September 24th (Lilycove City, Hoenn)

(May's POV)

The first few weeks of school went by smoothly. School was normal, especially with Brandi being suspended for a time, no missions came up, no theft attempts by Team Galactic, and no thefts by Domino. In the meantime, besides school, I started to do more practicing of martial arts in secret with Blaziken and Riolu. Compared to the first few weeks being smooth, this weekend was going to be interesting. First, there was the junior class battle tournament happening today. Then there was Misty's birthday being tomorrow with plans to celebrate. Finally with Sunday having a museum gala featuring the Lustrous Orb which more or less means undercover work to make sure it doesn't get stolen.

Currently, I was changing into a flowy sapphire blue dress that reached a little above the knee with thin straps along with the top covered with a sheer material that covered my shoulders. I then put on silver flats, my pokeball charm bracelet, and my key pendant. Finally, I wore my wig in a fishtail braid and to bit a little gutsy, I decided to not wear the glasses today and a little bit of makeup.

Everyone was already in the kitchen eating breakfast when I came in. I grabbed some bacon along with a few pancakes and began to eat before I noticed that Drew was staring at me.

"Do I look that terrible to be stared at?" I asked him sarcastically blushing a little.

He snapped out of his stare while blushing a little and continued to eat. Everyone else started to snicker at his reaction.

"I think you look awesome Lin," Dawn complimented happily. "You must be if you got Drew drooling over you."

Everyone else again snickered while Drew and I blushed a little, "You look awesome too," I complimented back.

"What are we chopped liver?" Leaf asked.

"You look hot Leafy," Gary teased slyly.

"Can it playboy," Leaf said blushing a little. "But thanks."

"You all look awesome," I said.

"Even me?" Drew asked slyly making me blush a little more.

"I suppose even you," I said while shrugging my shoulders before I continued to eat. To be honest Drew looked hot in his green dress shirt and slacks, but I sure wasn't gonna give him the satisfaction of telling him that.

"We better get going to find out who we are battling against," Misty said getting everyone's attention.

I went to grab my backpack with food for later and we quickly left the dorm. We reached the main board to find the placement of where we were. All battles were single battles with any pokemon you had meaning the day was going to be really long since there are 256 juniors at the school. The way I was told the battles worked was that there are four rounds of battles that take place in multiple battlefields all across campus for about five hours to finish ending up with sixteen students. There is an hour break and then the remaining battles continue in the main battle arena at the school. The student who wins gets noticed as top battler of the month or something along those lines.

"Good luck with your battles you guys, see ya in the finals," I said as I made my way to field C.

My first battle was against a student named John who had a Squirtle. I decided to use Shinx since he needed the battle experience and I had a type advantage.

"Shinx use Discharge!"

"Squirtle Withdraw!"

Squirtle managed to avoid Discharge and peeked out of his shell.

"Squirtle use Bubble!" John shouted.

"Shinx dodge and use Shockwave!"

Shinx dodged Bubble and used Shockwave to hit Squirtle before he knew it.

"Squirtle!" John cried as his pokemon cried in pain.

Squirtle was now standing weakly from the attack, "Shinx use Thunder Fang!"

Shinx ran up and bit Squirtle on the arm giving a terrible shock and causing Squirtle to faint.

"Squirtle is no longer able to battle. Therefore, Shinx and Linnea are the winners," the referee shouted.

"Good job Shinx," I said to him as he leapt into my arms and I gave him a hug. I fed him some Pokeblock and returned him to his pokeball.

I went to the board in the main area and saw that my next opponent was a girl named Rachel at field B. The match went by quickly with my Munchlax beating her Sunflora. After the match, I walked to the main board to see that my next battle wasn't for another thirty minutes so I decided to walk around the campus enjoying the nice day.

"Lin, wait up," I heard Dawn shout as she ran up from behind.

"Hey Dawn, how did your battles go?"

"They were fine, got some tough opponents though," she said. "I almost lost my last match, but everyone saw yours. You were awesome!"

I heard someone creeping up behind me and noticed that everyone else caught up to Dawn so it had to be grasshead. I took Glaceon's pokeball calling her out silently and gave her a nod with a smirk meaning 'you know what to do'.

She nodded with a creepy smile and then used Ice Beam to freeze Drew's whole body in place but his head in a position of looking like he was about to touch my shoulder.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't grasshead. Ice of you to drop by," I teased while smirking.

"Not funny airhead, now thaw me out!" Drew demanded angrily.

