Helloooo all you wonderful readers!

My summer holidays have started, so I hope I get more FFN writing time for the next couple of months - I've had a lot of ideas building up in my head!

Anyways, happy reading!

For today's topic, I incorporated suggestions by Joe!

Disclaimer: I still do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!

Chess Club

Grade Four

May (9), Gary (9), Paul (9), Drew (9), Ash (9), Misty (9), Dawn (9)

Gary and Paul were standing at the door of the chess club.

And the teenagers blocking their way were laughing in their faces.

"Aw man, seriously?" said one. "Go back to kindergarten!"

"We're in grade four," said Paul, scowling. "We know how to play chess."

"Of course, grade four," said the teen, grinning. "And you wanna play with big kids like us?"

"Yes," said Gary. Like Paul, he was seething. "We can already beat everyone at checkers. We wanna be the best at chess too."

The teenagers looked at each other, smirking. "Checkers? They think chess is like checkers?"

"We know it's not," said Gary. "That's why we wanna get good at it."

"What is going on here?"

Another teenage boy arrived at the door, and he was familiar, with his blue hair and calm demeanour. Gary and Paul recognized him; he'd been in the grade seven class that had been reading buddies with their grade two class. In fact, they'd been reading buddies with one of his brothers.

"It's nothing, Cress," said one of the guys at the door. "Just a couple of preschoolers."

"We're in grade four," said Gary, raising his voice. "And we're here to play chess."

Cress stared at them. Then, he smiled, his eyes lighting up with recognition. "Hey, I know you. You two were my brother Chili's reading buddies from a couple of years ago, weren't you?"

"What!" a voice from within the room cried out, and, in an instant, a redhead bolted to the door. He looked the grade four boys up and down, and his eyes widened. "You."

"Hi, Chili," said Gary, his eyes sparking with mischief.

"Pepper," Paul added quietly, a little smirk on his face.

As Chili ran a hand over his face, Cress turned to the others who had been laughing at Gary and Paul and said, "It's cool, guys. Let me handle this." Chili eyed Cress as they left.

"Don't tell me you're going to let them join."

Cress raised his eyebrows. "Why not?"

"First of all, they're too young."

"Well..." Cress tapped his chin. "Sure, the chess club is targeted at ages twelve and up, but I don't see why these two can't join if they really want to. We can have someone help them out with the basics, and—"

"We already know how to play," Gary cut in. "We've been playing with each other for a long time now."

"But now, we keep getting stalemates," Paul continued. "We want more people to play with so we can get better at it."

"There you go," said Cress, smiling at Chili. "They're not going to be any trouble."

"Don't be so sure about that," said Chili, shuddering. "They made our reading buddy visits miserable for me. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole reason they want to join is to mess with us."

Cress frowned, and Gary and Paul looked at each other. Truthfully, they had had a great time teasing and pranking Chili back then, but who would have thought it would backfire on them now? Cress had been so welcoming before, but Chili was making them lose their only ally here.

"We're not here to bother you," said Gary. "We already told you: we just wanna play chess."

Cress opened his mouth to say something, but Chili beat him to it. "We'll think about it," he said, looking as though he'd already made up his mind. He pulled Cress inside and, disregarding his protesting brother, leaned down close to them. "I am never letting you brats in here, got that? I know you're up to something."

"Yes," said Paul angrily. "We're up to playing chess!"

"Yeah right. Get out of here - the bell's about to ring anyways."

And he slammed the door in their faces.

Sure enough, the bell rang a minute later, and Gary and Paul returned to their classroom, irritant and defeated.

Their friends hurried up to them. "Did they let you in?" Ash asked, his eyes alight. "I knew they would. Wow, you guys can do anything! You're gonna be the best at checkers and chess!"

May, however, noted their expressions. "What's wrong? They did let you join, didn't they?"

"Nope." Paul's expression darkened. "Chili kicked up out."

Dawn frowned. "Who?"

"Chili was their reading buddy in grade two," Drew explained. "I guess he's in the chess club too, huh?"

"Serves you right," said Misty, shaking her head. "You guys were pretty mean to him."

"But we're not joining to annoy him," said Gary, frustrated. "We didn't even know he was in chess club!"

"I guess if you do something bad, you get your comeuppance after all," said Ash, rubbing the back of his head. "That's what my mom always says."

