Azalea Town was, like Elliot had said, only a day or so away. By the time night was falling, we were only around ten miles away. For once, I didn't really mind the lengthy trip. The surrounding landscape was enough of a distraction. The countryside leading from Goldenrod down to Azalea was beautiful. I couldn't believe how quickly the urban settings melted away to tranquil, rolling countryside, with the sweet scent of flowers tickling our nostrils.

That first night on our way down, we decided to simply camp out under the stars. It was still a little chilly for my liking, but Nikki and Jasmine (with the help of their Pokemon) busied themselves by building a fire that cast delicate warmth spilling into our little campsite. Bailey, proving to be as good of an outdoor cook as an indoor one, managed to put together a delicious meaty stew soaking in gravy from a cut of cheap meat we found in a local supermarket and a couple of root vegetables. As we sat with our warm stew and chunks of crusty bread, light conversation washing over me, I let out a contended sigh as I stared up at the tiny twinkling stars above me.

It hit me like a head on collision from a Rhyhorn.

I was happy.

Well, up until Meloi butted into me and I spilled the majority of my boiling hot stew over myself, but the sentiment remained.

Next priority, after we ate, was to get the Pokemon all fed. Both Bailey and Scott seemed to be oddly private about this, retreating to more secluded areas to carry out this task. Elliot also announced that he'd be taking his collection of Grass and Dark Pokemon out for a "vigorous run" before he fed them, claiming they needed the exercise as, aside from Nikki's, his Pokemon were the only ones not engaging in routine battles. Come to think of it though, besides the battle with the rookie trainers back in Cerulean and the battle with Whitney, I hadn't done any training either…

I didn't have time to worry about it though as, realising we had all this open space to ourselves, us girls made the executive decision to make the most of it and release our Pokemon to have a relatively comfortable, and hopefully stress free, feeding time.

As Jasmine released her Pokemon, I realised that she had changed her team around. She had out and around the campsite, her allergy-ridden Quilava, Sulphur, who was sneezing at everything in sight from the pollen, (sneezing fire, I have to add) as well as her Delcatty, Skittle, who was locked in a battle of wills over the only remaining Sweet Poffin, with her stubborn Ivysaur, Heather. Her Azumarill, Mizu, was happily bouncing around, dancing between the bursts of flames coming from Sulphur's sneezes, but there was no sign of Nightshade the Hypno, or Terra the Sandslash. Instead, her newly caught Heracross was lounging idly near to her, and there was a small, round, brown bird hopping around, hooting loudly.

"Jasmine?" I frowned, singling out the bird with my finger. "Where did you get that Pokemon?"

"Who? Albus?"

"Albus?" I frowned deeply.

"Yeah, my Hoothoot!" Jasmine said with a smile as the round bird hopped up to her. "Cute, isn't he?"

"Okay, when did you catch… Albus, then?" I said, while privately thinking Jasmine's Harry Potter obsession was slowly bordering on the ridiculous.

"Oh, when we were camping out near the Miltank farm," she said lightly. "There were loads of them hanging around at night."

"What?" I said incredulously. "When did you have time to catch it? I was awake all night in the tent! I never saw you leave."

"This was before we pitched the tent, idiot," she said with a sigh as Nikki began cooing at Albus the Hoothoot trying to get it to hoot back at her. Albus responded with a swift peck to the top of Nikki's head, sending her scuttling away squealing.

"And what about that… Heracross over there…?" I said with a shudder as the giant Bug type lumbered around the trees. "What's it doing here?"

"Aww, don't be so nasty to Honey!"

"HONEY!"

"Yeah! I think it suits her!"

"That thing is female? Oh, actually, I don't wanna know…" I said with a shudder, turning away with the intention of focusing on my own Pokemon, but stopping when I saw Nikki.

She was dodging in-between her array of Fire Pokemon, expertly avoiding the odd contented burst of flame from her rather dopey Numel, Etna. Nikki's other three Pokemon, Dixie the Ninetails, Blaze the Charmeleon and her Magby (still without a nickname!) were flitting in and out under her feet, desperate for food. I smiled to myself. Nikki and Fire Pokemon… it was a combination I had never anticipated. Sweet and shy Nikki loving blazing hot Fire Pokemon… No-one could have seen that one coming. It still made me laugh to this day.

