It's time for some romance development between Ashley and Gary. The question is; will Ashley be able to see and understand Gary's kind advances toward her? And how will Ash react to his rival trying to flirt with his little sister?

The story is back in Ashley's point of view.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 23: Power Play!

We left Bonitaville a couple of days after the Pokémon Beauty Contest was done. Suzie, Brock and Vulpix didn't get first place, but it was still a big win for them to even participate. Brock was in a really good mood, despite he had returned Vulpix to Suzie and he had to leave his idol. I guess he had matured in a way or so? Now that I thought about it, he had acted so different with Suzie compared to the other girls he usually meet and flirt with. Was it because Suzie was his idol like my idol is Lance?

We were back on Route 37 and now we were traveling across some mountains, which was a big obstacle on the way to Ecruteak City. It could take like a week to get to our destination.

It was a calm day with the sun shining, so we were in a good mood. Mystic came out of his Poké Ball on his own for unknown reasons, but I let him stay outside and enjoy the weather, cradled safely in my arms. It was quiet in the area, except for the chirps and soft cries from wild Pokémon, until we heard the noise of a Pokémon battle.

"Alakazam, use Charge Beam!"

"Dodge it, Umbreon!"

"What's going on?" Misty asked before we heard an explosion and saw a cloud of dust float upward.

"It's obviously a Pokémon battle", Brock replied.

"Let's go check it out!" Ash smiled before he ran ahead. "Maybe I can battle one of them after they're done!"

"Pika!" Pikachu chirped enthusiastically.

"Ash, wait!" I called and ran after my brother, making sure Mystic was safe in my arms.

There was another explosion coming from the battle, so we stopped in a safe distance and peeked down from the cliff. There were two male Trainers having a battle, one of them having an Alakazam and the other person had an Umbreon. And guess what? Umbreon's Trainer was none other than…

"Gary?" I gaped softly in surprise.

"Togii?" Mystic chirped confusedly.

"It's him", Ash confirmed it while he grabbed his Pokédex. "But I don't recognize his Pokémon."

"That's an Umbreon, one of Eevee's many evolutions", I explained just as Ash aimed the Pokédex at the black-colored Pokémon.

Umbreon, the moonlight Pokémon. Dark-type. The evolved form of Eevee. When darkness falls, the rings on the body begin to glow, striking fear in the hearts of anyone nearby. When agitated, this Pokémon protects itself by spraying poisonous sweat from its pores.

Misty and Brock had caught up to us and saw our childhood rival. "It's Gary!" Misty gasped.

"Priii!" Misty's Togepi chirped.

"It's been a while since we saw him", Brock commented. "And his Eevee must've evolved into that Umbreon."

We silently watched the single battle to the end with Umbreon coming out as the victor. We could tell Umbreon had been trained well, especially with its agility. Alakazam's Trainer wasn't that impressive since he had ordered his Pokémon to use Psychic on Umbreon. Every Trainer should know about the type advantage and disadvantage when they begin their journey. Psychic-type moves are ineffective against dark-type Pokémon.

Another thing I noticed was how Gary approached the other Trainer and actually shook hands with him and even gave him some advice. That was completely new and out of character from the Gary I knew. The old Gary was always selfish and proud of himself, bragging about his skills as a Trainer, and never showed a sliver of kindness. What happened to him?

"That was an amazing battle", Brock commented.

Misty nodded, agreeing with the former Gym Leader. "Gary's been busy training his Pokémon well."

"Oh yeah? So have I!" Ash stated, looking a little excited. "I wanna have a battle with Gary's Umbreon! Let's go, Pikachu!"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded and held onto my twin brother's shoulder before he slid down the Cliffside, much to our shock.

"Ash!" Misty and I shouted worriedly.

"C'mon! Let's go find a safe path that can get us down there!" Brock called.

We quickly found a path leading down to the forest where Ash was busy convincing Gary to battle him. My brother had called out his Johto Starter Pokémon and even his shiny Noctowl and that caught Gary's attention.

"What?! How do you have the three Johto Starter Pokémon and a shiny Pokémon?!" the brunet asked with shock in his voice.

