AAML: Diamond and Pearl version

by EchidnaPower

Follow me as I remake the DP episodes in order and in sequence, all so I can add the biggest star besides Ash himself. Misty! Watch her and Ash's love grow as they go on their journey. A Pokeshipping series. Also includes Penguinshipping, Handymanshipping, slight mentions of Contestshipping, and a Brock shipping to be named later. Oh yeah, there's PikachuXBuneary here too.

37. A New Rival, and a New Badge

Ohai everyone. Well, I guess I'll post this early again. You know what they say, the early bird catches the worm. Of course in this case, the early birds catch the chapter update lol. To answer one anonymous review, I say this.

lightningblade49: The whole point of my doing this story is that I'm changing it for what I think is for the better. Which means I decide whether or not Ash wins or not. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll be more than satisfied with what happens. And yeah, Charizard feels heartbreak. It's no fun believe me. But Ash will help him through it, just like he did with Sceptile. As for the eighth Pokemon, you'll be surprised I'm sure, but it won't be one of his old ones. Don't worry though, I guarentee you'll love it!

Anyways, everyone enjoy Chapter 37! And if you need help with the French, check "Playing the Leveling field for a possible translaton that Misty eventually provides.
_

Chapter 37

Misty's POV

Why do we always wind up running into Paul? The guy's such a jerk that my stomach gets into knots every time I see him! What I really can't believe is that Paul's Torterra isn't really all that bad. Ash's Turtwig had evolved into Grotle and had no idea how to battle anymore since its mobility was virtually gone.

But then Torterra came along and showed Grotle exactly how someone of its size should battle. Just stand there like a tank and take attacks until the opponent gets too comfortable. And then strike! Speaking of strike, Ash almost struck a blow on Paul.

But I don't blame him one bit. Every time we see the guy even I get closer to violence. I knocked him out once with my mallet but other than that, nothing. One of these days Paul's gonna get his just-desserts, and I'll make sure of it one way or another.

As of now, we had made it to Hearthome City once more, and Ash was more than pumped up about his rematch with Fantina.

Normal POV

"There'll be no more waiting around for me! That fifth gym badge is as good as ours!" Ash exclaimed determinedly.

When Ash took off running for the gym, the three teens following him were caught off guard. "Come on Ash, wait up!" Dawn cried.

"Forget it, he's oblivious to us now, let's just go get him." Misty sighed. The three teens took off running after the Pikachu-toting Pokémon Trainer.

"Fantina! I'm back for our rematch just like I said!" Ash was just about to reach for the doors of the gym, when someone behind the door opened them first and Ash ran headfirst into the hard, wooden doors.

Ash landed on his back with a painful thud as he held his head in his hand, "Oh, my aching head."

Naturally, Misty was the first one on the scene, every time her boyfriend got hurt; she would be the first one there to help him. Of course this time she had no competition, since Brock and Dawn had decided to walk instead of running all the way there, but she had kept going. "You ok Ash?" she asked.

"Yeah Mist, I'm fine. How about you Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Pika." (For the most part.) Pikachu replied, also holding his head.

Then the boy that Ash had bumped into via the doors got up with frustration, "Why don't you two watch where you're going? I'm going to have to give you a fine! You've got ten seconds to pay up!" the boy looked at his Pokétch and actually started watching a countdown for Ash to give him money.

"Whoa, hold up a second, you seem a bit young to be collecting taxes." Misty said sarcastically.

The boy ignored Misty completely as he was totally wrapped up into his own little world. "Nine eight seven six five four three…(Groan) don't just stand there! I'm gonna be the strongest trainer in the world you know! You got that? Later!" the boy took off running down the street, leaving Ash and Misty alone and in a daze.

"What's his problem?" Ash wondered out loud. "World's strongest trainer? Pfft, not with that whiny attitude." Misty scoffed.

Ash got up and dusted himself off, when something on the ground caught his eye. "It's a badge case." Ash picked it up and peeked inside, revealing three badges, in less than mint condition.

"Must belong to the hyperactive blonde that just took off." Misty figured.

"Hey Ash!" By now, Dawn and Brock had finally made it to the gym, and needless to say they were a little frustrated.

"What's the big rush anyway?" Dawn asked.

"You may be prepared for your battle, but you don't have to wear all of us out first." Brock added.

"Sorry guys, got a little excited." Ash said with a sweat-drop. "Again." Misty added teasingly.

"Alor! It is Ash!" the group responded to the heavy French accent, and sure enough, in the doorway, stood Fantina in her usual purple dress with her Mismagius hovering next to her.

"Wow, Fantina!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Bienvenue mes amis!"

Upon seeing the beautiful, tall gym leader, Brock's heart went into overdrive, "It feels like forever since I've witnessed your graceful dancing so please won't you take my hand and let's trip the light fantastic!"

Fantina's cheerful little spin left Brock to hug nothing but air, and the saddened breeder just lied there on the floor.

"I've been waiting for your return!" Fantina exclaimed. "So have I." Brock said to himself sadly.

"Of course, all good things come to those who wait! Bon, allons-y mes amis." Fantina said, peppering her speech with French as usual.

"That's great Fantina, thanks!" Ash said. "I sure wish I knew what she said."

"Alor, what is that?" Fantina asked, referring to the orange badge case. "It belongs to my previous challenger."

"Challenger?" Ash asked. "You mean you just battled the guy we bumped into?" Misty added.

"Oui. Twinleaf Town is where he comes from, and I'll say this, he's a challenger who's full of life!" Fantina exclaimed cheerfully.

"You said he came from Twinleaf Town?" Dawn asked.

"Oui, Bien-sûr." Fantina said with a wink, "But make no mistake, he's no match for me."

"I think I am! How about a battle right now?" Ash asked excitedly.

"Quel dommage. Today is no good for me." Fantina said with disappointment.

For a moment, Ash just stood there in a daze. "Uh, Earth to Ash? Yoo hoo?" Dawn said, waving her hand in front of Ash's face.

"Is he alright?" Fantina asked.

"He's just a little shocked that you said no, I'll fix him." Misty said.

Misty stood in front of Ash's face, moved up close to him, and hit him in the head with her mallet, sending him to the ground in a confused haze.

"You know, I really thought you were gonna kiss him instead." Dawn said with a sweat-drop.

"How could I kiss him with his mouth hanging open? Besides, there was a distinct satisfaction in using this puppy again." Misty replied, happily swinging her mighty mallet around.

Ash got up holding his aching head. "Oh…what hit me?" he asked.

"Dawn and Brock both pointed at Misty, who shot them a glare in response. "I shoulda known." Ash said, rubbing his head with an annoyed smirk.

Misty just smiled and made an "I love you" sign with her hand. "Hey, it was well justified. After all, you were gaping at Fantina since she said no to a battle." she said.

"Wait a minute, why not?" Ash asked, focusing her attention back to the gym leader.

"Alor, once again my Pokémon are très fatigué. They have valiantly battled all day against all sorts of Pokémon, and a few days before this they battled one of the most difficult battles of all." Fantina replied.

"Wait; was that particular battle against a guy with purple hair?" Misty asked.

"Oui, how did you know?" Fantina asked in shock.

"Paul…" Ash growled.

"You know that particular challenger it seems." Fantina said.

"Paul's one of Ash's worst rivals. The way he treats his Pokémon is simply inexcusable." Misty hissed.

"Oui ma cherie Misty, I have to agree with you. His Honchkrow and Gliscor were amazingly strong, but when they lost to my Gengar and Mismagius, he scolded them! If it weren't for his Torterra finally beating my très fatigué Mismagius and my Drifblim, I would hate to think what he would've done to them." Fantina said.

"I'll bet you anything he did it anyway." Dawn said angrily.

"In any case, I'm afraid that today is impossible. But tomorrow I promise we'll battle, bien-sûr!" Fantina said.

"Oh…ok…thanks anyway." Ash said disappointedly.

And so the group waved farewell to Fantina until tomorrow, and they started wandering around Hearthome with nothing to do. "Man, after all this time, back to square one." Ash groaned.

"Not much you can do. Fantina said she's been fighting gym battles all day long." Dawn said.

"Gym Leader's Pokémon need to rest and relax too. We could do the same thing you know, at the Pokémon Center." Brock suggested.

"Or we could find that hyperactive trainer and give him back his badge case." Misty suggested.

"Oh yeah, Fantina said that other trainer was staying here too. I've gotta get this back to him soon." Ash said.

"Hey coming through!" Ash turned to the right and saw someone running down the path where Ash was standing, and Ash's friends closed their eyes to avoid seeing the inevitable collision.

After hitting the ground with a hard thud, Ash dropped the trainer's badge case, and ironically enough it landed right in front of the trainer, who was also sprawled out on the ground.

"Ash, are you ok?" they asked him.

Dawn and Brock helped Ash to sit up, while Misty glared angrily.

"ANOTHER dope not looking where's he's going." the trainer said, rubbing his head.

"YOU were the one not looking! Why the heck were you running down the street anyway? Something wrong with walking?" Misty screamed.

"Wait a minute, you two again? And who are these other two?" the trainer asked. Before anyone could reply, the trainer looked down and saw his badge case lying in front of him.

"Aah! My badge case!" the trainer stood up and stared them down, "I see…you're a klutz AND a thief!"

"I think you better take that back!" Misty threatened, wielding her mallet above her head.

"I'm not taking anything back! The fact that you had it makes you a thief!" the trainer replied.

"That's it! Misty charged forward with her mallet ready to swing, and the trainer ran around in circles with Misty swinging her mallet trying to hit him.

"Hey you dopey trainer! Control this chick will ya?" the trainer shouted in alarm, dodging mallet swings.

"Look, you've got it all wrong." Brock said, watching Misty chase the trainer in circles.

"Hey wait a minute!" the trainer stopped in his tracks, and the water-trainer chasing him was caught off guard and landed on her back with a thud after running into him.

"You were in that tag-battle contest right?" the trainer asked. "Yeah." Ash replied, walking over to Misty and helping her to her feet.

"Yeah I remember! You were teamed up with Paul! I watched the whole thing on the tube. Oh man, you couldn't even hold a candle to Paul. I was laughing out loud!" the trainer said.

"Oh yeah?" Ash growled. Ash would've continued, but Dawn had chimed in. "Now I remember! You're Barry aren't you? You must be!"

The trainer was caught off guard that Dawn knew his name. "How'd you know?" Barry asked.

"So who's Barry?" Ash asked.

"I'm from Twinleaf Town too! I know, you're the guy who did that duet with the Exploud at the town festival right? It's like it was yesterday!" Dawn exclaimed.

"That's me. But I really don't have a clue who you are…" Barry said thoughtfully, "Waaaait, I remember now. You've got to be that hopelessly geeky trainer who lost to Paul in the tag-battle contest of course!"

"Geeky huh?" Dawn hissed, "Misty, can I borrow your mallet?"

"Never thought I'd meet both of you in the same place." Barry said.

Ash, Misty, and Dawn growled at the blonde trainer. "Let it go, all of you." Brock warned. The three angry teenagers grunted, but they obeyed.

"For your information Barry, I was in the tag-battle contest too." Brock said.

"Wow. You? I don't remember you at all. What's your name?" Barry asked. "…It's Brock." Brock growled.

Barry tapped his head with his finger as if to jog his memory, "Brock, well that's not exactly ringing a bell…now I know! You're the one who couldn't keep up with Paul!"

"Well Ash is MY name!" Ash shouted suddenly.

"Ash, Ash, that's right." Barry said, tapping his head again, "Let's have a battle right now!"

"A battle?" Ash asked. "Come on! Let's see your Pokémon! You've got ten seconds! Nine eight seven six…" Barry was cut off by Dawn.

"(Gasp) Cool! It's the brand new Pokétch!" Dawn squealed, admiring the gadget on Barry's wrist, "I've just GOTTA have one of those!"

