into you," she slyly grinned. "You're Jonathyn, right?"

"Depends on who is asking," I folded my arms, a little bit concerned by this girl's approach towards me.

"I know who you are. It was a rhetorical question. My name is Sandra, and I am aiming to become the greatest Dragon Pokemon Breeder in the world."

"So you're into Dragons, huh?" I muttered, trying to put on an unimpressed look. "Figures why you asked about my Gabite at least."

"Yes. I was wondering whether you would consider trading it to me…"

"What!?" I suddenly blurted out. "Trade Gabite? No chance! He's one of my closest Pokemon."

"Hmph. Please," Sandra snorted. "What makes you think that your Gabite is strong? A trainer like you do not understand the needs of a Dragon Pokemon. If you trade it to me, I can help it reach its full potential. Something it would never achieve with you."

"Excuse me," I shouted with both surprise and anger. "My Gabite is perfectly capable of anything. Did you not see it beat Casey's Vespiquen and Rapidash in the match?"

"As I recall, both Pokemon were weakened beforehand. It wouldn't have won if not for the fact you had to swap Pokemon mid-battle. Only novice trainers do that nowadays."

"Look," I growled. "I won't lecture you on how to battle, so don't lecture me. Understand?" I began to walk away. But Sandra pulled out a Poke Ball and tossed it forward. From it emerged…a Gabite. It looked near enough identical to the one that I owed, except that its dorsal fin was sleek and smooth. I knew that this meant it was a female Gabite since mine had a small chip in his, implying that it was male. "Hang on, why do you want me to trade you my Gabite if you already have one of your own?"

"Are you that dense?" she smirked. "To breed them of course. Don't you know that Pokemon that are bred from two separate Pokemon grow up to be stronger than the parents? My Gabite was bred from another of its kind, along with a Dragonair. Now it knows a move that it wouldn't normally know by simply levelling up. I've even tutored mine to use the most powerful Dragon Type attack there is."

"Well, that's nice and all," I shrugged. But I'm not going to change my mind."

"In that case, how about we have a little battle to decide which Gabite is best." Sandra smirked, as her Gabite took her side, toothily smiling with anticipation.

"I'd love to," I grinned. "And let's make it interesting, you have your Flygon there battle too and we'll have a two-on-two battle." I knew that this would be good practice for my upcoming double battle with Darkhan. She smirked, as Flygon flapped its wings and landed with a thud next to its trainer.

"Fine by me," she smiled. "Go ahead and choose your Pokemon." I reached for Gabite's Poke Ball, as well as my second choice.

"Gabite, Lairon, come on out!" I shouted. My chosen Pokemon appeared upon hearing their names being summoned. They both roared in unison, ready to battle. They both looked at each other, snarling a little. "Don't start that again," I whispered sternly to them both. "Let's just get this over with."

"A Lairon as well, eh?" Sandra looked on with wonder. "You know, that Lairon is female. Perhaps you should breed them, you could get a Gible that knows Metal Claw or an Aron that knows Dig."

"I don't think that would ever happen," I huffed. "Gabite, take down that other Gabite with Dragon Claw." Gabite nodded, running forward with its claws gleaming. Sandra simply smiled.

"You don't have a clue what a Breeder's Pokemon is capable of," she chuckled. "Attract!" Her Gabite began to hold its claws near its heart. A strange light appeared, it seemed to form into a heart itself. It released the strange energy as Gabite approached its target. The light dispersed across my Gabite's torso. Immediately, Gabite stopped it's tracks and began to blush! "What are you doing, Gabite?" I called over to it. "Dragon Claw, now!" Gabite slouched forward, hanging its arms down by its side. Its eyes narrowed, as it seemed to drool at the sight of the female Gabite. "What's the matter?" I frowned.

"You've never seen the move Attract before?" Sandra laughed. "You're even more dense than I thought! Attract infatuates a Pokemon of the opposite gender, immobilising it with love. Your Gabite has fallen in love with my own."

"Damn," I snapped, watching on as Gabite seemed to fall deeper and deeper into its love-struck state.

"What's going on over here?" I heard a familiar voice say. I looked over to see a Nurse Joy walking towards us. "You know full well that Pokemon Battles outside of the official battle area is prohibited. Unless you two are just sparring with each other."

"No, Nurse Joy," I smiled politely. "Sandra here is a Dragon Breeder and we were just comparing our Gabites." I was always quite good and telling convincing little white lies. I just hoped that someone as clever as Nurse Joy was able to fall for it.

"Really?" Nurse Joy questioned, tilting her head. "Then what about the Flygon and Lairon?"

"I was flying on Flygon's back before I started talking to Jonathyn," Sandra changed her tone to a much more sweet and innocent style. "I think that he was training his Lairon and Gabite when I arrived."

