Ok ok, so technically it's still half an hour until Sunday (At least here in the East Coast it is) but I'm singing in church tomorrow morning and I gotta get some sleep. So you're getting this chapter a little early. To answer a few anonymous reviews,
ultimateCCC - Yeah, Ash made a big promise to keep. But don't worry, he can handle it. And as for Larvitar, I don't have any real plans for it, but we'll see. Who knows?
mike - Yes I am! This is my mission! To do what Japan didn't and overall improve the series completely! It's amazing how one character can have such an effect on a plot, isn't it?
Anyways, on with the latest chapter! Oh wait! Before you get started, at one point in the story, the Pokémon will suddenly start speaking English. But don't freak out, it's just because the humans aren't really there since they're asleep, it's just a conversation between Pokémon, that's why. OK? OK.
I own nothing except the story.
_
Chapter 36
Misty's POV
The past few days have definitely been…interesting. First we run into Angie again, and we actually share a boyfriend! It was really torturous for me to have to watch Ash and Angie interact, but the one thing that kept me going the whole time was the promise he made to me that day.
Basically he said that no matter what happened, I would be his girlfriend and nothing would change that. A testament to his love for me! I just melted when he said that to me, how could I not? And when we left Angie's place, I somehow felt sorry for her, and in my mind I wished her the best of luck in life.
The next day was less Ash related, but much worse in my own opinion. We ran into one of the Sinnoh Elite Four! Now while that sounds exciting, which in some ways it was, I found it rather nerve wracking. Of all the types that Aaron specialized in, it was bug-types!
I was almost literally clinging to Ash every second we were there, the only time I loosened up was when Team Rocket came and snatched our Pokémon AGAIN. Then when we found them, we found our Pokémon in trouble, and they were rescued by a 'Solarbeam' that came from the wings of a Beautifly.
Turns out that that Beautifly was evolved from Aaron's first ever Pokémon, a Wurmple. Despite it being a bug-type, I was simply touched by the moment.
And just before we left, we found out that the challenger that Cynthia had for the Champion title was actually Aaron himself! We promised we'd watch and we went on our way.
Normal POV
"Come on guys, we gotta hurry!" Ash exclaimed. Ash was rushing the group to the nearest Pokémon Center, as Aaron's battle with Cynthia would soon be starting and he didn't want to miss it.
"We're moving as fast as we can Ash! SOME of us have to carry two ton backpacks, remember?" Misty replied.
Before Ash could retaliate, they found themselves in front of the Pokémon Center alongside the road. "There it is!" Dawn exclaimed.
The group rushed through the doors, and they found a whole crowd of people standing in front of the TV screen. They saw Cynthia's Garchomp facing off against Aaron's Drapion, and the announcer was still talking.
"They're just getting started!" Dawn exclaimed. "Looks like we got in under the wire." Ash added.
Just then, Misty tapped Ash's shoulder. "What's up Mist?" he asked.
"Jerk at 3:00." Misty whispered. Ash looked, and saw Paul watching the battle as well. "It's Paul." Ash said to himself.
"Drapion! 'Pin Missile'!" Ash turned back to the TV, where Aaron was calling out attacks. "Alright, this'll be a great match!" Ash exclaimed.
Ash would soon find that it wasn't quite as exciting as he thought it'd be. Cynthia completely dominated Aaron's bug-types and easily kept the title of champion.
As the two shook hands on the field, the camera followed Cynthia out of the arena, and found a blonde haired man congratulating the champion on her victory, and walking out hand in hand with her.
"Looks like D. Shad is just having the time of his life with Cynthia." Misty said. "Yeah, and not only does he have a beautiful girlfriend in Cynthia, but he has Sinnoh's most powerful trainer as a mentor and sparring partner too." Dawn added.
"I knew Cynthia was strong, but not THAT strong. Aaron was in way over his head out there." Ash said. "And he was so excited after having his Beautifly back." Dawn added.
"Cynthia sure is something. She just completely dominated Aaron. She deserves to be Champion, that's for sure." Misty said. "I don't think I see her losing that title for a LONG time." Brock added.
Just then, Paul walked up to the group, and the atmosphere around them became tense as Paul stared Ash down. You could actually feel the electricity that their eyes were shooting at each other.
"So how did everything end up?" Paul asked sternly. "With what?" Misty replied, boldly stepping up to the ruthless trainer.
Ignoring Misty's comment, Paul walked past her and confronted Ash directly. "I mean with Chimchar's 'Blaze'." Paul said.
"Look, lemme make this clear. I know 'Blaze' is a strong ability, but you'll never find me relying on something like that in the middle of a battle." Ash said.
Paul responded with a smug "Hmmph" and walked away. "Man, what's his problem?" Dawn hissed. "He was probably raised on hard candy and brick ice cream, since his heart is stone cold." Misty added.
"You know what? I'm in the mood to train, so whaddya say we do just that?" Ash said, lightening the mood. Pikachu gladly agreed, anything to get the image of Paul out of their minds.
"So who's gonna be your sparring partner today?" Brock asked. "I think I'm gonna use Misty AND Dawn. I'll start with Dawn and her Pokémon along with a few of mine, and once they get used to her Pokémon's power, I'll have Misty step in since her Pokémon have more experience." Ash explained.
"Sounds good, but you should probably do a little more training with those special moves you taught Pikachu, Buizel, and Chimchar." Brock said.
"Don't worry Brock, we will. But first I wanna build up some power with a little head-on attacking." Ash said.
So the group walked outside to the battlefield, and Dawn called out all of her Pokémon to be her battle team, and Ash gave her his. "Hey Ash, can I use your Charizard too?" Dawn asked hopefully.
Ash, Misty, and Brock took nervous glances at the currently snoozing dragon. They knew that Charizard would obey Misty, and Charizard had a certain amount of respect for Brock. But would Charizard obey orders with the much less experienced Dawn holding the reins? And was it worth the risk? If Charizard were to ignore Dawn, her confidence would go down the tubes once more.
"Uh, I don't think you're ready to handle Charizard yet. Stick with who I gave you." Ash replied. Dawn sighed with disappointment, but quickly shook it off and stood by with her Pokémon plus Turtwig, Staravia, and Gliscor.
"Alright, Pikachu, Chimchar, Buizel, let's run through our plan for the Hearthome Gym! I'm counting on you guys!" Ash exclaimed. The Pokémon cried out with determination, and the battle began.
"Alright everyone, let's go!" Dawn shouted. All the Pokémon on her side launched attacks at the three on the other side of the field.
Turtwig made the first move by launching a 'Razor Leaf'. Gliscor and Staravia launched 'Sand Attack' and 'Whirlwind' respectively. Piplup, Buneary, and Pachirisu fired 'Bubblebeam', 'Ice Beam', and 'Discharge'. Ambipom launched a 'Swift' attack, and Swinub closed it out with 'Ice Shard'.