"Nice, isn't it? I got it over in Jubilife City just last week." Barry then suddenly gasped, "Hey! Now I've lost track of how much time's gone by!"

Barry jumped back so he could all four of them again, and pointed an accusing finger at the blue-haired coordinator, "Look you trainer geek, this is YOUR fault!"

Dawn certainly wasn't gonna take that lying down, "The only trainer geek is YOU! My name is Dawn! D-A-W-N!" Dawn spelled out.

"Yeah right, whatever you say, Dawn it is." Barry said, tapping his head again.

"I've got a question; do you always have to hit your hollow head to get info in and out of it?" Misty heckled.

"What? What's that supposed to mean hammer girl?" Barry asked.

"The hammer girl has a name you know! It's Misty!" Misty replied hotly.

"Misty, Misty, nope, no idea. Were you even in the tag-battle?" Barry asked, tapping his head again.

"I came a while after that, because while you were watching TV, I was battling challengers as the Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Gym in Kanto!" Misty replied angrily.

"Wow, a Gym Leader? You sure don't look like one." Barry said, "As long as you're here, who do YOU think is gonna be the strongest trainer ever?"

"It's not gonna be you, not with your attitude." Misty replied.

"What? But I'm trying to do things exactly the way Paul does things! And he's super strong!" Barry exclaimed.

"That's EXACTLY why you'll fail!" Misty replied.

"Wait a minute, why do I care what a KANTO Gym Leader thinks? We're all the way in Sinnoh for crying out loud! Stop stalling Ash, get the lead out and call your Pokémon!" Barry shouted, pointing a finger at Ash.

"What a pain in the neck! You're gonna be sorry for dissing MY friends! Chimchar, let's go!" Ash called out his fire-monkey, who chattered determinedly upon release.

"Hey! That looks like Paul's Chimchar! You guys trade or something?" Barry asked.

"Afraid not. Paul abandoned Chimchar so I took over." Ash replied.

"Puh-lease, Paul's too good a trainer for that nonsense. And you're lucky you got to make a trade." Barry said, "I know why! You're trying to be strong like Paul!"

"Strong, yes! Paul, no!" Ash replied. "You must be terrible at judging character if you think Paul is someone to look up to!" Misty added.

"Hey, Paul's a super strong trainer and I wanna be strong just like him! So I've been working like crazy and battling a whole bunch of trainers and gym leaders from all over the place! I've already got three badges. What about you?" Barry asked.

"Just three? I've got four." Ash said, satisfied that he could finally say something that Barry had no comeuppance for."

"Four huh?" Barry said in shock, "How'd you pull that off?"

"It helps when you've got awesome friends to support you." Ash replied.

"I bet you just got lucky, that's all." Barry said, "Besides, numbers don't mean a thing. When it comes to the stronger trainer, I'm the man!"

"As a Gym Leader, I beg to differ." Misty said.

"As a KANTO Gym Leader, you're out of line, don't make me fine you!" Barry said.

Before Misty could offer a rebuttal, Barry opened his mouth again. "It's battle time!" Barry reached for his Pokéballs, "Now…uh…aah!"

The entire group groaned, they were all tired of Barry's constant shifts in mood and the yelling he was doing with every other sentence. "Something wrong?" Ash asked.

"I kinda left my Pokéballs in storage. Chill and I'll be right back! Now don't move, or you'll be sorry!" Barry took off running up the path he came from back into the city.

"Hey! Hold on a sec!" Ash chased after the hyperactive trainer, and his three friends soon followed after. "That guy's got some nerve acting like you don't matter." Ash said while running.

"Just do me one favor, when you have your battle with this loser, blank him for me, not a single win for him! And throw in a little Charizard action for good measure!" Misty exclaimed mischievously.

Ash grinned from ear to ear and gave a thumbs-up. They finally caught up with Barry, who was talking to three booth attendants. "Um, excuse me? If you don't mind I'd like to get my Pokémon back?" he said.

The female attendant suddenly went into a temper tantrum. "Now hear this punk! Know what 'finders keepers losers weepers' means?"

The group sweat-dropped as the other two attendants held their female friend back. "It's obvious our busy schedule is wreaking havoc with her poor rattled brain." the lavender-haired attendant said.

"Look, I'm in a hurry so you've got ten seconds see? Nine eight seven six five four three…" Barry was cut-off once more, this time by the short attendant.

"We can count too ya know! Just cool your jets!" the three attendants went into the back of the building, and disappeared from sight.

"Good. Now we'll be able to battle already." Barry said with satisfaction.

"You know…there's something strange about this place." Brock said.

Just then, a familiar French voice piped up. "Alor, it is Ash, and the challenger from before."

"Oh hey Fantina." Ash said. "Doing a little shopping?" Dawn asked.

"Mais oui mes amis. I'm on my way to prepare a great feast for all of my magnifique, hard-working Pokémon. Oui?" Fantina then focused her attention on the storage building, "What kind of store is this?"

"It's a storage service." Barry answered.

"Now that is very strange. I've never even heard of a place like that." Fantina said thoughtfully.

The group gasped in shock. Barry ran into the booth to examine the Pokéballs on display more closely, but further examination revealed…

"This is made of wood! These aren't even real Pokéballs! Come on people! Come out with my Pokéballs whoever you are and make it quick!" Barry yelled.

The group jumped back from the shop, as the walls fell down suddenly and left a huge, empty spot where a store used to be, and just as suspected by Ash and his three friends, Team Rocket appeared in their Meowth balloon.

"Alright, who you are really?" Barry shouted angrily.

Jessie: "Another twerp who doesn't know what's real."

James: "You'd think by now this would be no big deal."

Jessie: "On the wind!"

James: "Past the stars!"

Meowth: "Look at 'em squeal!"

Jessie: "Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace."

James: "Dashing all hope, putting fear in its place."

Jessie: "A rose by any other name's just as sweet."

James: "When everything's worse our work is complete."

Jessie: "Jessie."

James: "And James."

Meowth: "Meowth! Dat's a name!"

Jessie: "Putting the do-gooders…"

"Stop, enough already, I've got it. Jessie, James, and Meowth. Wow." the impatient Barry said with annoyance.

"Skipped manners class did we?" Jessie hissed, furious that her motto line had been cut off.

"And what exactly is it that those people do?" Fantina asked.

"Team Rocket is so nasty they actually steal other people's Pokémon!" Dawn explained. "No!" Fantina exclaimed in shock.

"Well that's a fair synopsis, since we'll be stealing all of yours." James said. "Upsy daisy!" Meowth sent the balloon into the air as the attempted their escape.

"You can't leave!" Barry yelled.

"They won't!" Ash reached for a Pokéball and tossed it into the air, "Go Gliscor!"

The Fang Scor Pokémon emerged and flew up towards the ascending Team Rocket balloon.

"Time for a face-off! Carnivine!" James threw his own Pokéball to counter Ash's Pokémon, but as usual, Carnivine turned around and latched onto James' head instead of attacking right away. "A battling face-off, not a biting head off!" James yelled.

"Quick Seviper! Let's right this wrong!" Jessie tossed out a Pokéball as well.

"I would be honored to handle this! Now Mismagius, use 'Psybeam' tout suite!" Fantina ordered, dancing along with the tempo of the battle.

Mismagius fired the Psychic-type move at the Poison-type snake, and Seviper fell to the ground in utter confusion from the attack. Now with Seviper out of the way and Carnivine still latched onto James, Gliscor had a clear shot at its target.

"Alright Gliscor, 'X-Scissor'!" Ash ordered. Gliscor's claws glowed brightly, and it swung its claws into the tarp of the Team Rocket balloon, popping it and sending Team Rocket back to the ground where they came from.

After the loud crash and the ground stopped rumbling, a brown mailbag full of Pokéballs landed on the ground in front of the group. "Oh no, my Pokéballs!" Barry literally dove headfirst into the bag, desperately searching for his Pokémon. "Where are you? I've gotta find you my dear Pokémon!"

Barry's voice was muffled inside the bag, and the group couldn't help but snicker a little at the hilarious sight of the bag bulging in various places as Barry's hands and elbows sifted through the Pokéballs in the bag.

"At least we know he cares about them." Brock said with a sweat-drop.

"Awesome!" Barry said with half his body still in the bag. The trainer crawled out of the bag holding six Pokéballs in his arms. "I found them!" he exclaimed triumphantly.

As the dust from the explosion settled, Team Rocket emerged from the wreckage, dusting themselves off after their crash. "We're not gonna let some large Gym Leader throw us off our game!" Jessie hissed.

Fantina merely laughed at the trio of criminals, "Your problem is this, it's obvious, you just don't know how to dance."

"I don't know how to dance either." Ash mumbled. "She meant the coordination of battling, Ash. You've got plenty." Misty replied.

"Now that's hitting me below the belt!" Jessie screeched. "We're stealing back our honor and your Pokémon!" Meowth added.

"Though we never had any honor!" James added.

"You've got that right!" Ash responded.

"Seviper, Yanmega, prove him wrong!" Jessie sent out her bug/flying-type to accompany her snake in the attack.

"Go for the assist Carnivine!" James ordered.

The three Pokémon charged ahead to attack.

"Stop them cold Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

"In their tracks Piplup!" Dawn shouted.

"Help them out Surskit!" Misty called out her bug/water-type, and the three Pokémon charged forward.

"Carnivine, 'Bullet Seed'!" James ordered. Carnivine complied and fired a flurry of seeds at the three Pokémon, who were forced to stop their momentum to avoid getting nailed.

"Quick Seviper, use 'Bite' full blast!" Jessie ordered. The poisonous snake leaped above the three small Pokémon to attack, and they were momentarily caught off guard.

"I'm on it! Empoleon, show them what for!" Using the form and stance of a baseball pitcher, Barry threw a Pokéball onto the field, and the large penguin emerged and stood tall. "Now 'Hydro Cannon' let's go!"

Empoleon opened its large beak, and a huge ball of water formed inside. With amazing effort and power, Empoleon fired and not only stopped Seviper's momentum, but actually knocked it back to its master with a painful thud.

"Don't let a twerp hose you down!" Jessie squealed. Seviper forced itself up, but it was obvious that that 'Hydro Cannon' had done some serious damage.

"Whoa, check out that power." Ash said. "Your Empoleon knows 'Hydro Cannon'?" Brock asked.

"Yeah! Pretty cool right? You see, that little gem of a move earned us the Forest Badge!" Barry replied.

"That means you've been to the Eterna Gym!" Fantina exclaimed. "So he battled Gardenia." Dawn added.

The mention of the grass-type specialist Gym Leader caught James' attention. "I gotta admit that Cacnea of hers was pretty strong. Dealing with its 'Drain Punch' was no cakewalk that's for sure. Isn't that right Empoleon?" Barry said.

Empoleon nodded to acknowledge, but never took its eyes off of its opponents.

"It must be…wow!" James ran up to Barry and dropped to his knees, holding onto Barry's hands, which needless to say made the blonde trainer nervous and freaked out. "That Cacnea's mine you see!" James exclaimed.

"Did my Cacnea seem happy and well-fed? Was it happy and making new friends?" James asked, shaking Barry's hands gleefully with his eyes watery with love for his former Pokémon, "Oh please…tell me more about my Cacnea."

"Thing is…I had stuff to do." Barry replied with his eye involuntarily twitching.

James released Barry and stood tall, his eyes still shining with affection for the Pokémon he left with Gardenia. "So Cacnea mastered 'Drain Punch'. With its talent and Gardenia's teaching skills they couldn't lose. I knew Cacnea was destined for greatness."

As James continued to reminisce on his old friend, Meowth and Wobbuffet came from behind him and dragged him back to their end of the field. "If you were any softer you'd be melted all over da ground." Meowth said exasperatedly.

