A/N: You know the drill.
CuddleyEeveeM: Thanks! I also wanted to thank you for the 'Psyduck super smart' thing, because it gave me a really neat idea I think you will find really funny. So thanks!
Jarkes: I lost interest in Bulbasaur after he decided not to evolve too. Now, I can't tell you much about this, but… (whispers) Bulbasaur is really going to regret not evolving when movie number three is being screened! (Normal voice) About the 'Clue' playing — the players were talking about themselves attacking the intensely annoying Pikachu and Squirtle.
Orange Sora: Er… you hope what's successful?
Swiftstream: Thanks! I'm glad you thought it was so funny!
PikaJedi555: Nope, you weren't too late! Your vote counted too.
Alexis R pokegirl: That's one crazy computer you have. Is it stopping you from updating 'Water Master Lizuli'? 'Cause if it isn't, update!
A Parliament of Owls: Glad you like the story so much. They're basically riffing fanfics and sometimes they refer to them as movie and sometimes… Okay, it's confusing, I agree.
May and Dawn are the Best: Thank you for the review! Read on and enjoy. Are any of your fics complete?
Max the Vampire Kleptomaniac: Thanks a bunch. And you want Psyduck too? Tell me, what is it about Psyduck that everyone likes so much?
Now, about the voting: I wanted three of Misty's Pokemon to appear. I had already decided that one of them would be Gyarados and I wanted the readers to decide who the other two were. So anyway: The winners are Psyduck and Azurill!
Everybody wanted Psyduck! What the heck is it about him that people like?
So read on and enjoy!
Story:-
Deoxys' image appeared on screen.
"Greetings, imbeciles!" boomed Deoxys. He looked them over. "What, no chaos this time?"
"You saw that?" asked Ludicolo.
"While eating popc — er, pop-Brussels-sprouts!" beamed Deoxys.
"Hey, wait," frowned Foretress, squinting at Deoxys. "There's something different about you."
"No there isn't!" said Deoxys, fidgeting uncomfortably.
"Yes there is!" cried Donphan. "There's a bump on your head, I see burns and tooth marks…" Donphan suddenly began jumping up and down excitedly. "You got beat up!"
"I most certainly did n —" before Deoxys could finish, Skitty cut him off.
"Yeah that's it!" she yelled. "It's been nagging me ever since I saw him!" She grinned smugly. "So, did Celebi kick your posterior, Dee-sis?"
"IT'S DEOXYS!!" roared the Psychic type. "And no, it wasn't —"
"Has to be a bug type," interjected Swellow loudly. "You know, like a Caterpie or a Wurmple…"
Deoxys began blabbering incoherently in fury, but the Pokemon ignored him.
"No, a Caterpie would be too weak," said Corphish, winking. "Maybe a Metapod."
"SILENCE!!!!!" thundered Deoxys. "For your information, it was six high level, sneaky, underhanded Pokemon having advantages to the Psychic type, owned by a highly sneaky and cunning and underhanded trainer!"
"Ah, a collector," said Torkoal.
"Nope," said Deoxys. "It was actually that Ash trainer of yours. He had a Houndoom, Sableye, Shedinja, Bronzong, Heracross and an extraordinarily bloated Snorlax in his possession!"
Glalie frowned. "But with the exception of Snorlax and Heracross, Ash doesn't have any of those Pokemon!"
"You know what?" said Bulbasaur suddenly. "Ash has something like 30 Tauros! He must traded a few of them off for anti-Psychic Pokemon, in order to hunt Deoxys down and get us back!"
"Still," said Beautifly. "You got beat up by a couple of non-legendaries, didn't you?"
"HEY, THREE OF THEM WERE IMMUNE! ESPECIALLY THAT STUPID SHEDINJA WITH ITS STUPID WONDER GUARD ABILITY!!" hollered Deoxys. Fuming, he began to say the thing he had called the Pokemon for.
"Anyway, you'll have some more company," said Deoxys. "Two of that Ash's friends were helping him attack me, so I kidnapped their Pokemon. They're in the loading dock, which is past that door at the end of the room." Deoxys smiled suddenly. "I think you'll find a rather nasty surprise in there, too." Cackling like the evil being he was, he hung up. The Pokemon exchanged worried glance as his image faded.
"It couldn't be as bad as Sceptile and Charizard, could it?" Beautifly asked tentatively.
Ludicolo and Marshtomp exchanged worried glances. Corphish gulped, an astounding feat for a crustacean lacking a neck. Torkoal withdrew into his shell and probably intended to stay in there forever. His plan was foiled by Beautifly's Disable attack, which forced him to emerge.
"Hey, we suffer, you suffer," said the butterfly Pokemon.
"So… who's going to open the door?" asked Swellow.
Marshtomp frowned. "That depends. Who's the fastest among us?"
The Pokemon all looked at each other. With Sceptile and Charizard asleep, and Pikachu all tied up, the rest were all just a bunch of slowpokes (pun intended). The Flying types would be the fastest out of them, though.
Afraid that he was going to be picked, Crobat hit Bulbasaur with a whirlwind, blowing him towards the door. "He has vines!" the oversized bat shrieked hysterically.
Bulbasaur landed on the floor with a thud. Too close to the door for his liking, Bulbasaur hurriedly scrambled a certain distance away. Once he felt that he was as safe as he could possibly get, he gulped. He extended his vines tentatively.
Over the course of the next few minutes, Bulbasaur inched his vines closer and closer to the door. Finally, the moment of truth came. Bulbasaur wrapped his vines around the knob, slowly turned it, and gave it a light tug before unwrapping and withdrawing his vines at the speed of light.
The door creaked open ominously. The nervous Grass Pokemon, with his feet (metaphorically) rooted to the floor, leaned forward to peek in.
What he saw was an unconscious Steelix. The Iron Snake Pokemon was snoring peacefully. He was out cold, but for that, he look unharmed and none the worse for the wear. On top of him were an unconscious Psyduck and Azurill.
Bulbasaur sighed. Relaxing, he turned around and called to the other Pokemon, "It's fine! It's just Brock's Steelix and Misty's Psyduck and Azurill. I guess Deoxys was just —" Bulbasaur suddenly broke off in mid-sentence. He had just seen something out of the corner of his eye. He turned back and gasped at what he saw.
Squealing like a Grumpig, Bulbasaur turned tail and ran all the way back to where the others were crowded. He crashed headlong into Ludicolo, who was once more sent flying into a wall, and yelled, "There's a half-conscious Gyarados in there!"