All eight attacks landed a few feet in front of their targets; Ash and his Pokémon crossed their arms in front of their faces to protect themselves from the powerful barrage, and then it was their turn to fight back.
With the attacks on the other side still firing, Pikachu, Chimchar, and Buizel leaped up and launched 'Thunderbolt', 'Flamethrower', and 'Water Gun' to try and counter the attacks.
The resulting explosion kicked up dust and dirt all over the place, and needless to say, Dawn was getting a little rattled. "Awesome, but scary!" she exclaimed while covering her eyes.
"Now that's exactly the way you do it! You use everything you got to send their attacks right back at them!" Ash exclaimed.
"Uh, ok! I think I wanna switch out after that!" the nervous coordinator scurried off the field and pushed Misty onto the field in her place. And before Misty could blink, her army made mostly of Dawn's Pokémon were withdrawn back into their Pokéballs.
Ash sweat-dropped and chuckled. "Well Misty, you ready for us?"
"Just watch this! Staryu, Surskit, Vaporeon, Politoed, and Corsola, let's do it!" Misty called out her water-type team and readied for battle.
"Alright guys, this bunch is way stronger, so be ready!" Ash exclaimed. The three Pokémon in front of Ash braced themselves for the barrage about to be sent their way.
"Alright you guys, go for it!" Misty shouted. The barrage began with Staryu launching a 'Swift' attack. Surskit, Vaporeon, and Politoed followed with 'Ice Beam', 'Shadow Ball' and 'Water Gun', and Corsola fired 'Spike Cannon'. Ash's Pokémon merely repeated their previous attacks, with Turtwig using 'Razor Leaf', Gliscor using 'Sand Attack', and Staravia using 'Whirlwind'.
Again, Pikachu, Chimchar, and Buizel braced themselves and shielded against the barrage of attacks sent their way.
"Ok, let's do it!" Ash yelled. Pikachu, Chimchar, and Buizel once again leaped up and tried to counter the attacks with their own moves of 'Thunderbolt', 'Flamethrower', and 'Water Gun'. But just as Ash warned them, Misty's Pokémon were stronger than Dawn's, so instead of countering, they were knocked back and sent flying right into Ash, knocking the black-haired trainer over.
"Ash!" Misty ran over to Ash to check on him, and Brock and Dawn followed suit. "Everyone ok?" Dawn asked worriedly.
"We're fine." Ash replied, "Hey Misty, you call those attacks? That was nothing!"
Misty smiled and shook her head, "Nothing' doesn't put you on the ground Ketchum." she replied with a smirk.
"Using your own moves to defend against your opponent is a good strategy. But Ash, you've got to hold some moves back or you'll have nothing left." Brock said.
"Yeah. We've also got a lot of work to do on our timing." Ash added admittedly, "Ok, let's do it again!"
Ash ran back to the field with Misty, while Dawn and Brock went back to the sidelines, but Brock noticed that they weren't alone.
Brock walked up to the spy and confronted him with a friendly demeanor. "Paul, I thought you were already heading out of here."
Before Paul could reply, Brock's baby Pokémon hopped out of his arms and excitedly walked over to Paul's Torterra, who relinquished a small smile at the sight of the innocent baby. Happiny then waddled over to Magmar and Gliscor, who didn't show the same friendliness.
"If you've got something you wanna say to me, say it." Paul said coldly. "To tell the truth, your style of training is pretty interesting. I was wondering why you asked about Chimchar before." Brock replied.
Paul turned his head and grunted, which only delighted Brock to no end. "I'm starting to think Ash is getting to you." Brock said.
"I can't believe he won't use 'Blaze', that's all." Paul growled, still refusing to meet Brock's gaze.
"That's just Ash. It's how he operates. You see, Ash is trying to develop his own battling style. I talked to Reggie while we were in Veilstone City; he told me you were training hard and trying to come up with your own style of battling, is that true?" Brock asked.
This knowledge came as a surprise to Paul, but the purple-haired trainer remained stone faced. "That brother of mine's got a big mouth."
"He worries about you you know. But I was a little surprised when he told me he challenged his way around a lot of regions and gyms…let's see…I think he was missing the Battle Frontier Brave Symbol, right?" Brock said.
"Yeah that's the one. There he was winning symbol after symbol, until he loses ONE battle and gives it all up! Just like that! He should've been bitter, but NO, instead, he was always smiling, always happy, I'll never understand it. I'm NOT Reggie! I WON'T do what he did! And I will NOT make the same pathetic mistakes!" Paul growled furiously.
Before Brock could reply to Paul's tantrum, a loud bang was heard where Ash and Misty were battling. Misty and her Pokémon hit the dirt with a thud, while Pikachu and his two partners checked up on them. "Everyone ok?" Ash asked worriedly.
Misty's Pokémon plus Ash's three others nodded reassuringly. "Impressive Ash, you managed to stop us." Misty said.
"Not only that, you took it to a whole new level by actually knocking THEM back!" Dawn added in awe.
"You mean THEY took it up to a new level." Ash said proudly. Just then, Brock walked up to the group with a smile on his face, but his current company created tension.
"Paul." Ash said simply.
Charizard, who had been woken up by the previous training session, picked up the nervous fire monkey and perched it on his shoulder, shielding it from Paul and his cold gaze. The dragon growled lowly at the purple-haired trainer, who was much like his previous trainer that had ruthlessly left him for dead as a Charmander.
"Steady Charizard." Misty whispered.
"You're doing the exact same thing as ME when you train!" Paul said. "No way Paul, how's this just like you?" Ash snapped back.
"You're having other Pokémon attack you so you boost your Pokémon's moves. How is that any different?" Paul countered with a smug grin.
"Simple. He knows when his Pokémon have had enough and doesn't train to the point of practically killing them. He also doesn't make them do anything they don't want to!" Misty replied with just as smug a grin.
Ash's Pokémon shouted out their agreement in support of their master. "What about that Charizard?" Paul asked. Charizard growled lowly, but loud enough for Paul to hear, which answered his question immediately. Charizard shared the same support, just less enthusiastically.
Paul grunted and the grin he was wearing was immediately wiped off his face.
"For your information, he's training for his rematch at the Hearthome Gym!" Dawn added angrily.
"So you're going to battle at the Hearthome Gym?" Paul asked. "Right. Didn't you battle there Paul?" Ash replied.
Paul pulled out a badge and smugly held it up to Ash's face. "Sure did. And obviously I won. What about you? Rematch means you lost." Paul said.
Ash growled, "Ok, I did challenge Fantina and her ghost-type Pokémon before, but she kept hitting us with 'Hypnosis' and I couldn't do a thing about it…that is until next time."
"So you think this time's the charm?" Paul asked smugly, "All you have to do is keep hammering away and all her ghost-type Pokémon will fall over."
