Okay, so I lied—I updated relatively fast (the keyword in that sentence being "relatively").
First off, I'd like to make known my reasoning for ditching Pokeshipping, as I have gotten a few…er…I don't want to call them complaints, cause they weren't very angry (at least, that was the impression I got)…but you get the point. My reasoning was that I wanted to broaden my targeted victims—uh, did I say victims? I meant reading audience. I wanted to open this fic up to non-Pokeshippers. But, since I know that there are some people out there who like romance stories, I kept Contestshipping (I kept that one as opposed to Pokeshipping because I honestly don't think I am capable of writing a story with Drew and May together and not having the urge to sneak in little hints…and possibly some big hints).
So, that's my reasoning. On with Chapter 17, which features characters, themes, objects, and places that I don't own!
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"You did great, Sy!" Dawn cheered as Syrus shakily entered backstage. "You're in the finals!"
"Wh-why weren't you guys there?" Syrus whimpered. "I looked in the stands and you weren't there."
"Uh…" Dawn glanced at the others. "There was a…slight complication."
"The good news is that you have some added incentive for beating Alyssa!" Jaden exclaimed, hoping to put a positive spin on the situation.
"The bad news is that she'll probably squash you like a bug and brainwash you," Drew deadpanned. After everyone glared at him (especially Zane—so he does care!), he added a defensive "What?"
"Wait…'squash'? 'Brainwash'?" Syrus squeaked. "What do you guys mean?"
"Alyssa's TL, mate," Jim explained.
Syrus shot a nervous glance at Atticus. "So Atticus…?"
"Yeah, he was. But then Bastion showed him a picture of a really hot girl from his pack and Atticus snapped out of it," Ash explained.
"Oh, you mean Alexis," Syrus guessed. "Wait—why did Bastion have Alexis's pic in his bag?"
Ash sweatdropped. "Guess I didn't word that quite right—sorry. Atticus had the picture; Bastion just took it out and showed it to him."
"Oh. Got it."
"So, anyway, now it's up to you to beat Alyssa, Sy," Jesse explained softly.
"WHAT?! NO! I can't beat Alyssa!" Syrus protested shrilly.
"Sy, it's the only way," Jaden tried. "Someone's got to beat her, and no one else is registered in the Contest."
Syrus moaned. "Why can't you beat her beforehand?"
"Uh…"
"This way, it strengthens the plot," Brock cut in. "It would be awfully boring for whoever is reading this for Ash to just jump in and beat her in two seconds." Everyone looked at him blankly. "Uh…never mind. Just get out there and beat her."
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Due to the fact that the authoress hates writing battles, and that is usually what takes her so long to update, she has decided to cut the most climactic battle in the story so far.
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"Pachirisu, Discharge!" Syrus commanded. After a long battle with Alyssa, it had finally come down to this last move. Ten seconds on the clock; if Alyssa could dodge, Syrus would lose. If she couldn't, then…
"Torkoal, Smoke Screen!" Smoke covered the stage at Alyssa's command as Pachirisu's lightning was shot right at her Pokémon. The timer hit 0, but they literally had to wait until the smoke cleared to know the results. They couldn't tell from just looking at the screen, it was so close. But in the end…
"And the victor of the match and winner of the Pewter City Pokémon Contest Ribbon is…" Lillian paused for dramatic effect. "SYRUS TRUESDALE!"
Syrus stood there, stunned, immobile.
"GO UP AND GET THE RIBBON, YOU MORON!" Drew shouted cheerfully. Syrus's head snapped in Drew's direction, then in Lillian's. He stumbled over to her, taking the ribbon with shaking hands.
Jim was the only one who noticed Alyssa had collapsed where she had stood. He raced down to the stage and helped her up. "You alright, sheila?"
Alyssa groaned. "Yeah…but my name's Alyssa, not sheila."
Jim grinned, relieved—she was back to normal. "I know. Come on, let's get you to a Pokémon Center; you must be tired."
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"I'm glad we could help out Alyssa," Jaden said cheerfully as he (and everyone else) waved at the aforementioned girl's retreating figure as she disappeared over the horizon. "Too bad that psychic power thing disappeared after she became un-brainwashed."
There was quiet for a few moments.
"I say we hold a conference." Brock suddenly broke the silence. Everyone stared at him questioningly. "What I mean is, I'm sure you guys have a few last-minute questions to ask, right?" The duelists slowly nodded. "Good. Let's hold it in my room at the Gym. Then we can head out for Cerulean City."
Ash nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Let's get back to the Gym."
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"This is the 'Talking Pokéball (A/N: you know, like the Talking Stick)'." Ash explained, holding up an empty Pokéball and sitting cross-legged on the floor (as was everyone else, in a large circle). "Whoever has it gets to talk. You get the TP by raising your hand."
Jesse raised his hand and Ash tossed him the Pokéball. "Is this really necessary?"
Ash raised his hand and Jesse passed the capture device back. "Yes. Now shut up."
"So…" Brock began.