Gary scowled. "But that was so long ago! And we were only joking around. Right Paul?"

But Paul's attention had been drawn to something else at the door. His eye twitched. "Great," he muttered.

"What?" His friends followed his gaze, and exasperated sighs, sympathetic smiles, and mischievous smirks flittered through the group.

Barry had just entered the classroom. He wasn't a bad guy (just very hyperactive) but one thing had been made clear since last year: he was a Paul fanboy.

And Paul couldn't figure out why.

Paul hadn't even known him that day he'd walked up to him, claiming to be as strong as him, or something along those lines. Maybe Barry had seen him in gym class and thought he was cool, or maybe he'd been amazed at Paul's Pokemon card collection (Paul regretted bringing it to school), but whatever the reason, Barry, too frequently, tried to involve himself with whatever Paul was doing. These days, it was even more than usual, because there was a particular Pokemon card Paul had that Barry really wanted.

"Paul!" Barry called out when his eyes landed on him. He waved energetically. "Paul, it's me! I have something really cool to show you!"

Paul scowled and turned away, wondering when Barry would get the hint. He obviously wasn't going to get any help from his friends either, because the rest of the group moved away to avoid the awkwardness when it became obvious Barry was coming towards them.

Please, thought Paul. Can't something happen to make him go away?

And something did happen instantly: their teacher, Mr. Robertson, entered the classroom.

"Everyone, to your seats," he said.

The class obeyed within seconds. Mr. Robertson had made the seating plan himself, which Paul was grateful for, because it meant Barry couldn't choose to sit near him. But even when he returned to his seat, Paul couldn't shake his frustration, and not just with Barry.

Chili had had no right to kick him and Gary out of chess club. They hadn't done anything wrong! It was just his dumb grudge for fooling around with him years back, and that was not a good reason to prevent them from joining.

They didn't give up, though.

For the next two days, Paul and Gary headed to the chess club in hopes of joining. But, true to his word, Chili intercepted every time. It was like he was waiting for them: he'd be right by the door, playing a match with someone close by, and he'd direct them away before they could come in, before Cress could notice they were there.

"This is the worst," Gary grumbled as he and Paul returned to class. Chili had kicked them out a little early this time, so lunch break still hadn't ended. They went over to their friends and pulled up spare chairs to sit with them. "He can't do that! He can't stop us from joining! He's going to have let us sooner or later."

"Maybe you should try telling the teacher?" Dawn suggested.

"Um, no," said Paul, rolling his eyes as if it were the most ridiculous suggestion ever.

Dawn glared at him. "Well, why not?"

"The thing is, Dawnie," said Gary with a defeated sigh. "It's not just Chili who doesn't want there. Everyone in Chess Club is older than us, and they think we're little kids. If we tell the teacher, they're always going to think we're tattletales who got the club in trouble. That's not what we want. We want them to treat us like real club members."

"Yeah, but..."

"Can't you talk things out with Chili himself?" asked Drew.

"No," said Gary. "He doesn't want to listen to us. Or believe us."

"Maybe we can ask Brock to help you out," said Ash thoughtfully. He turned to Misty. "He's in the same grade as them, right Misty?"

Misty frowned. "Is Brock even in the chess club? I thought he was in the cooking club."

"He's not in the chess club," said Gary. "Well, we've never seen him there. And why would Chili listen to someone who's not even in the chess club?"

The friends fell silent as they tried to think of a solution. And then, Leaf spoke.

"What if," she said carefully. "What if you made Chili let you join?"

"That's sort of what we've been trying to do the whole time, Leaf."

But Leaf shook her head. "You're saying the whole reason he isn't letting you join is because you used to annoy him, right? That means he'll get annoyed by you again. Easily."

Gary rolled his eyes. "Look, Leafy, we can get revenge on him all we want. We still won't be able to join the club."

"Or will you? Think about it. If you use the right strategy..."

"Oh." Gary waved dismissively. "You mean we keep annoying him and tell him we'll only stop if he lets us in. Not gonna work. Everyone will just think Chili was right and we are annoying little kids. And if he tells on us, we'll get in trouble."

"What if no one else thinks it's you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." She got up, made her way behind Paul and leaned forward against his back. Paul looked at her over his shoulder in irritation but didn't say anything. "Let's say someone starts to bug Chili. But it isn't you guys."