"Fair enough," Nurse Joy nodded after a brief pause to look at us both. "But I will have to ask you all to return to the Trainer Village. There have been reports of Pokemon thieves in the area and everyone is to return to their dorms. We can keep an eye out for everyone in the village, but not whilst they are out here."

"Pokemon Thieves?" Sandra raised an eyebrow.

"Did he have a Crobat and a Weezing?" I asked, believing that Nurse Joy was referring to the Pokemon Hunter that I had encountered yesterday at Azelf's Shrine.

"No… I don't believe so," Nurse Joy shook her head. "Do you know anything about this?"

"Not really," I shrugged. "It's just I saw a suspicious looking trainer yesterday and I'm sure he had a Crobat and a Weezing."

"A Crobat and a Weezing, you say?" Nurse Joy pondered. "No, I can't say that I have seen that individual before. But there are more than one of these thieves. Some believe that a Kirlia was seen right before they attacked.

"A Kirlia?" Sandra began to think to herself as well. "Come to think of it, I did see two people with a Kirlia. They were asking whether or not they had seen a boy with a Pikachu on his shoulder."

"Hold on… a Pikachu on his shoulder?" I suddenly blurted out. "That's Ash! One of Misty's friends. Perhaps he's in danger."

"Well if you see him, tell him to report to Officer Jenny right away," Nurse Joy ordered with a serious tone. "Pokemon thieves are notorious and they could ruin the whole Indigo tournament if they are not stopped."

"Right, I will do," I nodded. "Gabite, Lairon… let's go." I turned to face my Pokemon. My Gabite was flirting terribly with Sanrdra's Gabite. Lairon seemed to find this hilarious. Flygon also seemed to find it amusing. "Return," I called, releasing myself from further embarrassment, calling Gabite back into its Poke Ball. "Lairon, you'd better return too. I can't risk losing you before the next battle." Lairon nodded, as I too called it back. Sandra hopped on the back of her Flygon, returning her own Gabite respectively.

"Well then, Jonathyn…" she smirked to me. "I guess we'll have to do this another day. I'll be seeing you," she called as her Flygon took to the skies with a mighty flap of its wings. I looked up as Sandra soared towards the village. I thanked Nurse Joy for her assistance and warning us of the danger. As she rounded up the other trainers around the area, I began to run back towards the village. I began running through the long grass, just as I had done to get to the clearing. Once again, small Pokemon rushed away from me. Even a small flock of Spearow, usually aggressive and territorial seemed to be completely scared witless as I darted past. It was no sooner than I had left the grassy patch that I found myself back on the path that led back toward the Trainer Village. I looked behind me towards the forest when I suddenly recognised someone walking towards me… it was Casey, riding on the back of her Meganium. I waved over to her. She soon waved back and trotted up to my side.

"What's going on, Jonathyn?" she grinned cheerfully. "I've just been with Misty and Ash. They're both back in the forest a small way. Catching up on old times."

"We'd better go back and get them," I suddenly told her. "Nurse Joy says that there are people going around stealing people's Pokemon. Particularly, they're following Ash from what I've been told. We need to find them."

"I know where they are," Casey nodded. "Hop on Meganium's back, we'll go together." She shuffled forwards a little, as I carefully climbed up. Meganium was surprisingly strong, able to carry us both on its back with relative ease. It began to run fairly quickly for such a large and heavy Pokemon. "So where have you been?" she asked me.

"Attempting to train," I sighed. "I woke up a bit late, but Misty had already gone anyway. And even though I tried to train, I didn't actually get much of a chance." I sighed. "Still don't know who to use in the next battle."

"Trust me," Casey grinned. "You're a strong trainer and you'll pick the right Pokemon. You've got to be a good trainer, I mean you managed to beat me, right?" she chuckled. I was quite relieved that Casey was in such good spirits, even though she was so passionate on winning. Not that it would have changed a great deal even if she wasn't so upbeat about it, but it certainly was more convenient.

"So this Ash guy…" I muttered. "Is he very close to Misty?"

"REAL close," Casey nodded. "Why is that? You getting jealous?"

"Jealous!?" I blurted out, a little stunned. "What on earth makes you say that?"

"Don't try and swerve one past me, Jon," Casey turned her head, smirking uncontrollably. "I know about you two." This comment took me by surprise a little bit.

"H-How did you know that?" I stammered.

"I'm not stupid, you know?" she giggled. "I saw you two making out through the window yesterday…"

"Oh…" I felt a little bit awkward as Meganium had now ran through the forest and out towards the stream that led to the lake that had become a regular visiting point since Misty and I got here. I saw Misty sat on the side of the lake. Ash was also there, laying down on his back with his hands behind his head. His Pikachu was curled up across his chest, relaxing in the sunshine. They were both mildly conversing as Casey and I came into their view. I saw Pikachu raise its head before jumping up. Ash also sat forward, looking at Casey and I. I quickly leapt off Meganium's back and ran the rest of the way towards them.

