Thanks for the reviews guys I really appreciate you taking the time to write one.

Sorry for the wait guys. I had a few things come up which meant I had no spare time to write this. I shall try to fix this by getting another chapter done by Monday evening.

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Here's chapter 23 I hope you enjoy.

In conversations:

'- Translation of Poké Speech – No human unless otherwise stated can understand it. Ash can get the gist of what his Pokémon are saying due to his close bond with them.

"- Human speech

' - Thoughts'

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Three days later Ash and Salem walked into The Mirage Kingdom and they were amazed at the banners and decorations that covered the streets. They had both seen towns and cities being set up for festivals before but none of them had ever gone to so much effort or looked so impressive. They strolled through the jam packed streets almost getting knocked over several times.

"How the hell are we gonna find your friends? I mean look at all of these people." Salem said.

"Well knowing Brock he'll either be at the Pokémon Centre flirting with Nurse Joy or he'll have spotted an Officer Jenny and will be flirting with her. Out of the two I'd say the Pokémon Centre would be the best place to start just be on the lookout for a red head dragging a man away from a pretty woman by his ear as that will probably be them." Ash replied.

"While we're at the Pokémon Centre we'll be able to get some rooms and sign up for the tournament too."

Ash nodded in agreement and after getting directions they started walking towards the Pokémon Centre.

After a few minutes they arrived at the Pokémon Centre. They walked into the building and went to Nurse Joy who smiled brightly at them despite looking exhausted.

"Hi how can I help you two?" Nurse Joy said as cheerfully as she could.

"Hey are you okay?" Ash asked.

Nurse Joy sighed and the smile faded.

"Not really. It's been a really hectic day. I've had loads of trainers have some in to sign for the tournament, get me to heal their Pokémon which had been battling hard in preparation for the tournament and then get them a room for the duration of the tournament."

"Well I'm sorry to hear that and I'm also sorry to say that we're also here for tournament." Salem said.

"However our Pokémon won't need healing." Ash quickly added.

"Well here's the application form for the tournament but we're full here so you'll have to find somewhere else to stay."

Ash and Salem took the application form from Nurse Joy and quickly filled in their details. They sighed their names at the bottom and handed the form back to Nurse Joy. Ash and Salem were then left wondering where they would stay for the next few days.

"So where are we gonna stay?" Ash asked.

"You can stay with me." a familiar voice replied.

A huge grin appeared on Ash's face, he turned around and saw the man who had become a brother to him.

"Brock it's great to see you!" Ash exclaimed.

"You too Ash."

Ash handed Jigglypuff to Salem and Eevee and Ralts jumped off of his shoulders. Ash and Brock then shared a brief man hug until Ash caught a glimpse of red hair from the corner of his eye and knew that only one person had fiery red hair like that. He turned to look at her and took a step back when he saw the enraged look on her face.

"H-hey Mist."

Misty walked towards Ash who expected a mallet to slam into his head any second now however to his surprise Misty smiled and wrapped her arms around him. Ash quickly got over his shock and returned the hug. Misty eventually broke the hug and playfully jabbed Ash in the shoulder.

"That's for hanging up on me."

Ash grinned and rubbed his shoulder.

"Fair enough."

"So who's your friend?" Brock asked.

"This is Salem I met her a couple of days after I won my first badge."

"Ash has told me a lot about you both."

Salem handed Jigglypuff back to Ash and Eevee and Ralts took their places on Ash's shoulders. With her arms now free Salem shook hands with Brock and Misty then the quartet sat down at one of the tables. Ash placed Jigglypuff on the table and Ralts and Eevee jumped down next to her. At the same time Misty placed Togepi on the on the table and they all started playing.

"Hey is that the Jigglypuff that followed us?" Misty asked.

"Yeah it is. That reminds me I need to call my mother and Professor Oak so that you can start your new career." Ash replied

Jigglypuff cheered happily and was about to start singing but quickly stopped herself. She was missing singing as it had become such a big part of her life so.

"Don't worry Jigglypuff you'll be singing for whole rooms of people in no time."

The fairy smiled at Ash and went back to playing with the younger Pokémon.

"So do you guys know how long the festival goes on for? Ash only saw a poster advertising the event." Salem said.

"It's two days long, the first day has the parade and most of the attractions are only open on the first day. The second day has the mixed doubles tournament and me and Misty have already signed up." Brock replied.