Ash smirked mischievously at his rival, obviously feeling superior now. "See, Gary? You can choose any of my new Pokémon to battle with", he said. "I can give you a good challenge and my Pokémon can get some good training. It's a win-win for both of us. So what do you say?"

"That's quite a mature way of thinking, Ash", Misty commented as we walked to the duo.

Gary and I locked eyes and I noticed how his demeanor changed immediately. He looked away for a second and cleared his throat while the color of his cheeks resembled a pair of Pecha Berries. "H-Hi there, Ashley! It's been a while!" he laughed sheepishly.

I felt a little odd about Gary's behavior. He acted differently before when we met him and his Hoothoot months before and now he's really weird. "Hi…?" I replied confusedly.

Misty gently elbowed my side and got my attention. "Gary's being nice to you…", she whispered.

"Are you sure…?" I whispered back.

Ash snuck over to our rival with a suspicious expression, whispering something to him as well, maybe a threat. Gary said something back before he and Umbreon walked over to us. "How've you been doing since we saw each other?" he asked me.

"Umm… I've been good, thank you…", I replied hesitantly, not getting the old bully's behavior, but I swiftly moved my attention to his Pokémon. "Is this Umbreon the Eevee you had before?"

"Yep!" Gary smiled proudly as Umbreon rubbed its head against his leg. "I had a tough time deciding what it should evolve into, so I was training it late one night. It evolved into an Umbreon under the full moon and made it look magnificent."

"Breoon!" Umbreon barked happily.

I crouched down to be on eye level with it, feeling a whole lot more comfortable facing a Pokémon than Gary's face. "Hi, Umbreon. You've grown a lot", I smiled and held one of my hands out. Umbreon touched it with its wet nose as it smelled my scent before licking it, making me giggle by the motion.

Gary sighed softly in defeat, but I had no idea why. "You still only feel comfortable around Pokémon?" he asked.

"Yeah", I nodded before I straightened up. "But I'm getting better with human interaction…"

Gary's slight sad face lit up after I said that. "R-Really? That's great!" he smiled before he noticed Mystic. "What's this? You've got a Togepi too?"

"Togipriii!" Mystic chirped happily as the brunet tickled him under the chin.

"Y-Yeah", I replied, feeling a little awkward. "I got an Egg and it hatched into Mystic."

"I see you're still nicknaming your Pokémon", Gary laughed softly. It wasn't his usual hurtful laugh. It felt more…affectionate like how Mom used to laugh in a certain tone when she showed me and my brother her love.

"How's your journey been since we saw you last time?" Brock wondered.

Gary straightened up and adjusted his duffle bag he held over his shoulder. "It's been great. I've seen many new Pokémon and caught a lot and I've just obtained my fourth Gym badge."

"You've got four badges already?!" Ash exclaimed in shock after he had returned his Pokémon to their Poké Balls.

Gary showed us his proof by holding up a badge case that had the Zephyr Badge, the Hive Badge, the Plain Badge and another badge that looked like a ghost which immediately gave me cold shivers. "I recently won my Fog Badge in the Ecruteak Gym", he explained before he turned to me with concerned eyes. "I'll let you guys know; it's a ghost-type Gym."

"Ghost?!" I shrieked in fear and hid my face with Mystic, my body shaking like there was an earthquake. "I can't challenge that Gym! I can't!"

"That's why I forewarned you", Gary spoke gently. "I know about your fear for ghost-types, but now you must overcome that fear if you want to compete in the Johto League."

"I-I… I know…", I whimpered as I bit my lower lip, trying to hold back the tears that collected in my eyes.

I yelped when I felt a touch on my shoulder, flinching away from the hand that still stayed on me. I glanced up from Mystic and saw Gary's concerned expression. "Hey. You're a whole lot stronger than what you think, Ashley", he said. "I know you can do it. You just have to believe in yourself and see past the type of the Pokémon."

Gary's whole demeanor confused me more and more now. His touch usually hurt, but now it was gentle and soft. It was like Gary had changed entirely whenever he was around me.

