The battle had lasted almost two hours somehow. It was a tough match between the two powerful trainers. They ended up using their first Pokemon as their last. But for the loser, it was her very last.

"N-no," Yasmin muttered under her voice. She stared at her Pikachu, lying on the floor still. Yasmin fell to her knees, still looking intensely at Pika.

Ash's Pikachu was resting once again on its master's shoulder. The two cheerleaders were walking down the bleachers with one pokemon each beside them. The referee was walking over to Pika, whose trainer was too stunned to pick it up.

"This can't be happening." Yasmin quietly said. She had never lost a battle before this. Well maybe one or so out of all of her battles, but those would be the kind when all of her pokemon were easily wiped out.

Everyone was around Yasmin, who hadn't notice Brock pick up Pika and bring her over. Josephine kneeled next to Yasmin. Worried for her friend, she said, "Are you okay?" She couldn't think of anything else to say. Josephine had traveled with Yasmin since the beginning and had always seen Yasmin victorious, but losing now, and to her idol, Josephine thought Yasmin would be crushed.

"Y-yeah I'm okay." Yasmin stuttered as she stood. Yasmin had her head down so no one would see her eyes. She held her hand out in front of her, where Ash was standing. "Good job. Congrats on winning." Yasmin mustered out these words quietly.

"Thanks Yasmin. You did a really great job. Even Pikachu is tried now." Ash noticed how Pikachu was trying to stay on Ash's shoulder before going inside to see Nurse Joy.

Right before Ash took Yasmin's hand; the girl pulled away and ran inside the Pokemon Center.

"Yasmin!" Josephine yelled out after her friend.

"What's wrong with her?" Ash was mostly oblivious when it was serious moments like this.

"I'm going to give Nurse Joy Pika for her." Brock said as he looked at the little mouse in the bad condition it was in. The poor thing could hardly breathe.

"Here I'll take Pika." Josephine said, thinking that Pika might not want to be with a stranger in this condition.

"Okay." Brock said. The trio stood there for a minute as the girl ran inside to get help for the pokemon.

Yasmin was giving Nurse Joy her pokemon. "That was an exciting battle out there." Nurse Joy commented as she took the five Pokéballs on a tray. "I was rooting for you from in here."

"Thanks Nurse Joy." Yasmin said. When she was speaking she was saying everything quietly. "Nurse Joy, if another girl or someone comes in here with a badly hurt Pikachu, please take good care of it."

"Of course." Nurse Joy knew the girl lost and thought about how sad she would be.

Yasmin walked down the hallway, back to the room she shared with the other girls. They'd probably think I'm here. But I want to be alone right now. Yasmin thought of where she could go before she walked out of the room.

"Nurse Joy, did the girl from the battle come in here and give you her pokemon?" Josephine asked as she rushed Pika onto the counter.

"Why yes and she was asking about her Pikachu." The nurse was looking at the injured pokemon and frantically pushing a button, calling in the Chansey with a stretcher.

"Good, well this is her Pikachu and we need you to take really good care of it."

"I will. Chansey to the E.R." The Nurse said as the pokemon ran into the other room.

"Nurse Joy, wait!" Ash was running in the building and stopped at the counter. "Please take care of my pokemon as well, I think my Staraptor hurt its wing really bad as well as my other pokemon."

"Okay. I'll put them all in the examination room. But first is this Pikachu." Nurse Joy and her Chansey ran into the other room, turning on the red light for no one to come inside the operating room.

"Where's Yasmin?" Ash asked the coordinator. Ash's other friends were still coming inside the building.

"I don't know. But she already gave Nurse Joy all her Pokemon."

"Okay well I'm going to go look for her Ash said before running down the hallway to the rooms.

"Ash! Where are you going?" Dawn yelled out as her and Brock entered the lobby.

Ash didn't answer her back since he was out of ear range. Josephine told Dawn he was looking for Yasmin, making Dawn get a bit angry on the inside.

"Well I'll go help him." Dawn said as she took a step forward.

"I think we should let Ash go alone on this one," Brock was stopped the girl in her tracks with his hand on her shoulder.

"Why is that?" Dawn looked back at Brock.

"I just think it would be better if they settled this. Yasmin's obviously sad about the battle so she should talk with Ash since he was her opponent."

"Oh okay."

"Yeah like I'm going to let her be upset for a little while before talking to her since for the first couple minutes she won't want to talk to anyone. I hope Ash finds her after that though because she can say things she doesn't mean when she's like this." Josephine said in a worried tone.

Ash knocked on the door to the girl's room. After he knocked three times with no response he opened the door, showing the empty room.

