Beyond the Battlefield: Trial and Error

by neptunesxdaughter

PITCH PERFECT AU

ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ,ø¤º°°º¤ø,,ø

A/N: Hi, loves! Let me start off by apologising for the delay in this update. I had lost inspiration for this chapter due to my priorities being rearranged, especially with school finishing and applications for university being sent out. As well as Christmas and whatnot. I'm so sorry! I'd also like to apologise for how confusing and crap this update is. I hope it's okay, but I'm not very proud of this chapter.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Please consider enjoy leaving a review; they're greatly appreciated. :)

The crowd was deathly silent, everyone leaning forward in anticipation.

Misty could hear her heartbeat pounding as time seemed to slow down as Starmie released the freezing cold stream towards Ledian. The Ice Beam looked weaker than usual, considering how strong her pokémon normally was and how long she had been training with it, but still; it seemed like it was causing the bug-type to lose health.

The Psychic attack that was still holding it up in the air was released, with Ledian being forced back due to the Ice Beam. It cried out, a combination of pain and disappointment, as it collapsed against the ground in a heap.

The referee ran forward to stand near where the red and black creature had landed, appearing dizzy and exhausted judging by the closed eyes and the dust and bruises along its body. Thorton called out his pokémon's name in return, but was unable to step out of his square in case Ledian could still fight. The referee took a moment to observe the bug-type before raising the flag in the direction of Misty's side.

"Ledian is unable to battle! Starmie is the winner! Misty from Indigo University's Battle Team is the victor!"

The redhead let out a joyous scream as she bolted onto the field, wrapping her arms around her partner. "Starmie, you were amazing!" she exclaimed excitedly. The cheers in the stadium seemed to drown out her words because of how loud they were, but she didn't mind. The battle had been an intense one so there was no reason for them to be quiet.

The entire thing, despite her battle being the first out of three, had made her realise how much she had missed battling. Making a mental note to thank Dawn later, she stood up and returned Starmie to its pokéball and turned to climb the stairs that separated her from her teammates. Immediately, she was bombarded with praise and hugs, Dawn somehow managing to get to her first.

"You were amazing out there!" the blunette grinned after she pulled away. Leaf clapped a hand on her shoulder, the other girls gathering around as well. "I'm so glad I managed to trick you into getting recruited by Leaf!"

"So that was you?"

"Of course it was; who else is that brilliant?" she snorted good-naturedly, turning away so that she could allow the other girls room to congratulate the former gym leader.

Lucy had a soft smile gracing her lips. "Looks like Leaf was right about you. When I had heard that you had retired and hadn't battled officially for a while, I hadn't been 100% on board with you joining the team. But you definitely proved me wrong today. I now believe that we definitely have a chance to make it to the finals."

"I thought you were done for, Misty, but you pulled through!" Iris chimed in. "Especially when that Ledian came out. I didn't know you had a fear of bugs. And then the fact that Brock and that kid came out to give you a pep talk… You had us worried!"

"Yeah, they seemed to persuade you easily." Leaf agreed with a nod, teasingly slinging an arm across her shoulder. "You made us proud out there today, Misty!"

The redhead couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Leaf. Even after my freak out…"

"Hey, don't worry about that okay? All of us have our fears. You just had to face yours today and needed a little encouragement. There's nothing wrong with that. So stop beating yourself up over this, okay?"

"I didn't even know you brought your camera with you to the tournament?"

Misty and Dawn were seated inside the large library the campus had to offer. While they were both supposed to be studying or finishing off homework for their courses (or figure out a new appeal strategy for the upcoming contest she had entered), they had been distracted with discussing the results of the battle tournament. After losing with Melody during the second round very closely and tying a win with Serena, the Girls Battle Team were on their way to the next round.

"I wasn't using mine. I used Todd Snapp's. He's a guy who's majoring in the same subject as me." the redhead explained with a shrug, spreading the A4 sized glossy sheets across the table. After receiving the files from the boy, she had proceeded to print them out to use observe them in further detail and use them to analyse in her upcominng folio. "I actually got some great shots. I'm kind of surprised. Capturing detail with pokémon is definitely not easy."