Ash suddenly stepped in between us and removed Gary's hand from me. "Okay, Gary, that's close enough!" my brother told him. "Now, back to the main topic, are you gonna accept my challenge or not?"

"To be honest, I'd like to challenge both of you", Gary replied, his signature smirk returning to his face. "But my Pokémon are exhausted, so how about we have that battle tomorrow?"

"That's okay", Ash nodded. "If your Pokémon needs rest, that's totally fine."

"There is a town with a Pokémon Center nearby", Gary stated, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. "Let's go and stay the night there."

"Breeon!"

"Okay! But dinner's on you!" Ash demanded.

"Piika!" Pikachu agreed with my brother.

"Sure", Gary shrugged before he threw me a wink. I felt a little bothered by that wink. From my knowledge, people wink to others who they like teasing or they are interested in that person. There was no way he could be interested in me. That had to be a sign of bullying!

XXXXXXXXXX

Gary actually stuck to his words and treated us to dinner at the Pokémon Center in the town located in the midst of a forest. Ash had ordered a large plate of croquettes while I had some curry rice for dinner. Mystic was still with us and actually refused to return to his Pokémon, which was not like him. It didn't do much; I enjoyed his company and I even fed him small spoons of the curry rice. Now I knew what Misty felt like whenever she was feeding her Togepi or even Mom whenever she used to feed me and Ash when we were toddlers. It's such a lovely feeling feeding a baby and seeing it eat with a great appetite.

We had just finished our food when the electricity disappeared, leaving the whole Pokémon Center in the darkness. "H-Hey? What's going on?" Ash asked and looked around.

"Pika?"

"There must be a power outage", Brock replied as he walked away from our booth. "I'm gonna go help Nurse Joy!"

"Wait for us, Brock!" Misty shouted as we left the table with the dirty dishes. Misty and I carried Togepi and Mystic while Pikachu climbed up onto Ash's shoulders. We found Nurse Joy by the front desk trying to use the telephone without any result.

"Nurse Joy!" Brock called. "The light just went out. Do you know what happened?"

"I'm afraid I don't", Nurse Joy sighed. "I tried contacting the power plant, but nobody answers."

I glanced out of the windows and noticed the whole town was sitting in darkness. There was no light except for tiny lights that could be from candles or fire-type Pokémon. "The whole town's dark…", I commented.

"It smells like trouble", Gary said as he stood next to me, our shoulders almost bumping against each other.

"Like double trouble…", I laughed sheepishly before I stopped myself, realizing who could've been behind this mess. "Could it be Team Rocket?"

"Them again?!" Ash sighed and face-palmed himself. "When can we ever get a break from them?"

"If they don't switch the electricity back soon and an injured Pokémon comes in, I won't be able to treat it", Nurse Joy said worriedly.

"Where's the power plant, Nurse Joy?" Brock asked.

"In the mountains, north of the town."

"Then let's go investigate immediately!" Gary exclaimed.

"Absolutely!" Ash nodded, agreeing with our rival for once.

"Breoon!" Umbreon barked in response.

XXXXXXXXXX

It took us a while to run to the power plant, especially since it was up a big hill. We still made it in record time and spotted at least four of the power plant workers tied up outside of the building. "There! They must be the workers!" Brock called.

"Let's set them free and then look for Team Rocket!" Ash shouted.

My brother ran ahead to help the adults, but Gary grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him back. "Look out!"

Ash got pulled back in time before a massive Wobbuffet robot could have stomped him into a pancake. It was a little smaller than the Noctowl robot we've encountered before, but it was still huge and had a pair of red cheeks. "That was close…!" Ash sighed in relief. "Thanks, Gary."

"I can't have my two best rivals get turned into pancakes before we can settle the score!" Gary retorted.

"Hello, twerps!" Jessie's voice echoed from the loudspeakers on the robot. "How do you like our Robo-Mecha-Wobbuffet?"

"What a lame name…", Misty muttered quietly.

"Toge…?" Togepi chirped tiredly.

"Did you steal the electricity from the power plant?!" Ash shouted at the evil team.