"Hey, Nik," I called over to her.

"Uh, yes?" she replied, sounding flustered as Magby started hanging off her skirt, giggling and kicking its legs happily as it swung.

"How come you've never caught any more Pokemon than just Blaze, Dixie, Etna and Magby?"

She frowned a little, sitting down, sweeping Magby off her skirt expertly. "Well I don't know… Fire Pokemon are really hard to find if you don't know exactlywhere to look for them. And training up a whole new Pokemon for contests is difficult. I mean, you know how long it took me to get Etna ready…"

I laughed, staring at the dopey Numel blundering about in search of Poffin crumbs. "Well, I think Etna is a special case…"

She grinned, but she caught sight of something over her shoulder and shrieked. "No! Magby! Don't burn that down!" she leapt to her feet and tore into the forest after her rapidly disappearing Magby. The worrying scent of burning wood tickled my nostrils, and sighing I nocked Aurora's Pokeball from my belt.

"Aurora, go do some damage control." I told her lazily.

Aurora burst from the ball and obediently waddled off towards the smell of burning whilst I chortled to myself. Deciding I really should give my Pokemon something to eat, I released the remainder of the Spirited Six (yeah, that nickname really had stuck) and began passing out Poffins. As usual, Kiba and Meloi practically inhaled theirs, Indigo crunched hers up slowly, even sharing her bounty with Aurora when she returned, Cairo disappeared with his to eat them, warily watching Kiba and Meloi, and Monty ate his slowly and carefully, in a manner that reminded me of a scrutinizing restaurant critic.

We spent around half an hour like that, the three of us girls and our Pokemon, mingling together like the old times. I had to laugh as Nikki's array of Fire Pokemon adopted my Kiba and Jasmine's Sulphur into their little group. It was cute to see a little clan of Fire Pokemon playing together. Well, until things turned nasty when egos started to clash and the "who-can-create-the-biggest-fireball" competition sparked up. It was fair to say that the Fire Pokemon were separated from that point on.

Realising it was getting late, and with no sign of the boys as of yet, Nikki, Jasmine and I decided to start setting out the camp and sleeping bags. Of course, with so many Pokemon kicking around our feet, this wasn't exactly the easiest of tasks…

"Cairo, get off my head!" I protested as Cairo settled into his favourite position as I was trying to lay down my purple patterned sleeping bag.

He buzzed and chirruped happily as I stumbled around, refusing to move. "Cairo!" I hissed, trying to bat him away, but he had practically suctioned himself on. "Guys? A little help?"

I heard a bark from nearby, and seconds later, force collided with my mid-section. With a screech I was knocked backwards onto the grassy ground. Gasping for breath, I felt pressure leaning down on my chest. Spluttering, I found myself face-to-face with Kiba, barking angrily at Cairo. Buzzing irately at Kiba's interference, but thankfully knowing better than to challenge the fire Pokemon, Cairo flapped his wings and lifted off my head. This however still left me with the problem of having Kiba standing on my chest, slowly cutting off my oxygen supply.

"Kiba, get off!" I hissed, trying to shove the puppy Pokemon off me. "You're getting too big to be doing this…"

He barked happily, covering my face in energetic licks before gambolling off towards an unsuspecting Monty. I heard an angered shriek and pained yelps only seconds later. I groaned, pushing myself back into a sitting position. "When that Growlithe eventually becomes an Arcanine, this is gonna be even more painful…"

Just at that moment, Elliot stumbled out from the undergrowth, his motley crew of Grass and Dark Pokemon following him. He was panting heavily and collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, while his Pokemon ambled back into the campsite without a care in the world. They looked like they'd been out on a casual walk and not the "vigorous run" Elliot had boasted about before leaving. I grinned as Jet the Umbreon purred around my feet, casting an unimpressed look in Elliot's direction. I directed Elliot's Vino the Venusaur, Mightyena, Tropius, Cacturne and Roserade towards the campsite and they obediently went. Jet however, returned to his master's side. Giggling, I followed his lead and knelt down next to Elliot.