Everyone went pale. "What's a Gyarados doing in there?" yelled Marshtomp.
"Misty has a Gyarados! I guess she used him to attack Deoxys and he got kidnapped and we're all dead and I haven't written my will!" Shrieking like a Banshee, Bulbasaur began running around in circles. Foretress used Selfdestruct (which is what Pineco and Foretress do when agitated). The explosion hit Ludicolo, who, guess what, was sent flying into the blastid wall.
Marshtomp tried to remain calm. Clapping his hands to draw everyone's attention, he said, "Okay, uh, erm, er, wha, uh…" He shook his head vigorously. "We know that Gyarados are Water/Flying types! What beats that?"
Crobat stopped flapping like crazy to contemplate that. "Electricity! We need an electric type!"
All heads turned towards the theatre. Torkoal, Corphish and Donphan dashed towards the theatre to free Pikachu.
Skitty whirled towards Beautifly, her eyes wide, her fur a mess, with teeth bared. "This is all your fault! You tied him up! You've doomed us all!"
"You're the one who nearly asphyxiated him with a cushion!" Beautifly screamed back.
The two female Pokemon, screeching at the top of their lungs, leaped at each other. A catfight, or more accurately, a cat-and-insect-fight, followed. The pair rolled around the spaceship, yowling and attacking each other.
The trio had retrieved Pikachu from the theater, freeing him and filling him in on the situation. The yellow Pokemon literally had to be dragged from the room.
"Hey!" snarled Donphan, putting his face close to Pikachu. "If you don't protect us and the Gyarados doesn't kill you, then we will!"
Pikachu sighed. I envy Squirtle, he thought.
The turtle in question suddenly fell out of the sky right in front of them, still bound in String Shot. Pikachu looked up to see Swellow flapping hard and breathing heavily.
"Why should he be safe when we're about to be ripped to shreds?" asked Swellow.
The panic in the room suddenly ceased. Pikachu turned to whatever had silenced everyone.
It was the Gyarados. He had finally awoken and emerged from the room. The serpentine water dragon gazed at the room and its inhabitants with its mouth closed, a fierce look upon its countenance.
After what seemed like hours, the Gyarados opened its maw. The Pokemon tensed up. Pikachu was pushed forward, right in front of them all.
But instead of attacking, the Gyarados spoke with a thick British accent. "My, that was truly the least comfortable slumber that I have ever experienced. But then again, after attacking the Psychic type, I can hardly blame him for being an inhospitable host." Sighing heavily, the Gyarados glided forward. He looked around at everyone. "My word, what seems to be the matter with you folk? I've seen livelier Renaissance paintings!"
Everyone gaped at the Gyarados, dumbstruck. Until now, they had thought that a Gyarados' vocabulary was limited to 'kill', 'eat' and 'burn', with an IQ of roughly the same numerical value as the number of words they knew.
"Ah, yes I see," sniffed the Gyarados all of a sudden. "I'm a Gyarados, so I'm a rampaging killer whom everyone is afraid of." He looked around. "Is what I say verity?"
"What is 'verity'?" Pikachu asked.
Gyarados groaned. "Staggering. I am imprisoned amidst an uncultured lot who distrust me for my species. The Shakespearean quote, 'Hell is empty, all the devils are here!' is beyond doubt applicable to my predicament."
"Er…" said Pikachu. "We're sorry. Can you accept our… sorryness… and forgive us?"
Gyarados raised an eyebrow. "Very well. Now, may I receive some refreshment? Teleportation is far more famishing than I imagined. I wonder how the Abras do it on a daily basis." Gyarados glided over to the pop-Brussels-sprouts machine. "Ah, good old Brussels sprouts with hummus! Nutritive and beneficial for the cerebrum."
Everybody suddenly felt very nauseous. Ludicolo actually keeled over. Unfortunately, he was standing too close to wall, and he thus banged his head.
With the crisis over, things went back to normal. Skitty and Beautifly apologized to each other, hugged and began to cry. Corphish began to free Squirtle, but on second thought he picked him up and tossed him into the theater.
Steelix, Azurill and Psyduck came out of the room. They were still a bit groggy, but otherwise fine. Bulbasaur and Pikachu walked over in order to reacquaint themselves.
As Bulbasaur spoke to Psyduck and tickled the baby Azurill under her chin with a vine, Pikachu drew Steelix aside and spoke to him.
Pikachu explained to Steelix the deal with Charizard and Sceptile. "Now, you're a very mature guy. At least, that's what I've gathered from all the years I've known you," Pikachu told him. "And your size is pretty helpful, too. So when the two of them wake up, could you knock some sense into them?"
"Sure!" smirked Steelix. "Now, when will they be waking up?"
"Don't know," piped Beautifly, startling Steelix and Pikachu. They hadn't known that she had been listening in. "My Sleep Powder is pretty potent stuff."
A contradiction to her statement came in the form of a small explosion caused by the collision of Charizard's Overheat attack with Sceptile's Solar Beam. The Pokemon turned to look at the renewed confrontation.
Charizard, who was airborne, and Sceptile, raced towards each other. They both knocked each other back with a Steel Wing and Leaf Blade respectively. After suffering this latest assault, Charizard decided that he had had it. Rising up into the air, he inhaled deeply. His whole body began to heat up as the intensity of the flames within him grew. Finally, when he could hold the fires within him no longer, he expelled a long stream of conflagration.
Sceptile saw the most powerful Fire type attack, the Fire type version of Hyper Beam, Blast Burn, head right towards him. Taking immediate action, Sceptile used his tail to hit the edge of a recliner with a Slam attack. The recliner shot up into the air, spinning wildly, before it landed right on top of Sceptile, pinning him to the floor.
The recliner took the brunt of the Blast Burn attack, which lasted for about five seconds. After it was over, and the recliner was reduced to a blackened metal frame, Sceptile threw the thing off of himself and hit the hovering Charizard point-blank in the chest with a Bullet Seed, sending him flying into the wall.
Ludicolo began clapping. "About time that happened to someone else…"
Sceptile ran full speed at the still-recuperating Charizard. Steelix grinned broadly. "Intervention time!" the Iron Snake proclaimed. Rearing himself up to his full height, he slammed powerfully into Sceptile with a Double Edge attack, sending him sailing into Charizard ("Oof!").