"Well, we needed more power for Robo-Mecha-Wobbuffet than what we first thought", Jessie explained. "My Wobbuffet's Counter and Mirror Coat are two powerful moves, so we thought we should build a giant robot that's impossible for you twerps to defeat!"

"Soon we'll have your Pikachu and the rest of your Pokémon in our hands!" James shouted.

"Let's move the plan on work!" Meowth yelled just as the robot took a step toward us.

"Pikachu, stop the robot with Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.

"Pika! Pika…CHUUU!" Pikachu jumped up from my brother's shoulder and unleashed a Thunderbolt. A compartment opened on the robot's chest and absorbed the attack before it actually fired it back to us with twice the power.

"Look out!" Gary yelled before he grabbed me and threw us to the side before the powered up Thunderbolt could strike us.

I hissed by the pain after I landed on my back. Thankfully, Mystic was still safe in my arms and looked unharmed. "Are you okay, Mystic?"

"Togiprii…", Mystic nodded slowly, looking a little frightened.

"Are you okay, Ashley?" Gary asked, his voice coming from above me.

I glanced up and felt heat rush to my cheeks when I saw Gary was hovering over me on his hands and knees. It felt so awkward to see my old bully so close to my face that our noses touched each other. Gary didn't look so troubled about it, but his cheeks looked a little pinker than usual.

"Get off me!" I shrieked and used my free hand to push him off me.

"S-Sorry!" Gary gasped and quickly moved back so I could sit up on my knees.

I turned away from him, trying to calm down my rapid beating heart. Why was my body reacting like this and with Gary of all people?! I have been in similar poses with my brother and Misty and Brock before, but I've never felt so awkward or even nervous before.

"Togi togi!" Mystic's shriek snapped me out of my trance as Ash and our friends' screams echoed in my ears. I looked up and saw they were being chased by the huge Wobbuffet robot. The robot was slower than them, but its huge feet was several meters long, reaching long enough to smash them into pancakes.

"Hey! Look at that!" Gary shouted, pointing at the robot. "On its back!"

I blinked as I adjusted my eyes, seeing there was an extension cord attached to the robot. The cord itself was connected to the power plant.

"If we unplug the cord, the robot loses power and we can stop Team Rocket!" Gary stated.

"Let Mystic take care of it!" I replied as I quickly got up on my feet. "Mystic, use-"

"Togipriiiii!" Mystic shrieked all of the sudden before his body started shining in white. I gasped as the light almost blinded me, so I covered my eyes with one arm as I felt Mystic changing form in my other arm. He actually slipped out of my grasp as he floated up. I thought I had accidently thrown him, but when the light faded away and I could open my eyes, I saw he was floating.

"Togitiic!" Mystic chirped happily as he floated in front of me.

"Ashley, your Togepi has evolved into a Togetic!" Gary gasped in surprise.

"Breoon…", Umbreon barked in awe.

"A Togetic…", I mumbled in disbelief as I stared at Mystic's new form. The little baby Pokémon had evolved before Misty's Togepi. I knew the majority of baby Pokémon could only evolve when they felt lots of love from their Trainer and they loved the Trainer in return, so… Mystic really loved me.

"Togitiic!" Mystic chirped with a big smile.

I couldn't help but wipe a stray ear off my cheek before I returned the smile. "Congratulations, Mystic. You must have sensed you were going to evolve the whole day. That's why you wanted to spend so much time with me."

"Tic!" Mystic nodded.

I nodded back and got serious. "Alright, Mystic! Use Extrasensory to destroy the cord on the Wobbuffet robot!"

"Togi!" Mystic flew toward the robot that was now struggling to chase after Ash and the others because the extension cord was too short. He used his psychic powers to grab the cord and added enough force to destroy it, disconnecting the robot from the power plant.

The Wobbuffet robot froze entirely after it lost its power. One of its arms was aimed upward after Team Rocket was in the midst of preparing an attack at my brother and our friends.

"Great job, you two!" Gary praised me and Mystic.

"Breoon!"

"One problem solved", I commented with a smile as Mystic flew back to us.

"Togi tog!"

