As always thank you to everyone that read and reviewed the last chapter.

"This is our hotel? Wow those tickets your mom won were far better than I thought."

Nearly dropping Buneary at the sight of their lodgings, Dawn could only stare at the hotel. Sure it wasn't as large as some of the high-rise ones in cities like Celadon or Lilycove but none of the buildings on this island seemed to be larger than a few stories anyways. Walking into it though was another story. Large crystal chandeliers and beautiful rugs on hardwood floors greeted them into the lobby. Nearly the entire place was covered in intricately carved exotic wood, clearly meant for the more well to do clientele.

"I feel so out of place," Ash murmured as he walked up to one of the pillars and traced his fingers along the many different carvings of flowers and ivy. "I would have been fine with just a simple twin bed with a bathroom."

"Oh you just need to get out more often," May said as she walked up to the front desk, Eevee and Pikachu still on her shoulders admiring the contents as much as their trainers were.

"And you come to these places often?"

"No, but some of the restaurants that my parents took Max and I to were like this."

"To live the life of luxury…"

"Oh be quiet."

"Welcome to the Aurora Borealis Hotel. Could I get your name please?"

Looking up at the desk attendant May nodded and handed over her ticket that Mrs. Ketchum gave her. "May Maple, I was told that there should be reservations for this."

"Ah yes I remember hearing about those," the attendant said taking the ticket from her. He was a young man, only in his mid twenties or so, but was dressed up in a full suit and his skin was a dark tan from living under the tropical sun. "And the other ticket?"

"Right here," Dawn spoke up handing over hers as well. "Don't you get warm wearing a suit in this weather?"

"As long as I don't walk outside with this thing on I'm fine. But they require us to wear these while on duty. It can be a real pain." Giving off a small sigh the man typed a few things into the computer before handing over a couple of plastic keycards. "These are the keycards to your room, our beachfront penthouse suite. It's right down that hallway to your left, about near the end."

"Beachfront penthouse!" Both girls cried out.

"But Mrs. Ketchum only said that it was a two bedroom suite," Dawn recalled.

"Our penthouse suites are the only ones with two private bedrooms per room. You're very lucky, that room is usually booked solid for most of the year. Feel free to call the front desk for anything that you may require. I hope you enjoy your stay with us."

Taking the cards and thanking the young man the three of them walked down the hall to find their room. After about a minute they found it and opened the door. As what would be expected with what they had seen so far, the room blew them away. A full kitchen off to the right as they entered and beyond that a large living room with several couches, a massive LCD TV, and one entire wall of windows looking out to the beach only several meters away.

"Oh my…wow." May was nearly speechless with the sight of everything. She had never been in a hotel room like this before. It definitely lived up to its title as the "beachfront penthouse".

"So Ash do you think you'll miss out on that room you wanted and suffer through sleeping in here?" She joked as the trainer was just as awed, but more at the TV than anything else.

"Uh-uh." It was closer to a grunt but one could barely make out the words as a small spot of droll made its way past his lips.

"Hey May come and check out the bedrooms!" Dawn called out from one of the side rooms. Giggling at Ash's reaction to seeing the room, May walked over the bedroom Dawn was in to find that they were just as impressive as the rest of the suite with a king-sized bed, a nearly matching TV like the one before, and even a spacious private bathroom with a whirlpool tub. "This is going to be one of the best vacations I've ever had!" The blunette squealed with delight before running and jumping onto her bed with Buneary not too far behind.

Heading over to her own room May dropped all of her things on the bed and admired the contents. It may have been virtually identical to Dawn's room but unlike Dawn's May had a full view of the beach, like the living room.

'I think that this should be good enough for us right now, don't you think you two?"

"Eevee," she said with a nod.

"Pika…" Her other passenger just seemed to be enjoying the view that this room sported.

"So let's go have some fun! But first…"

Grabbing her bathing suit from her pack May went into the bathroom to change. After getting into her new red bikini she grabbed some of her clothes to put on over it and headed back out into the living room. Sighing as she saw that Ash's eyes were still glued on the TV watching a rerun of the latest clip from the Indigo League tournament. Walking over to the other bedroom she knocked on the door. "Dawn, do you want to go down to the beach? No sense in staying in here when it's still such a nice day outside."

"Way ahead of you." She could hear from the other side of the door. Stepping out Dawn was obviously thinking along the same line that May was as she too was ready for the ocean, Buneary not far behind her. Still eyeing Pikachu and Eevee warily, but with May being the one who had them together there was nothing that the Normal-type could do in response.