"How you feeling?" I asked.

"Exhausted…" he breathed out.

I had to laugh. "Maybe that'll teach you for next time,"

"I keep forgetting how energetic they all are…" Elliot panted. "I need to get back into shape!"

I shook my head at him. "Come on, get out of the dirt. We need to get the campsite cleaned up."

"What, you mean you haven't done it already?" he teased.

I aimed a swift punch to his heaving gut and he groaned theatrically as I stood up. "Next time, be a little more gentlemanly then," I said, flouncing off.

Elliot groaned again and pushed himself to his feet. Just as we got into clearing up, Bailey appeared from the undergrowth, looking cheerful as ever, but exhausted. I offered him a smile before giving him a task, which he started at straight away. Our Pokemon were enthusiastic to help, and the campsite was a hive of activity as we got the area cleared and the sleeping bags set out.

Finally, just as everything was finished, Scott strolled carelessly into the campsite. Like Bailey, his Pokemon weren't with him. He took a seat on a nearby log and stared aimlessly into the crackling fire. For a moment, I debated going to sit down next to him and at least attempting to engage the fourteen year old in polite conversation, but a terrified shriek from Nikki's direction caught my attention instead. I whipped my head around to see her Magby clinging excitedly to her head, fistfuls of her soft black hair in his hands, tugging on it enthusiastically.

"Nikki!" I cried, quickly getting to my feet and disentangling the hyperactive Magby from the locks of Nikki's hair. Magby squealed with delight, like the whole thing was a game, blew a thick puff of smoke in my face and took off.

"I think Magby needs more training…" Nikki said sheepishly by way of apology.

I laughed. "He's just high-spirited,"

Nikki let out a sigh. "I don't get it… he's still like a baby in so many ways. I mean, he'll listen to me in contests and when it suits him, but not any other time. And it's not like he's not been in battles either… I honestly would have thought he'd have evolved by now."

"He'll evolve when it suits him," I offered her a smile.

Nikki let out a groan. "That better be soon!"

I grinned as Nikki took off after her Magby who was now cheerfully blowing fire at the giant paws of Vino the Venusaur. The big dopey Venusaur was either too lazy or too oblivious to swat the little annoyance away and stood there, barely moving its paws as the thin streams of fire cascaded around his feet.

"Don't worry," Elliot called cheerfully, not even moving to assist his Pokemon. "It'll take a lot more than those itty-bitty flames to do any damage to Vino."

"That's not the point!" A stressed Nikki cried out as she forcibly dragged her cheerful Magby away from the giant Venusaur.

I laughed delightedly. "Maybe Nikki should challenge Azalea Gym with Magby. He'd make toast out of all those bugs," I remarked to Jasmine, who had just come to stand by me.

"Hmm," she murmured noncommittally. I could tell she wasn't really listening, and true to my beliefs, she walked off in another direction almost immediately after I spoke. I let out an angry sigh and looked for someone else to talk to. Nikki was apologising profusely to Elliot and Jasmine was sitting in a corner, obviously not in the mood to talk.

"Amph?"

I looked down at Meloi who was tugging at my hand with her tiny paw. "Amph?" she said, cocking her head to the side, sounding concerned.

"Everything's fine," I grinned. Even after all this time, it still amazed me that Meloi always seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. "Go off and play with the other Pokemon."

She shot me a disgusted look at the word "play" but ambled off obediently nonetheless. After she left, I turned to look at Scott and was quite shocked to see Bailey sitting down next to him. Bailey was grinning, happily engaged in mostly one-sided conversation with the fourteen year old. I found myself blinking in surprise. When I thought about it though, this wasn't the first time I had seen Scott and Bailey together. Was I really seeing this? Bailey, the naïve, cheerful, amateur Pokemon trainer and Scott, the experienced, cold and curt trainer were forming some kind of friendship?