"I don't see why I should. It seems you're on some pretty thin ice. Maybe even getting cold feet about your upcoming battles," I teased some more.

"Snow more puns please," he complained. "Aw crap."

Everyone cracked up with Paul smirking at Drew punning against his will.

I laughed, "Icy what you did there, nice one. Paul, you might want to call out Magmortar to thaw out grasshead," I said regaining my composure.

Paul nodded, "Magmortar stand by and use Flamethrower."

"Not on the hair!" Drew cried as Magmortar inhaled.

"Mag," he said deeply and used Flamethrower to thaw Drew out.

"Thatttt wassssn't funny Linnnn," Drew said grumpily while shivering.

"Next time, don't try to sneak up on me," I scolded as I handed him some Pokeblock. "Eat this you'll feel better."

Drew ate it and he immediately turned red with steam coming out of his ears.

"Hot!" he yelled running into the school.

"You're hot then you're cold, you're yes then you're no…..," Dawn started to sing.

"Don't sing Troublesome," Paul grunted.

Dawn pouted, "You always ruin my fun," she complained.

"What did you give him Lin?" Gary asked.

I smiled, "I gave him Tamato Pokeblock to warm up and it looks like that did the trick," I said before becoming concerned. "Hopefully I didn't make him lose concentration for his upcoming battles."

"Don't worry about it, but he will try to get back at you," Ash said nervously.

I smirked while putting a fist in my other hand, "I accept the challenge."

"You're weird and scary at the same time," Ash said.

Misty hit Ash with her mallet, "Don't call her that," she scolded.

I laughed, "It's okay Misty, don't hurt him too much so he can't battle," I said with a laugh as I checked my poketch. "We better go to our battles, good luck you guys!" I shouted as I walked to field C.

"You too Lin!" they shouted back.

I got to the field to see that my opponent was at one end of the field. I quickly reached my end and threw my pokeball.

"Let's go Skitty!"

"Nya," she said as she jumped out.

"Let's go Houndoom," my opponent Mark shouted.

"Houndoom use Flamethrower."

"Skitty twirl while dodging!"

Skitty twirled while dodging and avoided the attack. I picked up on the technique from Ash and Dawn while watching them battle and train.

"Houndoom don't let it get away, use Thunder Fang!" Mark shouted.

"Nya," Skitty cried as she got shocked badly.

"Skitty!" I cried. "Use assist."

"Nya," she shouted and got a Hydro Pump.

It hit Houndoom causing a lot of damage, but it still managed to get up.

"Skitty, let's light it up!" I shouted happily.

"Nya," she cried and used Thunderbolt to shock Houndoom and make it faint since it was wet to begin with causing everyone to gasp.

"Houndoom is unable to battle meaning Skitty and Linnea are the winners," the ref yelled.

"You did it Skitty!" I cried happily while hugging her when she leapt in my arms. "Let's go see who I battle against next."

I made my way to the main board and saw that my next opponent was a girl named Marie from my English class at field F.

I then noticed that grasshead was also looking at the board for his next opponent with Roselia at his side.

"Glad to see you won your battle," I said honestly.

He smirked and flicked his hair fringe, "Of course I'd win, I'm that good."

"I'm sorry about the Pokeblock. It was supposed to warm you up, but I think it went a little overboard. I use that Pokeblock for fire type pokemon when they are low on energy," I said apologetically.

"I'd say you owe me big time since you caused me to suffer today," he teased.

"Fine, what do you want in return?"

"Hmmm….I'll let you know," he said as his smirk grew bigger.

"Arrogant grasshead," I muttered and then noticed that Roselia looked wore out.

"Here you go Roselia," I said kindly giving her some Pokeblock.

She ate it and looked a whole lot better, "Roselia!" she chirped happily.

I smiled and pet her head, "You're welcome," I said warmly.

"Good luck with your battle Drew, I better meet you in the finals," I teased with a smirk.

He smirked back, "Funny, I was about to say the same thing," he teased back while handing me a rose causing me to blush.

"Let me guess, this is for my pokemon," I said with a huff.

"That's for helping Roselia, good luck Violet," he said and walked away flicking his hair fringe causing me to blush again.

"Nya," Skitty teased.

"Oh shush you," I said flustered.

I looked at the rose and then put it in my hair near my ear.

"We better get to our next battle," I said to Skitty.

We then left for field F and got there the same time as Marie. The battle went by quickly and Skitty won against Bibarel.

"Again well done Skitty!" I praised. "Come on, let's stop by my locker to get my backpack that has food in it and fine a nice place to eat outside for a late lunch."