"Hey!" Ash scolded, holding up the Pokéball.
Brock rolled his eyes and raised his hand, which caught the ball as Ash threw it. "Any questions?"
Jim raised his hand and Brock passed the ball. "Brock, Ash told me that you're a Pokémon 'breeder'; what is that?"
Jim flung the ball back at Brock, who easily caught it. "Glad you asked, Jim. Pokémon breeders are trainers who raise and mate Pokémon for improvements in future generations' genes—that's where the name came from, but most breeders don't specialize in this field. Some, like me, don't even breed Pokémon at all. In that case, their primary duties are monitoring, taking care of, and hatching Pokémon eggs, Pokémon grooming, and Pokémon nutrition. Sound like something you'd want to do?"
At the question, Brock tossed the ball back to Jim. "Yeah, actually." Jim smiled. "I've done stuff like that for normal animals, why not Pokémon?" He threw the Pokéball back.
"You know, Ash, this is getting really irritating," Brock noted as he caught the ball.
Ash raised his hand and Brock passed the aforementioned ball. "Then maybe you two should discuss this somewhere else!"
"I think we will!" Brock countered. "Come on, Jim, we'll talk this over 'somewhere else'."
Jim shrugged as he stood up. "Fine by me. Don't have anymore questions, anyway."
As soon as the door closed behind the pair, Ash turned back to the group. "What about you guys? Do you have anymore questions?"
Adrian raised his hand and Ash nodded, tossing the Pokéball. "Before we left, Chancellor Sheppard mentioned something about 'legendary' Pokémon. What are those?" Upon the question, Adrian tossed the ball back.
"I guess it's a good time to tell you this," Ash noted as he caught the ball. "Legendary Pokémon are Pokémon that are extremely rare and powerful. There are two types: those that are in legends, like Groudon or Kyogre, and those that most don't even know if they exist, like Lugia or Mew. However, since I have proved to the world that Lugia does, indeed, exist, that one can be taken off the list. Odds are that none of you will get a glimpse of any of the legendaries. I, on the other hand, have seen almost every legendary Pokémon out there." Ash smirked proudly.
"Pika!" Pikachu, who was sitting in Ash's lap, agreed. Like Ash, everyone had one of their Pokémon outside their ball. They would have had all their Pokémon out, but Brock's room wasn't big enough.
Drew snorted disbelievingly. "Roserade!" his Pokémon laughed.
"It's true!" Ash insisted. "I've seen Deoxys, Ho-oh, Lugia, Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno, Suicune, Celebi, Palkia, Dialga…" Dawn nodded in agreement at the last two.
"But have you ever caught—" Drew started.
"I told you, use the POKÉBALL!" Ash yelled as he chucked the Pokéball at Drew's stomach.
"AH!" Drew gasped as he doubled over. "ASH!"
"Oops," Ash laughed. "I really have to work on my aim! You know, I always have thrown things a little lower than I mean to…"
"ASH! Ah, DAMMIT!" Drew panted, and then yelled out a whole other string of curses.
"Aw, suck it up, Drew," Aster gasped between fits of laughter.
"Let's see how you like it!" Drew flung the ball at Aster's lap while staying doubled over.
"Rock Smash, Riolu," Aster responded calmly. His Pokémon leapt in front of him, its outstretched fist meeting the Pokéball and cracking it into pieces. "Oops. Darn." Aster sighed, feigning depression, but at the same time barely containing his amusement. "Guess we can't use the Talking Pokéball anymore. Too bad."
"Don't worry!" Ash cheered. "I got a spare!"
An assortment of moans and groans followed.
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"Legendary Pokémon are Pokémon that are extremely rare and powerful"…"extremely rare and powerful"…"powerful…"
Adrian smirked as he stared up at the ceiling of the Pewter Gym. The group had to sleep in the Gym's arena since there was so many of them…himself, Jesse, Jim, Axel, Jaden, Syrus, Atticus, Chazz, Aster, Zane, Bastion, Ash, Drew, Dawn, Max, and Brock. (A/N: I just figured that I'd list everyone in the group so far to remind everyone…).
I'll find those legendary Pokémon, conquer this world, and then…then I'll take over our world. No one knows about Pokémon over there; they'll be known far and wide as tools of death…and I'll be the only one who has them…
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"By the time we get to Cerulean, I want you all to have a full team. Shouldn't be too difficult, considering the fact that you've each got four strong Pokémon and we only went from Pallet to Pewter," Ash announced as he paced back and forth in front of the duelists. "At Cerulean, we'll—I mean, you'll—challenge Misty's sisters. Unfortunately, Sy, Atticus, Drew, Dawn, there aren't any Contests in Cerulean. There probably won't be for awhile. Also, by the time we get to Cerulean, we'll be closer to the hive. If you thought there were a lot of TL zombies out here, just wait until we get closer to them."
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Next chapter should be relatively short—we'll be checking up on Duel Academy and there should be a little background info on Sheppard's and Oak's relationship (yes, I know how that sounds, just disregard the wording—it's not like that)…