"I'll win it!" Ash was now becoming extremely stressed and agitated. "I happen to have faith in my Pokémon, and they've got faith in me too!"
"You're pathetic." Paul replied simply.
Ash growled furiously and almost raised his fist at the purple-haired trainer, but then he came up with a different idea. "Alright, we'll just show you what we've got! Let's have a battle!"
"All you had to say was that you were using Chimchar's 'Blaze'. That would've been enough." Paul said.
"Are you deaf or something? I already told you I don't mess around with 'Blaze'!" Ash roared.
Tense silence washed over the two trainers, and the three spectators watched for who would make the next move.
"Alright, I'll battle you. But only one Pokémon per side, and I do have a favor to ask." Paul said.
"Yeah? What's that?" Ash asked angrily.
"I want you to use that Charizard of yours since it's the only strong Pokémon you have." Paul said.
Ash was about to agree when Misty pulled him aside abruptly. "Ow Misty, what's your problem?" Ash asked, his anger at Paul leaking into his voice.
Misty ignored Ash's attitude. "If you agree to use Charizard, you'll only be proving him right. You have to use someone else."
"Right. Thanks Mist, and sorry." Ash replied.
"Don't worry; I'm just as ticked as you are." Misty said reassuringly.
"Are you two done with your little conference?" Paul asked with irritation.
Ash and Misty confronted Paul. "I'll use anyone except Charizard. I don't need him to beat YOU." Ash said insistently.
"It's just another mistake on your part. I don't care; I'll enjoy tearing you apart." Paul said smugly, taking his place on the field.
Just then, Turtwig started tugging on Ash's pant leg. "Hey Turtwig, what's up with you?" Ash asked.
"Looks like you've got an excited grass-type on your hands." Misty said. "I get it Turtwig; you wanna get in there too!" Ash added.
Turtwig nodded vigorously, and leaped onto the field. "Alright Turtwig, it's all you!" Ash exclaimed.
Paul smugly held a Pokéball, and tossed it out. "Now Honchkrow, stand by for battle!"
Honckrow emerged from the Pokéball and swooped down to the ground, upon landing, it puffed out its already large chest, making it appear even more intimidating and powerful.
"A flying-type." Ash pulled out his Pokédex to scan the creature. "Honchkrow, the Big Boss Pokémon and the evolved form of Murkrow. Honchkrow recruits many Murkrow to travel with it, and it spends much of its time at home preening its feathers." the Pokédex chirped.
"Sounds like quite a Pokémon to me." Dawn said with disgust. "Thing is, Turtwig's a grass-type. So Honchkrow will be a challenge. Ash will have his hands full." Brock said.
"You know I just noticed something about Paul. He keeps saying how much stronger he is than Ash, but then he always make sure to have the type advantage to whatever Pokémon Ash uses. And the fact that Ash is still able to hold his own proves that he's stronger than Paul is." Misty figured.
"That sounds good, but try explaining that to Paul." Dawn replied.
"Turtwig, when it comes to pure speed, NOBODY can touch you! So let's use that to our advantage and win this battle!" Ash exclaimed.
"Alright! Honchkrow, use 'Sky Attack'!" Paul ordered.
Honchkrow took off, and started glowing in a powerful white aura.
"Quick! Turtwig, 'Energy Ball'!" Ash countered. Turtwig jumped up and fired at the hovering Honchkrow.
"This is great! 'Sky Attack' takes some time to charge up! Turtwig will land the first hit!" Brock exclaimed.
While Turtwig did get the first hit, Honchkrow merely shrugged off the attack and aimed back at Turtwig. "Like that did anything at all. Go Honchkrow!" Paul roared.
Honchkrow swooped down, trailing white energy like a comet in space. "Heads up Turtwig!" Ash exclaimed.
Turtwig was ready for the attack, as it charged ahead and did a mid-air somersault to avoid the attack. "Awesome!" Ash encouraged.
"Even against Honchkrow, Turtwig's amazing speed can't be beat!" Dawn cheered. "Ash still might be in trouble though." Misty said worriedly.
"Use 'Night Slash'!" Paul ordered. Honchkrow's right wing glowed bright, and it swooped down towards Turtwig once more.
"Dodge it and use 'Razor Leaf'!" Ash countered. Using its trademark speed, Turtwig seemingly vanished and reappeared behind Honchkrow. Unfortunately, Honchkrow was ready this time and did an aerial loop to turn around and slashed Turtwig with the dark-type move.
"You're going too easy! Stop dodging!" Brock yelled.
"Come on! You can do it!" Dawn shouted.
"Remember that it's not as easy as just getting out of the way with flying-types! Keep focused!" Misty shouted.
Ash nodded and focused his attention back to the battle, where Turtwig was shaking off the previous blow to its small body.
"Use 'Aerial Ace'!" Paul ordered.
With a loud caw, Honchkrow swooped down to attack.
"Quick, use 'Bite'!" Ash countered. Turtwig ran up to bite the bird, but the 'Aerial Ace' easily overpowered Turtwig and knocked it back.
"Ash! You can't attack at the same time Honchkrow is! Look for an opening!" Misty shouted.
"It won't matter in a minute!" Paul said smugly, "Use 'Aerial Ace' once more!"
Honchkrow swooped down on the helpless grass-type, who was struggling to just stand up. "Come on Turtwig, get up!" Ash encouraged.
Turtwig heard its master's plea and stood, but by that time, Honchkrow was ready to deliver another blow to Turtwig.
Turtwig was sent tumbling across the ground, kicking up dirt as it slid. But the determined grass-type refused to go down nevertheless. "Can you still keep battling?" Ash asked.
Turtwig shook off its weakness, wincing at the pain it caused simply to stand, but a glimmer of hope shined in when Turtwig began to evolve.
"Could it be…?" Dawn asked in shock. "Turtwig's starting to evolve!" Brock replied.
The entire group watched on as the small, light-enveloped figure began to grow bigger and bigger, and two bushes grew on its now enlarged and hardened shell. When the light dissipated, Turtwig was no longer standing there. Turtwig had evolved into Grotle.
Ash took out his Pokédex to scan his new Pokémon. "Grotle, the Grove Pokémon, and the evolved form of Turtwig. Grotle lives near water in forests, and leaves the forest during the day to allow light to shine on the tree on its shell." the Pokédex chirped.
"Wow! Turtwig finally evolved! Great!" Dawn cheered. "That may not necessarily be a good thing at this point." Brock said seriously.
This caught the attention of Dawn, but when she glanced over at Misty, she too had the same worried expression as the breeder.
"Yeah! Alright Grotle, I say it's about time to fix it up!" Ash exclaimed. Grotle whole-heartedly agreed and stomped its feet, causing a small earthquake.
The purple-haired trainer was totally unfazed by Grotle's evolution, and merely continued his assault. "Use 'Aerial Ace'!"
Honchkrow charged forward once more, fearlessly attacking its now much larger opponent.