"Are you saying you're going to help us with this?" asked Gary.

"Who knows? Maybe if it's fun. I don't want to get in trouble though, so if I could find someone who'll be a cover..."

"Barry," Ash said.

Everyone looked at him.

"Wow, Ash," said Leaf in surprise. "I didn't think you would actually get into this trouble-making thing."

"No," said Ash. "I mean Barry."

He pointed, and, sure enough, Barry was making his way over. Paul groaned and turned away, but Barry waved enthusiastically.

"Paul! Hey Paul!" he called. "I have something really cool to show you! Look! Look!"

"Leaf, get off me so I can escape this misery," Paul muttered.

But Leaf's eyes twinkled with mischief and she waved back. "Paul can't wait to see it!" she called.

"You monster," Paul growled.

"Paul!" Barry stopped by their group, grinning widely. "Hi!"

"Hi Barry!" said Ash enthusiastically (they, at least, got along).

"Hey, Ash! Guess what! Guess what I got!"

"I don't know, what?"

"Ta-da!" He pulled out a Pokemon trading card. It wasn't a plain one, however; it was glossy with a shiny background, and the Pokemon on it was a high level—

"Torterra!" Ash exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

"It's a limited edition," said Barry proudly. He looked at Paul hopefully. "Like your limited edition Empoleon, Paul."

"What do you want?" Paul said snappishly.

"Wanna trade your Empoleon for my Torterra? I already have a Piplup and Prinplup, and I just need—"

"No."

"Oh, come on! You said Torterra's your best Pokemon!"

"I already have the limited edition Torterra. I don't want yours."

"There's gotta be something else you want! I can give you any one of my Pokemon cards, any one of them!"

"I said no."

"But Paul," said Ash. "Didn't you have two of the Empoleon ones?"

"What, really?" said Barry, his eyes widening. "You have two? There's only supposed to be, like, five in each city!"

Paul glared at Ash. "I don't have to give anyone anything."

"But would you give it to him," said Leaf suddenly, "if he did a big favour for you?"

"There's no favour, Leaf."

"But what about that thing we were just talking about?"

"What thing?" asked Barry. "Tell me!"

"We don't need him for it."

"Come on, guys, what thing?"

"Besides," said Gary. "How's he supposed to help?"

"If someone doesn't tell me what thing you're talking about, I'm gonna fine you all!"

"Barry, could you be quiet?" Paul snapped.

"Just tell me what I have to do!"

"I didn't even say I'll give you Empoleon if you do it."

"But you have two!"

"Get your own."

"I've been trying! Really, Paul, I've been looking and looking but I can't find any Empoleon limited edition cards anywhere!"

"Too bad."

"I'll do anything, Paul, just say it!"

"Even if it might get you in trouble?" said Leaf, hiding her smirk.

Barry crossed his arms. "I'm not afraid of getting into a little trouble!"

"Make the deal," Leaf said, bouncing her fist on top of Paul's head. "Do it do it do it do it do it—"

"Leaf, what is the deal?" Gary interrupted.

Leaf's eyes flashed. "Well..."

The next day...

Lunch break went by, and, for once, Gary and Paul didn't show up to demand entrance to the chess club.

Chili knew he should relax, but he couldn't help but be wary. The two fourth-graders had been so persistent for the first three days of the week; it was hard to believe they'd given up. They had to be brewing something. He could never underestimate his former reading buddies.

But at least he wouldn't have to worry about them for the rest of the day.

Or, that was what he thought when he returned to his classroom after lunch break ended. When he headed for his desk, however, he noticed something was wrong: someone was sitting in his chair. It wasn't Gary or Paul, but he looked about their age, and something about him made Chili feel he was going to be a pain.

"Um, hello?" said Chili, crossing his arms impatiently. "What are you doing in my d—"

"Are you Chili?" the boy interrupted. "About time you showed up!" He looked him in the eye. "If you'd come any later, I would've had to fine you!"

"Who's this kindergartner?" said one of Chili's classmates, giving him an amused look.

"No idea," said Chili.

"I'm Barry! And I'm in grade four, you got that?"

Chili groaned. "They put you up to this, didn't they? Gary and Paul?"