"Nya," she agreed while nodding her head.

We left the tournament area and found a nice open area on campus. I set up a blanket to eat on and prepared pokemon food for everyone.

"Come on out everyone!" I shouted and tossed up their pokeballs. "Time to eat lunch."

Everyone started to eat while I gave Riolu some milk.

"Good job on battling today you guys, I'm proud of you," I said to Shinx, Munchlax, and Skitty.

I then turned my attention to Swablu, Glaceon, and Riolu, "Don't worry, you'll get a chance to battle at some point, now eat up."

I started to grab a sandwich I made earlier when I saw everyone walking towards me.

"Hey guys, how were your battles?" I asked looking up at them.

"Our battles went well, it seems we're all passing on," Leaf said as I noticed that Munchlax was about to gobble more pokemon food.

"Oh no you don't Munchlax!" I yelled getting some May's pink surprise out of my pocket and throwing it at him. "Think fast."

"Munchlax," he said happily as he jumped catching the Pokeblock in his mouth and smiled as he stomach bulged after eating it and fell asleep.

I laughed, "Sleep well Munchlax," I said gently as I returned him to his pokeball.

"Where did that come from?" Ash asked.

I looked confused, "Where did what come from?"

"The whole thing with noticing Munchlax and having killer reflexes to toss Pokeblock to him that fast," Dawn said incredulously.

I shrugged, "I don't know, it's just a habit I guess."

"What's with the rose in the hair?" Misty teased.

I blushed slightly, "What about it?" I asked in a bored tone.

"Did Drew give it to you?" Leaf asked with a smile curiously.

"Yes, so?"

"You got extra food in there?" Ash asked with big eyes.

I laughed at his antics and thankful for the distraction, "Of course, I figured I'd be the only one to think about lunch so I packed food for all."

"Any of your pokemon injured or tired?" I asked once I handed out everyone's sandwiches.

"Everyone's probably tired, but no one is injured too badly," Misty said.

I nodded as I went back to eating my sandwich while everyone called out their pokemon to eat before eating their own food.

"These sandwiches are the best!" Ash said with his mouth full.

Misty hit him with her mallet, "Don't eat with your mouth full," she scolded.

"Ash is right though," Gary agreed. "These sandwiches are good, how did you learn to cook so well?" he asked while eating.

"I learned from living at the Pokemon Center and helping out," I said without catching my slipup of information.

Everyone looked curious, "Why did you live at the Pokemon Center?" Dawn asked.

Crap, I don't really want to give the whole back story, I might slip up even more. Thankfully, Skitty got my attention as she was starting to get a little crazy so I returned her to her pokeball.

"My, would you look at the time. Battles continue in ten minutes, we should get going," I said quickly and started to clean up while return my pokemon.

Everyone stared at me funny but eventually helped clean up and return their pokemon as well. After putting my backpack in my locker, I walked to the main board to find everyone else there.

There were sixteen left to battle, it was us eight and eight others. The board then lit up to show the pairings. Fate again likes to play practical jokes because I was against Brandi. How does that work? I thought she was suspended.

I looked up to see the other pairings: Misty v. Melina, Dawn v. Francesca, Leaf v. Veronica, Gary v. Brian, Ash vs. Rudy, Paul vs. Conway, and lastly Drew v. Brendon.

"Looks like our battles are going to be interesting," I commented.

"Where'd ya get that dress, a thrift shop," Brandi said snootily while walking up to the board. "Plus roses in the hair are a fashion don't."

"As if I care. Besides, I thought you were suspended," I said bored.

"My parents convinced the school to allow me to come back early," she said in an overly sweet tone which made me want to gag.

She looked at the board, "Looks like you're against me. Hmm, you're not that much of a challenge. You're a pathetic coordinator and you're pokemon couldn't win against a Magikarp," she said bored while waving her hand.

"That is it!" I yelled making my friends turn in shock never seeing me this mad.

"You may insult me, but you may NEVER insult my pokemon. Prepare for the embarrassment of a lifetime," I said venomously.

"Whatever loser, see you on the battle field," she said bored and walked away.

"I'm going to crush that stuck up, no good, idiotic tramp!"

"Good grief Lin, I thought you were gonna strangle her," Leaf said.

"Oh believe me, I was this close to doing it," I said making a gesture with my thumb and pointer finger with very little space in between before smirking evilly. "She is going to get it."

"Calm down airhead, keep your cool or you won't meet me in the finals," Drew teased.