"So should we get Ash to come along with us?" Dawn asked as she saw the trainer over on the couch. "Then again it might take a little bit to tear him away from that."

Walking over to him Dawn waved her hand in front of his face, trying to get a response. "Hey Ash did you want to go to the beach?"

"Yeah."

It may have been a response but appeared to be more of a reflex than an actual answer.

"So let's head out then."

"Yeah."

Getting a little annoyed at his impersonation of a broken record Dawn lost it for a second. "Are you even listening to me?!"

"Yeah."

Rubbing her temples at the trainer's actions a smile crept over face as the thought of having a little fun with him crossed her mind. Seeing her smile May didn't like what she might be planning.

"Dawn…"

"Don't worry; I'm just going to play with him a little." Turning back to the seemingly brain-dead trainer Dawn thought up a few pieces to get him to agree with. "Okay Ash, would you mind buying me a whole new wardrobe today?"

"Yeah."

Faceplaming at Dawn's actions the brunette could only imagine what else she had in store.

"I'll make note of that for later," the blunette said with grin. "Alright then, would you mind giving me Pikachu for the whole day?"

At the sound of that question Pikachu instantly tensed up. Knowing what the result would be with his trainer in that state of mind he instantly wriggled his way out of May's grasp and tried to make his way to Ash before the response could be made, regrettably he was just a little too late.

"Yeah."

Tripping as soon as the answer escaped his mouth, Pikachu started to fear what that could mean.

"Thank you," Dawn happily stated as she picked up Pikachu along with Buneary. For the first time since they got to Pallet Town, Buneary was the one being pressed up against Pikachu with both of them in her trainer's arms. The Rabbit Pokémon was quick to capitalize on the situation and brushed herself right up next to Pikachu. Pikachu, who sadly felt like he had to continue with his trainer's command, did virtually nothing but let the Normal-type continue.

Watching from her own trainer's shoulder Eevee wasn't very happy with what the blue-haired devil just pulled. Staring at her rival the thought of what she wouldn't give to be in that position flashed for only a second before a smile crept over her face. It wasn't the first time that she was in that position but it was for Buneary. Sure one of those times he wasn't completely conscious but the other time she saw the look that he gave her after she willingly left him alone in May's arms. Curiosity was now what she was going for. If he was curious about something he would think about it more, and if she could keep him thinking more about her then Buneary she was already yet another step closer to the end. So to her losing this battle meant absolutely nothing, if anything she was actually winning it as she watched Pikachu's expression to the relative distance between the two of them grew even smaller. Besides she knew there was still one secret that would give her the final edge, and by the time Buneary would notice it, it would be too late.

The grin of Eevee's didn't escape the Rabbit Pokémon's notice. But without knowing what she was actually planning Buneary could only assume that her rival was bluffing. Gleefully she put the thought aside and just continued to enjoy the feel of Pikachu's body against hers, even right down to the tingling sensation as she touched his electric sacks. To her this was Pikachu's natural reaction to her and she took his willingness to stay there next to her as progress. Ever since she first laid eyes on him in Sinnoh she knew that this was one love that she wouldn't give up on. So every opportunity she got she would try to get close to the electric mouse, but for some reason the last few months she felt a bit stronger urge to succeed. Thinking that it could have been from her own trainer trying harder to get Ash's attention, Buneary was just glad that things were finally going her way. She was so close to her future mate while her own trainer was finding a mate of her own. And even May's interventions wouldn't be enough as they both had trainers willing to help them out.

"So you are now the proud owner of a new Pikachu," May sighed, taking a quick glance to see how Eevee was taking it. After seeing that she had no real problem May continued. "So what's next then? Are you going to actually ask what you really want?"

Watching Dawn turn a deep red color May couldn't help but smile, and yet at the same time regret those words for the same reason.

"Shh!" Dawn quickly tried to silence May, looking back at Ash who still hadn't taken his eyes off the TV. "Alright I've had my little bit of fun but I just want to go to the beach now."

"Don't worry Dawn this has happened before, though not to this extent. He gets an overload of Pokémon and blanks out to the rest of the world. There's only one good way to snap him out of it." May said as she calmly walked up to the unknowing trainer.

"And that would be?"

"This."

Grabbing him by the sweatshirt May forcibly yanked him off the couch and onto the floor, starting to pull him back away from the TV.