James collected himself and faced off against the group with his two cohorts.

"Come on!" Meowth exclaimed.

"No more Mister Nice Crook!" Jessie added.

"So Cacnea, this one's for you! Carnivine old chum, use 'Bite'!" James ordered.

"Seviper, 'Poison Tail'! And Yanmega, 'Steel Wing'!" Jessie ordered.

The three Pokémon charged forward with their attacks, but this time the three trainers were ready with counter moves.

"Now Piplup, 'Bubblebeam'!"

"Surskit, 'Ice Beam'!"

"Pikachu, 'Thunderbolt'!"

The three Pokémon fired their attacks, and the three Rocket Pokémon were sent flying backwards. They knocked over the Rocket trio on the other side of the field, and that's when Barry made his move.

"Alright Empoleon, use 'Hyper Beam'!" Empoleon acknowledged, and the devastating beam formed in the large penguin's beak, and it fired with incredible power, sending Team Rocket and their Pokémon into the stratosphere, and the spectating Gym Leader had only one thing to say about that. "Bravo!"

"Those stinkers stole our storage and steal!" Jessie whined. "And no bucks and yuks for us clucks." Meowth moaned.

"But now that I can live vicariously through Cacnea's great success, who cares if life's a mess?" James exclaimed happily.

"We're blasting off again!" "Wobbuffet!" *PING*

"Not bad Barry." Misty complimented. "Thanks hammer girl, appreciate it." Barry replied.

"My name is Misty." she hissed to herself.

"Alor, it's time to give everyone back their Pokémon." Fantina said, picking up the bag of Pokéballs.

"Great Fantina, thanks." Ash said. "It looks like you've gotten much stronger Ash; I'm SO looking forward to our Gym Battle!" Fantina practically squealed.

"Me too! And this time, I'm gonna win it, no sweat!" Ash exclaimed determinedly. "Such spirit! But I won't take it easy on you." Fantina replied.

So the group waved farewell to the dancing Gym Leader, and they went sightseeing around Hearthome City with Barry.

"So Ash, you're gonna have a Gym Battle with Fantina?" Barry asked. "You bet. And you're gonna have a rematch with her too aren't you?" Ash replied.

"You bet Ash! If Empoleon's no good, I'll get a stronger Pokémon, and if IT'S no good I'll just get an even stronger one! Then I'll be able to beat ANY Gym Leader, you know?" Barry said excitedly.

Something about Barry's explanation caused a twinge in Ash's stomach. Barry seemed like an alright guy, but in Ash's point of view, Barry seemed to have the wrong attitude towards Pokémon.

"I wonder…you know Barry, just because you have a bunch of strong Pokémon doesn't mean you're always gonna win. I think it's just as important to train together with your Pokémon so you learn what makes them tick. You know, to bond with them." Ash explained.

"I'm not sure what you mean by 'bonding' with them." Barry said sincerely.

"Seems to me that no matter how weak a Pokémon may be now, if you work hard together you'll grow strong together, and win together. All it takes is a lot of effort, and a lot of love for your Pokémon. You follow those rules and there'll be no limit to how far you can go!" Ash explained.

"But I wanna win NOW! The truth is MY goal is to become as strong as I can, and as quickly as I can, as strong as Paul!" Barry exclaimed, eyes shining with admiration.

"Paul…that jerk…" Ash growled to himself.

"Paul is the coolest trainer ever! You must think so too right?" Barry asked expecting a yes.

Instead of responding, Ash just stared blankly as his mind was filled with wretched thoughts of the ruthless and vicious trainer who mercilessly beat on his Pokémon without a break.

"Earth to Ash…" Barry said, waving his finger in front of Ash's face, "Whoa…hey…why are you all spaced out like that?"

"See, Ash has battled Paul several times already." Dawn said. "And it's never been just a friendly battle either." Misty spat.

"You battled with Paul?" Barry shouted in shock, "What happened? Did you win or did you lose?"

Ash said nothing and continued to stare blankly, his anger was being withheld inside of his heart and mind, and it was practically paralyzing him. "Ash?" Misty's melodic voice brought Ash back to reality, and his anger melted away when he focused on the beautiful red-head smiling at him.

"I guess you lost. I should've known it from the start. I mean, after all, you were up against a giant." Barry said smugly.

"What was that?" Ash roared. Thanks to Barry, the tranquility in his heart had quickly vanished into thin air and was once again replaced by flaring anger.

"Oh please! Forget about it man! It's time to battle so come on, let's rock!" Barry exclaimed.

"Ok you got a deal! And I'll show you what making friends with Pokémon can do!" Ash quipped back.

So the group walked to the nearby Pokémon Center and headed to the battlefield, where the showdown between Ash and the Paul-admiring Barry would take place.

"Wow Misty, they're really into it." Dawn said. "I can actually feel the tension in the air, neither one of them wanna give in." Misty replied.

"Let the battle begin!" Brock roared.

"Alright Chimchar, I choose you!" Ash threw out his small fire-monkey, who stood in battle-ready stance upon release.

"You're up Staraptor! Let's show them what you're made of!" Barry threw out his own Pokéball like a professional baseball pitcher, and the bird emerged with an intimidating cry.

"Use 'Tackle' now!" Barry ordered. Staraptor folded in its wings and dove for the fire-monkey.

"Quick! Dodge it Chimchar!" Ash countered. Chimchar did a mid-air back-flip and left Staraptor to hit nothing but air. "Whoa! What the?" Barry exclaimed in shock.

"Chimchar, use 'Flamethrower'!" Ash ordered. Chimchar launched a blazing inferno towards the swooping Staraptor.

"Man this is bad! Staraptor, do something!" Barry panicked. Staraptor barrel-rolled and dodged the flame, and then pointed down towards Chimchar like a compass pointing north.

"Awesome! Now it's our turn Staraptor! 'Close Combat'!" Barry ordered. Staraptor swooped down to hit Chimchar, but it stopped short and kicked up dust in Chimchar's face, then it started kicking with its sharp talons to hit Chimchar.

But the small fire-type used its speed and size to evade the multiple attacks. "Hang on Chimchar!" Ash yelled. Unfortunately, the small monkey was getting tired from dodging and was starting to resort to blocking with its arm in order to minimize the damage instead.

Finally Staraptor got in a lucky hit and knocked Chimchar back with a strong kick of its talons. "Now this would be a good time for 'Wing Attack'!" Barry ordered.

Staraptor flew low to the ground with majestic, glowing wings. "Yeah! This battle's as good as done!" Barry gloated.

"Barry's getting a little over-confident. He doesn't know Ash like we do, right Dawn?" Misty said. "Got that right." Dawn replied.

"Chimchar, use 'Dig'!" Ash ordered. Chimchar dug a hole and dodged the attack just before Staraptor could make contact.

"Huh? What was that?" Barry exclaimed in shock.

Ash smirked victoriously as the adrenaline in his body pumped through his veins like pistons. With a harsh swing of his toned triceps, Ash pointed towards the target. "Chimchar, 'Flamethrower'!"

Chimchar burst out of the ground with a small ember ignited in its mouth, and it fired the blazing flame that engulfed the Predator Pokémon and sent it plummeting to earth with a painful thud.

"Staraptor is unable to battle!" Brock announced.

"Alright Chimchar!" Ash cheered.

"Looks like Ash is off to a good start." Dawn said. "Yep. I told him I wanted him to blank this bozo, so he's trying extra hard to make good on that." Misty replied.

"You told him to use Charizard, didn't you?" Dawn asked knowingly. "Weeell…" Misty replied jokingly. The two girls giggled amongst themselves at their little back-to-back banter.

"I'm just getting warmed up!" Barry returned the Predator Pokémon to its Pokéball, and reached for another one, "Now you're up Roserade!"

The grass/poison-type hit the ground running, not even waiting to get into battle-ready stance before charging towards Chimchar. "Roserade, use 'Poison Jab'!"

Roserade immediately made contact with the small fire-type who was knocked onto the ground by the sharp blow to its chin.

"Oh no, Chimchar!" Ash cried.

"Poison Jab'! More 'Poison Jab'! Keep them coming!" Barry exclaimed. As Roserade continued to take swings at the small fire-type, the frightened Chimchar desperately dodged as many attacks as it could, not wanting to take another hit by the poisonous move.

"Chimchar return!" Ash called back the small fire-type before it was totally worn out, much to the dismay of Barry.

"What'd you go and do that for? Me and Roserade were on a roll!" Barry complained. "I didn't want Chimchar to get hurt by poison, that's what." Ash replied.

"Well hurry up and pick another Pokémon!" Barry shouted, angrily stomping his feet.

Ash rolled his eyes in exasperation and glanced over to the sidelines. Misty smashed her fist into her palm and grinned almost evilly, and that was all Ash needed to know. "Now you're finished! Charizard, let's go!"

The giant dragon emerged with a roar, and the surprised Barry fell onto his butt and squirmed backwards in both shock and fear. "W-W-Where'd that Charizard come from? It wasn't in the tag-battle tournament!"

"Nope, Charizard's an old friend of mine, and we're gonna show you what friendship between Pokémon and trainers can do, right Charizard?" Ash exclaimed.

Charizard roared in agreement, spewing flames in the process.

Barry hopped back onto his feet and stomped with frustration. "Oh forget this! Roselia use 'Poison Jab'!" Barry shouted.

Roselia charged for the mighty dragon with poison seeping from its bouquet-like hands. "Alright Charizard, take off and then use 'Steel Wing'!" Charizard took off and dodged the swift grass/poison-type. Then it swooped back down with its wings glowing brightly.

"Watch out Roselia!" Barry cried out. Roselia jumped with all its might and managed to dodge the dragon's attack, and it wound up riding on Charizard's back. "Nice job! Now use 'Poison Jab'!"

Roselia cocked its arm back and punched Charizard squarely in the back, causing Charizard to roar in agony.

"Keep going Roselia! 'Poison Jab'!" Barry ordered excitedly. "No ya don't! Do a barrel-roll Charizard!" Ash countered.

Just before Roselia punched again, Charizard gracefully did a twirl in the air and sent Roselia falling. "Now follow it up with 'Heat Wave'!" Ash ordered.

Charizard pointed downwards and waves of pure heat poured from its gaping maw. Roselia had nowhere to go as it continued to fall, and it took the fire-type move full-on.

"Oh no Roselia!" Barry cried. "Roselia is unable to battle!" Brock announced.

"Yeah Charizard! Just like old times!" Ash cheered. The mighty dragon landed and roared victoriously. "Two down, one to go." Misty said.

"Roselia return!"

"Thanks Charizard, take a break. I may need you later."

Now with both Pokémon withdrawn into their Pokéballs, and Barry having only one left, the blonde-trainer was starting to feel the heat. "This isn't fair! You've gotta be cheating somehow if I haven't beaten you yet!"

"I don't cheat Barry! I always battle fair and square!" Ash replied.

"Then how come you're winning? After all I'm gonna be the strongest trainer ever!" Barry exclaimed.

"I always take time to make friends with my Pokémon, that way they trust me more and they wanna try harder and battle harder for me! Having strong Pokémon IS important, but what's even more important is having a deep connection with your Pokémon and being friends with them, and that's how I'll be able to overcome any challenge!" Ash explained.

"Oh never mind this gibberish! I'm gonna take out all three of your Pokémon right now! Empoleon, you're up last!" Barry threw out his final Pokémon, and the large penguin emerged in a flash of white light.

"Alright Pikachu, let's win this thing!" Pikachu scampered onto the field and stood on all fours with furiously sparking cheeks.

"A water-type against an electric-type? I think Barry's in over his head now." Dawn said.

"Oh yeah? Compatibility means nothing to me and my Empoleon! What matters is letting you all see how powerful Empoleon is!" Barry exclaimed.