"All right, Mister, you're going to have to let them join Chess Club or, oh boy, things are going to get real hard for you around here!" said Barry, his eyes flaming with determination.

"Look, kid, class is about to start, so you should head back, or—"

"What? Don't ignore me like that! I'll have you know, I'm going to be the strongest trainer ever, and when I am, you'll see just how wrong you were to treat me like a little kid!"

"Just get off my chair," said Chili. He could feel his temper starting to heat up. "I have to get ready for class!"

"Are you gonna let them join Chess Club, then?"

"Not in a million years."

"What? Seriously?"

"Get out of my desk, kid!"

Barry glared at him for a long moment, and Chili thought he was going to retort, but, finally, he stood up. "Well, you asked for it. Can't say I didn't warn yah," said Barry. And, just like that, he left.

Chili stared after him. What's that supposed to mean?

He didn't get to dwell on it too long: his teacher stepped inside. Chili went to the back of the class where he'd hung his backpack on a hook.

But, when he unzipped his bag for his homework, he knew immediately he shouldn't have let his guard down.

"I see him in the window. He's coming," said Leaf, grinning widely.

It was after school, and she was outside, sitting on the short fence bordering the walkway to the school's front entrance. The rest of the friend group was waiting with her, staring at the door. Finally, Chili stepped out, his face flushed as he complained to his brothers, Cilan and Cress.

"Glitter!" he was saying. "Tons of it, all over the inside of my backpack! All my stuff, covered in glitter!"

Some of the glitter had evidently gotten on him as well - his hair and clothes were rather sparkly in the sunlight.

"Well, we got him annoyed," said Paul, a little irritant. "But how's this gonna help? He's just going to get angrier and not let us in at all."

Leaf was too busy laughing into her hand to answer.

Gary shrugged. "Knowing Leaf, she's either just messing with us, or this is a part of some brilliant scheme."

"I guess we'll find out soon," said Dawn. "Look, he's coming here."

"This is gonna be good," Misty muttered as Chili stopped in front of Gary and Paul. Neither batted an eye; they looked calm, Gary sitting on the fence and Paul leaning against it beside him.

"You guys did it," Chili accused, his eyes furious.

"You look a little shiny today, Chili Pepper," said Paul. But he wasn't smiling, and his voice was missing that mischievous edge it usually had when he teased Chili.

"You guys filled my bag with glitter."

"No, we didn't, actually," said Gary in a matter-of-fact voice.

"You got that other guy to do it. The blond kid. Barney or something."

Paul shrugged. "I don't know anyone called Barney."

"You know who I mean!"

"Barry didn't do it," Leaf piped up, her eyes glinting. "Ask anyone in your class. He didn't do it. And Paul and Gary didn't either."

"I don't care who did it! Someone did, and you two were most definitely behind it!"

"We weren't really," said Gary, briefly glancing at Leaf. "I kinda didn't want this, actually. You're welcome."

"Not buying it!"

"Chili, what are you doing?" said Cress as he and Cilan joined them.

"These two"—Chili pointed at Paul and Gary—"these two have been harassing me for the whole week!"

"We haven't," said Gary angrily, hopping off the fence. "We just wanna join Chess Club, but you won't let us!"

"Oh, you still want to join?" asked Cress.

"Yes! We've been coming to ask every day, and Chili doesn't let us!"

Cress turned to Chili, frowning, but Chili fumed. "Tell the truth!" he demanded. "You guys just want to mess with me, don't you? You guys can't play chess!"

"We can! We don't care if you're in the club!"

"Oh yeah, that's why you did this!" He took off his bag and opened it up in front of them. The entire inside was glittery and sparkling.

Paul turned to Leaf. "You made Barry do this? I thought—"

"I didn't," Leaf said, swinging her legs. "I just told him where Chili's desk was and exactly what to say to him. Remember? You guys were there when I told him."

"So why is there glitter in his bag?"

Leaf shrugged, grinning widely. "Who knows?"

"If you were going to do this anyways, what was the point of sending Barry for anything?"

Leaf smiled sweetly and Chili looked ready to burst into flames. "I don't care who you sent to do what," he said, "but whatever you and your friends are plotting—"

"You can't prove any of us did anything! We have alibis!" Leaf said in a sing-song voice.