"Yeah, well, you managed to pull it off. I mean, you even managed to get Serena's delphox performing Mystical Fire." the blunette observed as she twisted the image around so that she could look at it properly. "And the motion of Delphox's paw isn't even blurred! How'd you do that?"

"Practicing taking photos with May's blaziken really helped. It's all about timing with fire-types."

"That's really cool. It's awesome to see shots like this. You have to come to my contest and take some pictures of my pokémon for me!"

"I was planning to anyway! May said she was competing as well, so of course I'm not going to miss this one. You guys are close friends of mine. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Dawn allowed herself to excitedly squeal. "Yay! And I finally get to meet May. I can't wait! She must be really cool. How do you know her again?" she asked.

"Norman, May's father, is the gym leader of Petalburg City in the Hoenn region. All gym leaders tend to meet up at the start and the end of the year and mom used to take me to them when she was still the gym leader of Cerulean." she explained. "It's also how I met Brock, but obviously I saw him a lot more frequently since we're both based in Kanto and not any other regions. Plus, our hometowns are right next to each other."

"It reminds me of me and my childhood friend, Kenny. He's a coordinator as well we both ended up picking the same starter pokémon, though his has fully evolved into empoloen by now. He has this weird nickname for me and I still shudder when I hear it…"

The redhead's expression suddenly turned sly, raising her arms to rest on the table and stare expectantly at Dawn. She had been waiting for an opportunity like this, after the amount of light-hearted teasing Dawn and Leaf sent her way in regards to Ash - especially with what happened during her match. "Oh? Is it a pet name? Does he seal it with a kiss every time he says it?" she teased, hand over her mouth as she watched her roommate redden.

"Misty!" she exclaimed in clear embarrassment, eyes wide. She nervously glanced around the library, noticing that the people around had turned in their seats to turn and look at the strange girl who had randomly let out an outburst. She sunk in her seat awkwardly.

"Now you know what it feels like when you tease me about Ash."

"But you like him, don't you?"

Dawn had recomposed herself and was now looking expectantly at Misty. The question irked her, not only because the insinuation was a common subject to be brought up around her but because this was the first time the question had been asked bluntly. "…I hardly know the guy." she answered, going back to sort through the photographs.

"It's okay to like someone, you know?" the blunette asked softly.

"I know it is, but it's not something I can say for sure yet."

The question only made Misty ponder over it for the remainder of the day, even after her roommate had left to go on a last minute date with Barry. While there was nothing wrong with the blonde, Dawn seemed to be uninterested in him.

The thoughts on romance had completely distracted her but was literally knocked out of her train of thought when she accidentally crashed into someone. The panicked cry of a pikachu and odd noises from his trainer's mouth alerted her to just who she had accidentally bumped into, immediately bending down to make sure they were both okay.

"Crap, Ash, sorry. I didn't see you."

"Shit…" he groaned, crouching to twist a hand against his back. "No, it's okay. You must not have heard me either." Pikachu leaped onto Misty's shoulder, nuzzling her cheek in greeting. She raised her hand to scratch him behind the ear, earning a pleased "Chaa!" from the yellow mouse and an annoyed groan from Ash. "You go straight to Misty without even worrying about me? Thanks a lot, buddy…"

The redhead laughed, offering a hand to help the other trainer stand. "We're Pika-pals now, Ash."

"So how are you?"

"I'm good. How are you?"

"No, I mean… After the match." he attempted to explain awkwardly. He had a hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it nervously. While his intentions were sincere, she couldn't resist the urge to tease him a little bit. She really was a roll today.

"Aw, were you worried about me?"

Ash sputtered at her playful tone, turning his head to the side in embarrassment as he tried to play it off coolly. "Pssh, no." he answered, keeping his head facing the ground but glancing to see her reaction out of the corner of his eye. She couldn't help but laugh slightly at his response; he was boyishly cute. He was a little bit dorky but not enough to put her off.

"I've been doing okay. Not many know about my phobia so it does surprise people when they find out. But I guess it'll be making headlines now." Wincing at the realisation, she openly groaned at the thought. "I'm surprised my sisters haven't called me to yell at me yet. Since they're the ones still in the performing business, they still have to retain a certain image. I kind of ruin that a little with my behaviour."