"Yeah and we're gonna win." Misty said cockily.

Ash's eyes lit up as he heard this since he wanted a proper match against Brock and Misty so he could finally earn the badges they gave him.

"Not if we have anything to say about it." Ash remarked.

Ash was about to continue but then spotted a bag in Brock's hand.

"Hey Brock what's in the bag?" Ash asked.

Brock picked the bag up and then looked at Misty. They both took a small box that was covered in wrapping paper out of the bag and turned their attention to Ash.

"Happy belated birthday!" Misty and Brock exclaimed.

Ash and Salem shared a confused glance. Ash then looked at Rai and Meowth who simply shrugged not knowing what they're on about either.

"Who's birthday was it?" Ash asked.

Misty and Brock looked at Ash in disbelief wondering if he was actually being serious, but by just looking at him they could tell that he had genuinely forgotten.

"Ash you idiot it was your fifteenth birthday six days ago!" Misty yelled.

"It was?"

"Yes Ash it was." Brock replied.

"Whoops I guess I kinda forgot."

Ash grinned at Misty and Brock who just sighed and shook their heads.

"So are those for me?" Ash asked as he looked at the gifts.

Misty and Brock nodded and smiled as they handed the items to Ash who's eyes lit up. He ripped the wrapping paper off the boxes littering the floor in shards of paper. He opened the box from Brock first and saw a claw shaped item, he picked it up and upon closer inspection knew it was something that would make Sneasel very happy. He then picked up Misty's box and treated it the same way as Brock's. Once the box was open he spotted a small scale like object. Ash and Salem gazed at the scale as the myriad of colours shimmered beautifully in the light. The colours ranged from from pale blue to a vibrant pink. Ash looked bemusedly at the scale and then to Misty as he had no clue what it is.

"Um Misty this thing is beautiful but what the hell is it?" Ash asked.

"That is a Prism Scale. It is used to evolve a Feebas to a Milotic." Misty replied.

"I never knew an item like this existed. I always thought that it took a lot of hard work and care to help a Feebas evolve." Salem said.

"That was true however Bill has been doing some research on various Pokémon and somehow he managed to discover this."

"Sometimes it's hard to tell whether Bill is a genius or just lucky." Brock said jokingly.

Everyone burst out laughing at Brock's comment. When they calmed down Ash looked at Misty and Brock gratefully.

"Thanks guys these are awesome."

Ash quickly leant over the table and wrapped his arms around Misty and Brock who smiled and then returned the embrace.

"No problem Ash." Misty and Brock replied.

Ash broke the hug and sat back down.

"So now that's settled what are we gonna do today?" Salem asked.

"Well the Mirage Kingdom has a fair few shops so why don't we go shopping so we can get to know each other?" Misty suggested.

Ash stiffened at the word shopping as he had vivid memories of what shopping trips with Misty were like. He was about to reluctantly accept but then remembered that he had to call his mother to talk about Jigglypuff and apologise for forgetting to call her on his birthday.

"I'd love to go with you but I need to call my mother and then I'll have to call Professor Oak. You guys should go without me." Ash said.

"Brock you coming?" Misty asked.

He shook his head in response.

"Thanks for the offer Misty but I need to talk to Ash about something important in private."

"Ok, well it looks like it's a girls day out. Come on Salem."

Misty and Salem got up and after saying a quick goodbye to Jigglypuff they walked out of the Pokémon Centre and were quickly followed by Rai and Chu who had decided to stick with them.

That left Ash, Meowth, Jigglypuff, Eevee, Ralts and Brock standing in the Pokémon Centre.

"Hey Brock what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Well at first I only said that to get out of shopping. However after seeing how you look at Salem I know that you have feelings for her and I want to help you out."

"The thing is Brock I wanted to talk to you about that too. Even though your perhaps the most useless man at getting a date you're the only person I can talk to about this."

"I wouldn't say I'm useless at getting a date. For your information I have been dating the Nurse Joy in Pewter City for just over two weeks now."

Ash and Meowth's jaws dropped as given Brock's usual techniques for getting a date had earned him quite a few slaps and lot of ear pulling from Misty over the past couple of years it was inconceivable that he would get a date.

"No way, how did you manage that?" Ash asked in disbelief.

"Come on Ash I just used my natural charm." Brock replied.