"Hmm, that's a pretty good improvement on his attitude." Misty whispered. Dawn nodded in agreement.

"Pikachu, let's go! Use 'Thunderbolt'!" Ash ordered. Pikachu took off running with its red cheeks sparking madly with built-up electricity.

"Empoleon, 'Hydro Cannon'!" Barry countered. Empoleon opened its mouth, and an ultra-powerful sphere of high-pressure water was sent hurtling towards the electric-mouse.

"Dodge Pikachu!" Ash yelled. Pikachu jumped up at the last minute and barely dodged the move. "Phew, I felt the wind from that one!" Misty exclaimed to herself.

"It's the perfect time for 'Steel Wing'!" Barry yelled. Empoleon took a few lumbering steps forward and then started flying low to the ground with wings of steel.

"Hit right back with 'Iron Tail'!" Ash countered. Pikachu's tail started glowing, and the tiny electric-mouse swung its tail right into Empoleon's wings. Sparks flew as a result of the two steel-moves colliding.

"Attack and attack some more! Now use 'Steel Wing'!"

"We're gonna make sure we sweep you! Use 'Iron Tail'!"

Empoleon chopped downwards, but Pikachu jumped right over the large penguin just before contact could be made. Then Pikachu swung its tail to counter, but Empoleon was ready and blocked with its two wings. But Pikachu wasn't ready to give up on the attack just yet, as it did a few midair somersaults with its steel-hard tail. Unfortunately it backfired as Empoleon found an opening in Pikachu's defense and sent it sliding across the dirt.

"Oh no! Pikachu's starting to look weak!" Dawn cried. "Come on Pika-pal! Hang in there!" Misty screamed from the sidelines.

Pikachu's mind wanted to oblige to Misty's encouragement, but its body was making it very difficult for it to stand strong as it made a feeble attempt to get back to its feet.

"Let's wrap it up with 'Hyper Beam'!" Barry ordered. Empoleon charged an ultra-powerful beam in its mouth, ready to save Barry from the humiliation of a sweep.

"Pikachu! Get up and dodge!" Ash cried. Pikachu finally managed to get back to its feet, but it was already too late as the 'Hyper Beam' was already heading towards it.

Pikachu took the hit dead-on, and its small body was sent flying into the air through the smoke. "Bingo!" Barry cheered.

Ash watched his best Pokémon friend soar helplessly in the air, which encouraged Ash to shout with all his might, "You can do it Pikachu!"

That small and frivolous demonstration of faith would prove to be the turning point, as Pikachu blinked and gained a second wind.

"Yeah! Empoleon can't move right after 'Hyper Beam'! We'll use 'Thunderbolt'!" Ash yelled. Pikachu's cheeks sparked wildly, and the powerful electric-move hit Empoleon right on target. The now charred penguin fell to the ground with a loud thud, and weakly got back to its feet.

"Ok Pikachu, wrap this up with 'Volt Tackle'!" Ash roared. No longer feeling any of its previous fatigue, Pikachu charged ahead at full speed and slammed right into Empoleon's stomach with the ultra-powerful electric-move.

"Hey come on Empoleon! Stand up!" Barry exclaimed. Unfortunately for Barry, Empoleon had taken more than it could handle, and just lied there on the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Empoleon is unable to battle! The winners are Pikachu and Ash!" Brock announced.

"Alright!" Ash cheered. Pikachu ran up to its master and jumped into his arms for a post-battle embrace, and Ash was more than happy to oblige.

Meanwhile Barry had fallen to his hands and knees in shock. "…No way…"

"Wow! I knew you'd win this! Great battling Ash!" Dawn exclaimed.

"You and Pikachu really demonstrated just how important bonding with your Pokémon is." Brock added.

"Thanks a lot. Both of you." Ash said, "Hey, where's Misty?"

Ash got his answer when he was glomped from behind by a pair of familiarly feeling hands. "Way to go Ash! That was totally awesome!"

"You see Mist? I did what you said, I blanked him!" Ash said proudly.

"Oh gimme a break!" Barry exclaimed suddenly. The group turned to look at the blonde-trainer who was sulking over his loss.

"What are YOU so happy about? I just lost because I was totally off my game since I lost to Fantina earlier!" Barry exclaimed, walking over to the group.

"You're not gonna admit that Ash is a better trainer than you are you?" Misty asked knowingly.

"Heck no! I'm oh so much stronger than he's ever gonna be! I just need to beat a Gym Leader first to get my head back in the game! Hey wait a sec! YOU'RE a Gym Leader, right Hammer Girl?" Barry asked.

"If you call me 'Hammer Girl' one more time I'm gonna use my mallet to knock your block off and put it back on upside-down to fix your backwards thinking!" Misty threatened, holding her mallet and ready to swing.

Everyone around the fired up water-trainer sweat-dropped and backed up a step, especially Barry who knew he was the target of Misty's wrath. "Ok ok I'm sorry! But I'm not good with names!" Barry yelled, holding his hands over his head for protection.

"Then I'll tell you again and you better remember this time! My name is Misty Waterflower!" Misty took a step towards Barry, "I specialize in water-Pokémon!" Misty took another step, "I'm one of the Gym Leaders of Cerulean City!" Misty took one last step and was now standing over the cowering Barry, "And I can beat you in a battle anytime, anyplace, and with any Pokémon!" To add insult to almost-injury, Misty grabbed Barry's hand with her free hand, uncurled one of his fingers, and tapped his head with his own finger to mimic Barry's previous mockery.

"You go Misty." Ash snickered to himself.

"Alright! I got it! I got it!" Barry practically squealed in fear, "But I still have to beat a Gym Leader in order to redeem myself!"

Misty stepped back and put her mallet away, "Ok, all you gotta do is say so."

"Ok! I challenge you to a battle!" Barry exclaimed determinedly.

Misty stood there with a blank expression on her face, which confused the blonde-trainer. "Well? Aren't we gonna battle?"

"Say my name! I won't battle you unless you say my name!" Misty screamed furiously.

Barry backed up in fright once more, and put his memory to work. "Ok ok! It's uh…Misty! That's right! Uh, can I call you Mist?" Barry asked, trying to get on Misty's good side.

"He would find that plan would backfire as Misty ran up to him, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and shook him violently. "There's only one person in this whole world who's allowed to call me that and YOU'RE not him!"

"Did anyone else besides me know this was coming?" Dawn asked. Ash and Brock both raised their hands and watched the amusing show of Misty abusing Barry.

"Ok I'm sorry!" Misty released Barry and the blonde-trainer fell to the ground once more, "Now…can you PLEASE go back to your end of the field?"

Misty nodded satisfactorily and sauntered over to the others, purposefully swinging her hips from side to side to exaggerate her leaving.

"You sure did a number on him." Dawn giggled. "Well he had it coming, don't you think?" Misty replied.

Despite being taller and stronger than the water-trainer, Barry was legitimately terrified of the violent Gym Leader, but he was still determined to get his battle, so once Misty was a safe distance away, he stood tall once more. "Misty Waterflower! I challenge you to a battle!"

Misty cringed, and then turned around to face Barry once more. "You're still on that huh? You know what? Fine. I think I'll blank you like Ash did just to teach you a lesson."

"Awesome! I've got three more Pokémon here who are just itching to battle!" Barry exclaimed.

"Good luck Mist, now you kick his can!" Ash said encouragingly.

Misty wrapped Ash into a quick, one-armed hug for good luck, and then jogged over to her side of the battlefield.

"The battle is between Barry from Twinleaf Town and Misty from Cerulean City! Both trainers are able to substitute Pokémon, and the battle is over when all three of either trainer's Pokémon are unable to battle!" Brock announced.

"I'll say it now! My Pokémon and I have been together for a long time, so you'll be battling more than just Pokémon, you'll be battling an unbreakable bond of friendship!" Misty exclaimed.

"I'll take that chance! There's no way I'm gonna go down one-two-three like that twice in a row, I'm too good for that!" Barry replied.

"What do you think Ash? You think Misty can blank Barry?" Dawn asked.

"Well Barry's a decent trainer, but he doesn't like playing defense. If Misty can get an opening barrage on him, I'd say it's all over." Ash replied.

"Now Rapidash, let's show them what you're made of!" Barry pitched out a Pokéball, and the flaming stallion emerged, dragging its hooves against the dirt awaiting the signal to charge.

"Wow, it's beautiful!" Dawn exclaimed quietly, pulling out her Pokédex.

"Rapidash, the Flame Horse Pokémon and the evolved form of Ponyta. It gallops at nearly 150 mph. With its mane blazing ferociously, it races as if it were an arrow." the Pokédex chirped.

"Whoa, that's fast." Dawn said.

"My Rapidash will run circles around any of your Pokémon so bring it on!" Barry exclaimed cockily.

"Fast or not, water and fire don't mix! Misty calls Surskit!" Misty summoned her water/bug-type, and the tiny pond skater stood battle-ready on the field.

"Using a fire-type against a water-type? Barry doesn't exactly go by matchups does he?" Dawn said.

"Like I said before, it makes no difference!" Barry replied.

"Let the battle begin!" Brock roared.

"Ok Rapidash, let's start with 'Sunny Day'!" Barry ordered. Rapidash's horn formed a white orb, and it shot it into the sky, making the sunlight grow harsh. The horse reacted to the increased sunlight, and the flames from its body grew more powerful and fierce.

"Uh oh, that's not good." Misty mumbled to herself.

"Doesn't 'Sunny Day' make fire-moves grow stronger and water-moves grow weaker?" Dawn asked. "I think so; Misty might be in a jam." Ash replied.

"Alright then, we'll just counter with 'Sweet Scent'!" Surskit emitted a sweet-smelling odor from its antennae, and the flaming stallion took it in like roots absorbing water.

"Hey Rapidash! Snap out of it!" Barry shouted with frustration.

"Now Surskit! Use 'Bubblebeam'!" Misty ordered. Surskit leaped up and fired a stream of bubbles at the fiery horse.

Due to the distraction of 'Sweet Scent', the 'Bubblebeam' hit dead-on and the horse whinnied in agony. "Oh no! Rapidash!" Barry cried.

"Do it again Surskit!" Misty ordered. Surskit leaped up and fired again, but it was obvious that the effects of 'Sunny Day' were severely weakening the power of the move.

Rapidash took another hit, but this time it mostly ignored the damage. "Now it's our turn! Use 'Bounce'!" Barry ordered.

Rapidash finally snapped out of its 'Sweet Scent' induced daze, and leaped high into the air. Misty and Surskit had to squint their eyes to see Rapidash in the blazing sunlight, but they managed to find the shape of a horse when it blocked the sun a little.

"Quick Surskit! Use 'Bubblebeam' on the ground!" Misty ordered. Understanding the plan, Surskit fired and made a tiny film of water on the ground and skated out of the way of the flying-type move.

"Now up the ante with 'Quick Attack'!" Misty ordered. Surskit turned around and its hydroplaning went faster as it charged for the fire horse.

"No you don't! Rapidash, quick! Use 'Fire Blast'!" Barry countered. Rapidash's eyes glowed in a fierce orange, the flames on its body grew in intensity, and flames started shooting out from its body in five different directions, completely engulfing the battlefield in flame.

Surskit squealed in pain from the sheer intensity of the ultra-powerful fire-move, and despite its slight water-type resistance, the added power from 'Sunny Day' left Surskit severely depleted.

"Another hit like that and Surskit's gonna go down like an anvil." Ash groaned nervously. "Come on Surskit, you can do it!" Misty cried.

But just when things seemed hopeless, Surskit got back to its skinny legs and stood tall, and a ball of water started forming on its antennae. "What's that?" Misty wondered.

Surskit fired the ball into the air, and storm clouds rolled overhead, and just like that, it started to rain. Rapidash's flames went from blazing infernos to smoldering embers in a matter of seconds, and it seemed that the tables had turned dramatically thanks to the change in weather.

