Hello everybody! It is two in the morning right now in Italy, and I have school tomorrow, but I could not take another week off in updating this story. As my reviewers know, I've been so busy this week, I haven't even had the chance to PM them and personally thank them for their input. I promise to write y'all this week with personal apologies and appreciative coments. I really do love all feedback, and I truly regret my inability this week to write you guys and tell you how much your feedback means. However, I hope by now most of you understand, and are willing to forgive and still REVIEW this chapter. I really like this one, and in fact this is my longest chapter to date, which I am happy about because as I said I think it's a really good chapter. In this chapter, Ash gets a rare Pokemon, Misty wears a bathing suit, and I use the name of one of my old girlfriends for a new character I introduce (Whitney was an old girlfriend too, by the way). You'll also find some AAML near the end, so when you almost pass out from the length of the story, persevere and it will be worth your time, I promise. Well, that's all I have to say. Oh yeah, we broke the 200 review mark BIG TIME last week. I got 23 reviews over these past seven days, and am very pleased. The days when I would get maybe four reviews in a week are nothing, but a distant memory now! This is an accomplishment for not only me, but all of my loyal readers who have stuck with me and reviewed chapters as they've read them, so give yourselves a pat on the back and go grab a cookie, compliments of me. Anyway, as always, enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokemon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this fic are soley based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.
Characters' Ages:
Ash: 16
Brock: 21
Misty: 17
Dawn: 13
Delia: 40
Oak: 55
Gary: 16
"So you wanna take advantage of your best friend?" Misty asked Ash, her arms crossed. Both he and she were standing in a waiting line to sign up for a "Rare Pokémon Contest".
"It's not taking advantage Mist," Ash explained exasperatedly as they both moved a little further up the line, which was filled with trainers eager to take on the challenges. "I'm just asking a favor."
"Ash, if you repaid every favor you owed me, Brock, May, Max, Dawn, your mom, and Professor Oak, you wouldn't be done for years," Misty replied, rolling her eyes. It annoyed her that Ash considered what his friends did for him as "favors" when it was obvious he had no intention, or ability, to pay them back.
"Well, I'm paying for this one, so it's cool, right?" Ash asked, once again moving closer to the sign-up desk.
"But you're still putting Brock in a very uncomfortable position," Misty reminded him. "Most people are on the waiting list a year before they get a Pokémon egg, but you just want him to provide you with five in a matter of weeks?"
"He works there," Ash said, repeating himself for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "What good is it to have important friends if you can't even-"
"Excuse me!" cried a girl no older than twelve, interrupting the young champion.
"Er, yes?" Ash asked, turning around and already knowing what the child wanted.
"Um, I'm just starting out on my journey, and I was wondering if you'd mind signing my badge case for good luck Mr. Ketchum?" As the young girl requested the autograph, she pulled a small wooden box from her pocket and handed it to Ash with a permanent marker.
"Yeah, no problem," Ash said, signing the box quickly and handing it back to her. "Good luck with your journey." He then turned back around to continue his conversation with Misty, and purposely tried not to look behind himself again. For the past hour that they had waited in line, Ash and Misty had been approached by a gaggle of trainers, young and old, who wanted his autograph for "good luck".
"Anyway…wait, what were we talking about?" Ash asked, thrown off by the sudden intrusion.
"You using Brock!" Misty replied, rolling her eyes. She was getting tired of people coming to Ash and revering him as if he were a superhero.
"Oh yeah," Ash said, his voice inflecting recollection. "So like I was saying, there's no point in having good friends in high places if they can't help you every once in a while."
"But he's not in a high place right now Ash," Misty reminded him. "He's just an intern. He can't change the rules just for you."
"But I need eight Eevee, and he's the only one who can help me out," Ash whined.
"He's only been gone two months, and you think he has the clout to give you eight Eevee?"
"Maybe," Ash responded, shrugging. "Besides, it doesn't matter if he has clouds, he just needs to know someone who does."
"It's 'clout' Ash, not 'clouds'," Misty informed him, burying her head in her hands. She could not believe how moronic he was acting.
And people think he's the best, she thought to herself, as an older teenage girl approached Ash with a spiral notebook and pen.
"Uh, excuse me," she said, tapping Ash on the shoulder. He turned around, and she almost gasped as she saw his face. "I-it's really you!"
"Yeah," Ash said, grinning. This girl was very attractive, and though he didn't think he'd be asking another girl out for a while due to the Whitney incident, he certainly didn't mind a little attention from the opposite sex.
"My name's Joyce," the girl said, holding out her notebook. "I was wondering if you could maybe-"
"No!" Misty suddenly yelled, aggravated. Unknowingly, she garnered a lot of attention from the people in the large building and especially around them in the line with her outburst. "Ash and I are having a private conversation! Does everyone have to interrupt us, or can we get three seconds of peace?"
"Oh, uh, I'm sorry," the now distraught woman replied, pulling back her notebook as her eyes filled with tears. "I-I just wanted an autograph." With that, she suddenly ran away, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.
Misty was at a loss for words. She had not meant to come off as so rude, and as she stood silent for a few seconds, she could feel hundreds of eyes bearing down on her. She could also feel the general condemnation of the people surrounding her, and most prominently felt the blood rush to her cheeks.
"Wow Mist, you didn't have to be so mean," Ash stated bluntly. He knew Misty could be hotheaded, but it was usually directed at him, and never at complete strangers.