"Perfect! Now let's give them a taste of your new power by dodging and then using 'Energy Ball'!" Ash exclaimed.
Grotle acknowledged the order, but for some reason it couldn't pull it off before Honchkrow got there to take it down with the speedy flying-type move.
"I guess Honchkrow's fast after all." Dawn moaned. "It is NOW." Misty replied.
"What does that mean?" Dawn asked. "It's more than Honchkrow's current speed. It has something to do with Grotle evolving." Brock replied.
"Sky Attack'! Let's go!" Paul ordered, already sensing victory. Honchkrow got up high and began glowing once more.
"Now's your chance Grotle! Use 'Bite'!" Ash countered. Grotle attempted to take off running, but it merely fell over onto its side. "What's going on?" Ash wondered nervously.
"What's wrong Grotle?" Ash yelled worriedly. "Ash! Grotle's huge! It can't move like it used to!" Misty pointed out.
Ash's eyes grew wide when he heard that. "Then…what do I do?"
"Come on Honchkrow, get going!" Paul yelled impatiently. Honchkrow obeyed and swooped down on the still helpless grass-type.
"If it can't move fast, there's only one thing I can do at this point." Ash thought. Ash took a brief breath of air. "Brace yourself Grotle!" he roared.
Grotle looked back at Ash with surprise, and that one look back would prove to be costly as Honchkrow made a direct hit with the ultra powerful flying-type move.
"Come on Grotle! You can't give up now!" Ash encouraged.
"Hmmph, a pathetic trainer and his equally pathetic Pokémon." Paul chortled. "What was that?" Ash roared angrily.
"Alright, so where's that faith? If you honestly think you can win with faith alone, then you're no better than any low life loser trainer out there because you don't know how to compensate for how Grotle's changed!" Paul exclaimed.
Despite how badly he wanted to ignore Paul's ranting, he couldn't stop himself from soaking in every word of Paul's venomous diatribe. Ash's fists clenched at his side, and he growled with pure rage.
"Come on Ash! Ignore that cold-hearted idiot and calm down!" Misty cried from the sidelines. Ash managed to reign in his temper enough to stop growling, but the amount of stress and pressure he was now under was taking its toll on the black-haired trainer.
"Honchkrow, 'Dark Pulse'!" Paul ordered. The bird launched rings of dark energy from its chest, and they hit Grotle directly in the head, amazingly enough though, Grotle managed to hold its ground and take the attack for a while before getting knocked back.
"Grotle hang in there!" Ash yelled. Grotle slowly got up, and looked at its trainer with astonishment, confusion, and shock. It gave Ash a look that said, "What's wrong with me Ash?"
Ash answered back with a worried look, as he honestly had no idea what to do with Grotle's sudden lack of mobility.
"Ash looks lost." Dawn said. "With Grotle's new size, its speed is almost completely gone, and Ash doesn't have a clue how to battle without it." Brock replied.
"Well Ash's entire strategy revolved around Turtwig's speed, but now that it's a Grotle, he doesn't have a strategy anymore. And with Paul on offense constantly, he doesn't have any time to think of a new one." Misty said.
"Let's finish it up Honchkrow! 'Aerial Ace'!" Paul ordered. Grotle braced itself for the incoming pain, and took the hit valiantly. But Grotle slammed painfully into a large rock when it was sent flying, which knocked it out, giving Paul an easy victory.
"Grotle!" Ash ran up to Grotle and held its head in his arms, and the injured turtle looked up at its master with a weak frown. Grotle wasn't upset at Ash though; it was upset at itself for not being able to get going.
Misty kneeled down next to Ash and gave him a soft and comforting embrace. "It's not your fault Ash, you just didn't have a strategy for a situation like this." she said softly.
Ash heard Misty's words and appreciated it, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the pained turtle. Tears were threatening to come to the surface now, as Ash began to shake from the emotional strain he was putting on himself via guilt.
Dawn and Brock joined them on the field and looked down sadly at the trainer and his Pokémon. "Come on Ash; let's get Grotle into the Pokémon Center." Brock said.
Ash briefly looked up at Brock and then back down at Grotle. "I'm sorry Grotle."
Grotle simply forced a weak smile, silently saying that it forgave Ash, even though Ash didn't really do anything, and Grotle knew that. The smile was for Ash's sake.
Then Paul came walking up with a smug grin on his face. Misty spotted this and stood tall to confront the ruthless trainer. "If he even tries to say something now, I will beat him senseless!" she thought viciously.
When Paul opened his mouth to say something, Misty made sure to beat him to the punch. "I think you've done quite enough. Get out of here before you do any more damage." Misty said warningly.
Paul opened his mouth to reply, but again Misty cut him off. "I said go! Don't make me knock you out again." Misty hissed.
Paul opened his mouth a third time, but Misty merely pointed in the direction of the forest where his Pokémon were, silently telling him to leave.
Paul finally gave up, shrugged, and walked away quietly, with Misty's eyes shooting daggers at him the whole way.
When he made it to the forest, Paul turned to look back. "I told you faith wasn't enough." he said smugly.
Ash growled with a rage never seen from him before, and he charged forward to punch Paul right in the mouth. "He's…going…to pay!"
Before Ash could swing his fist, Brock and Misty got in his way and stopped the raging trainer. "Let me at him! I'm gonna make him eat his words!" Ash roared furiously, flailing his arms desperately to try and get around the human blockade.
"No Ash! Cool off! This isn't you! That's your temper talking!" Misty shouted. Ash growled again, and slowly turned his back on them and walked over to Grotle again.
"You're lucky they stopped you." Paul called out. Ash growled again and stomped over to Grotle and Dawn, trying to cool off.
Misty and Brock turned around, and this time even Brock was frowning out of anger. "Wrong Paul. YOU'RE lucky we didn't let him kill you." Misty hissed venomously.
The two oldest teens turned their backs on Paul, and walked back over to Ash who was now on his knees once more.
Paul walked back into the forest where his Pokémon were, and his eyes fell on Torterra. "What's your problem?" Paul asked.
Torterra merely looked away and didn't reply. "Whatever. As soon as that idiot decides to stop whimpering, we have training to do." Paul said.
Torterra just nodded dismissively and allowed the three gardeners to finish trimming the tree growing on its back.
Meanwhile, Misty had put Ash back on his feet, and calmed him down enough for him to think clearly. "Alright Grotle, return." Ash sent the pained turtle back to its Pokéball, and then turned to walk back to the Pokémon Center.
"I can't figure it out. Grotle couldn't even move." Ash said on his way to the lobby. "You have plenty of time to figure it out Ash, let's take care of Grotle first." Misty replied soothingly.
The group walked up to Nurse Joy. "May I help you?" she asked. "I need you to take care of my Grotle, it took a serious beating." Ash said.
"You must be the trainer that other boy was talking about." Nurse Joy said. "Paul…" Ash growled quietly.