"Excuse me, who said you'll be in the finals," Ash said.

"Calm down, anyone one of us will be in the finals. May the odds be ever in our favor," I said with a smile.

I turned to look at the board to see that Misty's battle was first.

"Knock 'em dead Misty!" Dawn cheered.

Misty went to the battle field while everyone else went to the bleachers.

They were about to call out their pokemon when my poketch rang and saw that it was Brock.

"I'll be back Dawn, I have to take this," I said as I left the stadium.

"Hey Lin, could you come down to the Pokemon Center? We have a lot of pokemon to care for and we need help," he said looking tired.

"I'm on my way," I said and signed off.

I went inside the school Pokemon Center to see a ton of pokemon needing care.

Basically for the next forty-five minutes, I helped do basic first aid, made medicine and Pokeblock, and watched some baby pokemon. I checked the monitor in the Pokemon Center to see that my battle would take place in five minutes.

"Brock, I've got to go. My battle is in five minutes."

"That's fine Lin. Thanks so much for the help, things have quieted down so you can go," Brock said gratefully.

"No problem Brock, I was glad I was able to help," I said with a smile and quickly ran to the battle stadium for my battle.

When I got there, I saw everyone in a group, "Lin, where were you, you missed all of our battles," Dawn whined.

"I'm sorry Dawn, Brock called me to help in the Pokemon Center. They had an overflow of pokemon that needed care," I explained.

"Linnea Mason, please report to the field," an announcer said over the loud speaker.

"If it makes you feel better, you don't have to stick around for my battle."

"Are you kidding me?! We are so sticking around to see you kick Brandi's butt!" Dawn shouted with her fist in the air.

I smiled, "See ya later," I said and raced to the field.

"Good luck Lin!" the girls shouted as I ran.

I finally made it to the field and stood at my end where Brandi was chosen to send out her pokemon first.

"Rapidash sweetie, time to shine," she said sweetly.

"Swablu, let's go!" I shouted throwing her pokeball.

"Wow your pokemon are pathetic. Rapidash, use Fire Spin," Brandi said with a smirk.

"Alright Swablu, we're gonna end this now. Combination: Melodic Flight," I said with a smirk.

Swablu first dodged the attack and did Sing putting Rapidash to sleep making its flames die down. Then she used Peck multiple times to weaken Rapidash while it was sleeping. She then did Aerial Ace combined with Sky Attack to deliver the big sucker punch. Lastly, she used Sing again to wake up Rapidash who tried to stand but fainted in the end making it humiliating.

"Uh…Rapidash is no longer able to battle, the match goes to Swablu and Linnea," the ref said in surprise.

Swablu landed on my head, "Good job, you did beautifully," I praised.

I turned to see Brandi with a shocked look on her face and I gave her a smirk in return before walking off the stage.

"Holy crap Lin, you creamed her," Dawn said astonishing.

"It was no big," I said while returning Swablu. "Now it's the fight amongst us, good luck to all."

We went to the main board to see the pairings. The board showed that it was me v. Gary, Paul v. Misty, Ash v. Leaf, and Dawn v. Drew.

"You girls are going to get creamed," Gary teased.

"Watch yourself Oak, you might be overconfident there," Leaf teased back before turning to face me. "Lin kick his butt."

"Would Linnea Mason and Gary Oak report to the battle field," a person said over the loud speaker.

Gary and I walked to the field while everyone else went to the bleachers.

The ref made it to the field, "Trainers, choose your pokemon."

"Go Blastoise!" Gary shouted throwing his pokeball.

"Skitty, let's go!" I shouted happily while throwing her pokeball.

The audience got really loud with talk, "How is that little thing going to take down a Blastoise?"

"Don't listen to them Skitty, we got this," I said firmly.

"Nya," she agreed.

"Blastoise use Hydro Pump."

"Okay Skitty, dodge it," I ordered. "Now use Blizzard….."

"Rapid Spin," Gary shouted.

"At the ground near Blastoise's feet," I finished commanding as she covered the field near Blastoise in ice.

"Blastoise use Hydro Pump again."

Ugh, we can't get close, and we can't hit it with Thunderbolt without it withdrawing first. Hmm…That's it….let's hope this works with it being a long shot!

"Skitty, use Assist behind you," I shouted.

"Nya," she said doing as I commanded and it came up with Ice Beam making a pillar.

"Now Assist again."

"What!" Gary shouted.

"Nya," Skitty shouted while aiming her paw at Blastoise and shot Solar Beam.