"Uh, I-I've gotta go," Misty said, stepping over the velvet rope separating the line from the rest of the Pokémon coliseum.
"But Mist, you have to sign up for the competition!" Ash reminded her as she ran off in the direction of Joyce.
"I don't care about that!" Misty shouted to him. She was looking around for the young girl, but wasn't able to see anything through the large cluster of trainers walking around. "I need to apologize for what I did." She then decided upon the general direction which Joyce took, and began to shove through the crowd to follow her path.
"Alrighty then," Ash said to no one in particular, seeing he was the next in line to sign up. Walking up to the counter, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the sign-up sheet was not yet completely full.
"Which competition will you be battling in Mr. Ketchum?" an older woman at the counter asked as Ash browsed over the list to see if he recognized any names of the trainers.
"Oh, what?" he asked, looking up to face the woman behind the counter.
"I said which competition do you wish to enter?" the woman repeated.
"Uh, the Eevee Competition please," Ash responded.
"Certainly," the woman said cheerfully, typing his name into the computer. "You're very lucky Mr. Ketchum. It appears we only have a few slots left open for this one."
"Yeah, I saw the sign-up sheet," Ash said, holding the clipboard up with his right hand.
"Oh no Mr. Ketchum, that's not the Eevee Competition," the woman remarked as she continued to type into her small computer.
"Then what's it for?" Ash asked.
"The women's swimming competition," the woman replied with the hint of a smirk on her lips.
He's a great trainer, but he sure doesn't act much smarter than other teenage boys, the woman thought.
"Oh!" Ash said, dropping the clipboard on the counter suddenly. He felt embarrassed for seeming so interested.
"So I take it you're not wishing to compete in that one?" the older lady asked, finishing her typing and printing off a paper from her printer.
"No, no, that's alright," Ash said, waving his hands at the woman as he reached for the paper which she was handing him. "Uh, I forgot my bathing suit."
"Well that's fine," the woman remarked kindly. "On behalf of the Kimono Sisters Corporation, I welcome you to the Fuschia City Competition Center. Please enjoy your stay, and good luck in the tournament, though I doubt you'll need it." As she finished her remark, she gave the champion a small wink before he turned to the right and walked through the spinning glass doors into the main battle lobby.
"Wow," Ash said to himself and Pikachu, who was once again resting peacefully on his head. Although the outer sector of the building was crowded, inside the main section there was no more than a square inch of free space. As he looked around, he realized that the building was quite large. He looked to the ceiling and saw that it was at least ten stories high.
It must be tall for flying types, he realized as he saw in the distance a Charizard and Golbat battling high in the air.
"Pika," Pikachu replied. Ash could hear the amazement in his voice as well.
Unsure of what to do next, he tapped a passerby on the shoulder.
"Uh, excuse me," he remarked, catching the man's attention.
"Yeah, what is it?" the man replied, obviously irked. He turned around with a frown prominent on his face, but soon changed his expression.
"Yeah, I just wanted to know where the Eevee competition is taking place," Ash informed the man, whose mouth now hung open. "According to this ticket, I'm supposed to be in Battle Arena four in twelve minutes, but I have no idea where that is."
"Y-you're Ash Ketchum, aren't you?" the man asked feebly, pointing at the trainer. "You're the Sinnoh champion!"
"Yeah, that's me," Ash said, pleased to find another fan.
"You mean you're in the competition?" the man asked, having completely forgotten Ash's previous inquiry.
"Yeah, and I'm supposed to be in Battle Arena four in like ten minutes, so if you could help me out, I'd really appreciate it."
"Sure," the man replied glumly, letting his head fall. "Battle Arena four is straight in front of you, two doors to the left. A bathroom is right next to its entrance, so you should recognize it." Then, to Ash's surprise, the man tore up his ticket and immediately began to walk towards the exit.
"Hey!" Ash called after the man. "What'd you do that for?"
"If you're going to be in the competition, exactly what chance do I have?" the man replied, sounding disappointed. "Guess I'll come back next year."
Ash felt bad for the guy, but before he could say anything else, the mysterious man quickly vanished among the throng of people, and Ash saw that he'd torn his ticket beyond repair.
"Poor guy," Ash said to Pikachu again. "You shouldn't give up just because the odds are against you."
"Pika-pikachu," replied his Pokémon.
Ash then followed the stranger's directions and soon found himself at the correct battling facility.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me," Misty repeated in a monotone voice. She had been following what she hoped to be Joyce's path for several minutes and still had not found the young girl anywhere. Because of the large crowd blocking her path, she found it easier to just repeat the phrase continually rather than risk provoking someone by not saying it.
However, she quit her drabble of apologies as she spotted a girl on a bench, cradling her head in her hands. Slowly, Misty approached Joyce, unsure of how this would pan out once she made herself known.
"Uh, hi," Misty squeaked as she came within earshot of the heartbroken trainer.
"Huh?" Joyce replied, surprised by the redhead looming over her. "Oh, it's you."
"Yeah, it's me," Misty said, kicking the floor of the building with the toe of her left foot. "I just came by really quick to say that I'm sorry and that I shouldn't have said those things to you." Although Misty truly did regret her actions, she still hated apologizing, and thus made her little "confession" rather quick.
"Oh, okay," the girl replied, sniffling a little. Misty could see tear stains running down her cheeks, and could see by the hurt expression on her face that the apology did not seem to faze her.