Pikachu looked on, horrified. "What are you doing!"
"Knocking sense," explained Steelix, before turning back to the dueling duo.
The Pokemon observed the three-way fight with interest.
"I thought you said he was mature," Skitty said to Pikachu.
"He is," said Psyduck. "At least, he was when he was an Onix."
Pikachu sighed. "See, this is why I didn't evolve…"
Gyarados tutted, "My, what a senseless display of violence!"
"My life has officially turned upside down," Bulbasaur announced.
VREET!! VREET!! VREET!! VREET!!
"We got movie sign!" yelled the Pokemon, (with the exception of the trio of battlers) making a break for the theater.
(((((((((((((((((((((((You know what this is)
In the theater, the lights were still on.
Nearly everyone was seated. Bonsly had finally woken up too and was having a jolly good time exchanging undecipherable gibberish with Azurill.
Pikachu and Psyduck were in the back of the theater, in the projector room, fiddling around with the DVDs. Everyone was starting to get bored.
Swellow flapped up to the two meddlers. "Hey, we're restless out here. What are you guys up to, anyway?"
"We are trying to find a good movie trailer to watch before we start the actual show," explained Psyduck.
"Yeah, there are a number of yet-to-be-released movies whose promos look pretty interesting," Pikachu told Swellow.
Psyduck turned to Pikachu. "Since we can't make up our minds, maybe we just ought to take a vote."
"Fine," Pikachu said, strolling out of the theater. He headed to the spot right in front of all the chairs, between the front row and the screen as Psyduck and Swellow took their seats.
"Okay listen up everyone," called the puny Pikachu. "Since we're waiting for Steelix to beat the bleep out of Charizard and Sceptile, I was thinking that we should watch the trailers of some yet-to-be-released movies in the meanwhile."
There was a general murmur of assent. "What are the choices?" asked Glalie.
"Okay," said Pikachu. "Firstly, we have a movie called 'Staraptor Wars' —"
"No way," objected Glalie. "The movie received an 'SO' rating."
"What's that?" Ludicolo asked.
"Sharpedos only," said Glalie.
"Fine," said Pikachu. "Then, we have 'Spiritomb Raider' —"
"Scary movie?" snorted Glalie. "Not with the babies around."
"All right," said Pikachu. "Then, 'Glameow Must Die' —"
"It has romantically explicit scenes," Glalie cut him short.
"JEEZ, WILL YOU QUIT INTERRUPTING ME!" Pikachu hollered. "If you want to play it safe, there's this movie called 'The Rocket Identity' which is the directorial debut of this guy called Anicrazy —"
Pikachu's speech was disrupted when the door slammed open. Utterly exasperated, Pikachu gave up and plonked his tail onto a seat in the front row.
Steelix entered the room. Charizard and Sceptile followed. They had no choice. Steelix had wrapped his exceedingly long body first around Charizard, then again around Sceptile, in order to bind them both.
Steelix grinned broadly at the rows of stunned Pokemon. "Did I miss anything?"
"Nope," Glalie said. "Thanks to me!"
Pikachu gave both of them a sour look. "Not what I had in mind, Steely," he groaned.
"This is temporary," Steelix explained. "I'll be sitting them down and having a talk with them later, but for now, let's enjoy the show!"
Pikachu sighed. Steelix was dense in more than one way…
She finally heard this:
"FOR ALL TRAINERS STILL IN THE TOURNAMENT, AFTER TODAY'S LAST MATCH THERE'LL BE A MEETING TO DESIGN YOU OPPONENTS IN THE SECOND ROUND,
"We'll be specially designing opponents for ya!" said Marshtomp.
"Custom-made opponents. Buy two and get one free!" chimed Glalie.
WE ONLY WANT TRAINERS WHO WON THEIR MATCH TO COME! I REPEAT…."
Misty stopped listening since this wasn't for her; she lost her first match she thought with disappointment. Entering the hall, she even wondered what she was still doing here, but what's the point of asking if you already knew the answer…
"So I shouldn't bother asking, 'Why are we watching this tripe?'" asked Beautifly.
On her way she met up with Ash.
"Hey Misty!" he greeted with a big smile
"Hi Ash"
"What's up with the face? You seem depressed…" his grin faded
"It's nothing really…do you know if Richie won his match I forgot to go see by myself…"
Ash was somehow glad that she forgot to see Richie's battle but in a way he knew that either Richie or Gary was responsible for her face.
"Definitely Gary," said Pikachu.
"Yeah he beat Tracy's Scyther with his Charmeleon, Tracy stood no chance."
"Oh, and are you heading to the meeting?"
"Yeah, do you want to come with me?" he offered
"Well I cant because I lost…"
Ash bit his lips and cursed himself to have forgot this detail
"Dense as steel," said Psyduck.
"Hey!" cried Steelix.
"Then come to my match! It'll be awesome! I'll beat my opponent, don't worry!"
"If you end up against Agatha im not quite sure you can win…" she chuckled at Ash's overconfidence.
"I'll win for you, you'll see!" he promised
Misty didn't answer, taken by surprise but oddly she was glad when she heard this; a wave of happiness had flown through her body and feelings she thought forgotten have appeared. More confused than before, she forced a smile.
"Misty" started Ash "I have something important to tell you"
"What is it Ash?" said Misty fear in her tone
"Please don't say it, please don't say it" she begged more to herself than to Ash
"IT!" all the Pokemon yelled.
"I've wanted to tell you this in a long time…but couldn't bring the courage to do it.
"The courage kept canceling on me," said Torkoal. "I never got the hint."
I think I-I I think thatIloveyou!" he said the last words real fast afraid to hear them himself
"No you can't say that!" she cried but somehow another voice was echoing hers
They turned around to see May…
"May what are you doing here!" exclaim Ash but he immediately shut up when he saw the tears falling from May's desperate Ash
"MMMRMMMFFFMM!" whined Squirtle.
"Why is there a bound and gagged Squirtle among us?" asked Gyarados.
"He wanted to become a Beautifly and convinced me to cocoon him," Beautifly said nonchalantly.
"MMMFFFMRRR!"
he turned around confused only to see the same thing with Misty's emerald eyes
"What's wrong with them?" he thought
"They saw you!" said Skitty.
"Hey!" said Pikachu.