"OKAY THAT IS—"

"Time out!" said Cilan, speaking for the first time. "I think I have a solution with a taste that'll satisfy everyone!" He snapped his fingers. "From what I understand, Gary and Paul want to join Chess Club, but Chili thinks they have ulterior motives. And Gary and Paul are going to prank Chili until he concedes—"

"We didn't prank him," Gary cut in. "We weren't even the ones who asked anyone to do it."

"Whatever the case, these pranks are going to keep happening as long as Chili doesn't let them in," Cilan continued. "So what if Gary and Paul proved to Chili how serious they are about chess with a battle!"

"A Pokemon battle!" Ash said excitedly. Everyone looked at him. His grin faltered. "What?"

"Gary and Paul don't even have their own Pokemon yet, Ash," said Misty.

"Yeah, but... people always show how much they're serious about something with Pokemon battles on TV."

"This isn't TV, Ash," said Drew.

"Yeah," said Leaf. "My life feels more like someone's fanfiction than TV."

"Actually," said Cilan. "What I meant by battle was a chess battle. Gary and Paul both face off against Chili to show how serious they are about joining. If they're lying about knowing how to play, then they have to admit they were joining to bug Chili and stop pranking him—"

"But that's not why—"

"BUT," said Cilan. "If they do prove how serious they are, they can join! They don't have to actually beat Chili or anything, since he's been in the chess club a while, but if they prove their determination, Chili will have to admit he was wrong!"

"Or," said Cress. "I can get you signed up, and you guys can quietly play chess, and Chili will eventually realize—"

"It's a deal," said Paul. "We'll have a chess battle."

"Are we doing it right now?" asked Gary.

"Like I said," said Cress. "You don't have to worry about—"

"Tomorrow, during Chess Club so everyone in the club can see too," said Cilan. "I'll be in Cooking Club so I can't come, but I'm sure Cress will be more than happy to referee."

"Really, Cilan," said Cress. "There's a much simpler solution..."

"Hold it," said Chili. "If we hold it tomorrow, they can look up the rules to chess overnight and pretend they know how to play."

"But that won't mean we can play good," said Gary, crossing his arms. "If we can put you in check, that means we already have lots of practice."

"Hah! You guys think it's that easy to get a check?"

"Chili's right," said Cilan, looking a little concerned. "Chili's been playing for a while. Both of you trying to get at least one check..."

"It doesn't have to be a check each," said Paul. He looked at Gary. Gary seemed to understand.

"Yes," he said slowly. "Paul and I'll take turns playing with you. We play with each other all the time, so if even one of us gets a check, it's shows we both know how to play."

"But—"

"Let them make their own bargains, Cilan," said Chili.

"All right, then," said Cilan slowly.

Cress sighed. "If that's what you guys want... Also, Cilan, Chili, our ride's here." He pointed to the parking lot.

"So it is," said Cilan brightly. He waved to the fourth-graders. "I'll see you all later, then!"

"Bye," said Cress. He and Cilan began heading to a car, but Chili hung back and gave the group a glare.

"We'll see how confident you are tomorrow. And when you lose, you have to stop bothering me, got it?"

"We know," said Gary, rolling his eyes. "You're kind of boring to bother now anyways."

"Hmph!" He turned around and began hurrying after his brothers.

"So Leaf," said May curiously. "How did that glitter end up in his bag?"

"What makes you think I know?" said Leaf innocently. "I mean, it's not like I sent Barry when everyone could see him and told him to use his hyperness as a distraction while I filled Chili's bag with glitter. And the teacher saw you two in the classroom because I told you guys to stay there today, so he knows you didn't do it, and since everyone saw what Barry was doing the whole time, they know he didn't do it either. And no one saw me do it, so..." She shrugged, grinning widely.

"But Leaf, you ruined a lot of his stuff," Dawn said frowning.

"I didn't say I did it. Besides, he can still use his books even if they have glitter on them."

"But—"

"It was only a warning, Dawn. And he took the bait." She turned to Gary and Paul. "I got you guys this far, so be sure to beat him tomorrow!"

The next day...

Paul and Gary were ready.

When they walked into the chess club room at lunch, they weren't surprised to see Chili already there, seated at a table with a fully set chess board in front of him, Cress standing nearby as referee.