"Don't worry young man; I'll personally see to it that your Grotle gets the best of care. I'm sorry that you lost to someone with such attitude." Nurse Joy said sympathetically.
Ash handed Grotle's Pokéball to Nurse Joy, and the pink-haired nurse rushed to the examination room to tend to Grotle's wounds.
She opened the ball and Grotle emerged on the table, sprawled out with exhaustion, while Ash and Co. watched from the window.
"Ash, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Pokémon were supposed to get stronger when they evolve. So what happened to all of the speed Grotle had while it was a Turtwig?" Dawn said.
"Its body did get heavier. When Turtwig evolves into Grotle, its body gets ten times heavier, and all in a very short time. So even if Grotle WANTS to move quickly, its body just isn't able to follow along." Brock explained.
Ash turned back to the window and put his hands on the glass. "Oh man…I should've been able to figure out how to fight back without speed." Ash said.
"Don't blame yourself for this Ash. It's a lot to ask of any trainer to come up with a whole new strategy right in the middle of a battle." Misty said comfortingly.
"I guess…" Ash replied quietly.
Misty gave Ash a quick peck on his cheek, and he relinquished a small smile in return. "That's my Ash." Misty whispered.
"Come on Dawn, let's get a room for the night and leave them alone." Brock said, leading the coordinator away from the couple.
The two disappeared down the corridor, leaving Ash and Misty by themselves. "Sorry for being such a grouch Misty." Ash said.
"Don't be. All that junk Paul said to you was totally uncalled for, I'm actually proud of you for not running over to him and punching him in the mouth." Misty replied.
"Come on Mist, you and Brock had to stop me from fighting him!" Ash said. "Gimme a break Ash, you're a lot taller and stronger now than you were when you were a little eleven year old kid. If you REALLY wanted to go through with it, you could've run me and Brock over." Misty replied.
"I guess…but still…he was right you know…I had no idea how to deal with Grotle's suddenly getting slow. I was too busy being excited about its evolving." Ash said.
"Come on Ash, stop beating yourself up about it. You gotta cheer up for Grotle's sake. If you're upset when Grotle comes out of there, Grotle won't feel any better about itself." Misty replied.
"You're right Misty. I've…gotta snap out of it." Ash took a deep breath and pasted a smile onto his face. When Misty gently turned his head with her soft and tender hand and planted a soft kiss on his lips, the smile became sincere.
When their lips parted, they stood there just staring into each other's eyes for a few moments. "You feel better now, right?" Misty asked tenderly.
Ash just smiled and wrapped Misty into a tight hug. "I'll take that as a yes." Misty sighed happily.
Ash nuzzled his nose against her face, letting the weight of his self-inflicted guilt fall off his shoulders through Misty's love.
They sat down and leaned against the window of the examination room, and Misty nuzzled her head into the crick of Ash's neck, and Ash responded by wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her in closer.
"I'm sure glad you're here to keep my temper in check Mist. I think that without you, I would've put Paul in traction by now." Ash chuckled half-heartedly.
"Really? Hmm…maybe I should let you have your way with him. It'd sure be satisfying to see Paul get what he deserves." Misty joked.
"No Misty. I don't wanna do that. It's just that Paul knows how to push my buttons to the point of me losing control of myself. But I don't wanna resort to violence." Ash replied seriously.
"The immature eleven year old Ash Ketchum wouldn't have any problem with it." Misty said. "Well I've learned a lot since then. Fighting doesn't solve anything, it just makes everyone angrier." Ash replied.
"It's ok Ash." Misty said, lightly patting Ash's chest in comfort, "Everyone's entitled to make a mistake. Especially when you have to deal with creeps like Paul."
Ash smiled and leaned his head on hers, relaxing in her warmth and comfort. But it wasn't long before Nurse Joy came out holding Grotle's Pokéball.
The couple got up from their comfortable positions and faced the Nurse. She handed Ash Grotle's Pokéball and nodded.
"It should be ok now. But Grotle seemed sort of sad, is everything alright?" Nurse Joy asked. "Don't worry Nurse Joy; everything will be alright in a bit." Ash replied.
The couple waved goodbye to the nurse and went looking for their friends. They found them in the room next to the battlefield; they had released their Pokémon and were ready to play comforters to Grotle.
"Hey guys." Ash said. The Pokémon smiled at Ash, and he smiled back at them. Then Ash tossed his other Pokéballs, and all his Pokémon emerged as well. Misty followed suit with hers.
Then Ash tossed out one more ball, and the depressed Grotle emerged from it, simply looking down at the ground and nothing else. "Hey Grotle, how you feeling?" Ash asked.
Grotle replied with a low groan. Not induced by pain, but rather sadness.
"Hey Grotle, in case you didn't know, I thought it was the coolest thing ever that you evolved right in the middle of our battle. It just felt like nothing could keep us from winning, you know? It's like when you got hit with that intense 'Dark Pulse' and you didn't even budge one bit! Man, you just stood there and took the whole thing! I'm sorry I didn't tell you to attack when I should've. Of course you're feeling a little off right now since you just evolved, I know that. But you're power's way up, and once we build your speed back up too, there'll be no stopping you!" Ash said.
Grotle just groaned sadly, Ash's pep talk wasn't helping at all. "I don't think Grotle feels so well." Dawn said.
"Don't forget Grotle, we're in this together." Ash said. Grotle just groaned quietly again, and lied down in the middle of the room.
"The best thing we can do for now is just let Grotle relax. It's getting late anyway, so why don't we get some sleep too?" Brock suggested.
The group nodded sadly, and took turns slipping into their pajamas. Then the group shut off the lights, and they settled down for a good night's sleep, but not before the humans and all the Pokémon still outside their Pokéballs gave Grotle a comforting pat on the back.
But one Pokémon was simply too restless to sleep. Grotle laid awake for more than half the night, just thinking about what it was going to do now that it wasn't a speedy little Turtwig anymore.
Then, Grotle made a decision. Slowly, it got up and quietly walked out the door, trying not to wake anyone. Unfortunately, Buneary, who was sleeping next to Pikachu on Ash and Misty's bunk, had heard Grotle moving around with her sensitive hearing.
"Pikachu. Pikachu, wake up." Buneary said, softly giving Pikachu a shove to wake him.
Pikachu stirred and slowly opened his eyes. "What's wrong Buneary?" he asked groggily.
"Grotle's leaving." Buneary replied.
Pikachu stood up on his hind legs and saw Grotle walking out the front door. By now, the other Pokémon had heard Grotle leaving, so they too woke up to see what was wrong.
"Grotle?" Chimchar said. Grotle turned around and faced its Pokémon companions. "Where are you going?" Pikachu asked.
"Outside." Grotle replied simply. Grotle walked out the front door and didn't look back, leaving the others by themselves.