"Look, I really am sorry," Misty said, taking a seat which was conveniently free despite the cluster of people. "I just have a bad temper. You know how redheads are, right?" as she asked Joyce this, she was positive she saw a small smile appear and then vanish from the corner of the girl's mouth.
"I was just having a difficult conversation with my friend and everyone here has been asking for his autograph, so when you came up, I took out my frustrations with him on you."
"I understand," Joyce replied, finally looking Misty in the eye, and wiping her cheeks with the palm of her hand. "But how could you be mad with him? He's Ash Ketchum!"
"Trust me, it's very easy," Misty replied, denying the urge to roll her eyes at the other trainer's naivety.
"But he's so smart, and so handsome. How could you be with him and not like him?" Joyce asked, sounding truly curious.
"Well, we've been friends since he started his journey, and I guess I don't see him as smart, but more like that goofy ten year old I met several years ago," Misty replied, hoping this would satisfy the girl's interest. "I do like him though…as a friend."
"But you do think he's handsome right?" Joyce asked.
"Well, uh, um, you see, th-that's not w-what's important here," Misty stuttered, trying to get out of the predicament with as much poise as possible. "What's really important here is that you've forgiven me, right?"
"Right," Joyce said, nodding. "Thanks for coming to apologize. A lot of people probably wouldn't have cared."
"I just feel bad for doing it in the first place," Misty said, relieved that the awkward subject had been put to rest, if only temporarily. "Too bad I missed my chance to sign up for the Eevee competition though." As she said this, she remembered Ash warning her about getting out of line before she went off to find Joyce.
"Well, the line looks pretty empty right now," Joyce noticed, pointing towards the line through the thinning crowd. "You could see if there's a slot still open for you."
"Alright, but I doubt anything will be open," Misty said. She couldn't believe after seeing that large crowd of people that any tickets would still be available.
"I'll come with you," Joyce said, standing up with Misty and following her to the front desk.
"Oh, are you entering the Eevee competition too?" Misty asked, surprised. Joyce didn't strike her as the competitive type.
"Oh no, nothing like that," Joyce said, shaking her head. "I'm going into the swimming competition!"
"The swimming competition?" Misty asked, now truly confused. "I thought this was a Pokémon Competition Center?"
"Oh it is," Joyce remarked. "You see it's kind of a half and half swim meet slash Pokémon contest. The trainers swim an eight hundred meter race, and then their Pokémon do the same. Whoever has the best average time wins."
"Wow!" Misty said, excited at the prospect for her to use one of her water Pokémon in a competition. "Maybe I should do that one."
"Really?" Joyce asked, surprised. "You swim well?"
"Yep," Misty affirmed with a nod. "I've been the gym leader at Cerulean City for five years now, so I know my way around water."
"Whoa!" Joyce exclaimed as she approached the counter. "I've heard of you! My brother competed in your gym a few years ago at the start of his journey and told us he lost miserably."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Misty said, not sure why she was apologizing. As a gym leader, it was her job to award badges to those who earned them, and obviously Joyce's brother hadn't earned one.
"Don't be sorry," Joyce replied, filling out her name on the clipboard. "He was really arrogant back then, and that loss is what he needed to help him focus."
"Well, I'm glad I could help," Misty told Joyce as she approached the front counter herself. "I've had some experience with arrogant trainers, and I know how un-fun they can be."
"So are you gonna sign up for the competition or what?" Joyce asked, watching Misty with the clipboard in her hands.
"Uh, I dunno," Misty replied. She had a swimsuit in her bag with her, but she was unsure of whether or not she wanted to compete with Joyce, who from her appearance was an excellent swimmer.
"Which competitions do you want ma'am?" the older lady asked Misty as she stood there.
"Uh, I guess I'll do the Eevee competition," Misty said, putting the clipboard down. Now she had to make up an excuse to Joyce.
"See?" Misty said pointing at the overhead schedule. "The Eevee competition is from two to four, and the swimming is from four to six. I'd never make it!"
"Oh, you shouldn't have to worry about that," the woman at the desk responded kindly. "Apparently, once word broke loose that Ash Ketchum was competing, seventy of the two hundred trainers dropped their matches, so a round was cut from the tournament. If you enter, I can assure you won't be done later than three-thirty."
"That's great news!" Joyce squealed, excited. "You can compete with me then!" She then took the liberty of grabbing the clipboard from Misty's hands and scribbling her name down.
"Great," Misty said, trying to sound thrilled.
"If you hurry, you can make it for the final first match of the Eevee competition being held in Battle Arena five," the woman told her, printing off a ticket and sending off the two girls.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"And the competitor from Pewter loses his final Pokémon!" the announcer shouted to the crowd as Ash's opponent's Beedrill hit the ground with a thud.
In reality, the last four matches had been little more than practice for Ash and his team. He actually felt kind of bad for defeating his first opponent with only one Pokémon, Pikachu, and had since then used less experienced Pokémon from his team in the three-on-three matches. However, even with this disadvantage he'd found that the battles were simply too easy.
"Good match," his opponent said, walking up to Ash from the opposite side of the battling arena. "My friends told me I shouldn't try competing against you. I guess they were right."
"Don't be hard on yourself," Ash said, putting a hand on the young trainer's shoulder.
He can't be older than twelve, Ash realized, seeing his opponent for the first time up close.
"You beat two of my Pokémon before I could finally take you out," Ash complimented. "That's not an easy feat against a regional champion."
"Yeah, but you beat me with Pokémon that weren't even in your team against Cynthia," the boy responded dejectedly. It appeared to Ash that he was determined not to feel good about himself.