"Awesome! Surskit, you learned how to use 'Rain Dance'!" Misty cheered. "This isn't fair! Rapidash, use 'Sunny Day' again!" Barry countered.

Rapidash fired the ball of light once more, and the storm clouds vanished and the sun began shining brightly once more, causing Rapidash's flames to flare up to full power once more.

"Oh yeah? 'Rain Dance'!" Misty ordered. Surskit fired a ball of water into the air, and the storm clouds rolled in again and the rain started.

"Sunny Day'! 'Sunny Day'! 'Sunny Day'!" Barry stomped his feet with frustration. Rapidash repeated the previous move and the sun came back once more.

"Come on Misty! Do something before Rayquaza thinks Groudon and Kyogre are fighting again!" Ash exclaimed with annoyance.

Misty too was becoming annoyed by the ongoing battle for weather advantage, so Misty came up with a plan. "Alright Surskit, use 'Sweet Scent'!"

Surskit emitted the smell once more, and just as before, Rapidash fell for it hook line and sinker. "No not again! Focus Rapidash!" Barry whined.

"Now use 'Rain Dance'!" Misty ordered. Surskit fired one last ball of water into the sky, and the rain began to fall again.

"Come on Rapidash, use 'Sunny Day'!" Barry yelled. Barry's order fell on deaf ears as Rapidash was still totally oblivious to what was going on because of the smell.

"Finish this up with 'Bubblebeam', full power!" With the weather finally on its side, Surskit fired the stream of bubbles at double the normal power, and that was all the flaming stallion could handle as it fainted.

The weather cleared and the sun came back out at its normal intensity just as Brock announced Surskit the winner.

"You were awesome Surskit! I'm proud of you!" Misty hugged the small pond skater in congratulations, and Surskit happily squealed at the affection.

"Rapidash, return!" Barry reached for another Pokéball, "I've got all these strong Pokémon and they're dropping like flies! Do I need to go out and get a whole new team?"

"You still don't get it! It's not how strong they are that matters!" Misty shouted angrily.

"I'm not giving up by a long shot! Heracross, you're up next!" Barry pitched yet another Pokéball, and the bug/fighting-type emerged ready for battle.

"Surskit, return." Misty recalled her bug/water-type and reached for another Pokéball. "Now Misty calls Gyarados!"

The giant water-dragon emerged with a roar, intimidating Heracross to the point of cringing in fear. "I thought strength didn't make a difference!" Barry yelled angrily.

"It doesn't! Gyarados and I are really good friends, and we train together and work hard together, and THAT makes us strong!" Misty replied.

Barry pulled at his hair in frustration. "Heracross, start off with 'Double Edge'!"

Heracross charged forward to hit the dragon-like Pokémon with a hard shoulder-tackle.

"Use 'Protect' now!" Misty countered. Gyarados enveloped itself in a green force-field, and it completely blocked the tackle of the large horned bug/fighting-type.

"Oh come on! I just want one lousy break!" Barry complained. Heracross cringed at the recoil from the 'Double Edge', which opened up a window of opportunity for Gyarados.

"Quick! Use 'Flamethrower'!" Misty ordered. Gyarados fired the flame and it hit Heracross dead-on, forcing the bug to relinquish a cry of pain.

"Oh no!" Barry cried. "Oh yes!" Misty countered.

"Come on Heracross, don't give up!" Barry exclaimed. Miraculously, Heracross fought the pain and stood back to its feet.

"Hmm, not bad." Ash said to himself.

"How in the world does a Gyarados learn to use 'Flamethrower'? It's a water-type!" Barry exclaimed.

"Through friendship and a LOT of hard work! Speaking of which, you seem to be pretty good friends with your Heracross, just look how it's fighting to stay up!" Misty said.

"My Heracross is a real tough fighter! Now Heracross, 'Horn Attack'!" Heracross charged forward once more, this time with a brightly glowing horn.

"Use 'Hydro Pump' on the ground!" Misty countered. Gyarados obliged and fired a high-powered stream of water all across the battlefield, turning the ground into slippery mud.

"I see where this is going! Use your wings Heracross!" Barry ordered. Heracross had lost its balance on the mud, but then it took off using the strong wings underneath its shell and hit Gyarados with its horn.

"Yeah Heracross! Keep the attacks coming!" Barry yelled excitedly. Heracross kept swinging with 'Horn Attack', as Gyarados moved its snake-like body around to dodge.

"Quick Gyarados, use 'Hydro Pump'!" Misty ordered. Gyarados waited until it found an opening in Heracross' defense, and then fired the attack at point-blank range, sending Heracross sliding through the mud.

"Now finish it with one more 'Flamethrower'!" Misty ordered. Gyarados' gaping maw once again released a blazing flame that headed for the weak bug/fighting-type.

"Hurry Heracross! Fly up and dodge it!" Barry yelled. Heracross attempted to comply, but the 'Hydro Pump' from before had left its wings soggy and damp, rendering them useless.

Heracross had no choice but to stand and take it, and after the attack was finished, Heracross fell face first in the mud, fainted.

"Heracross is unable to battle! The winner is Gyarados!" Brock announced.

Gyarados roared victoriously, ultimately drowning out Misty's cheers.

"Two down, one to go. Barry's on his way to being blanked two times in a row!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Keep it going Mist! Make sure he never forgets your name again!" Ash added.

"Heracross return!" Barry hastily called back the fainted Pokémon and began stomping with frustration, "Come on! Friendship can't be the deciding factor in EVERY battle! It's not like I hate my Pokémon either!"

"I realize that. But I've just bonded more, that's all." Misty replied calmly.

"Well you know what? I'm not gonna stop until I beat one of your Pokémon! Snorlax, you're up last!" Barry pitched out his final Pokémon, and a huge Snorlax emerged with a loud yawn.

"Let's start this round off with a 'Hydro Pump'!" Misty ordered. Gyarados fired a high-powered torrent of water at the Sleeping Pokémon, and it took the hit with some difficulty.

"Not bad! Alright Snorlax, use 'Crunch', let's go!" Barry ordered. Snorlax lumbered forward and bit down on the water-dragon's body with sharp teeth.

"Gyarados, knock it off with 'Hyper Beam'!" Misty countered. Gyarados managed to stop roaring in pain long enough to fire the hyper-powered beam at point-blank range and knock the Sleeping Pokémon off.

"Oh man…wait a sec! 'Hyper Beam' means you can't move right away! Quick Snorlax, use 'Rest'!" Barry yelled.

Snorlax had NO trouble following that order, as it lay down to rest and recover its health.

"Looks like Barry's finally getting into a comfort zone." Dawn said. "Yeah, but Misty's not done yet." Ash replied.

"Alright Gyarados, hit it with 'Hyper Beam' again! Full blast!" Misty ordered. Gyarados charged its attack once more, and the hyper-powered beam hit the Sleeping Pokémon dead-on.

"Come on Snorlax, you gotta wake up! You've got ten seconds!" Barry shouted desperately. "This battle's over! Gyarados, one more 'Hyper Beam' with everything you got!" Misty ordered.

The blast was fired once more, and Snorlax fainted in its sleep after being nailed by 'Hyper Beam' for the third time.

"Snorlax is unable to battle! The winner is Gyarados and the match goes to Misty!" Brock announced.

"You did it Gyarados! Two for the price of one, you kicked butt!" Misty hugged the neck of her mighty dragon, and Gyarados smiled to the best of its ability.

"…Again? I got swept again?" Barry fell to his knees in utter shock.

Misty returned Gyarados to its Pokéball, and then was immediately hugged by Ash. "You did it Mist! Your Gym Leader skills kicked his can all over the place!"

"Oh please, that was a piece of cake!" Misty giggled.

"Oh come on, why are you all cheering? It's obvious you both just got lucky. I'll let you off just this once." Barry said.

"You'll what?" Ash asked incredulously.

"Like I said, I'm oh so much stronger than either of you will ever be." Barry said with a smirk.

"You seem to have already forgotten that you didn't win a single battle between the both of us." Misty said.

"I didn't forget, but how do you fight against luck?" Barry replied.

"Ok that's it, why don't you come to the gym tomorrow? You can watch me beat Fantina, the leader you lost to!" Ash exclaimed.

"I'll come see your little rematch Ash, I'm sure I can find the time to watch you go down!" Barry replied with the same tone.

"The only thing that's gonna go down is your ego!" Misty quipped.

"Alright alright, settle down everyone. I think we've all had enough of this whole 'I'm better than you' stuff." Brock said, exercising his role as responsible adult.

"You're right, I'm not gonna stand around here and argue when I know what the truth is. Now if you all will excuse me, I'm gonna have Nurse Joy heal my Pokémon!" Barry ran off towards the Pokémon Center, leaving Ash and Co. alone at the battlefield.

"Wow, Barry sure is something." Dawn said with a sweat-drop. "You know what? I think we should do a little more training before we call it a day." Ash said determinedly.

"You sure that's a good idea? After all, you got yourself all flared up thanks to Barry." Dawn said.

"That's exactly why I wanna do some training now! To be totally honest, training is a good way for me to cool off after a battle like that." Ash replied.

"Well alright then, you stay here and do some last minute training, we'll go inside and get our rooms for the night." Brock said.

"I'll stay here and spar with you Ash; I need something to drain this adrenaline going through me." Misty said.

Dawn and Brock rolled their eyes at Misty's obvious excuse and walked into the Pokémon Center while Ash and Misty stayed outside to do some more training.

"Alright Mist, I wanna work on my anti-Hypnosis technique a little more, I don't want Fantina to be able to break through it somehow." Ash said.

"So you want me to try and break through?" Misty figured.

"You got it! And don't hold anything back!" Ash replied.

So Ash and Misty battled through all sorts of scenarios, trying to plug up any holes that Ash's strategy may have had, and before they knew it, it had gotten dark outside.

"Guys, you've been training for hours, why not come inside?" Dawn suggested, bored from watching the two train all day.

"What do you say guys? You ready for tomorrow?" Ash asked his three Pokémon. Pikachu, Chimchar, and Buizel all agreed with much enthusiasm, and they, minus Pikachu of course, happily returned to their Pokéballs for a much needed rest.

"I really think you've nailed that anti-Hypnosis defense Ash." Brock said.

"You think THAT'S impressive, wait'll you see what we practiced with Chimchar." Misty said.

"Yeah! One thing's for sure, we're not only gonna win that fifth gym badge, but we're gonna show Barry what's REALLY important!" Ash replied.

"You know what else is important? Sleep. I tell ya Ash, I don't think me or my Pokémon can keep up the pace you set. The adrenaline in me just drained and now I'm exhausted!" Misty said wearily.

"Sorry Mist, but I'm totally psyched! Once Barry sees Fantina giving me my fifth gym badge, he's gonna have a huge slice of humble pie!" Ash said excitedly.

The group walked into the center and headed up the stairs into their room. "You know Barry isn't really all that bad." Dawn said.

"He's just a little confused that's all. He has the makings to be a really good trainer; he just has to learn that it's not all about strength. But he's off to a good start with his Empoleon and that Heracross we saw." Brock added.

"I guess. I know this much, he's nothing like Paul." Ash said.

Just then, the door to their room burst open, invoking screams of terror from the two girls. "I heard that Ash! My room is next door! What do you mean I'm nothing like Paul?" Barry yelled angrily.

At this point, whatever anger Barry had, it was dwarfed by what Misty felt. She did NOT appreciate Barry intruding. "You have until the count of three to get your butt out of this room!" she screamed furiously.

"One!"

"But I wanna know what he meant by that!" Barry said.

"TWO!"

"Look, all I want is an answer and I'll leave you guys alone!" Barry shouted nervously.