Ash sat there with a 'yeah right' look on his face and Brock seeing that Ash wasn't buying it sighed.

"Fine, I helped out at the Pokémon Centre when a lot of badly injured Pokémon came in and she went on a date with me to thank me."

"So that's why you weren't drooling over this Nurse Joy when I arrived."

"Yep and now I want to help you out."

Ash smiled at Brock.

"Thanks Brock but no corny speeches like you tried on every girl we met in Kanto and Johto."

"I agree one hundred percent that there will be no speeches I promise."

"Before we start talking about that can I just call my mother and send Jigglypuff to Professor Oak?" Ash asked.

"Sure."

Ash stood up and took Jigglypuff over to the phones leaving Brock to talk with Meowth. Ash picked up a phone and dialled in his mothers number. The call almost instantly received and Delia's face appeared on the screen. A big smile appeared on her face and a similar one appeared on Ash's face too.

"Hi mum. I'm sorry that I didn't call you on my birthday."

"Don't worry about it. Just try not to make a habit out of it. It worries me when I don't hear from you."

"I promise I'll make a concerted effort to call you as often as possible."

"Good. Hey who's that cute little Pokémon in your arms?" Delia asked.

Jigglypuff blushed and looked away.

"This is your new entertainer at the restaurant. You see this Jigglypuff loves to sing and she is very good at it."

"Well if she wants to come and sing then I'd be happy to have her."

"There is one thing though. You'd have to make sure that every customer has something that uses Chesto Berries as an ingredient otherwise they'll fall to sleep."

"That's fine I think I can come up with a variety of drinks and dishes that could use Chesto Berries."

"That's great news. Listen I wish I could stay and talk but I have something else I need to do. I promise that I will call you back in a couple of days."

"You'd better young man. I want to know about what's been happening."

"I'll tell you about everything. Alright I'm gonna send Jigglypuff to Professor Oak now."

"Okay I'll go to his lab now and I'll pick her up."

"Goodbye mum."

"Bye Ash and honey don't forget to change your underwear."

Ash turned bright red as he heard Brock and Meowth snickering.

"MUM!"

Delia laughed and then hung up leaving Ash feeling incredibly embarrassed. He was just relieved that Salem wasn't here.

After calling Professor Oak and transferring Jigglypuff to him Ash sat at the table Brock was at and looked at him.

"Ok Ash let's start with how you're going to ask her out." Brock started.

A few hours later Misty and Salem walked back into the Pokémon Centre. The former had been her usual self and seemed to have bought an entire shops worth of things but she wasn't the one carrying them, it was Golduck and Politoad who had been lumbered with that task. Salem on the hand had been more controlled, knowing that she had no way of storing a lot of things she came back with just a couple of bags. They briefly acknowledged Ash and Brock then they went up to the room dumping their bags in the room. Misty then returned Golduck and Politoad and followed Salem downstairs.

"So did you enjoy shopping?" Ash asked.

"Yep I got a lot of stuff and me and Salem had quite a good chat."

Brock sent a look at Ash who nodded in response, he got up and walked over to Salem.

"Salem I need to talk to you in private."

Although she was confused by the rather nervous look on his face she nodded and followed Ash as he left the room. Misty watched sadly as Salem followed Ash out of the room, Brock saw the look on Misty's face and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay Misty?"

"Yeah I've known this was bound to happen for a while now. When he started training for the Silver Conference I saw the looks he'd send me but they were the way you'd look at a sibling not something more than that."

Brock could see how crushed Misty was the look Misty's face made him felt guilty since he had said on several occasions that the two of them would together. He now wished he'd have been more observant and saw how Ash felt instead of just assuming that he was oblivious to love. He quickly pulled Misty into a hug which she returned.

"Listen I have no doubt that you will find the perfect guy for you." Brock said.

Misty looked up at Brock in disbelief.

"Really?"

"Of course. I mean if I can get a girlfriend then you'll have no trouble getting a boyfriend."

"Thanks Brock."

Misty broke the hug and was now wearing the confident look that she usually wore. Brock smiled as he saw this and then turned his gaze upstairs wondering how Ash was doing.

Meanwhile Ash had taken Salem to his and Brock's room, she looked curiously at Ash wondering what could be so important that they would need to talk in private.

"So Ash what did you want to ask me?" Salem asked.