"Ash what have you done?" asked Misty, tears were falling freely now, sobbing she ran off leaving a stunned boy and a heartbroken girl behind her
"What have I done? I wonder the same thing!" he cried angrily his eyes staring at May pleading for explanations
"Ash, Misty loved you but you never answered her feelings and broke her heart! She moved on and it's only now that you decide to realize you love her doing the same mistake with another girl!"
"I-I…"
"SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU BUT THERE ARE SOME LATE TRAINERS! NEXT TIME WE WILL ELIMINATE ANY LATE TRAINERS! PLEASE COME NOW WITHIN THE NEXT 10 MINUTES! LAST CHANCE"
Ash turns to May who was already leaving seeming to not want to hear what he had to say. Sighing he ran after her quietly, swearing that he'll clear things up with May later.
Now back to Misty
She didn't know what she was doing but her steps lead her to Gary's room.
"Shouldn't it be away from Gary's room?" said Pikachu.
Marshtomp was weeping and showing Steelix a photograph of someone.
"It was such a beautiful Bleeper!" sobbed Marshtomp.
"What am I doing here? Gary's probably already to the meeting"
Just then she heard noise from the other side of the door, it seems to be giggles.
"Gary actually has split personality!" beamed Pikachu.
"So many good times," sighed Swellow with tears in eyes, patting the distraught Marshtomp on his back.
Thinking it was girls searching through Gary's room while he was gone she opened the door and was surprised at what she saw.
Actually there were two girls massaging Gary's naked and strong chest (hopefully he had pants on) giggling. He didn't seem to bother about her presence and even greet her with a big charming smile while the others girls just glared jealously at her.
"Hey Misty what brings you here!" he said but thought otherwise he had noticed some dried tears on her face. He wanted to ask her what was up but she wouldn't like to talk with such an audience. He was referring to the 2 hysterical girls.
Misty didn't seem willing to answer.
"Ok girls, I think that'll do it! Come back tomorrow!"
"Of course Gary!" they replied in disappointed tone, not being able to stay longer
One exited and the other braver run in front of Gary and kissed him on the lips!
She then headed toward the exit giving a victorious smile to Misty who completely ignored her. She looked again toward Gary and he was smiling.
"Why are you smiling? Guess you like your cheerleaders more than you admit it"
"Nah, I'm smiling because you're sad"
"I see, you're some kind of freak who…"
"Finally, someone who agrees with me!" said Pikachu.
she said more confused than angry when Gary cut her off
"I meant because you're sad and you're here, your steps guided you somehow to me and I appreciate a lot. Plus you're jealous of some cheerleaders" he chuckle "I guess you're dying to touch my body"
Pikachu said nothing. He was scared that if he opened his mouth, he might throw up.
He was showing off his bare chest, there were a 6 pack and it was fat-less, his arms were muscular and in the sorrow she was in, Misty surprised herself to wish comfort in these arms.
"Any come back? You know you're scaring me to be as speechless!" he approached her and also closed the door, his face was now only a few inches from her "What's wrong Misty" this time he didn't had the concern he had with sarcasm or humor.
"Aren't you supposed to be at the meeting?"
"Nope, I already know who my opponent will be no need to waste time, now answer me please"
A cold and heavy silence set in but Gary's patience was stronger and he waited
"It's Ash" she finally said giving him, she then threw herself in these arms she longed to be in and cried her eyes out.
"Misty…" Gary whispered, he took her and lay down on his bed trying his best to comfort her.
Misty was grateful she hadn't need to give more explanations and let herself cried like she never allowed herself to.
Unnoticed by everyone else, so did Squirtle.
Gary just watched, dropping tender kisses sometimes or comforting words, not letting her go. He tightened his grip around her and put her head close to his heart so she could hear it beat. The goal was to let her know that this time she wasn't alone, that another living creature was there and it seemed to work she somehow calm down and tired, fell asleep.
Gary watch her again this time in her sleep, not taking his eyes off his treasure; Misty his sleeping beauty. He got closer to her chest to hear her heart beating, hoping deep down that one day it would beat for him like his now beat for her.
After the meeting back with the others
"Hey Richie, wait for us!" cried May followed by a running Ash
"It was the walking Ash's day off," said Crobat.
"Hey May! Hey, huh, Ash!" he added somehow uncomfortable
He still remembers what they had said before they found the girls yesterday.
Flashback
"Richie what's up with you and Misty?"
"Huh what do you mean Ash?"
"You're always staring at her with this strange look and I don't know I don't like it!"
"Is it that obvious, since even you realized it?" he smiled but it vanished when his saw the look on Ash's face "What's wrong Ash?"
"You!"
"What!"
"Yeah, how can you do this? I love Misty!"
"I-I thought that… like you guys aren't going out plus there's May…"
"What about May? I don't care it doesn't matter all I want is you stopping it"
This time Richie was hurt and angry but didn't replied, he didn't want to lose a good friend but if he had to, to get Misty, he will but first he had to make sure it was worth it.
So he shut up and then they both saw Misty and May coming back.
"Hey girls where were you? Richie and I looked everywhere for you!" said Ash
End of Flashback
"Richie!" cried a May
"A May?" yelled Skitty, outraged. "There's just one!"
"Huh?"
"It's the fifth time already! Who are you battling?"
"Oh, I'm battling against Gary…"
"Gary?" said Ash "Hope you kick his butt!" he exclaimed
Richie wondered if he was saying this to cheer him or because he hated Gary's guts
"Latter," said Pikachu sagely.
"What about you May?" he asked
"Oh, I'm battling Ash"
"Really, you two are battling each other?"
"Yup, but sorry May I have to win…"
"Ash, you'd be wrong to think that this'll be an easy match" she said fiercely "It's getting late, I'm going to sleep I need to be in shape for tomorrow's match! Goodnight guys!" she went off
"Wow, she sure look ready to fight you!"
"Hope se won't be too disappointed when I beat her;
"Hey!" cried Skitty.
"Yeah!" cheered Pikachu.
A sound that sounded very much like a slap cracked through the air.
I have to win against Gary he wants to steal Misty from me!"
"So are you saying I'm going to lose tomorrow and that you're gonna have to save the day once again?"
"Well…"
"Hey, you're not the only one who cares about Misty but plus May cares about you!"
"Gary's a player and you have to agree he isn't worth her!"
"And are you? Am I? Stop being pretentious! You have May! She's an awesome girl and you already hurt Misty once, you had your chance"
"May is great but she isn't Misty, I love her but I think I love Misty more and Misty needs me! Gary's gonna hurt her!"