He went to the boy's room, no one there. He went to the hot springs, no one really there. He went to the telephones, no one there. He had searched everywhere. Maybe she left. Ash thought maybe she went on a walk or something, but then remembered her bag being left in the room, next to her bunk. He went back out to the battle field, where he met back up with everyone.

"Any sign of her?" Brock asked quickly. Ash shock his head no in a response, making everyone turn back to their own searches. Josephine had let out her Swablu to fly around the perimeter of the center, but Yasmin was not outside the building.

Where could she be? Everyone was thinking. The trainer was nowhere to be found. After about an hour and a half, they all thought to look back inside the center after they had left to search the town. Some people in town said they had seen her, but it was more as a passing by.

Once back at the center everyone was sitting in the lobby. They had no clue where to search, until Ash thought of somewhere.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go check on Pika and Pikachu okay?" Ash said as he stood up. He walked over to the part of the center where trainers could view their pokemon in surgery. It was down a hallway from the lobby, where none of the group had looked. Ash thought that she would be there, and she was.

Yasmin, staring with tears in her eyes, looked at her Pikachu through the glass window at the center. Pika had been hooked up to an IV system after being shocked with a defibrillator. It was barely conscious but was in absolutely no condition to go outside the hospital room.

Ash barely touched her shoulder, frightening the girl. She looked up at Ash quickly before wiping her eyes. "Sorry about earlier. I must have worried everyone."

"Yeah, we looked everywhere for you."

"No you didn't." Her tone becoming angry as she stood.

"What do you mean?" Ash looked at her puzzled.

"I went to my room to get something out of my bag and then went to the PokéMart to buy Pika some stuff she likes. After that I came here and have been watching Pika." She looked at her pokemon again, watching its slight breathing and heart beat. "She's never turned out this bad after a battle." Yasmin looked down and then quickly back at Ash, with tears in her eyes and shouting, "And it's all your fault!" before she quickly turned around, covering her face.

Ash could her Yasmin sobbing, making him feel quite uncomfortable. Not truly knowing what to do, he put his hand on her shoulder. "Yasmin, I didn't mean for Pika to end up like this. Why would anyone ever want to hurt anything this badly? And why would they do it to their friend?" Ash tried a weak smile.

"You call this friendship?" Yasmin said coldly, brushing his hand off of her. She turned around, her angry, crying face still very apparent. Ash's smile turned to a confused face as his heart sank slightly. "I understand you're trying to help Ash, but that doesn't mean everything can be fixed by sprinkling happy words like friends and other crap. A real friend would know that it's better just to get a hug with no stupid words attached when you're sad. I don't need your bullshit! Okay Ketchum! Now just go!" Yasmin kneeled back down, covering her face again. I'm sorry Ash. Just go. The brunette trainer did feel bad on the inside, but was unable to say it for the guy of her dreams had already walked away.

It had been a few hours and there was still much tension within the group. Dawn thought to put on a show to cheer Ash up, like she did once before after a battle with Paul, but it didn't help. Josephine had gone to visit Yasmin to make sure her dear friend was okay. Dawn and Josephine were still fighting a bit, but not so spirited.

"Why does Yasmin think she can be that upset about losing a battle?" Dawn questioned as everyone was sitting around a circular, booth table.

"You act like you've never lost before," Josephine rebutted. "Everyone gets upset after they lose."

"Yeah but most people get over it later."

"Yeah, but do most people's Pokémon end up in the ICU?"

Dawn's face went to shock, making her silent. That's how their conversations were going for the afternoon.

Brock, looking over at Ash and the two girls, tried to think of a way to make everyone happy. Everyone was so down and depressed seeming. That was until Nurse Joy showed up at the table with a small "Excuse me?"

Looking up, Brock said "Oh hello Joy. What is it?"

"I wanted to say that everyone's Pokémon are doing just fine now. They all need to stay in my care though until tomorrow. But you can go see them if you'd like." The nurse smiled before Ash got up from the side of the booth. He followed Joy over to a room full of beds. His six pokemon occupying some of the beds, as well as Yasmin's pokemon were there. Without needing to go in the room, Ash had a feeling that Yasmin would be in there again.

Joy had left the room as Ash knelt near Pikachu's bed. "Hey buddy. You feeling better?" "Pikapi! Kapi pikachu!" Pikachu returned with a happy smile, making his trainer grin. "You battled really well earlier," Ash said, continuing his sentence after a short pause. "You too, Yasmin!" Ash looked behind him.