"Hey, Ash! Guys!" Gary shouted and waved his arm. "Let's hurry back and free the power plant workers!"

"Okay!" Ash shouted back before he, Misty and Brock ran toward us. Ash stopped in his tracks when he saw Mystic. "Whoa! Who's that Pokémon?"

"It's Mystic, Ash", I replied. "He evolved into a Togetic just now."

"Togi!" Mystic nodded.

"Piika…", Pikachu mumbled in awe.

"You can admire Togetic later! We've got work to do!" Gary yelled as he and Umbreon ran ahead.

"Wait for us, Gary!" Brock shouted before the rest of us ran back to the power plant.

We managed to free every worker that got tied up. Some of the knots were tough, so we had Umbreon and Pikachu scratch or bite the rope apart. "Are you okay?" Misty asked after we freed the last adult.

"Yeah, thanks to you kids", one of the workers smiled.

"How soon will you be able to get the power back on?" Brock asked.

"It's going to take a while because of all the mess those crooks have done", another worker replied.

"But if the power's not back on soon and a Pokémon needs emergency care at the Pokémon Center, it could…!" Ash stopped himself before he could finish that sentence.

"Is there…a backup plan?" I asked, swallowing down the nervousness in my body.

"A backup plan…? Hey! I know!" a third worker exclaimed in realization. "If we can turn on the system in the secondary dam, we might be able to get back on line."

"Good idea!" the first worker nodded. "We need to get the water gate open and we can switch on in no time!"

"I'll go open the water gate!" Gary called out suddenly. "You focus on preparing the system! Let's go, Umbreon!"

"Breon!" Umbreon barked before the duo ran off to get the job done.

"Hey, wait, Gary!" Ash yelled for our rival and ran after him. "I'm coming with you!"

Loud bangs echoed around the power plant before Team Rocket's Wobbuffet robot walked up to us, active as if it never got disconnected from its power source. "You're going nowhere, twerp!" Jessie told my brother as the robot blocked his path.

"How can the robot move without power?!" Brock yelled out confusedly.

"We've got a backup generator ourselves with the power of paddle!" Jessie laughed. "Have a taste of Robo-Mecha-Wobbuffet's Mega Punch!"

The robot threw one of its arms toward Ash and his Pokémon, Pikachu and Totodile, but they thankfully missed it and ran onto the first dam. The machine chased after them and I could only watch in horror.

"Ash!" I shriek in terror when another Mega Punch had almost hit my brother and his Pokémon, but thankfully the force of the arm hitting the ground had pushed them down.

I massaged my head to try coming up with a plan. The robot could absorb any attacks and bounce them back like Counter or Mirror Coat. The one weak spot was actually the compartment that opened and absorbed the attacks. So…

"I got it!" I exclaimed and ran past the huge robot with Mystic following me. "Ash!"

"Ashley, get back!" Ash yelled as I reached him. "It's too dangerous!"

"We can defeat the robot!" I told him. "Call out Cyndaquil, Chikorita and Ivysaur!"

Ash could tell by the glance in my eyes that I had a plan. "Okay!" he nodded and threw the three Poké Balls. "Ivysaur, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, I choose you!"

"Sauur!"

"Chiko ko!"

"Cyndaquiil!"

"Everyone, listen closely to Ashley's instructions!" Ash told his Pokémon who nodded in response.

"Cyndaquil, use Flamethrower on the robot!" I shouted.

"QUIIIL!" Cyndaquil shrieked as he breathed fire at the robot. Just as planned, the compartment opened and absorbed the fire attack before it shut itself.

"It won't work, twin twerps! You'll get burned in ashes soon!" Jessie laughed just as the compartment was about to open up again.

"Ivysaur, Chikorita, use Vine Whip and trap the robot!" I yelled quickly.

The two grass-type Pokémon extended their vines and wrapped them around the torso of the Wobbuffet robot, forcing the compartment to get shut before it could spit out Cyndaquil's Flamethrower. It also trapped the arms before they could try attacking somebody again.

"I get it now!" Ash exclaimed next to me. "If we can keep Cyndaquil's Flamethrower inside the robot, the heat will get doubled and make the robot explode!"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu chirped in relief.