Unbelievable really, when you think about it. Up until now, Scott didn't even seem to like Bailey. Then again, I wasn't sure that kid liked anyone. I'm pretty he saw most people as "to be tolerated" rather than to be liked… But then again, if Bailey had some sort of calming influence over Scott, I wasn't going to complain…

I sat down heavily on the dusty ground; pulling my legs up to my chin, grateful for the thick trousers I was wearing to combat the cold night air. As I sat there, Jasmine crossed the campsite to pick something up from her bag, and for some reason, my head turned to look at Bailey and Scott again.

They had halted in their conversation, had moved a little further away from each other and both had their eyes firmly fixated on something. I followed their gaze and realised they were staring at the same thing.

Well, person.

They were both staring at Jasmine.

And I'm not talking that kind of stare where you're not even aware that you're staring. This was a proper stare. The "I can't take my eyes off you" stare. That kind of… almost… lustful stare.

I'm pretty sure you and I both know the only reason a boy will fixate his gaze so sincerely on a girl… Right?

Could it be possible? Did both of them have a thing for Jasmine? The idea was so ludicrous I almost burst out laughing. Jasmine acted like she couldn't even find the time of day to give to either of them. She made fun of Bailey's appearance any chance she got, and she mocked Scott's youth and bad attitude… When the implications of this suddenly hit me, I felt a little crushed for the two boys. Jasmine was clearly as uninterested as anyone could get in those two… I couldn't help but feel sorry for them both. I made a mental note to have a chat with Scott and Bailey about this whole matter. Perhaps talk to Jasmine as well if my suspicions proved true.

However there wasn't much I could do tonight. It was getting late, and everyone was settling down for bed. So, putting the issue of budding romances between our little group to the back of our mind, and trying to focus more on my strategies for the battle in Azalea gym the following day, I retired to bed.

We reached Azalea Town the following morning. It was a small, isolated sort of place, nestled at the edge of the Ilex Forest. The Ilex Forest, by the way, had been an absolute nightmare to navigate. I had thought nothing could even compare to the difficulties associated with getting through Viridian Forest. Holy hell was I wrong. By the time we were even halfway through we had to resort to using Repels to keep the sheer number of bug Pokemon away. I was glad to get out of there and into the safety of Azalea Town.

I had to admit, I did like Azalea Town. It was right next to Ilex Forest and as a result, the town smelled fresh and green, the scent of crushed leaves and foliage tickling our nostrils the deeper we advanced into town. An old well stood at its outskirts, and we saw many young children playing there.

Another unusual thing about this tiny little town was the over-abundance of Slowpoke. From the well at the town's edge, right to the centre of town and its outskirts, we saw Slowpoke everywhere. They walked lazily around town, keeping themselves to themselves, were dragged around eagerly by young children, and their gormless faces stared down at us from everything from statues and sculptures to fliers and posters tacked up all around town.

"This place really likes Slowpokes, don't they?" Bailey asked idly as we crossed the grassy paths heading to the Gym in the distance.

"This town always has," Elliot explained. "They practically worship them. Legend tells…"

I wasn't really interested in what "legend tells" though and I zoned out of what Elliot was trying to explain. Actually, everybody apart from Bailey looked completely disinterested. Even painfully polite Nikki looked like she'd much rather be doing something else. I for one was far more interested in trying to work out a strategy for taking on the next Gym Leader. If I was able to beat Bugsy (which I sincerely hoped considering he was only the second Gym Leader in the Johto League circuit), then I would already have two out of the four badges I needed before I got to challenge Dad.

Strangely enough, some part of me was still puzzling over the reasons I had for taking Dad's challenge in the first place. Had I really done it in the hope of making peace with him? Had I done it for adventure? A chance to relive my glory days? Was it some childish, repressed part of me still yearning for the approval I could only gain by beating him in a battle? Or could it be that I was only doing it to prove that I wasn't scared of him anymore…?

"Sienna!"

I gave a start when someone called my name. Nikki was waving her hand in front of my face worriedly and as I came back into the present, I saw everyone else had disappeared, presumably into the Pokemon Mart we were now standing in front of.