"You're wrong she doesn't need you, she did but not anymore and you only love Misty more than May because there's no serious guy around her"
"Shut up Richie! You're just jealous because I have more chances with Misty than you" said Ash a little ruder than he wanted but he didn't care he was angry
"Oh yeah? How come I kissed her? Have you? No, even Gary did!"
Realizing what he said, Richie immediately shut up, feeling bad
"You son of a…" started Ash furious and to punch Richie
Richie defending himself hit back, a fight started. A amount of trainers watch excited as the fight begin more intense by the minute
"This reminds me of someone…" muttered Psyduck.
Corphish whacked his head and pointed to Steelix's two prisoners.
"She's mine, get your dirty hands off her!"
"Didn't seem like it when I kissed her!"
"She didn't even went to your match!"
"Gary's name's more in her mind than yours! He's my true and only rival!"
Now they were both fighting heartedly, really willing to hurt each other
"Ash, Richie! What do you think you're doing!"
It was Brock, stronger he put an end to the fight.
Brock's Pokemon began whooping.
"What's wrong with you guys?"
"It's his fault" they said in unison
"I don't care! Go to sleep now!"
"Fine! Brock do you know where's Misty?"
Brock then understood everything and sighed
"No, but she's probably sleeping"
The 2 boys rushed out obviously toward Misty's room pushing each other.
Many people hided snicker afraid to get hit by the furious pair but still it was pretty funny to see two black eyes boys ran while fighting each other and screaming names
"I'm outta this fight" muttered Brock to himself shameful
"Him too?" murmured Glalie.
"Reminds you of 'There's Something About Mary', doesn't it?" said Psyduck.
Ash and Richie were running on the stairs toward Misty's room pushing each other violently. The Oak mansion has never been so agitated with these two hurricanes.
"I must say that the authoress is ill-versed in the use of the Queen's tongue," said Gyarados.
Squirtle stopped weeping.
"Get out of the way Richie!" yelled a pissed off Ash
"Get lost!" Richie shouted back
They finally arrived to Misty's room and opened the door, without knocking before. Surprised, they discover it was empty; Misty was no where in sight.
"Where is she?" wondered Ash
"Cocomo!" said Bulbasaur.
"Key largo, Montego…" sang Ludicolo, before Bulbasaur wrapped his vines around his mouth.
Bulbasaur continued the song. "Can it Ludicolo; you're singing's bad; and your dancing blows!"
Glalie joined in. "He's right you dumb dodo; stop singing Cocomo!"
Later in the morning in Gary's room
Gary got up and, throwing a last glance to a sleeping Misty,
"The glance was soft and didn't hurt her much, though," said Glalie.
he smiled before getting dressed. He was taking his pants off and just at that moment, Misty woke up.
"Hi Gar... Ah!" she screamed
"The horror!" yelled Pikachu.
before turning back with blush on her cheeks
"What's wrong never saw a boy in boxer before?" he said grinning widely
"Not one as hideous as this one," said Pikachu.
He dressed up.
"So are you coming to my match today?" he asked her
"Haven't we seen enough of you for one day?" asked Pikachu.
"Of course, who are you battling?" she replied
"I'm against Richie today" he said smiling to Misty's disconcerted face
"Well…I…I…" she started
"Don't worry I don't care if you're not cheering for me, just be there please" he cut her off. "Let's go eat breakfast!" he added and gave her his hand.
She took it and they went down for breakfast. Ash and Richie were already eating and they looked suspiciously at Gary seeing he was arriving with Misty.
"Good morning Misty" greeted Richie with an genuine smile
"Hi Richie, ready for your battle?" asked Misty, smiling as well "What happened to your eye?" she cried concerned
"Long story…" started Richie
"Hey Misty!" cut off Ash "Where were you yesterday night?" he added glaring at Richie angry and at Gary still suspicious.
Misty was looking embarrassed
"She was with me" said Gary, replying for her
"What!" both Richie and Ash yelled in unison, shocked
"How could His Hideousness get a girl to come within a twelve-mile radius of him?" asked Pikachu, shell-shocked.
"I wasn't feeling good so I went to Gary's room" half lied Misty and asked "Ash, you're hurt too, what's happened?" realizing Ash's eye
"They fought" said a voice.
They turned around, discovering it was Brock, followed by both May and Max.
"What?" yelled Misty, it was her turn to be shocked
"Yeah, Brock told me about it" said Max
"I heard some trainers said it was pretty hot" added May, "I wondered what they were fighting for" she said sarcastically.
"For love or money," said Torkoal.
"More likely for money," said Glalie. "Love doesn't evoke thus much rivalry."
Richie and Ash looked sheepish while Misty was getting more depressed since she had guessed the reason why they were fighting.
Realizing that, Gary immediately change the subject
"May I think you're battling Ash today, right?"
May, guessing what he was doing for Misty, played along
"Yeah, I'm going to kick his butt!" she said looking fiercely at Ash
"Don't cry to me when you'll lose" Ash sighed
A scuffle between Glalie and Beautifly ensued, which ended when Steelix tackled them.
"I cannot get a minute of peace," muttered Steelix, reclining in his heavily cushioned chair and throwing excessively buttered popcorn into his mouth while Sceptile and Charizard squirmed.
"She can beat you, Ash" Richie said taking May's defense
Ash just glared menacingly
Gary saw that.
"Hey Ashy-boy, if glare could kill, poor Richie will already be dead" he said chuckling
"If glares could kill…" sighed Pikachu.
"If only," snarled Skitty, glaring at the electric mouse.
"Yeah and you'll be dead for a long time too" he replied more aggressive
"What's your problem, Ketchum?" Gary said not laughing anymore
"It's you! You slept with Misty pervert!" he yelled
"Misty, aren't you just a little bit too young for that?" asked Brock "Even I didn't do it"
"I don't think you're be doing it any soon" added May, amused
"We didn't do anything" said Gary
"Yeah, right! How many girls did you abused?" angrily replied Ash
A voice interrupted them:
"TODAY'S MATCHES WILL BE BEGINNING SOON, THE FIRST MATCH IS GARY OAK VS. Mr. RICHIE (what's his last name?). PLEASE BE READY I WHITIN THE TEN NEXT MINUTES I REPEAT BE READY WITHIN THE NEXT 10 MINUTE IF NOT YOU MAY BE DISQUALIFIED"
"Hasn't the authoress heard of punctuation?" queried Gyarados, to Squirtle's immense delight.