"Listen," Ash said, his voice hardening just enough to catch the boy's attention. "Don't always put yourself down. You fought a good match, and that's that. When I started out, I was constantly gloating and acting like some big-shot. I'm not saying you should be like that, but I am saying that you need to have more confidence in your abilities. If you don't think you can win, then your Pokémon won't either."
"Really?" the boy asked, impressed by the speech Ash had just given him. Not everyone got advice from the Sinnoh champion.
"Definitely," Ash said with a nod. "When you have confidence in yourself, your Pokémon will have confidence in you."
"Alright," the boy said, standing a little taller. "Next time we meet, I promise it'll be a tougher match."
"I look forward to it," Ash said, shaking the young man's hand once again.
As the boy walked off, Ash saw Misty sitting in the front row of the bleachers watching him with the girl she had yelled at earlier. He walked over there, ignoring the dozens of people who were simultaneously asking for his signature, or hand in marriage.
"Hey Mist!" he said, looking up at her. "Good match, huh?"
"Not as good as mine," Misty said, sticking her tongue out at him. "I beat my guy in three minutes flat."
"I was going easy on him!" Ash said, smiling at his friend's competitive nature.
"I was going easy on mine too!" Misty responded above all the noise from the audience in the battle arena. "I guess I'm just better than you!"
"Are not!" Ash replied, hoping to spark up one of their small disputes for fun.
"I guess you'll find out who's better soon," Joyce suddenly interjected before Misty had a chance to respond to Ash's taunt.
"Whaddya mean?" Misty asked.
"Look at the competition board," Joyce said, pointing towards the large jumbo-tron screen which showed who moved on in the competition and who was left behind. Both Ash and Misty scanned the final eight pairings, and to their surprise found that they were listed to battle each other.
"Whoa," Ash said simply. He couldn't believe that they were going against each other. Of course, he anticipated that if they both continued winning, he and Misty would eventually have to face off, but he was secretly hoping she would lose so they wouldn't be put in the situation they now found themselves in. When they were younger Ash would always be up to a battle with Misty, but the last couple of months had begun to change his perspective on the teenager. Although he didn't understand why or how, he felt as if making her upset was not the right thing to do. He tried to dismiss it simply as fear that she'd unleash her fury upon him, but he couldn't deny to himself that there was a stronger urge underlying his desire to avoid the conflict.
"Yeah," Misty agreed, still watching the scoreboard intently, as if hoping she would suddenly be matched with the kid from Vermillion instead.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Good luck," Misty told Ash as they shook hands in the middle of the stadium.
"You too," Ash replied a little loudly so as to be heard over the roar of the audience. The benches could hold about three thousand people, and right now Ash believed every seat was taken. Their attempts to remain discreet had failed miserably, and now everyone in the Center was aware that the Sinnoh Champion and his gym leader best friend were going to battle.
The two trainers took to their respective sides of the field and stared at each other as the crowd roared its approval. The referee lifted his two flags, one green and one red, in the air.
"Now, let the battle," he paused a moment as the crowd quieted slightly so everyone could hear the commencement of the match, "begin!"
Reaching for his left side, Ash felt for Ivysaur's pokeball. He had brought three new and three old Pokémon with him in preparation for any situation which could arise at the Competition Center. He knew he'd have to use his older Pokémon if he was to beat Misty.
"I choose you Ivysaur!" he declared, throwing the pokeball into the battlefield. In a flash, Ivysaur emerged from captivity and gave a roar of approval.
"I choose you Gyarados!" Misty replied in turn.
"Oh man," Ash whispered more to himself than Pikachu. He knew she was going to use her dragon-like Pokémon, but he hadn't figured she would do it so soon. Although Gyarados was a water type, it was also flying, meaning Ivysaur was actually at a disadvantage. In addition to this, he also felt a mysterious lack of competitiveness in the air as he faced down his opponent. It was as if he didn't care to win this match, though he simply threw this idea to the wayside as nerves.
"Gyarados, Ice Beam!" Misty ordered, throwing Ash off with her quick start.
"Ivysaur, dodge and then use Sunny Day!" Ash responded.
Obeying his master, Gyarados opened its large mouth and began to shoot a large stream of ice at its opponent. However, Ivysaur was faster than Misty had anticipated.
"Saur!" responded the grass Pokémon as it used its vines to hold itself high in the air. The Ice Beam hit nothing but the battlefield's metallic floor. Ivysaur then shot off a large light from its bud, covering the entire arena in a bright, white light.
"Come down and use Solarbeam!" Ash quickly commanded, taking advantage of Misty's temporary blindness from the Sunny Day.
"Ivy-saur!" roared the Pokémon as it shot off a Solarbeam without the necessity of charging due to the light flooding the battlefield.
"Gyarados, watch out!" Misty yelled as she shielded her eyes to better see what was happening.
"Rooooar!" screamed Gyarados as it took the hit head-on. It had been unable to dodge in time, and as it hit the floor with a "thud" Misty worried that her strongest Pokémon may have already been taken out of the battle.
"Now finish it with another Solarbeam!" Ash commanded Ivysaur, whose flower quickly began to glow once more.
"Roooar!" yelled Misty's Pokémon again, as it surprised everyone, including Misty, by suddenly lifting its head and using a Hydro Pump attack without an order.
"Saur!" cried Ivysaur in pain as it flew back several feet due to the strong water attack.