"GET OUT!" Misty charged towards the door with mallet in hand, and the terrified trainer scrambled back to his room, tripping over his own feet on the way out their door.

Misty slammed the door closed, and crossed her arms in frustration. "How do ya like that guy? Barging in like he owns the place?"

"You know you didn't have to be so harsh with him." Dawn said with sympathy for the trainer Misty had just chased out.

"And if we had decided to get undressed before he came in?" Misty asked, forcing Dawn to imagine the scenario.

"Then me and Brock wouldn't be here either, we'd probably get kicked out too." Ash joked. The two guys laughed at their joke, and the two girls had suddenly gained mischievous smirks on their faces.

Ash and Brock immediately stopped laughing when they saw the devilish gleam in the two girls' eyes. "Uh oh."

In the blink of an eye, Brock was thrown out of the room and he landed face first in the hallway, and a few seconds later Ash was thrown out, and he landed on top of the breeder just as he was getting up, and they both gave an "oof" of pain when they collided with the floor.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we have girl stuff to do." Dawn giggled. The door was slammed in the two boy's faces, leaving them confused and bewildered. "Sooo…what do we do now?" Brock asked.

"Well we could…" Ash was cutoff suddenly.

"Anything but training Ash! Have you eaten yet?" Brock asked.

"No…heh, guess I forgot I was hungry." Ash chuckled.

Brock rolled his eyes, "Come on, I'll treat you to a quick dinner in the cafeteria."

The two males headed down the hallway to get something in their stomachs, while the girls did their thing. "Why are you so sympathetic towards Barry anyway?" Misty asked, making sure to speak softly enough so that Barry couldn't hear.

"Well…we're both from Twinleaf Town, and he's seems like an ok guy. I just didn't think you had to be as rough on him as you would be on Paul or someone like him." Dawn replied.

Misty got uncomfortably close to the coordinator's face, causing Dawn to back up a little, "What?" she asked nervously.

"You like Barry don't you?" Misty asked knowingly.

"Well…I wouldn't say THAT much, but…he is kinda…well…cute, I guess." Dawn trailed off near the end.

"I KNEW there was a real reason. What? Did you think that I wouldn't approve?" Misty asked.

"Well since you're working so hard to get me and Kenny together, I thought you might be angry since you don't even like Barry anyway." Dawn admitted.

"Well hold on, hold on, just because you think Barry's cute doesn't mean that you throw Kenny away like a tissue you know. I see cute guys all the time but that doesn't mean that I dump Ash for one of them." Misty said.

"But what if I decide I like Barry better than Kenny?" Dawn asked.

"Well, have you told Kenny that you like him?" Misty asked.

"No not yet. I haven't talked to him since the Celestic Town contest. It's kinda hard to get a hold of him since he's always training somewhere." Dawn replied.

"Well take my advice. As a fellow girl, I personally think that Kenny would be better for you since you're both coordinators and you've known each other for a long time. Barry seems like he still has a lot to learn about Pokémon and he doesn't seem like the right type for your personality. Plus the fact that he must be at least two years older than you. He's Brock's height, so I'd guess he's like sixteen or seventeen." Misty explained.

"But there is one kind of…awkward drawback about Kenny that I never really mentioned before." Dawn said.

"And what's that?" Misty asked.

"Well…it's kinda weird that…well…you know…I'm – uh…well…" Dawn's stammering was cut-off by an impatient Misty. "Spit it out already!"

"…I'm taller than him."

Misty just stood there in silence, blinking occasionally as she processed what Dawn had said, "And…that's it?"

"Well…yeah…I mean, it's no big deal or anything, I'm only taller by like half an inch, but wasn't it weird for you to look down on Ash when YOU were taller than him?" Dawn asked.

"Admittedly I did find it a TAD awkward, but I always reminded myself that physical appearance wasn't too important. Take me for example. If you had seen me while I was travelling with Ash in Kanto, you'd know why my sisters called me scrawny. But look at me now, I've grown and filled out a lot since then." Misty said.

"But that's YOU. What about Ash? And more importantly, Kenny." Dawn said.

"Well how old is Kenny?" Misty asked.

"Same as me, thirteen. I think maybe a few months older if that means anything." Dawn replied.

"Well there ya go. The fact is, girls mature faster than boys, so for a while at least, a lot of girls wind up taller than the male population. But if Kenny's height REALLY bugs you, don't worry. In a year or so, maybe even a few months from now, Kenny will start hitting those growth spurts Ash is going through." Misty said reassuringly.

"Well…if you say so. But I still think Barry's cute." Dawn said.

"That's fine; I'm just giving you my opinion and a few facts. If you still think Barry's better, then go for it. But don't throw Kenny under the bus just yet, you owe him a chance. Promise?" Misty asked.

"Ok, I promise." Dawn said.

"Good." Misty replied, "Now, how about a quick manicure while we have a little privacy?"

"Sure…one question though Misty." Dawn said.

"What's up?" Misty replied.

"Where'd you learn all this stuff anyway?" Dawn asked.

"When you're not battling challengers, a Gym Leader needs to find a way to pass the time. So, I read just about every book in the gym, including one about health. It's amazing what you learn when you're bored." Misty giggled. The two girls laughed gleefully, and then Misty went into the bathroom to grab some nail polish, leaving Dawn by herself.

"You wanna know something Ash?" Brock said, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"What Brock?" Ash replied.

"That's the fifth time now I've seen you pull your shirt down tonight. I think you're getting too big for your clothes." Brock said with a mouthful of ham and turkey.

"I guess it has been bugging me for a while now, but I've been so busy training lately that I forget to notice. And then when I DO notice it bugs me more than it should." Ash replied before taking a slurp of his soda.

"When was the last time you called your mom? Maybe she can get you some new clothes." Brock suggested.

"(Sigh) The last time I called her was when I told her that Misty was my girlfriend. But now I'm not so sure I even WANNA call her since she gave me 'the talk' that last time. She'll probably want to know everything me and Misty have been doing for so long." Ash replied.

"Uh, Ash, HAVE you and Misty 'done' anything?" Brock asked.

Ash suddenly grew wide-eyed, "No Brock! I mean, we've kissed a few times but nothing like THAT! I mean hello! We're not even adults yet! I would never even THINK of (shudder) THAT."

"Then what's the problem?" Brock asked.

"Well…I guess I don't want ANOTHER 'talk'. You know my mom, she cares about me a lot, and she wants to make sure that I'm behaving even all the way out here." Ash replied.

"That's what a mom does Ash, she loves you." Brock said, finally finishing off his sandwich.

"I guess so." Ash finally said.

"Now why don't you call your mom and ask for another set of clothes? One more growth spurt and your ankles will get cold." Brock joked.

"I think I will Brock…tomorrow." Ash replied.

"Fair enough." Brock shrugged.

So the two guys walked back to the room and knocked on the door. "Come on Mist, can't you and Dawn let us in now?" Ash whined.

"Sorry Ash, we're doing each other's nails, we're having a girl's night and YOU'RE not invited." Misty teased from the other side of the door.

"Pikachupi!" (Misty!) Pikachu exclaimed from Ash's shoulder.

"Oh! Pikachu's invited for sure! Buneary wants someone to hold her foot while we do her paws!" Dawn exclaimed.

The door opened just a crack, and the electric mouse scampered into the room, leaving Ash and Brock in shock. "You know we need to get in there at some point right?" Brock asked.

"Why not ask Barry if he has room?" Misty suggested. "Are you nuts? I don't wanna bunk with him!" Ash yelled.

"Oh you won't be out there forever, just until our nails dry." Dawn said.

"Oh really? Staravia! I know you can hear me! Come out and use 'Whirlwind'!" Ash yelled through the door.

Misty and Dawn ran for Ash's backpack, but they were too late to prevent Ash's bird to emerge from her Pokéball. "Now now Staravia…" Dawn said fearfully. "No need to listen to Ash now, he's barking out orders in frustration and anger and…" Misty was cut-off by the hard flapping of Staravia's wings.

From the other side of the door, it was Ash and Brock's turn to laugh out loud as they heard the panicked screaming of Misty and Dawn over the wind Staravia was making.

Ash and Brock stopped laughing momentarily when the door whooshed open and Pikachu came flying out in a rush of wind. Ash caught his electric mouse, who gave an annoyed "Pika" upon being caught.

"Sorry Pikachu, I wasn't expecting Staravia to make that much wind. Guess all that training's making her a lot stronger." Ash said.

Ash and Brock walked into the room and looked around in shock, the room had been turned to shambles by Staravia's 'Whirlwind', and the worst was yet to come.

Ash and Brock screamed in terror when they saw the sorry shape they had left the girls in. Their hair was sticking out in all directions and their pajamas were all wrinkled from the wind attack. But as bad as they looked, they felt even worse.

"Well…I bet your nails are dry." Ash said nervously.

"Oh yes Ash, our nails are quite dry, along with your sense of humor." Misty said, trying desperately to keep from exploding.

"Well, you're in Ash; I think I'll go see Nurse Joy!" Brock attempted a hasty retreat, but the door was quickly slammed shut by Dawn.

"Not so fast Brock, you were a part of this too." Dawn said.

"Well boys, you got what you wanted, you're in. And now that you are, you get to clean up the mess you made." Misty said insistently.

"But wait a minute! I didn't…hold on, I'M the oldest! Why are YOU telling ME what to do?" Brock asked, standing up to the water-trainer.

"Because WE'RE the ones who were victimized." Misty said, stepping up to Brock.

"WE'RE the ones who were here first." Dawn added, also stepping up to Brock.

"AND…I'M the one with the mallet-power to MAKE you do it." Misty grabbed Brock by the ear and dragged him down to the floor, while Dawn watched.

"NOW what do you have to say?" Dawn asked.

"I say…why isn't Ash helping me clean up? Move it Ash!" Brock yelled.

After returning Staravia to her Pokéball, Ash began scrambling along with Brock, picking up fallen objects, wiping off any spilled liquids, and remaking the ruined beds.

After a few moments, the two panting males stopped and looked on their job with a satisfied smile. "Guess we did a pretty good job." Ash said.

"You'd think so wouldn't you?" Misty asked.

The two boys turned around and remembered that it wasn't just the room they had messed up. "Now you get to brush our hair back EXACTLY the way it was." Dawn said.

"What's the point in arguing?" Brock said.

The two boys moaned and grabbed a brush while the two girls sat themselves down on a bed. "How long do you think we can keep this going?" Dawn asked quietly.

"We'll let them off the hook after this; after all, it WAS us who pulled the first prank." Misty replied.

So while Brock brushed Dawn's hair out of fear of Misty's wrath, Ash was brushing Misty's. Although Ash didn't seem to be suffering all that much.

"You're slowing down Ash, something wrong?" Misty asked.

She didn't get a reply, since Ash was off in his own little world. "Her hair's so soft…" At this point, Ash was brushing Misty's silky, long hair mindlessly, he didn't snap out of it until Misty turned around to see what was up.

"Yoo hoo, Ash?" Misty said.

Ash blinked a few times and blushed when he realized what had happened to him. "Heh, sorry Mist. I dunno what came over me."

Misty blushed as well. "I've got a pretty good idea. (Giggle)"

So after Misty and Dawn thanked the boys for their job well done, they took their showers and headed to their bunks.

Misty was already asleep when Ash cautiously shuffled his way under the covers, and snuggled into his head pillow for a well-deserved rest. Before Ash's consciousness left him however, he heard a soft whimpering coming from above him.

"Dawn, you ok?" he asked tiredly.

After hearing that Dawn was having fears again, Pikachu and Buneary hopped up to her bed and looked around vigilantly. "I know I saw something." Dawn whispered fearfully.

Pikachu gently pet Dawn's cheek, and walked over to the foot of her bunk for guard duty once more. Buneary walked over as well, and cuddled up next to him for some rest until it was her shift. Pulling what seemed like unnecessary guard duty had become routine for the two Pokémon, and they enjoyed the time it gave them together.