"Oh sorry," I apologised. "I guess I must have zoned out,"

Nikki smiled weakly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, but it was an effort. "I just…have a lot on my mind."

"Your Dad?"

"And everything else," I said with a heavy sigh. "I keep questioning why I'm doing this. And I guess I'm worried about what's going to happen when I eventually dochallenge him." I paused, another worry pushing itself to the front of my mind. I exhaled deeply, crossing my arms. "And all this stuff with Jasmine isn't really helping either."

"I noticed that!" Nikki said animatedly. "She's really—! Well I dunno exactly what's going on, but… don't you think she's acting out quite a bit…? Especially towards poor Bailey. I'm not sure she likes him very much…"

"With Jasmine, anything's possible," I said darkly, letting out a sigh. "I don't know if she hates Bailey or whatever… but I just kind of wish she would be a little more civil to him. I mean, he's a nice guy and everything…"

"He is!" Nikki cried enthusiastically.

I grinned. "Watch it, you're not a single lady any more, Miss Harper."

Nikki giggled delightedly. "I know, I know…"

I let out a long sigh, cutting across Nikki before she started on the topic of her beloved boyfriend Christian. "So yeah, anyway… I'm thinking that maybe I'll have a word with Jasmine sometime. Privately, you know? Find out what's going on in that head of hers…"

Nikki nodded. "That might be a good idea…"

I flashed her a smile, and the two of us engaged in some light-hearted conversation while we waited for the others to come out with their supplies. They eventually decided to grace us with their presence almost quarter of an hour later. Bailey was insufferably excited, showing off a shiny new badge case in which he proudly displayed his Plain Badge, and a new TM case. Minus any actual TMs, mind you. Everybody else just seemed to have stocked up on Potions and Revives, plus a couple of Repels in case we had to venture into Ilex Forest. Elliot handed me a couple of Super Potions to replenish my own stock, as well as a postcard with a Starmie on it to send home to my mum. As I stored away my gifts from Elliot, I noticed Jasmine trying to conceal a brand new pack of ten Pokeballs in the depths of her rucksack. I raised my eyebrows. She'd already caught a new Hoothoot and Heracross... exactly how many new Pokemon was she planning to capture?

"Everybody ready?" Elliot surveyed the group.

A resounding "yes" issued from everyone.

"Then, let's get to the Gym."

As we started to walk, a wave of determination coursed through my body, making me tingly with anticipation. I could already see the tip of the Gym in the distance and my hands clenched of their own accord. I needed that second Gym Badge. And against Bugsy, only the second gym leader in the Johto league circuit, I was feeling quietly confident, even though I wouldn't admit it. I'd taken on powerful gym leaders like Misty, Wallace and Whitney and won. Surely a Gym full of weak Bug types couldn't give me that much trouble.

A smile touched on my face.

"Bugsy of Azalea Town… Sienna Volbeda is coming for your badge!"

Author's Note

Hey guys! I have another update for you. I'm three chapters ahead of posting, so I'm in the middle of writing Chapter 18 as I publish this :)

Still a little filler-ish, I know, but I made up for it by giving Nikki, Jazz, their Pokemon and the Spirited Six some much-needed screen time.

I swear, next chapter (and the following) is Vs Bugsy :)

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday too, it really meant a lot.

The OC tournament is coming up soon too once they all reach Violet City. I've got all the OCs in and I'm really excited about writing the chapters. I'm also really looking forward to writing the proper plot for this story. Hints and foreshadowings should start to appear after Chapter 20.

I'm also excited about the Jasmine x Bailey or Jasmine x Scott suggestions... I need shipping names though... Haha!

Thanks to all my reviewers: QuestionsxAndxAnswers, KRDiva1, I have a dictionary here (I will try and work in some kind of cooking thing sometime soon), ArchXDeath, Aeroga, Zoeten and TwewyReaperGirl.

By the way, Twewy... the difference between pie and tart is that pies have both bottom and top crusts and tarts only have bottom crusts. The pastry is also different :) (Anyone see where Sienna gets her love of baking from...?)

Thanks everyone! Please R and R!