Everyone else in the club, however, was gathered around as well, watching them with interest.

"Why's everyone staring at us?" Gary asked, frowning.

"Well," said Cress sheepishly. "I think Cilan must have gotten a little excited about the whole thing, so now, everyone knows. He's always been the spectacle type."

"It doesn't matter who's watching to me," said Chili. "Or are you guys scared of messing up in front of everyone?"

"We're not scared," said Gary irritatedly.

"And also," said Paul, "if we mess up, no one will care because we're younger than you, but if you mess up, you'll look really, really dumb."

Chili sighed, and, surprisingly, he didn't appear as worked up as he usually did. He must have burned off all that anger last night. "Let's just get this over with. Do rock-paper-scissors or something to see which of you's going first."

"We don't have to do rock-paper-scissors," said Gary, taking the seat opposite of Chili. "We have a strategy. I'm going first."

"You do know that each of you'll be playing a separate match, right? You can't help each other out mid-game."

"Yeah, yeah, we know." Gary crossed his arms and smirked smugly. "White or black?"

Cress did a coin toss to see who got what colour. He then announced the rules: Chili needed a checkmate to win, but Paul and Gary only needed a check. Soon, the match had begun.

On his third move, however, Chili moved his queen confidently and said, "Checkmate."

"Nope," said Gary with a grin, killing off a pawn. "I know that trick. I know how to block it."

Chili blinked and looked back at the board. "Oh," he said, his brow creasing. "I guess you do."

And then the match got intense.

Chili made his decisions quickly and confidently. It was clear he wasn't going easy: nearly every turn, he took down one of Gary's pieces, often important ones. Gary took a lot more time thinking about where to move next, and signs of stress were starting to show on his face. The other onlookers - the rest of the chess club - had seemed amused in the beginning, but now, even they were captivated.

Even though it was very obvious Gary didn't stand a chance.

Gary refused to give up, however, even when he was left with nothing but pawns and a cornered king.

Finally, Chili sighed, made his move, and said, "Checkmate."

Gary frowned, but got up without a word. Paul, who had been watching the match silently and intently, took his place and began rearranging the chess board. Chili looked from him to Gary and back to Paul curiously.

"You said you guys have a strategy," said Chili. "So Paul's the one who's going to get that check?"

Gary shrugged. "He has to, doesn't he?" Paul didn't say anything.

Chili gave them a final, curious look.

And then, the next match began.

Much like during Gary's match, Chili moved quickly and confidently, though he found Paul kept managing to save his pieces from getting taken down. Like Gary, Paul took his time examining the board, though his face retained his constant, neutral gaze that didn't show any sign of stress.

Mid-match, Chili paused, scanned the board, and sat back. "I get it," he said. "You've been predicting my every move."

"We told you we had a strategy," said Gary, unable to hold back his smirk. "I'm always better at thinking of what move to do in the moment, but Paul's really good at figuring out how someone else does something and what to do against it."

"Gary," Paul muttered, slightly annoyed. "Be quiet."

"I see," said Chili, narrowing his eyes. "Gary knew he was going to lose, so he was drawing out his match for so long to let Paul see exactly how I do things."

"And you picked it up after that one match?" said Cress. "That's really good."

Paul glared at Chili. "It's your turn. Go."

The match went on, though Chili's style and strategies changed. But even then, Paul's expression remained constant. Chili kept looking up at his face after every move, however, which Paul thought was a little annoying, but he kept his own gaze on the board.

Finally, Chili made a move, and his eyes snapped up to Paul's face. Paul scanned the board and moved a rook.

And then he smirked.

It was slight and not on purpose, but Paul knew immediately that it had been a mistake, that that was what Chili had been looking for the whole time: a little telltale shift in expression that betrayed his intentions. He glanced up, and, sure enough, Chili was smiling at him. Then, Chili turned back to the board and examined Paul's move. With a nod, he blocked what had nearly been a win by Paul - not simply a check, but a checkmate. Paul's brow creased, and he tried to get back in the right position, but Chili kept blocking him effortlessly.

And then, Chili made a move, leaned his head on his propped up hand and said, "Check. Mate."

Paul paused, blinked and looked up at Chili. Chili shrugged, smiling. "Good match."

"No... wait..." Paul went back to looking at the board, his eyes searching for some way out.