"Not another one…" groaned Donphan.
"Well, I'm not saying good luck to any of you, I'm just glad that one of you will be gone" said bitterly Ash before exiting, pushing Gary aside rudely.
"Wish me good luck" said Gary to Misty, Ignoring Ash's behavior
Misty looked playfully at Gary
"I thought you didn't need this kind of stuff"
Gary looked at her, amused, before answering:
"Well then kiss me good luck, every guy would like that" he grinned
Misty just giggled and gave a quick kiss on his cheek under his surprised eyes.
"Hey I want one too!" said Richie childishly
Misty also laughed at that and gave him a little peck too before turning to May
"Do you want to May?"
"I think I'll pass" they all laughed.
Gary and Richie exited the room to go get ready for the match
"Brock, I want to show you something!" said Max "Come with me!"
They quitted the room, leaving, unconsciously, May and Misty alone.
"We should go see the match, don't you think?" Misty offered, but stopped when she saw May's sad face
"What's wrong May?"
"Misty, were you in Gary's room because of Ash?"
"Huh, I didn't go there intentionally" she replied, embarrassed
"I see…You and Gary got closer, right?"
"Yeah but I couldn't say the same about you and Ash. What happened between you guys?"
"He's so obsessed about you that he completely forgets about me"
"I'm really sorry for everything I'm putting you trough" she sincerely said.
"It's ok Misty, it's not your fault. Could you do me a favor?"
"Yeah May, whatever you want" reassure Misty.
"Give Ash a chance, he really loves you. Don't worry about me. Remember you said you'll do whatever I want and I think Ash deserve a chance"
"I thought you loved him" said a confused Misty
"Yes, that's why I'm doing this… anyway let's go see Richie and Gary's battle"
They arrived at the match just in time when both Gary and Richie when releasing their pokemon. A pikachu and a Scyther appeared, looking determined at each other.
"Go Sparky, go Sparky!" yelled Pikachu, dancing about. He stopped when Skitty slapped him again.
"What did I do this time?" said Pikachu, astonished.
"I just don't like you," sighed Skitty, settling down again.
"Sparky, thunderbolt!" started Richie
Scyther flinched at the attack while Richie and Sparky cheered
"Sparky, now use quick attack"
It hit scyther again.
The audience was wondering what Gary was doing; he seemed to be looking for someone and didn't pay too much attention on the match. That was kind of insulting Richie, and he was getting pissed until he heard this:
"Good job Sparky!" cheered Misty
Richie looked at her, nicely and Gary took his chance, now that he had found what- or who- he was looking for. Satisfied he really started the battle.
"Double kick!" he ordered to Scyther
Sparky was over confident with his two last attacks so he was too surprised to dodge the attack and fell on the ground.
"C'mon Sparky, get up I know you can do it!" Richie encouraged his pokemon
Gary knew what that he had a chance to quickly end the combat right now.
"Go Scyther, slash!"
Sparky was just getting up when the attack was launched. It was a critical hit. The battle seemed to be over.
"Sparky you can do it pal! C'mon don't give up on me yet" pleaded Richie really willing to win this combat and also a chance to be with Misty. The other trainers were looking at him with some pity at his determination although the math was over.
"Math was over and the Geography teacher was already entering class," said Donphan.
However Richie's pikachu surprised everyone by getting up on his feet again!
"Way to go Sparky!" yelled happily the brown haired guy
If everyone was impressed just by Sparky getting up, their jaw dropped when they saw
Richie order a thunder attack and Sparky doing it with so much power that Scyther couldn't possibly dodge it. What was about to be an awesome comeback turned out to be a useless attack; Gary had more trick off his sleeve. He didn't doubt about Sparky getting back up again after his attack. He knew that Richie and his pokemon shared a great bond and that Sparky would give anything he has to please his trainer. So while Richie and everyone else attention was on Sparky, he had order, discretely, his pokemon to use double team followed by fly. So the thunder attack only hit an illusion and on Gary's turn to attack Scyther, coming from nowhere, flied down on Sparky at full speed. Sparky didn't stand a chance. He was knocked a few feet further and had fainted, Gary had won. The cloud cheered loudly for the, not surprising, remarkable match. After all both Richie and Gary were well known as great pokemon trainer in Kanto, Ash too.
"Sparky return!"
Richie, with his pokeball shot a red laser beam at Sparky and it vanished
"Good job, pal!" he said looking at the pokeball
Gary walked toward Richie
"Great battle, Richie"
"Yeah, I guess Misty gave you more luck than to me. I wanted to win for her but I gotta admit your determination was bigger. I guess you deserve Misty more than me" he smiled sadly to him. "Take care of her"
"Thanks, I will" Gary promised to Richie and added "But I don't agree; I think you'd have made a great boyfriend."
"Thanks, you just need to make Misty realize that you're way better than Ash and make Ash realize that he already got May. In my case, I'll be leaving tonight. Good luck in the tournament" Richie winked to Gary shaking hands.
Gary was about to say something when May and Misty appeared
"Good match!" said May "It was awesome!"
"Yeah! You guys were fantastic!" agreed Misty
"Thank you" both guys said smiling
"Let's go eat dinner before May's match" proposed Richie
"Dinner in the afternoon," said Crobat. "An interesting concept."
They left to take dinner in the cafeteria that the Pr. Oak had momentary installed because the trainers were putting to much mess in the grand hall. So they went to a table and during the meal, they started another conversation:
"So Richie, where are you leaving?" asked Gary
"What, you're leaving Richie!" exclaimed Misty
"Yeah, I got plenty other stuff to do plus I better train harder if I want to beat Gary one day" he said grinning widely to Gary, the two of them had gotten closer.
"Keep on dreaming pal!" replied the well known Oak and they both chuckled
"Well, Richie it was nice meeting you. When are you leaving?" said May after everyone stopped to laugh.
"Tonight, so don't worry I'll see your match and cheer for you" he winked to her
"Are you ready for your battle, May?" Gary asked "I got an advice for you, you should use Combuzken because I'm sure that Ash will use his Grovyle; He loves it plus his intention, as I see them, are to do a quick battle"
"Thank you Gary, I'll think about it"
Meanwhile
Ash was training with Brock, Max and Tracy.
"Ash, you shouldn't train this much. You need to rest a bit!"