There was Yasmin, standing before Leafeon's beds. As soon as he caught her eyes, she blushed and turned back to face Leafeon's bed again. She rubbed the soft fur on its head as she tried to hide from the boy across the room. What do I say to him? After all those mean things I said to him he still wants to be my friend. Why's he have to be so nice and cute?Yasmin suddenly felt a flash of Déjà vu from a week ago when she met Ash. She remembered all of the fun things they did together and all of the things she told him. Even though he knew that fact that she was once part of Team Rocket, he still treated her the same way. She had felt her feelings for him become stronger in the week of knowing this messy haired, clumsy, wild, insane, child. She had known of him only from story her friends told her but, after meeting him, she felt that Ash is someone who cannot actually be explained. Whatever he does doesn't need a reason for it. Like the actions he was doing now.

Between the time Yasmin was thinking to herself, Ash had come from behind, wrapped his arms around her upper body, and was giving her a bit of a squeeze.

"Uh, what are you doing Ash?" Yasmin asked quietly. She could barely speak she was so baffled.

"You said it yourself earlier. 'A real friend would just give them a hug with no words attached since they wouldn't be needed.'" The quote wasn't truly correct, but it had the essence of what she had said before. Ash had a grin on his face as Yasmin was blushing furiously and had a glimmer of tears in her eyes.

Ash let go of the girl with a confused look on his face. "Why are you crying now? There's no reason to be sad."

"I'm not sad," She said wiping her right eye on the back of her glove. "I'm just really happy." Yasmin then wrapped her arms around Ash neck for a hug. "I'm sorry Ash! I'm sorry I over reacted! I'm sorry for every trouble I've caused you!" She was crying but smiling as she was apologizing. Ash just hugged her back.

Outside of the room, everyone was trying to listen thru the door. No one knew quite how to react to what was happening. Josephine had a faint smile, Dawn was a little jealous but happy, and Brock was happy as well.

Everyone was out eating dinner. It had been a few hours since all of the fighting before. Yasmin had a few cuts on her calves and Ash had a bandage on his forehead. They were sitting next to each other, laughing, talking, enjoying their food like the happy trainers they were just the night before. They acted as if nothing had happened after the battle, much to Yasmin's pleasure.

"Oh man, I'm stuffed!" Ash said as he stretched out and laid his hands on his inflated stomach.

"Looks like someone has a food baby!" Yasmin laughed as she pointed to both Ash and Josephine.

"Hey, I wouldn't be talking if I was you Yasmin" Noticing the empty plate in front of her friend.

"Yeah but at least I don't have to find the father of my food baby Jose."

"I'm not Jose!" The coordinator flailed her arms in the air, causing everyone to laugh.

Everyone was back in their rooms in the Pokécenter. Yasmin was lying on her bunk as she thought of a good way to say something that had also been dreading her that day. The girl sat up on her bed, crossed her arms, and put her feet on the solid, hard wood floors.

"What's wrong?" Josephine asked.

"Huh? Oh nothing. I'm just thinking about my next gym battle and how much I should improve if I want to be on Ash's level."

"Oh cool," Josephine happily went back to brushing her Azumarill's smooth fur and fluffy bunny like ears. "Oh Pudge muffin how I love you!~" The young girl gave her Pokémon the strange nickname when they were much younger.

"Why do you still call Azumarill that?" Yasmin questioned, slightly annoyed.

"Hey at least I have more of an imagination than you. Pika the Pikachu. Oh wow, what a great name."

"I wanted to name her Star but you know I couldn't pronounce the 'S' sound right when I was little."

"That old excuse again."

"At least I have a reason for the name of my Pokémon."

Rather than saying anything back, Josephine just stuck her tongue out in a childish way. And Yasmin acted the same way right back. They did that for about ten seconds before they started to laugh at each other's faces.

"You two are really weird, you know that?" Dawn was sitting on her bed, brushing her hair. She was wearing her pink sweat suit-like pajamas. Josephine and Yasmin were wearing theirs as well, Yasmin's a light purple color and Josephine's an orangey-red.

"Ya, we know. But that's what makes us special!" Yasmin shot a fist up in the air.

"Yeah Yasmin. You're REALLY special alright." Josephine said with a giggle.

"Ha ha very funny," Yasmin said sarcastically before remembering her thought from before. "You know I'm gonna go for a quick walk to make me sleepy." Yasmin said as she was searching in her bag for something. Once she found it, she placed it deep in her jacket pocket and stood up. "Don't wait up for me." She grinned happily as she closed the door.

When she was in the hallway, Yasmin quickly looked around to see if anyone was nearby. She briskly walked over the boy's room and took in a deep breath before knocking on the door. You can do this Yasmin.

Hi again everybody! Sorry for not updating in awhile. I had school and a bunch of other stuff happened. I hope ya'll understand. Please enjoy this chapter and I'm sorry if it's a little sad. Oh and I just kinda realized how little Brock does in this... oh well ^^