"Hey! What the…I was watching that!" Ash yelled out as he finally came to his senses.

"Yeah, I know; and that was the problem."

Dragging him into her room and leaving him there May closed the door right after tossing his backpack into the room as well.

"We're heading down to the beach and you're not going to sit in here and waste time by the TV," May said as she stood by the door.

"And if I said I still wanted to watch that?" Ash shouted back from the other side.

"Then you find your own room." After a moment of silence some shuffling could be heard along with undecipherable mumbling. "See? All better," May said while wiping her hands together.

Dawn and Buneary were wide eyed as to what just happened. She would never have expected the usually placid May to do something like that. Pikachu and Eevee on the other hand just shook their heads at the dense trainer.

"You said that this happened before?" Dawn finally asked as May came and sat down on the couch.

"Yep, right before we left for the Battle Frontier. Pretty much the exact same situation, except that it was at his house; we were already behind schedule and he wanted to finish the prelims for the Indigo League. The thing was that they had just started and would have been on for another five hours. The only response that we got out of him was 'Sure, when this is over'. So I finally got annoyed enough to start dragging him out of the house and if he wouldn't have gotten up I would have continued to drag him as far as I physically could. Of course with a TV this big it's obvious that there would be a bigger reaction. It was actually originally a trick that I picked up from Misty. Although this was only the second time I had to use it, it comes in handy when you do need it."

"Guess there is still plenty more about Ash that I could learn about," Dawn thought to herself looking back at May's room.

"You just have to be stern with him at times," May stated as she began to rub Eevee beneath the chin, as she did a caring smile made its way onto her face. "He may be a genius when it comes to Pokémon battles but there will always be a few places where he needs work. But then again nobody is perfect, and it's those imperfections that we come to love the most."

"Huh?"

Realizing what she just said May quickly tried to rephrase her last sentence. "I mean heck it's because of those imperfections that we are able to laugh right?"

"Um…yeah, right."

Focusing her attention back to Eevee, May quickly stopped talking as a slight blush formed across her face. Dawn couldn't help but find not only her comment but her actions a bit odd.

"I don't want to doubt May, but is she really over Ash? No, you need to stop thinking that. She's helping you after all, feeling that way will only make you ungrateful for what she is doing for us. But she has been acting increasingly weird these last couple days. I can only hope that I am wrong. I don't want to have to compete against my friend for a boy we both like if I don't have to."

"What is wrong with me?" May asked herself as she lost herself in petting Eevee. "Something like that shouldn't be coming out. Yes I like Ash as a friend and probably still have a bit of a crush on him but I shouldn't be using the word love when talking about him, especially around Dawn. So much for learning to forget, let's just hope that the rest of today goes better."

Finally hearing the door to the bedroom open both girls looked up to see Ash walk out in a black t-shirt and black swimming trunks with yellow stripes, almost as the opposite of Pikachu's fur.

"Fine I'll go along with you. I'll just have to find those clips later," he muttered as he slumped down onto the couch next to May. Looking up he saw something that hadn't happened since he was still in Sinnoh. "Dawn is there a reason that you have Pikachu?"

"Of course, he's mine now," she said with a big grin.

"What!" That caught his attention real fast. "What do you mean he's yours now?"

"Well just a few minutes ago I asked if I could have him, your exact response was 'yeah'."

"I did? Oh come on Dawn I must not have even been thinking. Are you really going to hold me to something that I don't even remember?" Ash pleaded with the blunette.

"That depends."

"Depends on what?" He asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"You treat us to a meal tonight, my choosing."

"Deal."

"But in the meantime I think that he'll be just fine with me. Oh and you owe me a new wardrobe."

"What?!" He yelled even louder than the last.

"You agreed to it, it's not my fault," Dawn told him innocently with a playful smile on her face.

Sighing as to his own carelessness Ash looked longingly back at the TV. "So are we actually going go down to the beach or would it be possible to…" Catching May's glare Ash stopped his sentence cold. "Or not."

After bringing the subdued trainer with them the three friends opened up their sliding glass door and stepped out onto the boardwalk. Seeing the crowded beach right before them it didn't take long for the two girls to drop their outer clothes and rush out into the water. Sighing slightly Ash took one last look at the large screen before closing the door and walking out with his friends, though the thoughts of a bit of revenge against the one who literally dragged him away from the electronic entertainment were already circulating in his head.

"Hey what's a vacation without some fun?" He thought as he walked a bit further down the beach, a mischievous grin on his face.