"Great job Gyarados!" Misty said, encouraging her Pokémon as it regained its balance and sat tall once again.
"Ivysaur, are you okay?" Ash asked, worried as he saw his Pokémon was slow to get up after taking the unexpected hit.
"Ivysaur," the Pokémon responded with a smile at his trainer. He then ran back towards the center of the battlefield to continue his fight with the large serpent Pokémon.
This will take a while, Ash and Misty thought simultaneously.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Wow!" the audience all seemed to gasp at once as they continued to witness the almost vicious battle taking place between the two trainers' Pokémon. The battle had now raged for about twenty minutes, and Ash was down to his last Pokémon, but it appeared Misty was too as her Starmie's combination of psychic and water attacks proved ineffectual against Pikachu. Although Ash had feared Pikachu would once again refuse to battle his friend, he was pleased to see that his Pokémon's competitive nature had gotten the best of him as he had watched the match from the sidelines. When Ash's Kingler had fallen to Misty's Starmie, Pikachu literally jumped onto the field before Ash had a chance to make a decision.
"The red trainer's Pokémon is unable to battle," the referee declared from the sidelines. "Pikachu is the winner!"
"Good Pikachu," Ash said to his Pokémon, who'd barely broken a sweat in the last match. "One more to go."
"Misty must now make her final decision," the announcer said on the overhead. "What will be her last Pokémon?"
Deciding she needed power if she was to defeat Pikachu, and because she only had water type Pokémon in her team, she decided upon her latest capture for her final battling partner.
"I choose you, Tentacruel!" she shouted, throwing the pokeball and unleashing a large, squid-like water Pokémon.
"Uh-oh," Ash said, looking at the very tall water and poison Pokémon looming over his Pikachu. He had the type advantage and his Pikachu still had most of his health, but Ash couldn't help, but gulp slightly as he configured a quick strategy to beat his opponent.
"Let the battle begin!" shouted the referee once more, lowering his flags.
"Tentacruel, Poison Sting!" Misty ordered, pointing at Pikachu.
Her Pokémon responded to its trainer's order and quickly shot out several white needles from underneath its large blue beak.
"Pikachu, Agility!" Ash ordered.
Pikachu too, obeyed his master and began sprinting around the stadium, appearing as if he was barely moving due to his speed.
"Tentacruel, Wrap 'im up, now!" Misty ordered, as she saw Pikachu take a quick break to catch his breath.
"Cruel!" Tentacruel roared as it seized upon Pikachu's tiredness to grab him with one of his long tentacles.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried as Tentacruel held it high in the air.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash suddenly ordered, realizing Pikachu, despite being wrapped up, was in a perfect position to give off a strong electric attack.
"What?" Misty asked, thrown off by Ash's order. "Oh no! Let go Tentacruel!"
At her command, Tentacruel unwrapped its tentacle from around Pikachu's waist, and as the small electric Pokémon gave off a powerful Thunderbolt attack, he began to fall towards the ground from the high position Tentacruel had been holding him.
"Chuu!" cried the Pokémon as voltage continued to leave his plummeting body. Although his aim was significantly damaged by the sudden drop, Ash was pleased to see that many of the sparks Pikachu was emitting were still making contact with Tentacruel, who was holding up his tentacles in a desperate attempt to defend himself.
However, Ash grew worried as he watched his Pokémon hit the metallic field's floor with a "clang".
"Pikachu!" he cried out, as Pikachu remain on the floor motionless for a second.
C'mon buddy, you've been hit harder before, Ash thought as he watched his Pokémon twitch slightly. He believed that the damage Pikachu received had less to do with his thirty foot drop, than it did with the hard ground upon which he'd landed.
"Pika," responded the Pokémon, suddenly jumping up with renewed strength. As he jumped onto his four paws, he began to emit large bolts of electricity from his cheeks and growl at the swaying water Pokémon.
"Cruelll," cried Misty's Pokémon, as he waivered back and forth.
Ash knew this was his opportunity to attack, and as he made eye contact with Misty, he saw she knew so as well. However, as he prepared to order Pikachu to use Thunder, he felt something stop him. He was unsure as to why, but he couldn't seem to take advantage of his momentary success to win the battle. As a matter of fact, he'd felt himself holding back throughout the battle, but as he looked at Misty staring back at him in defeat, he literally was unable to summon his will to finish the battle.
"Pikachu, pika!" Pikachu cried at his master, who seemed to simply be staring off into the distance. He knew if he wasn't given an order soon, they could lose their chance to win.
Unfortunately for Pikachu, Ash couldn't muster the strength to give the one word command. The audience watched this scene, entranced at the champion's prolonged hesitance. For a moment, the entire arena was silent save for Pikachu's calls to Ash and Tentacruel's cries.
"I forfeit the match!" Misty suddenly shouted to the referee. To make her decision final, she stepped onto the battlefield, officially breaking League rules and thus ending the battle.
"Huh?" the referee asked, confused. It was rare that he was thrown off-guard, but after the intense battling he had just witnessed, he was thoroughly shocked to hear the skilled redhead give up. "Oh, okay. Red Trainer has officially forfeited the match! Therefore, Green Trainer is the winner!"
For another moment the crowd was silent as Misty walked onto the field and complimented her Tentacruel as she returned him to his pokeball, but soon the entire audience burst into conversation, talking about why the gym leader and renowned rival of Ash Ketchum would forfeit suddenly.
"Misty, I…" Ash began to say as Misty continued to walk through the battlefield and past Ash and Pikachu.