"Blastoise Withdraw," Gary shouted quickly and Blastoise missed the attack.

"Skitty use Assist again behind you," I shouted praying to Arceus that I could get away with what I was planning.

"Nya," she said as she created a second pillar of ice a few feet away from the first one.

"I don't know what you're plan is Lin, but it's not gonna work. Blastoise use Hydro Pump to destroy the pillars!" Gary shouted.

"Quick Skitty, jump back and forth on the pillars to get to the top and jump in the air," I shouted quickly.

She did as I asked and got into the air above Blastoise.

"Blastoise keep using Hydro Pump at Skitty!" Gary shouted.

Skitty barely missed Hydro Pump and when she was straight above, Blastoise shot hydro pump again only for it to fall on him and get him wet.

Skitty then landed on the ground gracefully and safe.

"Skitty, now!"

"Nya," she said and used Thunderbolt to leave Blastoise weakened and unable to move for a short time.

"How is that possible?!" Gary shouted in shock.

"Skitty use Assist again!"

Skitty then got Petal Dance which hit Blastoise before he could withdraw.

"Double Slap!"

"Dodge it!" Gary cried, but Blastoise couldn't move due to being hit by Thunderbolt and Petal Dance so he got hit in the face with Double Slap.

Skitty then landed gracefully, but she started to show signs of exhaustion.

Blastoise tried to still stand but in the end, he fell over and fainted.

"Blastoise!" Gary cried.

"Blastoise is now longer able to battle, Skitty and Linnea are the winners who will move on to the semi-finals," the ref shouted.

"Good job Skitty, you are done battling for today, return," I said kindly while returning her to her pokeball.

I then walked over to Gary, "Great battle spiky, you had me worried for a minute there," I teased.

"You did good Lin, I'm gonna have to keep this battle in mind for training in the future. Your Skitty really shocked me using Assist to your advantage so many times."

"It was a huge long shot in what I was planning. Thankfully Skitty was able to pull it off," I said with relief. "We better head to the stands to watch Paul and Misty's battle."

We walked off the field and reached where everyone else was sitting.

"Nice battle Lin, thanks for kicking Oak's butt for me," Leaf said. "You sure surprised everyone with your Skitty."

"How did you get it to do all those other type moves?" Ash asked.

"I did some training under Dr. Abby for about half a year and she helped me teach Skitty those moves while I learned a few medical techniques," I said truthfully.

"Who's Dr. Abby?" Dawn asked.

"She's a Legendary Top Coordinator from Hoenn," I explained. "She won the Grand Festival her first year and then stopped when her Delcatty got injured."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Dawn said surprised.

"Her name somewhat rings a bell," Drew said thinking out loud.

"And you call me airhead," I said teasingly with emphasis.

I then turned to see the battle begin.

"Torterra, stand by for battle," Paul called.

"Go Gyarados!" Misty shouted.

"Torterra use Leaf Storm."

"Gyarados use Twister!"

The two attacks met in the middle creating an explosion.

"Use Frenzy Plant."

The Frenzy Plant then wrapped around Gyarados immobilizing him.

"Gyarados use Flamethrower!"

Gyarados used Flame thrower to burn the Frenzy Plant letting him be free again.

"Use Flamethrower on Torterra!"

The Flamethrower hit Torterra but he still stood his ground despite the damage.

"What, how is he still standing?!" Misty cried in surprise.

"Use Giga Drain."

"Dodge it!" Misty cried.

Gyarados didn't dodge fast enough causing him to get hit by Giga Drain.

"Use Leaf Storm."

"Use Hydro Pump!"

The Hydro Pump and Leaf Storm met in the middle to create another explosion.

"Gyarados use Hyper Beam!"

"Use Stone Edge."

The two attacks came in the middle and again created an explosion with smoke covering the battlefield.

"Time to finish this, use Giga Drain," Paul commanded.

"Dodge it Gyarados!" Misty cried desperately.

Gyarados was too weak to move and got hit. He then fell to the ground and fainted.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, Torterra and Paul win moving on to semi-finals," the ref shouted.

"You did well Gyarados, return," Misty said proudly while returning him.

Paul nodded to Torterra in approval and then returned him.

The two walked back to the rest of us on the bleachers.

"Nice battle you guys," I complimented.

"Thanks Lin," Misty said with a smile.

"Looks like it's our turn Ash," Leaf said to him.

"Let's give it a good fight," Ash said as they walked to the battle field.

As they stood at their ends, I noticed a Totodile standing by the arena doors. I got up saying that I would be back and went after the Totodile as it walked into the hall.