"Yeah, Brock's right" said Max worried about Ash behavior
"Not now! Tracy, let's continue the battle!"
"Fine Ash but be careful"
"Ash, why are you doing all this?"
"I have to show Gary what I'm made of so I have to win tomorrow. The little punk think he can steal Misty away from me I'll show him!"
"Ash you shouldn't be so confident about your match today. I saw May, she's training very hard too" said Max
"It doesn't matter, I have to beat her and I also have to beat Gary if I want to win Misty's heart"
"Ash isn't on his normal state, I guess all this competition really got to him hope he'll realize what he is doing before he hurt someone, especially May…" Brock thought to himself
Pikachu was hiding under his seat. Nobody had said anything in a while, especially him, but whenever someone talked about hurting May, Skitty slapped him. Better to be safe than red-cheeked.
It was now the moment everybody had waited for; Ash's and May's battle. The two of them were now facing each other.
"Sorry May I really have to win"
"Don't worry Ash I understand, but don't think it'll be easy" she said with as much determination as him
The audience was excited, as always, Misty, Richie and Gary watching in the center while Brock, Tracey and Max were sitting a little more to the right.
"Go May, you can do it!" cheered Misty
"YAH!" agreed Skitty and Beautifly.
May smiled to her and threw her pokeball first and Combusken came out.
Gary frowned, yes he had told her to choose him but he hadn't thought she would throw her pokeball first. Now Ash could change his mind.
"Sorry Gary, I'm not going to cheat with any advantage type, that'll be too easy" May thought
"That's just like May," sighed Beautifly.
"So honest and fair," said Skitty dreamily.
Ash looked a bit hesitant, Gary must have been right, Ash wanted to use Grovyle but now that May had chosen her pokemon, he released Swellow instead.
"HAH! That fire type doesn't stand a chance!" laughed Swellow.
A sharp crack echoed around the theater.
"Welcome to the club," muttered Pikachu from under his seat.
The battle could finally begin.
"Combusken fire spin!" started May
"Swellow dodge"
And it dodged the attack only to be hit by a Tackle
"What the…?"
"Sorry Ash, I've taught Combusken a lot of combination attack I just need to make sign so he can use them"
"You won't win just with that, Swellow use gust"
"Combusken, flamethrower!"
They were some kind of tornado of wing and fire but finally the the fire took over and Swellow got burned. It fell on the ground.
"Impractical," said Swellow, but not too loudly. Skitty's Tail Whips weren't exactly spa treatments.
"Get up Swellow"
It did and looked furiously at Combusken
"What's the matter Ash? Thought the match was going to be already over by now?"
"Nonsense, now Swellow use Quick attack!"
"Prepare to do as in the practices!"
Swellow was charging toward Combusken at super speed, it hit Combusken really hard but as it was falling Combusken put its hands on the ground and counter the attack with a great back flip and direct kick that throw Swellow in the air, he then quickly and with a prefect timing throw a flamethrower in Swellow direction. Sewllow
"Hey! Spell my name correctly!" said Swellow.
WHAP!
"What did I do this time?" yelled the irate bird, flying up and out of Skitty's reach.
"Sorry," she apologized. "I swung the moment you said something and by the time I realized it wasn't insulting it was too late to pull back!"
couldn't dodge
"Eerie," said Swellow, still hovering well above the seats.
and was hit again by fired and its burn hurt him.
The audience cheered for such a counter attack
Ash was dumbfound, where did she learned that? He thought
"Misty showed me a lot of things, Ash and she told me to train more if I wanted to master those moves correctly so I did! Impressed? I was too she's really good with fire type maybe it's because she battled a lot of them" said like if she had read his thoughts
Ash gritted his teeth.
"Wow I can't believe how good May is now! Ash may lose this match it's looking really bad for him" said Brock in the audience
"Yeah, I can't actually believe it but May's beating Ash"
"Who said that?" Skitty yelled, looking around, tail at the ready.
"It was someone from the movie!" said Pikachu hurriedly.
Ash, like he always do in critics situation in the show, turned his cap.
"Fine May, I was reserving those moves for Gary's fire type pokemon but too bad guess I'll have to think of a new strategy, Swellow Razor Wind followed by Body Slam!"
"Ash, I know that they're strong attack and that you've never done them before but razor wind takes time, Combusken use Tackle!"
Combusken did the attack but at its surprise he fell on the ground; it was an illusion; it had used double team.
"Sorry like you see I also did combination, Swellow Razor Wind now!"
"YAH!" roared Swellow, now above Skitty's slapping. "I AM UNTOUCHABLE!" He smirked down at the infuriated Skitty. "Both here and in the movie…"
The attack was really strong and it had an advantage type on Combusken fighting type.
It was going to fall down, several feet further, but didn't even have the time since Swellow charge him with Body Slam"
"Combusken get up!"
Combusken with difficulty got up
"Now Swellow finish him off, use Wing attack!"
Everyone knew that if the attack hit, the match was going to be over due to Ash's advantage type.
"Combusken, use Slash then Fire Kick!"
"Blaze Kick," Torkoal corrected with a groan.
Combusken claws shined and it split the attack in two, dodging it and doing a 360 he charged a max power attack and hit Swellow hard.
The audience cheered such a cool combination.
"Maybe it's because she's a coordinator that she does such great combination?" said Tracey amazed
"Yeah" said Brock and Max with their jaw dropped
"Go May, Great job!" Misty was the only one not surprised
May smiled
"The combinations Misty showed are working they're really great! Now, Ash has no choice to battle me seriously if he wants a chance to win!"
Ash's expression was unreadable, he turned his cap, which mysteriously was turned back to normal before (never realized that in the show?), and cried;
"OK Swellow, we have no choice but to use that new move I showed you for Gary's battle!"
Swellow nodded and flew higher in the air, he then picked down at a really high speed the attack seemed to be Steel Wing as his wings was silvered.
"Combusken flamethrower" ordered May knowing the attack quite well
Combusken throw the attack but at the last minute Swellow put his razor wing in the ground making some kind of earth attack. There were dirt that protected Swellow from the attack and it hit directly Combusken being both an air and earth attack it was super effective. Combusken fainted.
"WHOOOOO…!" Swellow began, but was cut off when Skitty used Assist. Blaziken's Overheat shot directly at the unexpected bird, who was fried and done in under thirty seconds.
"Hoo," breathed Swellow, ash emerging from his beak. He fell down hard into his seat.