"Should we go with him?" Chimchar asked. "Yeah. Staravia, Piplup, Azurill, and Croagunk, you wake up Ash and the others." Pikachu replied.
"But I'm tired." Piplup yawned. "Do it anyway. We're doing this for Grotle." Pikachu replied.
"Fine." Piplup said wearily. "Everyone else, come with me." Pikachu led the other Pokémon outside to the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Grotle was outside on the field, readying itself to charge ahead in an attempt to get its speed back. "I'm gonna do this no matter what." Grotle said to himself.
Grotle took off running, rather slowly though. "Ok, one two, one two. Whoa!" Grotle tripped over its own feet and slammed into a large rock. Its hardened shell kept it from getting hurt, but Grotle was severely depressed at this point.
"I…just can't give up." Grotle whimpered to himself. Grotle stood back up and tried several more times, but every time Grotle started running, he wound up on his back or on flat on his face.
Little did Grotle know that he had a trio of spectators hiding in the bushes. "Talk about burning the midnight oil." Jessie said.
"Now dat Grotle's king-sized it's on a trainin' mission ta get its speed up ta speed." Meowth said. "Everything did get crazy when it evolved. You know how twerps can slow you down." James added.
"Perhaps now is the time we take advantage and make a grab!" Jessie snickered. Before Team Rocket could do anything however, a pair of glowing eyes moved in front of them, forcing Team Rocket to run away screaming.
"What was that?" Pikachu wondered, "Oh well."
Pikachu and his Poképals found Grotle lying on the ground; it had given up all hope of ever moving fast again.
"You ok?" Pikachu asked. "Oh I um…" Grotle nervously stood up and tried to act natural. Then, from the nearby bushes, a rumbling sound was heard, like a giant's footsteps coming closer and closer.
"It's Torterra." Pikachu said nervously. Seeing Paul's Pokémon coming to confront them, Charizard stepped in front and acted as a shield in case Torterra decided to get hostile towards them.
Meanwhile, Staravia had flipped on the light switch, and was currently pecking Ash with her beak. "Waah!" Ash exclaimed with a start.
Azurill sprayed a soft 'Water Gun' into Misty's face, causing Misty to do the same as Ash.
Piplup pecked Dawn's face, and the coordinator also woke up with a start. But poor Brock had it worst of all, as he woke up to a stinging sensation in his side thanks to Croagunk's 'Poison Jab'.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Misty asked. "Hey wait a sec, where is everyone?" Ash asked.
Piplup pointed outside, where they saw all their Pokémon out on the battlefield. "Come on; let's go see what's happening." Ash said.
While the humans got dressed, the Pokémon were having a stare down with Torterra. "What do you want?" Charizard growled.
"I'm here for Grotle." Torterra replied. "Me?" Grotle asked.
"Please Torterra, we don't want any trouble!" Chimchar exclaimed, trying to send Torterra away peacefully.
Torterra merely glanced at Chimchar, not making any hostile movements. Then it spoke. "You don't know how to battle without your speed, right?"
"How'd you know?" Grotle asked.
Torterra merely took his eyes off of Grotle, and averted them to Gliscor. "You! Hit me with all you have!" Torterra said.
"Who me?" Gliscor asked.
"Yes you! Hit me with all your might!" Torterra affirmed.
Gliscor wasn't sure what was going on, but he readied himself for battle nevertheless. Meanwhile, the humans had been led to the battlefield by Staravia and Piplup.
"A Torterra!" Dawn whispered. "It's gotta be Paul's. Otherwise Charizard wouldn't be acting like a bodyguard." Ash replied.
"I wonder what it's up to." Misty said. "I dunno, but it looks like Gliscor's up to something. Look." Brock said.
No sooner had he said that, the other Pokémon moved to the sidelines to allow Gliscor and Torterra to battle. Gliscor flipped in the air and charged towards the Continent Pokémon with a powerful 'Steel Wing'.
"Whoa, there goes 'Steel Wing'!" Ash exclaimed quietly. Gliscor slammed right into Torterra's head, and the enormous turtle merely ignored the impact.
"Wow. It absorbed it." Brock said.
Then Gliscor launched an 'X-Scissor' attack, and again, the turtle ignored the attack like it was nothing. "Whoa, look at that. Torterra can't dodge a thing." Dawn said.
"No, it can dodge. It just doesn't want to." Brock replied. The three other teens glanced up at the oldest one. "It's choosing to just stand there and take it." Brock said.
"Stand there? But what for?" Ash asked.
The four teens watched as Gliscor slammed into Torterra with multiple 'Steel Wings', each one stronger than the last as Gliscor exerted more and more effort with each strike.
Finally, Gliscor charged forward with one last 'X-Scissor', and then Torterra made its move. It got up on its hind legs, dodged the attack, and then stomped down, pinning Gliscor to the floor with its enormous weight.
Then with a mighty battle cry, Torterra glowed in green, sending a powerful 'Frenzy Plant' at the Fang Scor Pokémon.
Gliscor braced itself for impact, and Charizard looked about ready to jump off the sidelines and stop Torterra from attacking. But that wouldn't be necessary as Torterra stopped the attack from hitting Gliscor at the last minute, and withdrew.
Gliscor opened its eyes and found Torterra staring at it, and Gliscor watched the vines withdraw back into the ground without so much as laying a thorn on its body.
"Torterra was just waiting for the perfect moment to attack. But why didn't Torterra go through with that attack?" Dawn asked.
"I don't think Torterra ever meant to hurt anyone. I think it was acting as tutor for Grotle." Misty suggested.
"Tutor? What for?" Ash asked. "I think Torterra's teaching Grotle how to fight like a heavy-weight boxer." Brock replied.
Ash gasped in realization.
"You understand Grotle?" Torterra asked.
"Yeah." Grotle replied gratefully.
Just then, the humans came running onto the scene. "Torterra!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikapi! Pika pika chu?" (Ash! Did you see?) Pikachu asked.
"Yeah, I just saw the whole thing! And I know what Torterra was up to too." Ash averted his gaze to Torterra, "Thanks Torterra. You gave Grotle some serious pointers on how to battle, isn't that right?"
"Torterra." (Indeed.) Torterra replied.
"I know exactly what you were talking about. First you take your opponent's attacks, and then when the time is right, whammo!" Ash exclaimed.
"Terra." (Right.) Torterra then glanced over to Grotle, "Torterra tor." (Remember what I showed you.)
"Grotle." (I will.) Grotle replied.
"Terra." (Good luck.) Torterra turned and walked back through the forest, leaving Ash and Co. to stand on the battlefield.
"Using itself as an example was a great way to teach. Grotle may have lost some speed when it evolved, but the truth is, Grotle's power more than makes up for it by a long shot." Brock explained.
"And now Ash, it's up to you to embrace that fact and use that newfound power to your advantage." Misty added.