I quickly followed it and picked it up as it was about to use Water Gun at a bulletin board, but he then slipped out of my grasp and ran down the hall again. After a few minutes, I finally got him before he could cause any damage and ran to the Pokemon Center where Brock looked relieved, "Thanks for finding this little guy, he escaped when I had my back turned."

I laughed, "No problem, I'll see you later," I called as I walked back to the arena to find that my battle with Paul was next.

"Where did you go Lin, you missed our battles," Dawn said tiredly.

"I'm sorry, I saw a Totodile in the doorway that escaped from the Pokemon Center and chased it down before it could water log the place," I apologized tiredly before turning to Paul. "You ready for our battle?"

"I suppose, I am interested in seeing what plan to do."

Paul and I walked to the field and stood at opposite ends.

"Magmortar, stand by for battle," Paul said as he tossed his pokeball.

I know this is risky, but I don't have anyone else who can do beat his Magmortar so switching out pokemon was the only way to go, "Let's go Wartortle!" I shouted.

Paul eyes showed surprise by he kept his composure, "Magmortar use Fire Spin."

"Wartortle, spin right into it using Rapid Spin!"

Wartortle spun in about half way, "Use Thunder Punch," Paul commanded.

"Counter with Ice Beam!"

Wartortle then froze Magmortar's hand while still heading straight toward him, "Tackle!" I shouted.

Wartortle then used Tackle to hit Magmortar in the head causing some damage.

"Use Hyper Beam," Paul commanded.

"Mag," he said and unleashed Hyper Beam hitting Wartortle before he could dodge.

"Wartortle," he said weakly and started to do a move I hadn't seen him use before.

"Wartortle!" he yelled while unleashing Surf and jumping on top.

"Jump off and do it again with Water Gun!" I shouted.

"Magmortar use Flamethrower to counter."

While Paul was focusing on the first one, Wartortle created a second Surf and then hit it with Water Gun to make it taller and more powerful.

"Follow behind with Rapid Spin and when in close range use Aqua Tail!"

"What!" Paul shouted in surprise when he noticed the second Surf as it hit Magmortar before he could do anything. Then Magmortar got hit by Wartortle using Rapid Spin and Aqua Tail taking a lot of damage but still stood weakly.

"Use Fire Punch," Paul commanded.

"Use Aqua Tail to counter and then again!" I shouted.

The Aqua Tail canceled the Fire Punch and the second hit Magmortar on the head hard.

"Finish up with Surf!"

"Get up and use Flamethrower!" Paul shouted but the Surf hit first causing Magmortar to eventually fall over and faint.

"Magmortar is unable to battle, Wartortle and Linnea are the winners heading to the finals," the ref shouted.

I knelt down and hugged Wartortle as he ran into my arms.

"I told you that you would be able to battle at some point, just like I promised," I whispered. "You did an awesome job and learned a new move, I'm so proud of you."

"Wartortle!" he said happily.

"Here ya go," I said handing him some Pokeblock. "You deserve it."

After he ate it, I returned him to his pokeball and walked over to Paul.

"Nice battle," I said after reaching him.

"It was interesting, but don't think you'll win like this again."

I smiled, "I don't expect to," I said honestly and we made our way to bleachers.

"Why didn't you tell us you had a Wartortle," Misty whined.

"I don't know, I guess it slipped my mind," I lied.

"I still can't believe you beat Paul?!" Gary said astonished.

"It was hard, he knows how to train his pokemon," I said honestly and then turned my attention to Drew and Leaf.

"Good luck on your battle you two," I said with a smile.

"Thanks Lin," Leaf said.

Drew smirked and flicked his fringe while they left for the field. They got there and stood on opposite ends and called out their pokemon.

"Go Masquerain!" Drew shouted as he tossed his pokeball.

"Go Nuzleaf!" Leaf shouted as she tossed his pokeball.

"Use Silver Wind!"

"Dodge it using Quick Attack!"

Nuzleaf was able to dodge the Silver Wind, but barely.

"Use Bubble!"

"I don't think so Drew, counter with Razor Leaf!"

The two attacks met in the middle and caused an explosion.

"Use Razor Wind!" Leaf shouted.

"Dodge with Quick Attack and use Bubble again," Drew commanded.

Masquerain did Quick Attack to avoid Razor Wind and came up behind to use Bubble.

"Nuzleaf!" Leaf cried. "Use Bullet Seed."

"Quick Attack!" Drew shouted. "Then use Hidden Power."