"I don't want to hear it," Misty said, putting her hand in front of Ash's face. "Just leave me alone, alright?"
"But," Ash began again. However, now Misty was running off the battlefield and out of earshot.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Hey Misty!" Joyce called out to the water trainer who was sitting in the locker room for the water battle arena. She had already changed into her one-piece swimsuit for the competition, and was waiting for the competition to begin in a few minutes.
"Oh, hey Joyce," Misty replied lamely. She didn't feel like talking.
"What happened back there with you and Ash?" she asked, sitting next to Misty, now taking on the role of consoler, which Misty had owned only a few hours earlier. "Everyone's talking about it."
"Oh, I dunno," Misty said, keeping her eyes on her lap. "Ash just gets on my nerves so much sometimes."
"But what did he do wrong?" Joyce asked, curious. "It was just a Pokémon battle. For a minute there, it even looked like he didn't know what he was doing and you were gonna win it."
"That's just it!" Misty exclaimed, lifting her head. "It looked like he didn't know what he was doing, but I know he did! Ash is one of the best, if not the best, trainers I've seen in my life, yet throughout that battle I'd mess up and he would never capitalize on the moment. He kept letting me slip through the cracks."
"I did think that the way he battled you out there was kind of weak to how he appeared on television a few months ago," Joyce said, thinking back to Ash's battle with Cynthia. She remembered seeing his face covered with sweat, and his grandiose body gestures which he used when he came close to losing a match. The battle she had just seen him in against Misty certainly did not match what she had seen before.
"Maybe he's just a little rusty," she said, hoping to lift Misty's spirits. However, she already knew the answer before Misty gave it.
"Nope," the redhead replied, shaking her head. "He's battled almost everyday, and works out with his Pokémon every morning. He wasn't rusty, he was bored."
"What do you mean bored?" Joyce asked, shocked at Misty's term.
"I'll tell you later," Misty replied, standing up. "It's time for the swim contest." With that, she walked out the doors from the locker room leading to the pool area, where many more spectators waited in the stands.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Hyper Beam Kingler!" Ash commanded his crab-Pokémon.
"Ler!" replied the creature, as it opened one of its massive claws and formed a ball of light between the pincers.
"Arbok, dig!" shouted the opposing trainer, hoping to escape Kingler's aim.
Obeying its master, the snake Pokémon suddenly dove head-first towards the ground, but was unsuccessful in getting beneath it.
"Oooh! It appears Thomas from Vermillion forgot the floors of the battle arena are made of metal!" shouted the announcer as the cobra Pokémon yelped in pain from the impact. "This could be over folks."
"Now Kingler!" ordered Ash, seeing Kingler had stored enough energy.
"King!" roared the Pokémon as he unleashed a torrent of golden energy upon his opponent.
"Arbok!" Thomas screamed, seeing his Pokémon smothered by the attack. "Are you okay?"
"Charrrr!" cried the Pokémon in reply once the attack was complete. Arbok appeared almost completely blackened by the heat of the attack, and after remaining upright a few seconds following the attack, it soon fell backwards, twitching slightly.
"Arbok is unable to battle!" the referee called out. "Green Trainer wins!"
"There you have it folks, the likely favorite in this competition, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, has just won the annual Eevee competition, brought to you by the Kimono Sisters Corporation! Despite a few odd incidences, he appears to remain unbeatable." The announcer continued to ramble on for several minutes, but Ash tuned him out as he thought back to earlier and what happened with Misty. He acknowledged that he had held back throughout that battle, though he wasn't sure why, but he didn't understand why she'd be so upset.
"And now, to award the winning trainer, Ms. Kuni has flown here from the Johto region!" As the announcer gave his introduction, the Vaporeon trainer slowly walked into the arena, a spotlight following her movement, and came to greet Ash, who had been shoved by some stagehands into the middle of the battlefield.
"Congratulations Ash!" Kuni said, extending her arm and shaking Ash's hand as she grew closer. "It's been a long time since we last met!" She then took a microphone handed to her by one of the stagehands, and spoke into it.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the audience, I would like to thank you all for coming out to see this year's winner of the Kanto Eevee Contest, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" As she said this, she and the members of the audience broke out in applause.
She then handed Ash the microphone. However, he honestly could not think of a single thing to say as he felt his mind wander to what Misty was doing again.
"Uh, um, thanks everybody," he said lamely. However, everyone was still clapping, and fortunately his words didn't seem to matter to them. "I really appreciate the Eevee, and I promise it'll go to good use." He then handed the microphone to Kuni and thanked her.
"I appreciate the Eevee," he told her again, hoping to leave soon.
"It was no problem Ash," she told him, as the lights in the arena came back on and the people in the audience began to exit through the designated doors. "You earned it!" She then handed him the pokeball.
"Yeah, well, I'll have to see you soon and catch up with you," he said, once again hoping she would catch his drift that he needed to leave.
"Actually we can't do that," Kuni said, sounding sad. "I leave for Johto again in the morning."
"Oh, well that's alright," Ash said. "I'm going to Johto in a few months. We can meet up then."
"That'd be fun, Ash," Kuni said, seeming to catch onto his drift. "I'll see you around."
"Yeah, I'll catch ya later!" Ash said, turning and practically running for the doors.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?" asked a referee standing on a podium in the middle of the large salt water pool. The trainers were waiting to jump in on one side of the pool, with their water Pokémon waiting to be tagged on the other side. According to Joyce, the pool was exactly eight hundred meters long, so once a trainer reached the end, they simply moved out of the way for their water Pokémon to swim to the other side. Whoever's Pokémon reached the opposite side first, won.