"Nice to see that you finally woke up," Misty said with a stern look.

"Yeah, sorry," I grinned. "But there's something you two need to know. There are Pokemon thieves in the area and Nurse Joy said that we should all head back to the Trainer Village."

"Oh man," Misty whined. "Why is it that every time I get a bit of relaxation, something has to ruin it for me?"

"Don't look at me," I held my hands up defensively. "I only just found out from Nurse Joy. I bumped into Casey who told me that you guys were out here. I had to warn you, you know?"

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Ash nodded. I suddenly noticed that a Pokemon had walked out from the trees. It was human-looking creature, yet it had the palest white skin I had seen, along with some green and red features on it. It seemed to walk on its tip toes, with its hands placed on its hips.

"Wow, a Kirlia," Ash gasped, as the Kirlia tip-toed towards us, staring at us as if intimidated. The Pikachu strolled forward, which the Kirlia seemed to get a little nervous about. "Don't scare it, Pikachu," Ash warned. "Kirlia can get frightened off very easily in the wild."

"Pika?" it shrugged as it cautiously walked forward towards the Kirlia. Suddenly, a smaller looking creature walked up as well. It was a Ralts, but seemed to be far more inquisitive than the Kirlia was. The Ralts wandered around somewhat aimlessly, walking into tree stumps and almost into the lake, if not for the Kirlia.

"Something's strange about that Ralts and Kirlia," I muttered to Casey. "Psychic Pokemon shouldn't walk into stuff like that Ralts is right now."

"Perhaps its too young to use its power," Casey suggested. "It looks rather weak. Perhaps I should catch it! Or even the Kirlia. They evolve into Gardevoir or Gallade, both are powerful Pokemon.

"No way, Casey," Ash smirked. "This one's mine. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt," he ordered, pointing straight at the Kirlia and Ralts. The Kirlia seemed to be waving its arms in mercy, showing off a pair of hands that seemed to resemble paws like a cat. This confused me a little, as Pikachu charged up its electric attack before firing it at the two Psychic Pokemon. The attacks hit dead on, but the Kirlia took most of the damage by far. The Ralts did not seem to be bothered that much by it. Once the attack had finished, the Kirlia was smouldering. Pieces of charred skin flaked away and fell to the floor. I looked again and saw that the Kirlia had changed. It was like it was wearing a costume. Stood in front of us on it's hind legs was a cat-like creature with a charm of some sort on its head.

"A Meowth?" I scratched my head. "This is getting way too confusing!" No sooner than I had said that, two strange arms shot out from the trees. One grabbed Pikachu, the other managed to get hold of Meganium before plucking both of the Pokemon into the air.

"What the…?" Ash suddenly glared towards the trees, as the arms withdrew back. A large balloon began to rise into the air above us. It seemed to resemble the head of a Meowth. In the basket beneath, two individuals were laughing maniacally, as the Meowth and the Ralts had managed to jump up to join their comrades. Pikachu and Meganium were squirming as the arms withdrew right back to a mechanical platform fastened to the basket.

"Meganium!" Casey desperately shouted in fear.

"Who are you people!?" I roared.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?" came the voice of a female with long, curved red hair.

"It's speaking to me, loud and clear," replied a deep male voice of the fellow with shiny blue hair, who was holding a rose in front of his face.

"On the wind," the female sneered.

"Past the stars," the male posed.

"In your ear," came a much stranger voice, as the Meowth jumped up onto the side of the basket, bearing its long claws.

"Bringing chaos at a break-neck pace," the female raised her arm into the air.

"Dashing hope and bringing fearing in it's place," the male added, raising his arm in the opposite direction to his partner's.

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet," the female smiled evilly.

"When everything is worse, then our work is complete," the male also slyly grinned.

"Jessie," she called.

"And James," he added.

"And Meowth!" The cat-like Pokemon shouted, which amazed me a little. "Now that's a name!"

"Putting the do-gooders in their place," the female flexed one of her arms.

"Team Rocket…" the male sneered.

"We're in your face!" the Meowth called again, as all three of the individuals posed and laughed.

"Wo--bbuffet!" boomed a blue, humanoid like Pokemon with narrow eyes and a jagged mouth, holding one arm to its head.

"Mime, Mi-Mime!" a small clown-like creature mimicked the Wobbuffet's pose, as a crude Ralts-costume fell off it to the ground. I seemed to be a little bit taken aback by the weirdness of these three, but it didn't take me long to figure out that these must be the Pokemon thieves that Nurse Joy had warned us about…

TO BE CONTINUED

Next Time: Can Ash and Casey succeed in getting their Pokemon back from Team Rocket? Also, one of our heros leaves for home...