Two chapters uploaded together here. Again, in my attempt to catch up with the original site.
Enjoy!
Once Ash and Pikachu reached the Pokemon Center, they found Brock still conversing with Nurse Joy at the counter. Deciding it was better to leave him be, they quickly snuck upstairs to their room and wasted no time in preparing themselves for bed. In a matter of minutes, Ash had claimed a bed, laid down his pack, removed his hat and sweatshirt, and was already laying down.
"'Night, buddy." Ash murmured, turning to face his partner. "Tomorrow, we challenge the Battle Palace!"
"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu said enthusiastically before curling up on the floor beside Ash's bed.
Ash rolled over to face the wall and closed his eyes as he felt himself drift off to sleep...
Seeing how much in love you two appear to be..." The fancily dressed, teal-haired male known as Oscar began, glancing across the path at Ash and May.
"...We thought we'd offer you a challenge." His similiarly dressed, blonde-haired companion named Andy finished.
Ash and May glanced at each other in disdain. "Us...in love...?" The two quickly turned away from each other at the thought. "Yeah, that's a laugh." Ash said in apparent disgust.
"Ah - ah - ah." Oscar responded, wagging his finger. "That's what young lovebirds always say!"
"And fighting is the first sign of love." Andy explained in a similiar tone.
"It's pretty obvious that you two are in the middle of a fight, right?" Oscar said knowingly, pointing at the pair.
"That means..." Oscar and Andy began in unison, clasping hands. "You two are in love!"
"I don't think so!" Ash and May replied, also in unison.
"Told you! You answered together!"
Ash and May merely grunted in response, still angry at the assumption the couple was making about them.
"Now...we challenge you to a battle!"
"Y-yeah, you mean a Pokemon battle?" Ash replied instantly, firing up at the thought.
"Yes, but not just any Pokemon battle!" Oscar began.
"A battle that tests the love of any couple..." Andy continued.
"A Pokemon Tag Battle!" The two finished together.
"Yeah, that sounds pretty cool!" Ash said. "A Pokemon Tag Battle...good practice for my next Gym Battle!" He glanced over at May. "May, you want to do it?"
"Uh...I guess so." May replied slowly, considering the possibility. "I don't know about any of that 'test your love' stuff, but...why not! I've got a Contest coming up as well!"
A few moments later, the two pairs had set up positions around a clearing, with Brock as the referee for their battle.
"This Pokemon Tag Battle, with the team of Andy and Oscar, challenging the team of Ash and May, will now begin!"
"Go, Nidoking! Come on out!" Oscar cried, tossing a Pokeball. A moment later a stout, heavily armored purple-and-white dinosaur emerged.
"I choose you, Nidoqueen!" Andy called, releasing her Pokemon as well: a similiar-looking blue-and-white dinosaur.
"Okay...I know they're both part Ground types..." Ash said slowly, grabbing one of his own Pokeballs. "Go, Corphish!"
"Corphish!" The crustacean roared, emerging from its Pokeball.
"Your turn, May." Ash said, turning to his battle partner.
"Hmm..." May said slowly, putting a gloved hand to her chin. "I could use Torchic...but, I could use Beautifly as well...but Skitty's good in battle, too..."
"Come on! Sometime today, please?" Ash nagged hurriedly.
"I'd like to make the right choice, if you don't mind!" May shot back, content in the fact that her ploy to anger Ash had worked. Turning back to the battlefield, she threw a Pokeball of her own. "Go, Skitty!"
"Myaaaa!" Skitty cooed, emerging alongside Corphish.
"Okay..." Oscar began, eyeing his two opponents.
"We'll see if you made the right choices!" Andy announced happily.
"Yeah, you'll see all right!" Ash said arrogantly. "Corphish, use Bubblebeam!"
"Skitty, use Assist, now!"
"Assist? Already?" Max cried from the sidelines in disbelief.
"Cor...phish-phish-phish!" Corphish cried, loosing a torrent of bubbles from both claws.
"Myaaaaa!" Skitty roared, firing a barrage of fireballs from its paw.
"Whoa, that's Ember!" Max said in a worried voice.
Nidoking braced itself as Bubblebeam streaked toward it, only to be intercepted and nullified by Skitty's Ember.
"Corphish, cor!" Corphish said angrily, glaring at Skitty, who turned to face him and, in turn, blasted him with Ember.
"Just what kind of move was that?" Ash demanded angrily, looking at May.
"Hey, look - " May began in a huff, then stopped for a second. Reconsidering her words, she finished, "Sorry."
"Nidoking..."
"Dear Nidoqueen..."
"Show us the love with your Dynamic Punch!"
Nidoking and Nidoqueen both charged up their right arm, charging forward and swinging it at Corphish and Skitty respectively.
"Skitty, use Blizzard to counter that!" May commanded, leaving Ash momentarily confused by her cooperation.
"Myaaa!" Skitty cried, shooting a freezing blast of ice and wind of its mouth at the two oncoming Pokemon.
Both Nidos roared in surprise as they were frozen into a single block of ice.
"Corphish, Crabhammer, go!" Ash cried, shrugging off May's sudden change in attitude for the moment.
"Cooor-phish!" Corphish responded, leaping forward and slamming its claws down on the large block of ice before it, causing it to shatter.