"Totototo!" Totodile danced around excitedly.

"Exactly!" I nodded. "Hold on as long as you two can, Ivysaur and Chikorita!"

"Togi tog!" Mystic shrieked encouragingly at the struggling duo.

Chikorita and Ivysaur didn't have to hold on for so long. The blue color on the robot swiftly changed into hot red, so they had to remove their vines before they could burn themselves. The robot couldn't handle the heat and exploded into an inferno, spitting smoke and debris everywhere.

"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"

XXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the whole situation got solved quickly after we had defeated Team Rocket. Together with Gary and Umbreon, we opened the secondary dam after lots of struggles to move the rusty handle. The power plant needed some extra electricity to activate the old system, so Pikachu used his Thunderbolt to give it a boost. After that, the power in the forest town returned and lit up like it was a Christmas tree.

Now that everything was okay and back to normal, Ash picked up his Pokédex to check Mystic's new data.

Togetic, the happiness Pokémon. Normal and flying-type. The evolved form of Togepi. They say that it will appear before kindhearted, caring people and shower them with happiness. It grows dispirited if it is not with kind people. It can float in midair without moving its wings.

"So this is what a Togepi looks like after it evolves…", Misty mumbled in awe as Togepi and Mystic smiled and chirped at each other while holding hands.

"Togetic are known to be one of the rarest Pokémon next to Legendary and Mythical Pokémon", Brock said. "So we're very lucky to see a Togetic."

"And he evolved at the right time saving us from Team Rocket's Wobbuffet robot", Ash smiled after he put away the Pokédex.

"You got that right", Gary nodded before he got a serious expression. "Hey, Ash."

"Yeah?"

"Let's postpone our battle for another time."

"Huh?!" my brother's jaw dropped in shock. "But why?! You said we were gonna battle tomorrow!"

"Yeah, but after observing the strength of your Pokémon, I know I need to train mine more before I can challenge you", Gary confessed before he cleared his throat. "Both you and Ashley."

"I'll be ready for it", Ash smiled.

"Me too", I nodded as Mystic settled down on my shoulder, cuddling against my head.

"I'll look forward to that day", Gary said, a sweet smile appearing on his lips. "But we'll officially settle the score in the Johto League, Ash. I've already got defeated by Ashley in the Kanto League, so I've still got a bone to pick with you."

"Don't go crying to Professor Oak when my Pokémon defeat yours", Ash smirked back.

"Pika pika", Pikachu nodded, grinning at Gary and his Umbreon.

Gary nodded and walked away with Umbreon by his side. "I'm gonna leave early tomorrow, so I'll see you guys next time. Good luck with the Ecruteak Gym, Ash, Ashley!"

"Thank you, Gary!" Ash shouted and waved his arm to his rival.

"Bye. Take care", I called out softly and waved my hand, watching Gary's back until he and Umbreon melted into the shadows of the forest.

My old childhood bully had really changed. He hadn't said a single bad word at me the whole time we've been together today. And he even saved me from getting electrocuted by Pikachu's double-power Thunderbolt.

Is it possible…that he was truly sorry for all the torment he had inflicted on me when we were children? Could we…become friendly rivals with how Ash and I were rivals with Casey and Ritchie?

I guess it was up to me to decide if I could truly forgive and give him a chance to start anew as…friends.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ashley's party:

Cedric the Larvitar (male)

Trica the Furret (female)

Hikaru the Flaaffy (male)

Mystic the Togetic (male)

Victor the Houndour (male)

Axel the Scyther (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash's party:

Ivysaur (male)

Pikachu (male)

Chikorita (female)

Cyndaquil (male)

Totodile (male)

Shiny Noctowl (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:

Heracross (male)

Wartortle (male)

Tauros (male)

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Misty's party:

Goldeen (female)

Staryu (genderless)

Psyduck (male)

Togepi (female)

Poliwhirl (male)

Chinchou (female)

XXXXXXXXXX

Brock's party:

Geodude (male)

Onix (male)

Golbat (male)

Pineco (male)