Basically it was a repeat of what just happened and Masquerain came up behind and attacked.

"Use Silver Wind!" Drew shouted.

"Lookout!" Leaf cried as Nuzleaf was surrounded by wind.

"Use Scary Face!" Drew shouted.

Soon Scary Face appeared in the Silver Wind scaring Nuzleaf terribly.

"Nuzleaf get out of there by using Razor Wind!" Leaf cried.

"Use Hidden Power and reinforce it with Silver Wind!"

As soon as Nuzleaf was free, he got hit by Hidden Power and fainted.

"Nuzleaf is no longer able to battle, Masquerain and Drew are the winners that will be going on to the finals," the ref announced.

"You did well Nuzleaf return," Leaf said proudly and she walked over to Drew.

"Great battle Drew, you've gotten stronger with Masquerain," Leaf complimented.

"Same, though hopefully your Nuzleaf isn't too petrified by Scary Face," Drew said concerned.

"He'll heal," she said optimistically.

The two soon made their way back to the group, "Awesome battle you guys!" Misty complimented.

"You ready for the finals you two?" Dawn asked me and Drew.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I said confidently and started walking to the right side of the field. Drew then followed and went to the left. A spinner was spun to see who would call out their pokemon first and it landed on Drew.

"Let's go Absol!" he shouted.

I stared at the pokeball in my hand, time for you to shine.

"Let's go!" I shouted tossing my pokeball.

"Ruh," Riolu cried as it got out of its pokeball.

"Lin are you crazy!" Dawn shouted in concern. "He's not even a month old!"

Drew looked a little surprised to see I had chosen Riolu against one of his stronger pokemon.

"Are you trying to lose on purpose?" he asked arrogantly.

I smirked, "Just watch."

"Absol use Razor Wind!" Drew shouted.

"Riolu use Quick Attack to dodge then climb up on Absol and don't let go!"

Riolu then took off running barely avoiding the Razor Wind and climbed up on Absol.

"Use Flash!" Drew shouted.

"Shut your eyes!" I yelled.

The flash then blinded the whole arena and I turned to look away. After recovering, I saw that Riolu was still hanging on.

"Absol shake him off!"

"Hold on Riolu!"

Unfortunately, Riolu couldn't keep his grip and flew off handing on his back.

"Absol use Dark Pulse!" Drew shouted.

"Dodge it!" I yelled.

Again Riolu was quick enough to dodge the attack, time for some fun.

"Copycat!" I said with a smirk.

"Ruh," he said and did Dark Pulse right back at Absol causing a lot of damage.

"Absol use Water Pulse!" Drew shouted in frustration.

"Absol," he said and did Water Pulse.

Crap, Riolu can't dodge that, or can he?

"Riolu, use Quick Attack and jump straight through while spinning!" I shouted.

I crossed my fingers; I hope this works as I planned it.

Riolu did as I said and it worked leaving him right in front of Absol, Yes!

"Use rapid Aura Sphere!" I shouted.

"Ruh," he said and started rapidly firing Aura Spheres at Absol.

"Absol move!" Drew shouted in frustration.

Sadly, Absol couldn't move fast enough allowing him to earn a lot of damage.

"Use Close Combat!" I yelled.

Riolu then started hitting Absol all over the place causing Absol to stumble from damage.

"Let's finish this up!" I shouted. "Use Force Palm."

"Ruh!" he shouted and did Force Palm causing Absol to hit the wall.

"Absol," he said weakly and fainted.

"Absol is no longer able to battle, therefore making Riolu and Linnea winners of today's tournament," the ref shouted causing applause to commence from the bleachers.

Riolu ran up to me and I knelt down, "You did amazing for your first pokemon battle!" I said happily.

I then whispered, "All that secret training with me and Blaziken helped a lot too," I said with a smile.

"Ruh!" he said happily while I returned him to his pokeball.

I walked over to Drew, "Great battle Drew," I said while putting my hand in the middle for a handshake.

"I suppose it was," he said honestly and shook my hand.

"We better meet up with everyone else," I said retracting my hand and started to walk towards the gang.

We reached everyone who was hyped up from watching the battle, "That battle was awesome!" Dawn shouted.

"That was pretty risky using Riolu since he's only a baby," Leaf admonished.

"It was, but it was time for him to be in a battle and he had a type advantage," I pointed out.

"If you look at it that way, I guess it was an okay choice," Leaf agreed.