"On your mark, get set, go!" screamed the announcer. With the shot of a blank gun, the racers all leapt into the water, swimming at a rapid pace. To her surprise, Misty found that she was actually doing quite well in the competition, but could see to her right that Joyce was breast-stroking her way ahead, which really did not surprise Misty. While Joyce seemed very muscular and lean, Misty was simply toned, and though she'd never say so aloud, her chest was also slightly larger which gave her an automatic disadvantage.
"C'mon Misty!" Misty suddenly heard a voice in the crowd yell out as she continued swimming towards the opposite side. Though her hearing was impaired by the crashing sound of water around her, she could tell that Ash was the one rooting for her.
He's so annoying, she thought, pressing towards the end. However, she reluctantly felt a little better knowing that he had shown up to watch her compete in the swimming contest.
As she continued on, she saw that she was quickly approaching her Goldeen, who was waiting on the edge of the pool so she could dive in. The second her hands brushed with the wall, the fish Pokémon jumped into the water and began a furious dash behind Joyce's Seaking, who was almost flying above the water because it was moving so fast.
"C'mon Goldeen, keep it up!" Misty encouraged her water Pokémon along with the other trainers who were watching their obedient creatures swim madly to the other end. However, her encouragement was not enough, as seconds later Joyce's Seaking reached the end of the pool several seconds ahead of its closest competitor.
"Oh man," Misty said to herself, as she walked around the pool to retrieve her Pokémon.
"You did a great job Goldeen," Misty complimented her fish Pokémon. "Return."
"Hey Mist, great competition!" Joyce suddenly called out to Misty from behind. "I honestly was scared you were gonna beat me!" She held out her hand for Misty to shake.
Although she didn't want to, Misty begrudgingly took Joyce's hand, still heaving slightly from the sudden activity and the cold of the water.
"Thanks, but you beat me by a mile," Misty said with a half-hearted smile on her lips. She didn't want sympathy from her opponent.
"Yeah, but these are weekly meets, and I come here all year!" Joyce explained. "You really did a good job considering that!"
"Well thank you," Misty said, still not feeling much better. She had lost twice today, and both times she had received unwanted sympathy for being a loser.
"I better get ready for the next round of preliminaries," Joyce continued. "The next swim meet's in a couple of minutes and I need to do some stretching."
"Alright then," Misty said, turning around to head towards the locker room. "I'll see you around then."
"See ya!" Joyce said, turning around.
"Hey Mist!" cried Ash from the stands as the water trainer walked by. "Great job. I really thought you had her there for a minute!" However, she kept walking by the stands without looking up at Ash once, and then entered the locker room.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Do you think she'll forgive me now Pikachu?" Ash asked his electric Pokémon as he stood in front of the mirror of his hotel room, making sure his hair was neat. It was now eight in the evening, and they had been back in the hotel for a couple of hours, but Misty had yet to talk to Ash. Rather, she had simply walked up the stairs instead of riding in the elevator with him, and acted as if he didn't exist as he continued to ask her why she was upset with him while she unlocked her door.
In order to combat her unwillingness to forgive, Ash had gone all out and dressed himself in his nicest khaki pants and polo shirt, and fixed his hair. To top off the ensemble, he had also bought a half dozen flowers from a shop down the street. He didn't know their names, but he thought they looked pretty and that a girl would most likely enjoy them.
"Pika-pi," Pikachu responded with a nod in the affirmative. He then gave Ash a small thumbs-up.
"Alright then," Ash said, puffing his chest out slightly. "Here goes."
He walked out the door of his room and walked across the hallway to Misty's room, where he knocked on the door and waited several seconds before she finally opened the door slightly.
"What do you want?" she asked menacingly. She had just gotten out of the shower, and didn't want to talk to Ash.
"I just came by to say that I don't know what I did wrong, but whatever it was, I'm sorry," Ash announced, feeling his chest deflate as he gave the long-winded explanation.
For a moment, Misty simply gazed at him.
He looks a little cute, Misty thought to herself as she remembered Joyce's question from earlier in the day. Not in an attractive way, but in a sorry way. She could tell that he had unsuccessfully wrangled with his hair to make it manageable, and also saw he was wearing what he referred to as his "fancy clothes" for the occasion. Not to mention the hideous arrangement of flowers he was holding in his hands.
"Come in," Misty sighed, surprising Ash. He hadn't thought it would have been so easy after her ignoring him for most of the day.
Walking into the room, he blushed suddenly as he saw all that Misty had on was a towel wrapped around her body.
Seemingly realizing this fact herself, Misty quickly excused herself and ran into her bathroom once more.
Didn't expect that, Ash thought, trying to forbid any images from popping in his head, which he found oddly hard to do.
A few seconds later, Misty reemerged from the steamy bathroom, but this time with a nice, thick robe on, completely covering her body.
"Uh, these are for you," Ash said, unsure of what to say now that she seemed to be forgiving him. He handed her the bouquet, and waited with bated breath to see her reaction.
Although she didn't really like the flowers, she smiled at him and gave him a small "thanks" before placing them on her bed.
"Ash, do you know why I was mad at you?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"Uh, no," Ash replied, thinking he had just told her that moments before.
"I was mad because I knew you weren't giving me your best during our battle out there today," she explained. "It's like you didn't think I was a worthy challenge or something."