But there wasn't any.

"What?" said Gary, looking at the board too. "Paul, you were supposed to beat him! You were supposed to get a check!"

"I almost did," Paul said, his voice becoming increasingly frustrated, his eyes locked on the chess board, his hands in his hair. "I..."

Gary stomped his foot. "Paul, you were...! You were supposed to...! Ugh!" He rounded on Chili. "I want a rematch!"

"Sure," said Chili, still smiling.

"I'm going to beat you - not just with a check, but a checkmate!"

"I look forward to it."

"So does this mean they don't get to join?" someone asked.

"That's too bad," said someone else, yawning.

"Yeah, it is," said Cress, frowning a little. "I thought they'd make good additions to the club."

"Nah," said Chili, standing up and stretching. "They can join."

Cress stared at him. "What, really?"

Chili shrugged. "They played pretty well."

"That's oddly mature of you. I thought you'd be a lot more stubborn."

"What are you talking about? I'm always mature! Besides, I'd be a big jerk to not let them join after all this."

"You were already being a big jerk to us by not letting us join in the first place, Chili Pepper," said Gary.

Chili glared at him. "Yeah, well you guys have been pretty big jerks to me since—"

"Are you seriously arguing about this with a little kid?" said someone, laughing and swinging an arm around Chili's shoulders.

"I'm not a little kid," Gary said angrily.

"They're not so innocent!" Chili raged. "I swear, you have no idea how horrible they can be! Why do you think I didn't want them joining? These two—"

The bell rang at that moment, marking the end of lunch break.

"So...," said Gary slowly. "So we can join?"

"I already said yes," said Chili, turning away from them. "And don't ask again because I'm starting to remember why I don't like you two and I might change my mind!"

"You hear that Paul?" said Gary, smirking. "We can join!"

But Paul had gone from staring at the board to moving around pieces and muttering to himself about different outcomes. "If I'd moved it here instead of..."

"Paul!" Gary said, lightly punching his head. "We can jo—"

Paul stood suddenly and pushed him back. "Stop that!"

Gary scowled at him. "I was just saying we can join."

"No we can't. We lost."

"Er, not really," Cress said hesitantly. "Didn't we say you could join if you proved yourself to Chili? Well, Chili feels you did prove yourself."

"But that wasn't the deal! The deal was we could only join if we got a check!"

"It's because of you that we didn't!" said Gary angrily. "If it'd been me, I would've gotten a check, so I'm joining even if you're not!"

"Fine! But I'm not gonna join until I get a check!"

"Um, guys?" They turned: May was standing by the door with the rest of their friends. "The bell rang, so you guys have to come back to class..."

"Did you win?" Leaf asked brightly.

"Doesn't look like it," said Misty.

"No we didn't!" snapped Paul. He glared at Chili. "I'm coming back for a rematch next time." And he stomped out the door past his friends.

"Wow," Cress muttered. "He has an even bigger temper than Chili..."

"I don't care what Paul says," said Gary, crossing his arms. "I'm still joining even if he's not."

"Wait, you can still join?" asked Drew. "I thought you said you didn't win."

"Chili still said we could. But Paul doesn't want to because he lost."

"Okay, leave that to me," said Leaf. "He'll show up to join next meeting, guaranteed!" And she skipped off after Paul.

Gary shrugged. "Anyways, yeah. We can join."

The rest of the group of friends celebrated the victory, but didn't get a chance to stick around for long because, Dawn realized, they were nearly late for class.

From that day on, Gary and Paul started heading over to Chess Club nearly every lunch.

And Barry?

Well, the day of those chess battles, when the group of friends was leaving the classroom after school, Paul slipped an Empoleon limited edition card in Barry's open pencil box when Barry wasn't looking.

"You know, you didn't have to give that to him," Leaf said when they were outside. "You never actually said you would."

Paul shrugged. "I had two. Besides, maybe he'll leave me alone now."

He didn't, but he stopped bothering Paul about the card, at least.

And done!

I've had the idea for this chapter for a long time! It's been a while since I mentioned Gary and Paul's checkers/chess matches, so here's a whole chapter dedicated to their joining Chess Club!

So anyways, what did you think? Let me know what you thought in your reviews!

Thanks for reading!

Bye bye for now! Have a great day, and smile all the way! :)