As soon as Dawn got into the water Pikachu immediately tried to squirm his way up and out of her arms. Knowing that water and electricity don't mix well he didn't want to take any chances.

"Huh? What are you doing up there Pikachu?" Dawn asked as he finally made his way up to the top of her head.

Not even bothering to answer the coordinator, he attempted to jump back onto dry land. Barely making it he walked the last bit shaking his feet off as he got onto shore. Watching to see if anyone followed him the Electric-type quickly dashed over to the resort's beach umbrellas that held the girl's clothes, trying to keep his sensitive feet off of the hot sand a much as possible. Plopping himself down underneath the shade he relaxed into the now lukewarm sand, enjoying the feel as it molded to his body. Seeing that neither Eevee nor Buneary followed him the Pokémon felt like he could truly relax for a while without at least one of them staring down his throat. Though that notion brought back thoughts of his last real interaction with Eevee. He still couldn't figure out exactly why she did that, and yet at the same time there was something inside him continuing to tell him that she had not given up the fight even if everything else appeared to say that she did. That was entirely different from how Buneary was acting around him, whose intentions were completely obvious to even the casual observer.

Of course there was also another thing that bothered him, why was she the only one who could sneak up on him without him noticing? Anyone else he could hear or at least smell them coming, but not only was she as silent as a Noctowl but he stopped being able to catch her scent as she grew older. Even if she was right next to him he could barely even smell anything, and even then it barely smelled like anything at all. No, there was something he could smell as of late. It was faint but there was something about it that he liked, and yet it wasn't the same smell that he remembered from long ago. Try as he might it was these same thoughts that kept coming back to him. There was only one thing that finally caught his attention enough to clear his mind of those questions, looking around he couldn't find his trainer anywhere.

"So May why do you think Pikachu left like that?" Dawn asked as she watched the yellow mouse lay down in the shade of the umbrella.

"He's probably a little water shy," May answered as she watched the same scene. "He is an electric Pokémon after all."

"True."

Buneary and Eevee also watched as the Mouse Pokémon made his way over but quickly turned their focus onto the other to see if they would do anything. Seeing that neither was making a move they decided to leave it at that, completely neutral to both sides. Although unbeknownst to Buneary even if she made a move Eevee more than likely wouldn't react. The way she saw it, every time Buneary got closer to Pikachu she was only pushing him away. She on the other hand would just bide her time and when the time was right, Pikachu would come to her.

"So do you want to go out a bit deeper?"

"Why not? Buneary you might want to get up a little higher if you don't want to get wet," Dawn said to the Pokémon in her arms.

"You too Eevee."

Climbing up onto their trainer's heads the two Pokémon took one last look at each other before gazing out into the vast ocean. It was quite a sight with the clear blue sky and nothing but water in virtually every angle.

Smiling at seeing their Pokémon's reactions May and Dawn headed out into deeper water. Getting to the point where the water was already up to their chest.

"If I didn't have Eevee with me it would be nice to just lie back for a while and float here."

"Yeah I know what you mean. Or even get one of those inflatable lounge chairs and drift for hours."

"Vee."

"Bun."

For once the two Normal-types could actually agree with something. While their trainers might have preferred to be alone, both of them were relaxing quite contently on their perches. Eevee having a bit easier of a time than Buneary due to her size and the fact that this was her second favorite spot as they traveled, but nonetheless they were both enjoying the sights and smells of the sun and surf.

"Ash doesn't know what he's missing."

At the sound of the trainer's name Dawn looked around the beach. "Speaking of which where is he?"

Noticing that they hadn't seen him ever since they left the hotel May also took a look around. "Good question. He better not be back inside…" But a careful look through their windows showed that the TV was still off and nobody was there. "Well that's odd, where he could have run off to?"

All of a sudden May could feel a slight tugging at her ankles but before she could even look down, her grip on the ground below was cut away and there was only an instant to take a gasp of air before she went under, taking a surprised Eevee along with her.

I kinda feel that this is going a bit slow but I've never really done a story along these lines before so I'm not really sure of the pace, but as long as you guys are fine with it then it will continue for a little while. At least in a few chapters it'll definitely bring everyone back in.

And even though it only has a limited affect on the story I do have my reasons for Pikachu not being able to smell Eevee. I won't bore everyone with my reasoning but if you are interested just ask. Otherwise thanks for reading and I hope to see you back here in a couple days for the next chapter.