"You never seemed to enjoy that kind of stuff, anyway." Ash noted, which caused his companion to stare at him in surprise. "I mean, Brock always said you were a tomboy. And it's kind of confirmed by your title, 'The Tomboyish Mermaid'. Everyone is allowed to be scared of something."

The woman couldn't help but blink at him. While Ash did seem like an idiot half of the time, he was quite insightful. "Would you like to grab a coffee with me?" she found herself asking. She watched as he grinned, moving to stand beside her and follow her lead.

The duo, plus Pikachu who was still riding on Misty's shoulder, made their way towards the same café they had gone with Leaf and Gary a couple of weeks prior. She remembered how reluctant she had initially been to meet the small-town trainer. Gary hadn't exactly made him out to be interesting but comparing that experience to what she knew about him now, he was definitely intriguing. He held a bond with his pokémon that she had only seen in select people and she now understood why Brock spoke highly of him whenever he was brought up.

Soon enough, the two had been seated at one of the tables with drinks in hands, opting for milkshakes this time around. "So, are you girls' ready for the Battle Type Royale?" he asked, taking a sip of his milkshake. Misty blinked at him in confusion, the phrase not familiar at all. She lamely repeated the phrase, with her companion realising that she had no idea what he was referring to.

"I'm gonna say that you're not… We started training for it weeks ago."

"…but what is it?"

The grin on Ash's face seemed to grow as the question was asked. He was a battling enthusiast and was eager to try any type, from what she had gathered. "Basically, a pokemon type will randomly be chosen and basically, a trainer from each team releases one pokemon from that type and the first one to knock out the other opponents is the winner." he explained excitedly. The idea wasn't really an original one, but it made things intense and incredibly difficult. And the added twist with just using one type made things all the more extreme."

Misty furrowed her brows as she tried to picture exactly what he meant. "The "rotation" part makes sense, now. It's just a little weird. I mean, sure, it's probably popular in other regions but I've never seen anything like it in Kanto. But the type thing… Wow."

"Yeah, it's not really common around here. Anyway, it's gonna be great!"

Silence fell upon them for a moment, the two unsure of what to say. Misty glanced around them, noticing the other people inside the café were talking easily to each other. She turned her attention back to Ash who was fidgeting in his seat, glancing down at his lap. "Are you okay?" she asked. His eyes were wide as he looked up at her, smiling sheepishly. His cheeks had reddened slightly upon the redhead spoke, swallowing thickly.

"I, uh… I need to ask you something." he stammered, averting his eyes from hers.

"Shoot."

He shifted awkwardly once more, Pikachu jumping off Misty's shoulder and walked across the small table towards his trainer. He looked up at Ash expectantly, peering upwards so that the human would be forced to look at the creature. Ash jumped back in shock. the chair being pushed on its hind legs before slamming back down on the ground. "Ack!" he coughed, hands smacking on the hard-surface of the table. The woman's eyes were wide at the exchange that had just happened in front of her, matching Ash's horrified one. "Um…" he swallowed. "I have to go!"

"Wait, Ash!"

Misty stood out of her seat as Ash bolted out the door, with his electric mouse sprinting behind him, yelling "Pikapi!"

"What the hell was that about?"

Dawn didn't think it was possible for her piplup to frown so much. She matched the expression easily as she sat out in the field, choosing not to go back to her dorm. The weather was nice anyway, so there was no point in being cooped up inside.

"Oh, come on, Piplup! Please don't give me that look. It's just a design for my pokéstyling class!" the blunette whined, watching as the tiny penguin turned away in a huff. "I just need you to try it on so I can see how it looks on you!" Piplup quickly spun his head, eyes shut and wings folded over each other. Dawn sighed as she bowed her head, dropping her hands that had been raised under her chin were her fingers interlocked in an attempt to plead with her partner.

She raised her eyes once more, though her eyes looked past her pokémon to see the familiar purple-haired man. He had stopped to look at her because of the mini-tantrum Piplup had thrown, scoffed as she glanced upwards before making his way off. Her eyebrows furrowed angrily, a vein on her forehead beginning to pulse rather prominently at him. She didn't even know his name but he had been treating her like this since the two had accidentally barreled into each other on her first date with Barry a few weeks before. Hurriedly shoving her books, the costume and other essentials into her bag, she stood up quickly and stormed after him. Piplup squeaked as he jumped from the bench to follow after his clearly annoyed trainer.