"Right Mist." Ash walked up to Grotle and kneeled down in front of it, "Grotle, you've got your very own battle style, and my job as a trainer is to help make it the best it can be."
"Grotle grot." (Thanks Ash.)
"Sorry I got kinda crazed. It's my fault for not realizing your battle style needed some adjusting. But from here on out, we're gonna work together to build your battle style from the ground up!" Ash said.
"Grotle!" (You got it!) Grotle relinquished its first real smile since evolving, and was now completely content with its new body. It would never be the speedster it was before, but Grotle was happy to know that its battling days were most certainly not over.
"Well now that that's settled, let's finish that night's sleep we left unfinished." Brock said with a yawn. The group chuckled and walked back to the room.
Meanwhile, Torterra had walked back to Paul's room, where Paul was outside waiting for it. It looked up and confronted its master, who merely stared at it for a moment before saying, "You're certainly a curious one."
"Say…do you think it was Paul that told Torterra to talk to Grotle?" Dawn asked. "I wouldn't bet on it, but it's a possibility." Misty replied.
"Well, Pokémon take on the behavior of their trainers, maybe Paul does have a soft spot somewhere?" Brock suggested.
"I dunno. But either way, I wanna thank Torterra again tomorrow; I sure owe it a lot of thanks for what it did for Grotle." Ash said.
"Gliscor gli gliscor?" (What about me?)
The group turned around and saw Gliscor holding its head with one of its claws. "Oh yeah, Torterra stepped on Gliscor during the spar." Misty said with a sweat-drop.
"Don't worry Gliscor, I'll get you all fixed up in a jiffy." Brock said. "Why not just tell Nurse Joy?" Dawn asked.
"Are you kidding? Why should I mercilessly wake that sleeping angel of a woman when I can do it myself?" Brock suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side, but it wasn't from Croagunk.
"Gliscor…" (Wake her…) The group looked down and and saw a frustrated Gliscor, holding his head with one claw, and using 'X-Scissor' with the other.
"On the other hand, I think we could both use her now (Groan)." Brock fell on the floor, and was dragged into the Pokémon Center lobby by none other than Gliscor.
"Poor Brock. Even when he tries to be noble, he loses in the end." Dawn said with a sweat-drop. "You think Gliscor is bitter for what Torterra put it through?" Ash asked.
"Nah. Seems to me it just has a headache. I'm sure it's glad it could help Grotle out." Misty said.
"Grotle grotle grot." (I sure appreciate it) Grotle said.
Charizard grunted out a comment as well. (I'm kinda disappointed I didn't get to battle that guy.)
"Pika pika chu pi pika." (You're always disappointed if you don't fight.) Pikachu replied.
Charizard grunted a reply, (I'm a warrior, what do you expect?)
Pikachu just rolled his eyes and hopped back onto the bunk where Buneary was eagerly patting the spot next to her.
Pikachu smiled and curled up into a ball, and Buneary snuggled against the side of Pikachu's soft, furry body.
Charizard just rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall. "Hey, come on now Charizard, it's not like you and Charla never did anything like they are." Misty said.
Charizard just grunted angrily and turned away. "Did I say something wrong?" Misty asked guiltily.
"Hey…Charizard, everything alright buddy?" Ash asked. "Charizard…did…something happen between you and Charla?" Misty asked.
"Who's Charla?" Dawn asked. "Charla was this Charizard that Ash's Charizard met in the Charicific Valley, Ash told me that they grew close, and they were really in love, but it looks like that's not the case anymore." Misty replied.
"Charizard, what happened?" Ash asked. Charizard just turned his head further to the wall.
"Did…Charla dump you for someone else?" Misty asked. That did it. Charizard snapped and roared fiercely in anger, his claws clenched and his sharp fangs gnashed in his gaping mouth, and the flame on his tails went from red to a bluish-white.
"So THAT'S it. Charla DID find another Charizard." Misty said sorrowfully.
"Hey, I'm sorry buddy. I can't imagine what that must've felt like. Is that why you decided to stay with me?" Ash asked.
Charizard hesitated, but eventually nodded. "Poor Charizard probably couldn't stand being in the same place as Charla anymore. You probably saved him and me all at the same time." Misty said.
"Wow…any Charizard would be lucky to have Ash's Charizard…what could've made – Charla was her name? What did her new boyfriend have that Charizard didn't?" Dawn wondered.
Charizard bitterly grabbed a black marker and drew a spot on his chest in an attempt to explain why Charla dumped him.
"He…had a spot on his chest?" Dawn guessed.
Charizard grunted incredulously and drew the spot larger.
"He was an artist?" Ash guessed.
Charizard shot him a glare that could melt an ice-type. Ash's guess was worse than Dawn's was.
"I think I get it. Ash, look up Charizard on your Pokédex." Misty said.
Ash shrugged and obliged. "Charizard, the Flame Pokémon. And the evolved form of Charmeleon. Charizard's powerful flame can melt absolutely anything." the Pokédex chirped.
"Now what?" Dawn asked. "Ash, do you remember your Noctowl?" Misty asked.
"Yeah, what about it?" Ash asked. "There was something special about it, something that made it unique; you know what I'm saying?" Misty replied.
Suddenly a light bulb went off in Ash's head, and after pressing a few buttons on his Pokédex, the answer became clear. "In some rare cases, Charizard's coloration is known to be a dark gray instead of the usual orange. Pokémon that have different coloration than normal Pokémon are known as Shiny Pokémon." the Pokédex explained.
"So that's it…a shiny Charizard…" Ash said in shock.
Ash looked up from his Pokédex and saw Charizard's back. He had turned away from the others in an attempt to hide his emotional weakness. After all, if there was one thing Charizard loathed with a passion, it was appearing to be vulnerable.
"Oh man…that must've been really rough." Ash said.
Ash, Misty, and Dawn walked in front of the mighty dragon, who was trying to scratch the marker ink off of his chest.
"Here Charizard, let me help you." Misty said softly. Charizard let his claws drop, and Misty called out Azurill to spray a soft 'Water Gun' to loosen the ink off of Charizard's body.
"But I thought Charizard were really competitive, why didn't Charizard fight for her?" Dawn asked.
Charizard turned its head away once more. "I think he did…and I think he lost." Ash said sadly.
At this point, Charizard could barely keep his emotions reigned in. If someone were to look very closely at the light blue irises of Charizard, they would find that the mighty dragon was on the verge of crying.
"You wanna know something Charizard? If looks are the only reason Charla dumped you, she isn't worth suffering over!" Misty said.
"Yeah, it takes a lot more than being handsome to be considered a good guy. It takes personality, character, the right attitude, and so much more!" Dawn added.
"If you ask me buddy, I say we completely forget about her and we get back to training hard just like old times! With you on my team, the other Pokémon are sure to get a lot stronger by battling you, and you'll get a lot stronger too! Whaddya say? Should we pick up where we left off?" Ash asked.