"What?" Ash asked, trying to sound incredulous. "No, of course not!" However, he knew that it was the truth. He could only hope he would be able to persuade her otherwise.
"Really?" Misty said. "Because even Joyce thought you were going easy."
"Well Joyce is stupid!" Ash remarked, growing defensive over his lie. He then realized something. "Wait, who's Joyce?"
"The girl I made cry earlier, remember?"
"You made her cry, so she went to watch you compete?" Ash asked, confused.
"No, moron!" Misty yelled back. "We made up and became friends, and then she came and watched me compete!"
"Oh, okay," Ash squeaked, afraid Misty would start pummeling him if he asked another stupid question.
"Anyway," Misty continued, trying to regain her composure, "why'd you go easy on me in that battle?" Her voice softened reasonably as she asked the question.
"I-I dunno," Ash said, giving up on the façade. He had never been a good liar, and decided to draw the line.
"So you were going easy on me?" Misty asked, hurt apparent in her eyes.
"Well, yeah," Ash responded. "You knew that already." He honestly didn't know why she kept asking him questions she already knew the answer to, and then acted surprised by them.
Women are weird, Ash noted for the thousandth time in his life.
"So you really don't think I'm a good trainer then?" Misty asked heatedly, ready to throw Ash out.
"What???!!!" Ash asked, thrown off by her logic. "How'd you get that?"
"Obviously if you weren't trying your best out there, it's because you thought I was too fragile to take your real battling skills," Misty explained. She felt lucky she wasn't easily swayed to tears, because she thought most girls at this point would have begun to cry, and she didn't wish to appear that weak.
"No, it wasn't that at all," Ash said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, sending a small spark through both of their bodies, though they were both too distressed to take heed to it. "I honestly think I didn't do my best because I care about you Mist." As he said this, Misty looked up at him.
"You do?" she asked.
"Of course!" Ash almost yelled back. "We've travelled for years and are best friends. Why wouldn't I care about you?"
Misty smiled a little as she heard his explanation, and how he said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I care about you too Ash," she replied quietly as she looked into his eyes. "But I wasn't going easy on you."
"I know," Ash replied. "I guess I just don't like the idea of competing with a best friend. I mean, when we were younger and everything I didn't care, but when I saw you on the other side of that battlefield, and I had the opportunity to strike…I just couldn't embarrass you like that."
"Thanks Ash," she said appreciatively. "But don't hold back when we battle in the future! I want your best out there, so I can shove it in your face when I win!"
"Like we'll ever battle again after this," Ash replied with a grin, happy to hear her teasing him again.
"You know we will," Misty told him with a wink. "You're not unbeatable!"
"The world has a different opinion," Ash replied cockily, holding his head high in pride.
They both hugged after their small banter, and as Ash walked towards the door, Misty remembered something.
"Oh yeah, did you win the Eevee?" Misty asked as he took one step into the hallway.
"Sure did!" Ash replied happily pulling the pokeball from his waist. "It was a cinch. Now all I've gotta do is call up Brock-o and get him to mate Eevee with one of the Ditto there at the breeding center, and I'll have the eight I need for the different evolutions in no time!"
"Ash, we already went over this," Misty said with a sigh. "You can't take advantage of Brock like that. He just got the internship!"
"It's not taking advantage!" Ash contended, forgetting his room and instead walking back into Misty's and closing the door in preparation for a long argument which he already felt she would win. "I just need a favor."
"Like I said before, you owe everyone you know like a thousand favors!" Misty said, aggravated that he was using the same arguments from earlier.
"Well then, what's one more?" Ash replied with a shrug. "Besides, I already am gonna make up for all the favors I owe you, so I'll have some extra to use on Brock anyways."
"Really?" Misty asked sarcastically while folding her arms. "What might that returned favor be?"
"Well, I haven't enjoyed walking and taking the bus since you let that Haunter blow your car up last month," Ash explained, inciting a silent glare from Misty. "So I thought I'd buy you a car. However, unlike your last one, I think this one should be from the past fifty years, so I hope you can get used to that."
"A car???!!!" Misty shouted, excited and forgetting, at least temporarily, Ash's insults. "How can you get a car?"
"Duh," Ash said, rolling his eyes. He was surprised to have Misty be the dense one for a change. "All of those autograph signings and lectures I've been doing at those fancy Pokémon training schools? Not to mention the ton of money I got from becoming Champion in the first place."
"Oh that is awesome!" Misty said, running to give Ash another hug.
I could get used to this, Ash thought as he wrapped his arms around Misty for the second time in only a few minutes. However, as soon as the thought popped into his head, he stuck out his tongue. I must need a vacation.
Author's note: I really liked this chapter personally (too bad it took so long to write), but as always if you disagree, prove me wrong by leaving a review! Of course, if you liked it, give me a review anyway, just to make me feel good. Like I said, it's two in the morning here, so I'm going to get a few hours of sleep before school tomorrow. Please REVIEW and read the chapter if you haven't already.
Here's my recs for the week:
Seriously? I don't have time to write my reviewers and you think I'm reading new fics? (ha,ha) Sorry guys, but this week I've made no attempts to find new fics, but I'll defiinitely have some for next week. Also I really should have a new chapter of "Pokemon Love" up soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
To quote the Mickey Mouse Club (and risk lawsuit): M-I-C (see you later) K-E-Y (why? Because we like you) M-O-U-S-E. REVIEW PLEASE!