Everybody was dumbfound, no expected such a comeback, even Tracey, Brock and Max who had helped Ash training didn't know that attack. After a moment of perplexity the crownd cheered loudly!
"'Crownd'?" asked Beautifly.
"She must mean the 'crownd' room from before, the one whose coronation Ash, May and Brock missed," explained Crobat.
"I didn't know the tournament would attract royalty!" said Glalie, feigning astonishment.
"Great job, Swellow you now perfectly master this move"
May, saddened, by the defeat recall her pokemon she was leaving when a hand held her.
"Amazing match, May, I'm really impressed, I had to use my strongest attack against you" he smiled to her
"Told ya!" May smiled back
They shook hands and the match officially ends with Ash as winner.
Later in the afternoon, after the May's match, Misty was walking in the garden alone. Gary and May went watching the last round match and help a bit Gary in his training since Ash had become a tough opponent.
"Hey Misty!" a voice cried
"It was not a person, but a voice," said Donphan.
She turned around meeting Ash.
"H Ash, great match by the way"
"Not to mention the matchbox!" piped Psyduck.
"Lame," Donphan told Psyduck flatly.
"Thanks, May really surprised me, she said you helped her training, didn't know you were this good with fire type"
"I'm as good with them as with water, I even used to raised some"
"Utter fabrication," said Gyarados.
"Why did you stop?"
"I had too, the cerulean Gym only use water pokemon"
"Oh, I'm sorry"
"It's ok, I had fun helping May, I really love fire type as much as water, both of them are like my personality" she said daydreaming
"I don't understand…"
"Well you see water can be calm as it can be devastating like when we were o the St.-Ann, remember?"
"Yeah…and fire you're unpredictable and fierce, sometimes harmless others dangerous is it that?" he grinned knowing it only to well
"Yeah!" replied Misty surprised "You matured a lot Ash"
"There's a lot about me you don't know, Misty I won today's match for you"
"Yeah…"
"And I'll win tomorrow's for you as well! I'll beat Gary and showed I'm better than him"
Misty thinking about the promise she made to May only smiled surprising Ash
"Well good luck Ash"
"Thanks, do I have a chance with you Mist?"
Misty heart pounded louder at this old nickname bringing a lot of memories back
"Yeah…"
"So if I beat Gary, proving that I love you more, you'd go out with me?"
"I guess but the other way around is possible"
"Ok so it's a fight to know who loves you the most and to know that the one who wins the tournament or get the farther will win right?"
"Yeah…"
Ash smiled
"Why are you smiling about?"
"I have no doubt about my feelings for you, I'm sure I can win!" he grinned
Misty smiled too, that was very sweet she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
Ash blushed really hard and was shocked
"Wow Misty, that was great! I'll continue to never wash this cheek again!"
Misty burst out laughing.
"Yew! Ash do you think you'll get more of them by saying that?" she was still laughing
"Perhaps if the kisser and kissee are Muks," said Psyduck.
Ash joined in too and they laugh for awhile, happy together.
Not too far from them was Richie.
"Guess I can go now, she'll be all right with anyone of them. I'll ask Pr. Oak to register to match for me, Bye Misty" he thoughtbefore taking his stuff and leaving.
During the evening, Pr. Oak organized a meeting where anyone could come, even losers.
"So that his grandson could attend," chimed Pikachu, still under his seat.
"Where's Richie?" Misty thought out loud
"Oh, yeah he left" replied Tracey
"He didn't even say goodbye"
"I think he was in a hurry, anyways he told me to gave you that" Tracey handed a envelope to Misty "He also told me to tell you to read it after Ash's and Gary's match"
"We don't even know if they're battling against each other in the final round…"
"Well, they do we were there at the random selection and it's Gary against Ash and Agatha against someone named John I think. Anyway you'll soon find out"
Just at that moment Pr. Oak started to talk;
"Hi Trainers, the final round will begin tomorrow and the final will be in the evening, the first match tomorrow is Ash Ketchum against Gary Oak and the winner will challenge the winner of John T.'s and Agatha's match. All these matched were so exciting that I decided to give a prize to the winner. Not only I'll reward him of 500 pokedollars but he'll have my new invention too, it's the upgrade of a pokedex handier and much more I-tech worth at least 1200 pokedollars. The winner will also be the first one experiencing it. Anyways the matches will start in the afternoon after lunch. If you have any questions go ask the referees for more details, thanks for listening"
Everyone cheered after the professor talk and was more excited than ever after the announcement.
"Gramps worked a lot on that project; it's going to be one heck of a machine!"
"Yeah and I'll have it!" exclaimed Ash excited like everyone
"Not so sure about it Ashy-boy"
"Well we'll see tomorrow about that!"
"We most certainly will," said Beautifly. "I've had enough for now."
Everyone began to get up and leave. Steelix was doing so too. While doing so, his unintentionally slacked his grip on Charizard and Sceptile. Seizing their chance, the two leapt out of Steelix's coils. They instantaneously launched two devastating attacks at each other, which promptly caused an explosion in addition to knocking out Beautifly.
The two duelers then leapt into the living room and resumed their battle, followed by a swearing Steelix.
But the worst was yet to come. As the smoke in the theater cleared, Squirtle could be walking and picking bits of charred String Shot off of himself.
"Hey, guys, guess what!" he said excitedly. "Their attacks freed me!"
Marshtomp's lower lip trembled. He looked, with horror, at the smiling Squirtle, and then at the unconscious Beautifly, and dropped to his knees. Raising his head and arms heavenward, he let out one long wail.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
A/N: Whew! That was even longer than the last one!
To CEM: The idea you gave me was useful, but instead of Psyduck, I decided to make Gyarados cultured and intellectual. And UPDATE! And look at the latter part of my note to Orange Sora.
To Orange Sora: Meowth on the way in chapter 7! In addition to him, May's Eevee will make an appearance (but she will have changed somewhat…) as will a 'special' guest. Swiftstream, you know what I'm talking about.
To Alexis R pokegirl: UPDATE!
To Swiftstream: UPDATE! And look at the latter part of my note to Orange Sora.
Also, you may have noticed that I parodied certain movie titles. So I am now announcing a contest: Anyone who comes up with the best movie-title-spoof involving Pokemon, like I did, will get the first chapters of my next two stories, 'The Rocket Identity' and 'A Twisted Trainer Tale'!
So go on. Review. You just might win!