"Thanks you two." Dawn whispered, finally settling down.

From below, Ash smiled and closed his eyes once more, and a few moments later he felt a soft hand trying to gain access to his fingers. Ash smiled to himself once more as he allowed the hand to entwine its fingers into his own.

He opened his eyes a slit and saw Misty's sleeping form, happy even in her sleep, as she unconsciously gave his hand a squeeze. "G'night Mist."

Early the next morning, Misty woke up to find that Ash had actually beaten her to the wake-up call, and was already outside with Pikachu, Chimchar, and Buizel.

She yawned and stretched as she forced her body to its feet, still tired from the intense training session Ash and his Pokémon had put her and her Pokémon through. "I'm getting stronger being Ash's sparring partner out here than I ever would've in Cerulean, but he's definitely not making it easy." She thought, as she did a few neck rolls to get the aches and pains out of her.

She quickly got dressed and went out to the battlefield where Ash was training yet again. "Alright Pikachu, spin and use 'Thunderbolt'!"

Pikachu jumped up, and the carousel of electricity started up again as the electric bolts shot off in all directions. "Yeah Pikachu! I think we've got it nailed!" Ash exclaimed.

"Geez Ash, no good morning kiss? Not even a hug? What kind of a boyfriend are you?" Misty asked teasingly, making sure to smile so Ash didn't misinterpret.

"Morning Mist, sorry about that but I'm just really psyched! My rematch with Fantina will be here in a little while and I want my Pokémon to be ready to go!" Ash replied determinedly.

Now Dawn and Brock came out as well, they were woken up by Misty's shuffling around. "Training again? Come on Ash, take a break already." Dawn whined.

"I know you wanna be ready, but you've gotta give your Pokémon a rest or they won't have energy for the battle against Fantina." Brock added.

"It won't matter how ready he thinks he is!" a voice exclaimed.

The group turned around and saw Barry, wearing a smug grin on his face. "So Ash, ready to lose again?"

"Nope, I'm ready to win it! And I'll show you what's really important about Pokémon!" Ash quipped back.

"Yeah sure, whatever. I do have one question though." Barry said.

"What is it?" Ash replied.

"What was all that noise about last night? For some reason I felt like a hurricane was blowing next to my room." Barry said.

Ash face-faulted and quickly recovered. "That's personal, don't worry about it." he said.

"Fine, whatever. Hey wait a sec! Why are we stalling! Let's hurry to the gym so I can see Fantina take you down!" Barry took off running, persuading the others to do the same.

Before they knew it, they had reached the gym once more, and they entered inside to be greeted by rows of pink seats and glass stained windows surrounding them.

"Welcome to the Hearthome Gym." a man said.

The group was greeted by a young man in a white dress shirt, a light blue dress jacket, and a bowtie to match. "I gather that you are the challenger our Gym Leader has been so excited about?" the man asked.

"I guess so! I'm ready to give it my all, that's for sure!" Ash exclaimed.

"Excellent. If your friends will kindly take their seats in the stands, we will begin. Fantina is waiting." the man led Ash to his end of the battlefield while the others filed into the stands to cheer their friend on.

The man took his place on the side of the field and set the mood, "Now brace yourselves for unparalleled grace and charm as we call in our fabulous Gym Leader and elegant dancer, Fantina!"

The doors on the other side of the gym burst open, and in a bright white light, Fantina emerged. "Ahh, bienvenue mes amis to the Hearthome Gym!" Fantina began dancing in circles as the excitement built in the air, "And rejoice mes amis as this exciting day has FINALLY come…for my rematch with Ash! (Giggle)"

"You're not beating me this time Fantina!" Ash yelled determinedly, "Soon I'll be holding my fifth badge!"

"(Giggle) I'm not one to give up the Relic Badge easily!" Fantina replied.

"Well WE don't battle easily!" Ash quipped back.

"Boy, Ash looks totally pumped up about this!" Dawn exclaimed. "After all that training we did, did you think he wouldn't be?" Misty added.

"But don't forget Fantina's a Gym Leader, and their job is to be able to beat all kinds of strategies that their opponent's throw at them. Ash can't get overconfident." Brock said.

"Oh please, confidence is half the battle!" Barry exclaimed.

"Hush Barry. Unless you have something positive to say, don't say it." Misty warned.

"But HE didn't say something positive!" Barry complained.

"Ok fine, unless you have something USEFUL to say." Misty corrected herself.

Barry crossed his arms and frowned, he wanted to keep arguing on the inside, but his outside was scared of the pain Misty could inflict.

"Hey Barry, watch and learn!" Ash exclaimed, snickering as he wound up Barry's ego and temper for kicks.

Barry stood up and formed a mini-megaphone with his hands. "Come on Ash, I don't need to LEARN what a loser you are, I already know that!"

Ash growled a bit when Barry said that, but his anger quickly vanished when Misty grabbed Barry by the wrist and forced him to sit down. Misty then blew Ash a good luck kiss, and the black-haired trainer immediately felt energized.

"What's with you anyway?" Barry mumbled. "He's my boyfriend if you must know." Misty hissed.

"How does a loser like Ash make a catch like her? Whatever, that mallet of hers probably gave him brain damage." Barry thought.

"The Hearthome Gym battle rematch between Ash and Fantina will now begin! Each trainer will use three Pokémon, and when all three of one trainer's Pokémon are unable to continue the battle is over, and only the challenger may substitute Pokémon at any time." the man announced.

"Allons-y Gengar! Battle position tout suite!" Fantina called out her first Pokémon, and the ghostly Pokémon emerged and hovered over Ash and Pikachu with a menacing look in its eyes.

"A Gengar." Ash mumbled.

From the stands, Dawn pulled out her pink Pokédex to scan the ghost/poison-type Pokémon. "Gengar, the Shadow Pokémon, and the evolved form of Haunter. Gengar hides in the shadows. If a Gengar is nearby, it is said to feel ten degrees cooler than normal." the Pokédex chirped.

"Ugh, no wonder the Lavender Tower felt so cold." Misty shuddered.

Ash was about to throw out a Pokéball, but Gengar suddenly started looking around with curiosity. "Que se passé Gengar? What's wrong?" Fantina asked.

After a few moments, Gengar just shrugged and gave its master a thumbs-up to show it was ready to go. "Very well, ok Ash, choose your Pokémon!" Fantina exclaimed.

"I wonder if they're gonna use 'Hypnosis' soon…ok Buizel, I choose you!" Ash's water-type emerged with its arms crossed, and the two Pokémon stared each other down fiercely.

"Alright Buizel, let's show them what special training can do!" Ash exclaimed. Buizel turned to Ash and gave a determined thumbs-up.

"Oh! I love the sound of special training! So let's not waste a moment and get going tout suite!" Fantina exclaimed excitedly.

The hovering Gengar descended down to Buizel, and made a "bring it on gesture" with its cold and dark hand.

Buizel took that like a slap in the face, as it growled angrily at the Shadow Pokémon. "Buizel looks ready for anything now." Dawn said in awe.

"The challenger claims the first move. Battle begin!" the man turned referee roared.

"Ok! 'Aqua Jet', go!" Ash ordered. Buizel charged upwards at the floating ghost at incredible speed, but the Shadow Pokémon merely floated out of the way, giving both Ash and Buizel a shock.

Barry stood up suddenly once more, "I've seen that! The way Fantina's Pokémon keep floating all over the place like that makes it nearly impossible for a challenger to land an attack!"

"That special ability 'Levitate' sure works. Ash's strategy needs to deal with Fantina's Pokémon's unpredictable movements if he wants to defeat her." Brock said, as they watched Gengar float around Buizel in circles.

"You see, this is how a ghost-type Pokémon moves," Fantina said, doing various dance moves and poses, "The question is, how do you handle it Ash?"

"Just you wait and see!" Ash quipped back, "Sonic Boom', go!"

Buizel launched a blast of sound with a swing of its tail, but again Gengar just floated out of the way like it was nothing.

"(Giggle) There won't be much of a battle to see if this keeps up." Fantina began dancing once more, "It's showtime! Starring the one and only Gengar the Great!"

Gengar moved back, and then charged forward with blinding speed. Using its ghostly powers, Gengar moved from place to place, totally disorienting Buizel. Then Gengar seemingly vanished into thin air.

"Buizel, look up!" Ash yelled. The water-weasel whipped its head up, and there was Gengar hovering up above. "Now! 'Shadow Punch'!" Fantina ordered.

Gengar cocked back its fist, and its hand crackled with an eerily dark energy. Buizel jumped back to dodge the initial strike, but it was hit by a shadow of the Shadow Pokémon's fist.

"Uh oh, hey Buizel, you alright?" Ash asked.

"What move was that?" Dawn asked.

"A really scary move, that's for sure." Barry replied.

"Shadow Punch' is not only fantastic, but it is also a ghost-type Pokémon move that NEVER misses. What a way to begin! Next up, 'Hypnosis'!" Fantina exclaimed. Gengar formed two red balls of light, and red beams fired from them.

"Here it comes Ash!" Misty shouted from the stands.

"And we're ready for it! Ok Buizel, spin and use 'Water Gun'!" Ash countered. Buizel started break dancing while attacking, and just as they practiced, the resulting spray of water knocked out the 'Hypnosis' AND hit Gengar as well.

"So much for their 'Hypnosis'!" Ash cheered.

"Perfect!" Dawn exclaimed. "Just like we practiced!" Misty added.

"Whoa, I don't believe it…they really stopped it!" Barry said in shock.

"Don't move Gengar or you'll take damage!" Fantina exclaimed worriedly, "And don't let your body touch the water!"

"Amazing! Not only did they stop the 'Hypnosis', but they're attacking as well!" Dawn exclaimed.

"That was what we worked on! The whole point of that is to block the opponent's move while making sure that they land a hit one way or another. No matter where Gengar goes, there's no escape!" Misty added.

"As long as Buizel's water barrier stays up, Gengar can't move the way it wants to, and that gives Ash a huge advantage since the battle's a little more evened out." Brock added.

Barry stood up once more, "Hey listen up Ash! If that's your strategy, you better stick with it!"

"Will you sit down?" Misty dragged the hyperactive Barry back to his seat and gave him a stern look.

"What? I said something useful!" Barry whined. "He doesn't need your approval you know." Misty replied.

Barry crossed his arms in frustration once more and pouted. "What a grouch."

Buizel finally stopped spinning, and Gengar fell like a brick and hit the ground. Enraged, Gengar stood up, but did not get airborne again out of not wanting to get hit by Buizel's spinning move again.

"Guess all our special training proves that the strongest defense can come in the form of an attack too." Ash said cockily.

"Ooo la la Ash, laying down an attack and defending all at once? I think we should call your technique the 'Counter Shield' oui?" Fantina said.

"Counter Shield' huh? That's got a nice ring to it!" Ash replied.

"Now we'll see how you like 'Night Shade'!" Fantina ordered while doing a graceful dance step.

Gengar jumped back into the air with sinisterly glowing, red eyes. "(Gasp) That's what it is I see every night!" Dawn squealed in fear.

Misty glanced over at Dawn for a moment, but her attention was quickly diverted back to the battlefield where Ash was calling out his counter move. "Water Pulse', go!"

Buizel leaped into the air and launched an energized ball of water towards the ground just as black beams shot out of Gengar's eyes.

Both attacks hit their respective targets, and the two Pokémon both fell to the ground with a thud. When the dust cleared, Buizel was still standing, but Gengar had officially fallen.

"Is it over?" Dawn asked fearfully. While the referee made the announcement, Misty took another glimpse at Dawn, who was seemingly starting to relax after being scared by Gengar for some reason.

She was about to ask Dawn what was wrong, when Fantina gave a shriek of shock. "NOOOOOOOOO!"