Everything Brock had said over the last few hours suddenly flew out of Ash's mind and he stood there trying to gain his composure. He took a deep breath and then he gazed into Salem's eyes which helped him muster his courage.

"Well you see the festival starts tomorrow and I-I-I was wondering if y-y-you'd like to g-go with me."

"Y-you mean a d-date."

"Yeah a date, but you don't have to if you don't want to."

Internally Salem was jumping for joy and her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. She saw that Ash was looking worriedly at her and realised that she hadn't answered his question.

"I'd love to go with you."

Ash felt like hugging everyone he could find but he managed to keep his composure and instead wrapped his arms around Salem who blushed as she returned the embrace.

"That's great."

They broke the hug and then went back downstairs with big smiles on their faces however they both had a similar thought.

'Oh shit what am I gonna wear?'

Luckily for them Brock and Misty were there and quickly took them out to find some suitable clothing for their date. After some searching had gotten them some more appropriate clothing for their date so they returned to their rooms and fell to sleep..

Next morning Ash was pacing back and forth anxiously in the Pokémon Centre. He had tried sitting down but he was so damn nervous and whenever he did stop moving his nerves screamed for him to call the date off. He had almost done it however he had been stopped by Brock and Rai who were still sat on a bench watching their friend and trying to calm him down.

"Ash would you stop worrying so much, just be yourself and I'm sure you and Salem will have a great time." Brock said.

'Yeah Brock's right.' Rai added.

Ash sat down next to Brock but started fidgeting and wringing his fingers. Brock and Rai sighed as Ash continued to worry himself.

Meanwhile upstairs Salem was in a similar state to Ash. She was sat in a chair as Misty was doing the finishing touches on her hair but it was difficult for Misty as Salem was constantly fidgeting in the chair. Misty sighed in annoyance and gently but firmly held Salem's shoulders.

"Salem you have to stop fidgeting. We both know that Ash will be just as nervous as you so. Now would you sit still long enough for me to finish?"

"Ok sorry Misty."

"Don't worry about it just try to calm down."

Salem nodded and managed to stay still long enough for Misty to finish. She looked in the mirror and had to admit that Misty had done a good job, her hair was not in it's usual ponytail and instead it ran down her back. She had at first been reluctant to wear her hair down since she was so used to having it in a ponytail. However Misty had been quite adamant so Salem had given in and allowed her to do what she thought was best which evidently was incredible.

"How did you manage to do such a good job?"

"Well my sisters may be as thick as two short planks but they do know a thing or two about beauty. "

Salem got up and hugged Misty who returned the embrace.

"Ok now go down there and have a great time." Misty said.

"Thanks Misty for everything."

Misty broke the hug and Salem left the room. As she left the room she spotted Ash sat next to Brock and Rai looking as nervous as she felt. He was wearing a royal blue button down shirt with black jeans and black trainers which was a major change from his usual attire. Salem took a final look over herself and then started walking down the stairs. Ash heard steps coming down the stairs and looked to see who was coming and what he saw took his breath away. Salem was walking down the stairs wearing a blouse that was deep crimson which contrasted with the pale blue jeans that showed off her hips and she wore a pair of black boots.

"Hi Ash."

"Wow Salem you look stunning."

Both Ash and Salem blushed until they were the same colour as Salem's blouse.

"Thanks, you do to."

"Well let's get going."

Ash offered his hand and Salem took it threading their fingers together. They left the Pokémon Centre with Brock, Misty, Rai, Chu and Meowth all silently wishing them good luck.

The first thing they did was go to the main high street so they could watch the parade. They manage to get to the front so they'd have the best view and it was an incredible sight to behold as the amazing floats drove down the street all of them themed around Togepi and it's evolutions. At the same time up in the skies a formation of Togekiss were lighting up the skies with a rainbow of colours. The parade ended with the Royal float which had two full sized thrones for the King and the Queen and a smaller one for the Princess. The three royals were sat in the thrones with a Togepi in each of their laps and a pair of shiny Togekiss flew either side of the float.

Once the parade had ended they looked at the stalls in the street competing in a few of the games finding success when they had to work together to catch as many balls that were painted as Togepi eggs within a minute. Ash let Salem choose the prize and she saw a pair of lockets which appeared to be in the shape of Pokémon but she couldn't tell from so far away. She asked the man to see them and he brought them over. As they looked at the lockets both trainers were wondering what they were. They knew the Pokémon was a Pidove but why would they be that shape?