Dawn looked at her poketch and saw that it was 5:30, "I say we do something fun," Dawn said happily. "In celebration of doing awesome in battling today."

"If it's shopping, forget it," Misty said flatly.

"For once I wasn't thinking of shopping, but now that you mention it….," Dawn started to say.

"NO!" everyone but me shouted.

"Well you're no fun," she said while pouting and crossing her arms.

"We should still do something though," Leaf said.

Personally I wanted to go to the beach by the school. I heard it was private property of the school and I wanted some peace from having been uptight from battling all day. Instead of saying anything, I just started to head to my locker.

"Uh….Lin, where are ya goin'?" Ash asked.

"I'm gonna grab my backpack and go somewhere to relax. I don't know about you all, but I'm tired after battling the whole day today."

"Where are ya gonna go?" Leaf asked curiously.

I smiled, "Meet me at the south entrance if you want to tag along," I said as I reached my locker and grabbed my backpack.

After I grabbed it, I made my way to the south entrance to see that everyone was there.

"You got us curious Marigold, where are we goin?" Drew asked curiously.

I smirked, "That's for me to know and for you to find out," I said before walking out of the school toward the path that went to the beach.

The others followed curiously and after about ten-some minutes, we made it to the shoreline.

"Why go to the beach this late?" Dawn asked.

"I find that sometimes the beach around this time of day has a calming effect and I always like to take a walk on the beach while reflecting on how I did with my battling. If no one wants to stay, you're free to leave. You don't have to tag along for my sake."

"I'm with ya Lin, I think the beach is one of the best places to relax," Misty agreed.

"You would, you're the girl obsessed about water in general," Leaf teased.

"We should go back to the Pokemon Center and give our pokemon to Nurse Joy first," Dawn pointed out.

"I suppose you're right, you gonna come Lin?" Misty asked.

"No, I'm gonna stay here."

"Okay, we'll be back later," Leaf said and the gang left to take their pokemon to Nurse Joy.

After they left, I got out some pokemon food before tossing all my pokeballs into the air, "Everyone come on out!" I called happily. "Eat as much as you like, you did really well today."

As they ate, I started to hum while sitting on the blanket watching the waves hit the shore. After they were done, I started to clean up when I noticed everyone coming back with a picnic basket and a blanket while Drew had his guitar.

"For a second I thought you decided to ditch me," I joked.

"We weren't tryin' to ditch ya. Dawn got the idea to make a picnic since she liked the idea of hanging on the beach so we thought why not," Leaf said.

"Well, let's eat," I said sitting back on the blanket.

Basically it was the same thing like lunch where it was sandwiches and a few other goodies.

"What's with the guitar?" I asked curiously.

"You still owe me a favor and I decided you have to play something and sing," Drew said with a smirk.

I tensed up slightly, "Uh….I don't think that's a good idea," I said quickly.

That got everyone's attention, "Why do you say that airhead, are you not good at singing?" Drew teased.

"It's not that. Ugh, it's hard to explain. After I turned sixteen, every time that I sang out loud results with this weird feeling washing over me that's hard to describe," I explained. "Also, I don't like the extra attention."

I quickly covered my mouth at the slip up, crap. Drew smirked, "Now I'm really curious, go ahead and perform for us," he said as he handed his guitar to me.

I sighed, "Fine, feel free to make fun of if you wish. This is the only song I've ever finished," I said. After I tuned the guitar I started to play. ("Who Says" by Selena Gomez *acoustic version*)

I finished singing while strumming the last chord and then saw that everyone was staring at me in amazement. Along with the unpleasant feeling of being stared at, I felt that weird feeling that someone or something was trying to call me and it was really freaking me out. I gave Drew back his guitar and had Skitty sit in my lap so I could pet her to calm me down before everyone snapped out of their stares.

"That was beautiful Lin, where did you come up with that song and how come you don't sing more often?!" Dawn asked incredulously.

"I wrote the song from inspiration of myself and other girls because I felt I was being judged most of my life. As for singing, I just can't," I said shakily still trying to calm down.

The feeling was still bothering me and I was beginning to become more anxious. It suddenly starting to become more unpleasant because it was unfamiliar and bothersome. My pokemon were beginning to sense my agitation making them worried. I returned everyone but Skitty while still trying to calm down.

"Lin are you okay, you look like your about to pass out," Misty said in concern.

The feeling soon became very painful and I doubled over while gripping my head.

"It shall soon be fulfilled and you shall fulfill your destiny," a voice called in my head.

"Lin!" Drew shouted to me just before I saw nothing but black and passed out.