"Hey, you!" she called, slowing down to a walk beside him and tapping him on the shoulder to gain his attention. He stopped shortly, express aloof as he set his eyes on her.

"Yes?" he asked, quite obviously (or trying to seem) bored.

"What's your problem?" she asked, seething. If it were possible, there would definitely be steam coming out of her ears. His short answers were not helping to quell her temper either. Dawn was not an easily frustrated person, but he seemed to hold an effect over her. Even if they had conversed (argued) a handful of times with Barry around.

"Do you have to yell?" he asked in his bored tone, raising a hand to his ear. "What problem?"

He had fully turned to look at her now, one of his eyebrows quirked as a sign for the the coordinator to elaborate. Her own frown deepened, teeth gritted. "Why do you keep looking at me like I'm some sort of idiot?"

"Your pokémon wasn't listening to you. It was bound to draw attention." he answered simply. His short answers were indeed valid, but it was just him who bothered her.

Dawn swallowed down a scream at his words, leaning forward so that she was incredibly close to him, pointing at him as though she was about to lecture him. Though technically, she was. "I'll have you know that I am a very competent trainer! Aren't I, Piplup?" she exclaimed, nodding towards the water starter. Piplup jumped at the question, nodding hurriedly because his trainer could be rather intimidating when she was angry. Not intimidating like her roommate could be, but intimidating enough.

Her face softened slightly at the nervous expression Piplup was adorning, sweatdropping slightly.

The male scoffed slightly at this, turning his head away. Dawn returned her stare to him, growing annoyed me once more. "I don't get you." she answered, shaking her head. "It's like you try annoy me."

"Not at all. You're just troublesome."

Dawn's eyes widened, fists clenched and her shoulders were shaking.

"Why, you!"

As she got ready to yell again, the man began to walk off. This shocked her, allowing him to make his way away from her without being yelled at by the coordinator. She remained staring at him, clearly shocked, with her mouth agape. She eventually allowed herself to sigh in defeat, glancing down at Piplup who's expression matched hers perfectly.

"I wonder what his problem is, Piplup." she said thoughtfully. "And the "troublesome" comment routine needs to stop. He's the troublesome one. I don't even know the guy's name, and he's callingme troublesome?"

"His name is Paul." interrupted a familiar voice. Dawn glanced behind her to see Zoey, a student who was also in her coordinator training classes. She was smiling grimly as she approached, hands shoved in the pockets of her orange vest. "He's a little…"

"Grumpy?"

"I was going to say "irritable", but your one definitely matches a lot better." the girl laughed, nodding her head and finally stopping to stand beside the blunette. "I saw you two arguing, so I came over to try and play mediator but he walked off before I had the chance. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just…" Dawn trailed off. "I don't know. Frustrated, I guess?"

Zoey pursed her lips. "You do seem really stressed lately. Is it because of school? Or because of the upcoming contest?"

"…I'm terrified to disappoint my mom. Being the daughter of one of the previous top coordinators in Sinnoh is something I used to think was really amazing but lately, it's just put me under so much pressure. There are so many people around here who are amazing; my roommate is the ex-Gym Leader of Cerulean City, Serena's mom is a champion Rhyhorn racer but she's aiming to become a top performer and is amazing at pokéstyling and… I'm allowed to have doubts, right?"

As Dawn spoke, she had bent down so that she was in a crouching position. She had her eyes averted to the floor with her hair moving to curtain her face and her eyes which had begun to tear up.

"Of course you are, Dawn. Paul isn't helping, but isn't the best thing to prove him wrong?"

A/N: I'm so glad to be finished with this chapter. Not only because I'm allowed to move along with the plot, seeing as this one was more or less a filler chapter, but I also used it to explore the sideplots instead of only on the main plotline. I've been watching a lot of the anime in preparation to finish off this chapter so that's why there is late character development here.

I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible. :)

Thank you for reading! Please consider leaving a review.

Word Count: 3,423