"What are they?" Ash asked.

"These are Turtle Pidove's. So what you do is you keep one and give the other one to someone very special to you and as long as you both have your Turtle Pidove you will be in each others heart forever."

The man handed the Turtle Pidove's to Salem who immediately put one on and she passed the other one to Ash who put it around his neck and clasped it shut. The man smiled at them and they thanked him as they walked away. Salem then caught sight of a sign which had the name of her favourite arcade game on and they shot inside. Ash and Salem played several games in the arcade, Salem's favourite had been Dance Dance Revolution which she had easily completed the hardest challenges in no time. Ash on the other hand struggled with the beginner difficulty and even after Salem helped him out he was still pretty bad. In the end he gave up saying that he'd just stick to slow dancing making both trainers laugh.

Ash then chose to try out House of the Dead which was a shooting game that he knew he could win and he easily annihilated the high score making it look like child's play as he effortlessly gunned the targets down. Salem tried the same game but was narrowly missing the target each time. Ash saw the problem and he stood behind her and placed his hands over hers slightly modifying her aim. She blushed as she felt his hands cover hers and her cheek brush against his. At the same time Ash's face had turned crimson like hers. Salem managed to focus back on the game and fired the gun from the new position hitting each of the zombies in the head.

"Great shot." Ash whispered in her ear.

Salem felt his breath on her ear which combined with Ash's voice it sent a shiver down her spine. It took her a few moments for her to regain her thoughts and think of something to say.

"Thanks for the help Ash."

Ash simply nodded and they went back to playing various games.

As night fell Ash thought a good way to end the day would be to ride the Ferris wheel. They got into one of the Togepi shaped pods and Salem rested her head on Ash's shoulder. They looked in awe at the lights that now illuminated the city.

"It's beautiful isn't it Ash?"

"Yeah the view right now is gorgeous." Ash answered while he looked at Salem.

Salem blushed as she saw Ash looking straight at her and lowered her head hoping Ash wouldn't see her now crimson face. He looked at Salem and decided that now was as good a time as any to confess so he mustered all the courage he had.

'I can't believe I'm confessing on a Ferris wheel. How cliché is that?'

"Salem."

She looked back up still red-faced at Ash who gazed into her beautiful silvery-grey eyes. Ash felt his courage start to waver as she met his gaze.

"I-I-I love you."

He immediately looked away expecting her to reject him and he was now thinking that maybe confessing in the Ferris wheel had not been a great idea as unless he jumps out there is no way to escape until the ride ends. Several moments passed and the pod was still completely silent. He looked back at Salem and saw that she had tears in her eyes. He was confused at why she was on the verge of crying however before he could ask Salem cut him off.

"Ash I love you too."

Ash let out a relieved sigh and then smiled at Salem. He then tilted Salem's chin up and he pressed his lips to hers. Both of them were experiencing their first proper kiss and it was one of the most incredible things they had ever felt. The kiss was only brief but they both knew that they would never forget this moment.

Notes

Ash and Salem are now together – I'm sure many of you are saying finally right now. I've named this pairing Shockshipping – I hope that name hasn't be taken already, if it has I'll change it.

Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

Please give a review telling me what you liked/didn't like.

If you have any questions I am more than happy to answer them.

Ash:

Kanto - Raichu, Meowth, Ivysaur, Wartortle, Charizard, Pidgeot, Kingler, Muk, Tauros(x24), Snorlax, Sandshrew & Eevee (Shiny)

Johto - Totodile, Meganium, Cyndaquil, Heracross, Noctowl (Shiny), Phanpy, Tyrogue & Sneasel

Hoenn - Marshtomp, Nincada, Treecko, Zangoose, Sableye & Ralts

Sinnoh - Monferno

Kalos - Meowstic

Pokémon on hand – Raichu, Meowth, Meowstic, Heracross, Kingler, Sableye, Tyrogue, Ralts & Eevee

Salem:

Kanto - Raichu & Jolteon

Johto - Chinchou & Mareep

Hoenn - Plusle & Minun

Sinnoh - Luxray

Unova - Zebstrika & Galvantula

Pokémon on hand – Raichu, Mareep, Jolteon, Luxray, Plusle & Minun