Nidoking and Nidoqueen staggered backward out of the destroyed ice block before stamping their feet on the ground with renewed vigor.
"Hmm..." Oscar said softly, glancing at Andy, who nodded back. "Nidoking!"
"Nidoqueen!"
"Show us the love with your Submission attacks!"
Both their Pokemon boomed in agreement, locking arms and feet to become a rolling armored ball, heading straight for Corphish and Skitty.
"Whoa, I've never seen Submission used like that!" Max said in astonishment. "As a combination..."
"Corphish, use Harden, now!" Ash called.
Corphish stood glaring at the two oncoming Pokemon as his shell became tougher than steel. The double Submission hit head-on, but Corphish didn't budge, struggling against it.
"Now, use Crabhammer!"
"Coooor!" Corphish roared, knocking the pair of Nidos up into the air as they roared in anger.
"Now, Skitty! Use Assist one more time!" May called.
"My-yaaaaaaa!" Skitty cried as a purple aura encompassed its body, as well as the Nidos, who hovered in mid-air for a moment before being forcefully slammed into the ground.
"All right! That's Beautifly's Confusion!" Max cheered.
"Let's finish this up!" Ash said excitedly, looking over at May.
"Love to!" She responded happily. "Skitty, Blizzard!"
"Corphish, Bubblebeam!"
Skitty and Corphish obeyed, and within moments Nidoking and Nidoqueen were lying spread-faced on the ground, unconcious and defeated.
"Wow. It looks like your love is stronger than we predicted." Oscar said as he and Andy recalled their Pokemon.
"You're right. I don't see much point in continuing this." Andy added, watching Ash and May closely as they too recalled their battlers.
"Uh..." Ash and May said together, glancing at each other.
"I don't think..." Ash began.
"...we're really cut out for that." May finished.
"See? Told you!" The couple said, giggling. "You even spoke together!"
Ash and May simply stared at each other, their mouths hanging open slightly, neither one knowing what to say.
"Ash...Ash!" May said, attempting to shake him awake. "Come on, wake up!"
"Huh...wha..." Ash moaned groggily, his eyes slowly cracking open. He was instantly met with the sight of May leaning over him, causing him to do a double-take as he jumped back. "M-May!"
"Yeah...?" She replied confusedly, rising from his bed.
"Boy, you were really out of it, Ash!" Max said from across the room, laughing to himself. "Were you having some kinda weird dream or something?"
"Uh..." Ash muttered, not sure how to respond. "Yeah, I must have." He finished, feigning ignorance.
"Well, it doesn't matter now." Brock said, glancing at Ash with his arms folded across his chest. "You should probably get ready. You did want to challenge the Battle Palace today, right?"
"Oh, yeah!" Ash said, suddenly remembering why they had come here in the first place. "Just give me a few minutes..."
Shortly after, he found himself in the shower, hastily cleaning himself as he rushed to get ready.
"What was all that about?" Ash thought to himself as the cool water washed over him. "I remember that tag battle with Oscar and Andy back in Hoenn...but that's not how it ended. They beat me and May by a long shot, since we were arguing so much..."
He continued to ponder his dream as he shifted positions under the stream of water. "So why..."
A few moments later, he finally just shrugged. "Well, whatever...like Brock said, it's not like it matters now, anyway."
About an hour later, Ash and Pikachu were happily jogging toward the Battle Palace, with May. Max, and Brock not far behind.
"I wonder if we'll see Nate while we're here." Ash asked to noone in particular.
"If he really is a challenger here, he better have someone other than Claydol to help him out." Max commented. "From what I've heard, the Frontier Brain here's got a thing for using Grass Pokemon."
"Really?" Ash said, already beginning to formulate a loose battle plan. "Guess that means I should start with Swellow...oh, wait a minute!" He turned around to face his friends, but didn't stop walking, despite his words. "Did you guys find anything good at the Safari Zone last night?"
Max's face fell somewhat. "Well, we only got to look aroun for a little while, cause it was so late, and May didn't even get any Safari Balls..."
"I didn't know you had to pay!" May responded indignantly.
"Well, anyway, I did see a really cool Scyther, but besides that, nothing really special." Max explained, a hint of sadness in his voice.
As the group approached the battle facility, Brock silently noticed the lack of anyone else around, challenger or not.
Once they entered, they were met with a giant room framed with white marble walls, and numerous small exits that mirrored the look of caves, and of course the floor was painted in traditonal style for a Pokemon battle field. Not long after entering the room, an older-looking dark-skinned man with no hair and a long white beard entered as well from one of the caves opposite them, carrying a long staff.
"Welcome!" He boomed across the chamber as Ash quickly moved into the battle square. nearest to them. Pikachu climbed down off his shoulder and instead perched itself on May's head. "I am Palace Maven Spenser!"
"Hey, I'm Ash, and I'm here for a battle!" Ash yelled back as a smaller man filed out of the cave after Spenser, taking a position in the middle of the field: the referee.
"Of course, of course!" Spenser roared jovially. "Then let's not waste any more time, shall we?"
"The battle between Ash and Spenser will now begin! Each side is allowed three Pokemon with no substitutes, and the first trainer to lose all three Pokemon is declared the winner!" The referee paused for a moment as the two trainers stared each other down before lowering both his arms. "...Begin!"
Please R&R!