Charizard glanced back and forth at the three teens, and did something it would probably never do again for as long as it lived. "Hnngh! You're welcome Charizard, but don't hug us to death!" Misty strained.
Charizard released the three teens and stood tall, giving Ash a sincere thumbs-up, which made the quietly watching Pokémon all cheer with excited enthusiasm.
"Good to hear buddy. Now whaddya say we all just relax and get some sleep?" Ash suggested.
"We can't! We've gotta wait for Brock and Gliscor." Dawn said. As if on cue, Gliscor came in with a bandage on its head, and the moaning and groaning Brock in its claw.
"Geez Gliscor, how hard did you hit him? I figured he would've snapped out of it by now." Misty said.
"Gliscor gliscor gli." (I had to hit him again.) Gliscor replied.
"(Sigh) Brock, when will you learn?" Dawn asked in exasperation.
"Well, let's get him into bed." Misty sighed.
Ash and Gliscor lifted the pained breeder into his bunk. Before he fell asleep, Brock groaned out one last thing. "All I wanted…was to kiss her goodnight (Groan)."
"Oh brother." Misty said, shaking her head.
The group once again changed into their pajamas to try and finish the night with at least a few hours of sleep. "Ok, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna sleep in tomorrow." Dawn said with a yawn.
"We can't. Paul leaves first thing in the morning and I want to thank Torterra again." Ash replied.
"Oh come on Ash. What makes you think Paul will let you thank Torterra anyway?" Dawn whined. "He might not, but I wanna at least try." Ash replied.
Dawn groaned and wearily pulled the covers of her bunk up over her head, basically withdrawing from the world for the rest of the night.
Ash and Misty carefully slipped under the covers so as not to wake the two sleeping Pokémon at the foot of the bunk. "She's probably right you know." Misty said.
"About what?" Ash asked.
"Paul won't exactly be cooperative and call out Torterra just because you asked. If anything, he WON'T do it because you did ask." Misty replied.
"I'll take that chance. I really wanna thank Torterra again for helping Grotle. If someone can help me with my training and my Pokémon, I'll thank them." Ash said determinedly.
Misty smiled and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's body, gently laying her head on his chest, "What happened to the little Ashy boy I used to know that thought he knew everything?" she asked teasingly.
"He grew up a little." Ash wrapped his arms around Misty and held her close to him, copying her loving gesture.
And with that, Misty tenderly planted a kiss on his chest, and the two fell asleep in each other's warm embrace.
Early the next morning, Ash woke up with a devilishly sneaky idea. He glanced over at Brock, who still seemed to be crippled from Gliscor's 'X-Scissor'.
"Yes! This is gonna be so much fun!" Ash quietly slipped out of the bed so as not to wake Misty or Pikachu, and dragged the practically brain-dead Brock into the shower with his clothes on.
Then he turned on the cold water and waited for the show. "Aah! AAH!" Brock leaped out of the shower shivering from the cold, causing Ash to double over with laughter.
"Funny Ash. Now you get to clean up this mess." Brock said bitterly.
"Me? I'm not the one dripping all over the floor." Ash replied with a snicker.
"If you want any breakfast, you'll grab a towel and clean this mess." Brock warned.
"Uh…no problem Brock, no problem! Actually, I have no idea where I got that idea. I woke up with it really." Ash began to wipe the floor with one of the towels in the bathroom while Brock walked back into the shower, closed the curtain, and started throwing his clothes out.
"Hey! Watch where you're throwing that stuff!" Ash exclaimed with a playful laugh.
"Hey you earned it Ash. As soon as you're done down there, you can get me a change of clothing too." Brock said, starting up the water
"What?" Ash shouted in shock, "No way!"
"Breakfast Ash…" Brock said warningly.
Ash's eyes widened and he ran out the bathroom door to get Brock his clothes. "I do love having him by the stomach." Brock chuckled.
"Seriously, WHY did I do that? I don't even remember planning that!" Ash asked himself. As if things weren't bad enough for the black-haired trainer, when he looked up, he saw Misty standing in front of him with her arms crossed and Pikachu on her shoulder with the same look.
"Uh oh."
"Hey Mist, hey Pikachu, what's up?" Ash asked nervously.
"What did you do to Brock?" Misty asked with one eyebrow raised.
"I – uh, gave him a shower?" Ash replied like a question.
"Well Pikachu, I found the immature Ash from a few years ago." Misty said teasingly.
"Pi pika chu!" (You said it!)
After Brock got out of the shower, the group got dressed and walked out the door of the room, and went on their way to return the room key to Nurse Joy.
Just before they reached the lobby, the inevitable happened as they ran into Paul, who was also on his way out.
"There he is." Misty pointed out.
"Hey Paul!" Ash exclaimed.
Paul halfway turned around, and faced the four teens, Piplup, Pikachu, Chimchar, and Grotle.
"Last night was really something! I wanted to thank Torterra for everything it did." Ash said with a smile.
Paul turned away before answering, "I had NOTHING to do with what Torterra did." Paul walked away harshly, and just as Misty and Dawn had predicted, Ash did NOT get to convey his gratitude to the Continent Pokémon.
"What's wrong with you Paul?" Dawn screamed furiously.
"Can't you see that Ash was just trying to be nice?" Misty added just as angrily.
Paul turned for a moment, but then turned away just as quickly and walked out the doors of the center. "That does it…I'm gonna drill him into the ground!" Misty charged ahead, but was stopped by Ash's hand grabbing hers.
"Let him go Mist. He isn't worth the trouble." Ash said softly. Misty's expression softened as she looked into Ash's sincere, brown-eyes, and her anger was soon quelled.
"Well Chimchar, guess you can't always judge a Pokémon by its trainer. Maybe not ALL Pokémon take on the behavior of their trainers." Ash said.
"Chim chim char." (Looks like it.)
Ash knelt down in front of Grotle, "And the next time we battle Paul, we're gonna win it, I promise!"
"First you've got the Hearthome Gym to deal with." Brock said. "And I know you're gonna be just great!" Dawn added.
"And when you win, I'm gonna take your badge and shove it right into Paul's face!" Misty exclaimed excitedly.
"Thanks everyone. It's about time we won our fifth badge, I can't wait!" Ash exclaimed.
And so with two members of Ash's team finally in the clear with their personal problems, the future looks bright for our heroes, as they continue their journey to Hearthome City, and Ash's rematch with Fantina.
_
A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed it. And lol at Ash's confusion to why he did what he did. I feel you all should know, my writing has become a huge comfort to me since my pet Sugar Glider died a couple of days ago. Houdini was known for escaping his cage, hence the name. Coming from youth group, we found him lying stiff in his cage. I'm sorry for this downer, but I feel my loyal readers should know. Don't worry about me though, the story will continue without a hitch, and I'll get over it in a few days. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter/s and don't forget to keep leaving them. (I could sure use the encouragement now)