"Hey, we did it Buizel!" Ash cheered, giving a thumbs-up to his tough guy water-type. Buizel responded with a thumbs-up of its own.

"Buizel sure put up a good fight; all that training seems to be paying off." Misty said with satisfaction.

"Wow, guess the best attack after 'Counter Shield' is a fast one. What a strategy." Brock added.

Barry was growling with frustration the whole time. "Man! I can't believe Ash didn't even break a sweat when I ended up not beating ONE of Fantina's Pokémon!"

"Maybe that's because you're not as strong as you think perhaps?" Misty suggested.

"Or…maybe because Barry just didn't have the same strategy that Ash has." Dawn suggested.

"Why don't you both just knock it off?" Barry said with frustration.

"I'm trying to defend you!" Dawn exclaimed angrily.

"I don't need defending! I need to beat Fantina!" Barry replied just as angrily.

Dawn pouted and crossed her arms and legs in frustration; she caught a glimpse of Misty who was giving her an "I told you so" kind of look.

Dawn was also beginning to think as well. "I think Misty's right after all. Barry's cute alright, but his attitude needs some SERIOUS adjusting."

"Buizel, return." Ash recalled his fatigued water-type, "Buizel I'm gonna need you a bit later, so take a good rest."

"Alor, merci Gengar, return." Fantina returned her fainted Shadow Pokémon, "You're quite the challenger formidable Ash."

Barry stood up again in anger, "Hey! What did she just say to him? She didn't say anything nice to me at all!"

Misty, Dawn, and Brock sweat-dropped at the trainer, and then Misty yanked him back down once again. "Honestly, I will glue your butt to the bleachers if you get up again." Misty threatened.

Barry decided then and there to move over from where Misty was sitting to sit next to Brock. "I'm sitting over here where it's safer and I can heckle all I want!" Barry exclaimed.

"You'd be surprised how well I can aim my mallet!" Misty threatened.

Ash just chuckled at his two friends' argument. "Alright Mist, let him off the hook, all that matters is that we stay sharp and this is in the bag!" Ash exclaimed from the stands.

Misty smiled and calmed down almost immediately when she heard that. She pumped her fist and Ash did the same, as Ash felt energized once more by Misty's support.

"You know you owe him for that right?" Brock said. Barry slumped in his seat and tried extremely hard to sit quietly, but the constant temptation to say something, anything, was eating away at him.

"Alright Pikachu, what say we make quick work of her other two Pokémon?" Ash said determinedly.

"Oh, I've never had so much fun! (Giggle) So you can guess who's next." Fantina clutched another Pokéball and threw it out, "Mismagius! Battle position!"

The ghost-type Pokémon emerged and began floating similarly to how Gengar did. "Now Ash let me tell you something up front. Please keep in mind that Mismagius cannot learn 'Hypnosis'." Fantina said, "And now it's time for me to ask you something…exactly how are you planning to deal with this?"

"Boy, she's sure not keeping any secrets." Brock said.

"But why? All she's doing is putting herself at a disadvantage, right?" Barry asked.

"Actually, it's common for Gym Leaders to share their strategies with challengers. I know I did it enough times in Cerulean, it helps the challengers to stay on their toes." Misty replied.

"And it's technically the Gym Leader's job to share their techniques since they're supposed to provide a broad range of challenges to up and coming trainers." Brock added.

And sure enough, down on the field, Ash's gears were turning in his mind as he brought back any memories he had of Mismagius. "Ok, let's figure this out." he said to himself, "I'm pretty sure when Zoey battled Mismagius; it used Psychic-moves and 'Magical Leaf'…"

Then Ash suddenly realized what his strategy should be. He grabbed for a Pokéball and held it tightly, "Then WE'RE gonna have to deal with 'Magical Leaf's' power as well! Chimchar, I choose you!" Ash threw out the Pokéball, and the small fire-monkey emerged with a determined chatter.

"Let's see what you've got Chimchar." Fantina said. Mismagius added onto that in its own language.

"Flame Wheel', now!" Ash roared. Chimchar formed into a wheel of blazing fire, and charged straight for the floating Mismagius. Initially, Mismagius managed to dodge in the exact same way that Gengar had, but Chimchar was determined to hit its target as it turned its attack around and jumped for Mismagius.

"Wow! I had no idea Chimchar could jump!" Fantina exclaimed in awe.

"Oh man, that must take a lot of power!" Barry said.

"Are you kidding? That agility comes naturally for Chimchar!" Misty exclaimed.

"Go!" Ash roared. Chimchar was quickly closing the distance between itself and Mismagius, and was ready to strike, but then Fantina made her move. "Hmm…alor Mismagius! 'Psywave'!"

Mismagius emitted waves of psychic energy, and the charging Chimchar was knocked out of its 'Flame Wheel' and it hit the ground with a painful thud with the waves still hitting it even after collision.

"That looked like it hurt." Misty cringed. "I'll bet it did! I think Chimchar just took some serious damage. Psychic-moves sure are something to behold." Brock added.

"Hey Chimchar, are you alright?" Ash asked worriedly. Chimchar slowly got back to its feet, but Ash could tell by the groaning Chimchar was doing that it was in pain.

"Does this surprise you Ash?" Fantina said, "Well hang on because there is much left I have to show you."

"Man, that 'Psywave' sure can be a pain…I think it's time for a little 'Counter Shield' action." Ash said to himself.

"Alright Chimchar, spin and use 'Flamethrower'!" Ash yelled. The fiery primate felt a sudden burst of energy flow through it, and it leaped into the air and began spewing flames in all directions.

"So, this time it's going to be a 'Fire Counter Shield', bien fait!" Fantina said.

Just like before with Gengar, the 'Counter Shield' threw off Mismagius' style of movement, and the flames hit with every move the ghost-type made.

"Use 'Psywave'!" Fantina ordered. For a brief moment, the psychic waves of energy held off the 'Counter Shield', but it didn't hold long as Mismagius was knocked back by a flame.

"No not again!" Fantina cried despairingly.

"Yeah, we held that off too!" Ash cheered.

"Awesome! Ash is kicking!" Barry exclaimed excitedly.

"I saw him counter moves other than 'Hypnosis' in a sparring battle, but who knew it would work in an actual battle?" Dawn said in awe.

"We practiced this stuff for a long time in practice battles and we tried it on every move my Pokémon knew, and it worked almost every single time! Ash has gotten so good at using defense as offense that I can't even tell which is which anymore!" Misty exclaimed.

"Ok Ash, let's see how you deal with this! Mismagius, 'Magical Leaf'!" Fantina ordered. Mismagius spun and glowing leaves shot out and broke up the 'Counter Shield', causing leftover embers to fall all over.

"It…can't be." Ash said in shock.

"I don't understand how Fantina's already managed to break through!" Barry exclaimed.

"Chimchar's moves are supposed to be powerful against grass-type attacks!" Dawn added.

"And we trained an entire day straight on making sure something like this DIDN'T happen, so what gives?" Misty asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say she's hammering Chimchar with 'Magical Leaf' to break the 'Counter Shield'." Brock explained.

"Now that you said it, it makes sense." Misty commented, albeit sadly.

"Quel dommage Ash, the truth is I learned everything about the 'Counter Shield' when you used it before on Gengar, oui?" Fantina said.

Ash clenched his fists in frustration, "Oh man and after all our hard work…just like a Gym Leader."

"So what's Ash gonna do now that Fantina's busted his strategy wide open?" Barry asked.

Just then Misty realized something. "Hey Ash! I think it's time to use what we worked on with Chimchar!"

Ash looked to the sidelines when she started talking, and when she finished Ash realized what she meant by that. "Alright Chimchar, use 'Flame Wheel' again!"

Chimchar charged forward in a wheel of fire, just as Fantina called out a counter move, "Mismagius, 'Dark Pulse' tout suite!"

The three gems on Mismagius' body formed rings of dark energy, and they fired directly at the charging monkey, but this time Ash was ready.

"Chimchar, 'Flamethrower' and keep it up!" Ash yelled. Still charging under the influence of 'Flame Wheel', Chimchar began spewing flames as it advanced towards its target, and the ;Dark Pulse' was soundly countered, which left Fantina in shock.

"Look! Now he's using 'Flame Wheel' as a 'Counter Shield' this time!" Brock exclaimed. "That's awesome! Ash's battling-style just seems to get more and more amazing!" Dawn added.

"I told you you'd be impressed with what Ash and I practiced with Chimchar! Now watch what he does next!" Misty exclaimed.

"Mismagius, 'Psywave' s'il vous plaît!" Fantina ordered. "Yeah, I thought so!" Ash exclaimed suddenly.

Fantina suddenly regretted calling out that move, but it was too late for regrets now. Mismagius emitted waves of psychic energy and knocked out the 'Counter Shield' once again.

"Here it comes!" Misty squealed in anticipation. "Here what comes? Wait a sec; was only the 'Flamethrower' hit?" Barry asked.

Barry's question was quickly answered when Chimchar came flying out of the smoke and nailed Mismagius with a direct hit from 'Flame Wheel'.

Unprepared and off-guard, Mismagius fell to the ground with a dull thud and stayed there. It was quite finished. As Chimchar landed, it looked back on its fallen opponent and chattered with satisfaction.

"Mismagius is unable to battle, Chimchar is the winner!" the referee announced.

Now in complete and total shock and awe, Fantina screeched in despair once more. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Yeah! We did it Chimchar! That extra training we did paid off!" Ash cheered. Chimchar chattered happily as it walked over to where Ash was standing.

"Now with Ash and all of his Pokémon left, it's a three on one battle!" Dawn exclaimed.

"I figured if I blocked your 'Dark Pulse', you'd follow up with a 'Psywave' and I was right!" Ash exclaimed from his end.

"No sense trying to pull the wool over YOUR eyes, is there?" Fantina replied, I am très impressionné."

"First off he knocked out that 'Psywave' with a 'Flamethrower' and then he hit his opponent where it REALLY hurts with a powerful 'Flame Wheel'. That's got Ash written all over it." Brock said.

"You wouldn't believe how impressed I was when he came up with that idea, I'm thinking of trying to use the same strategy with Staryu somehow since it's turning out to be such an effective move." Misty added.

Barry's insides were now eating away at him, he yanked at his hair in frustration and roared out, "Ash is too much I can't take it!" After throwing his tantrum, Barry crossed his arms again and frowned.

Misty, Dawn, and Brock sweat-dropped once more at Barry, who was extremely frustrated that Ash was making him eat his words.

"You did exactly what you needed to do. Thanks Chimchar, take a good rest." Ash returned the celebrating fire-monkey back to its Pokéball for a well-deserved break.

Barry then seemed to lose frustration as something popped into his mind. "Chimchar seems a lot different from back when Paul had it. I saw the two of them competing a while ago, and even though they won the thing, Chimchar didn't seem nearly as happy as it is now."

"Now are you willing to listen to reason? Misty replied, "Paul doesn't treat his Pokémon like companions, like friends. If you had a choice, would you rather be friends with your Pokémon, or have them as your servants like Paul?"

This gave Barry something to think about for a while, and Dawn noticed that by watching Ash battle and the way he interacted with his Pokémon, a change, albeit a slight one, was starting to become evident in Barry's views towards Pokémon. "Maybe he'll turn out ok after all." She thought hopefully.

By this time, Fantina had called back Mismagius and was ready to call out her final hope of victory. "And now for my third Pokémon, voilà, Drifblim!"

The Blimp Pokémon that had previously defeated two of Ash's Pokémon, finally being defeated by the mighty Charizard, emerged and floated freely. "Whoa, it's Drifblim." Ash said, slightly intimidated.

"Now Ash, I am certainement that you remember Drifblim, and as you can plainly see it has gotten much even stronger and more beautiful than before." Fantina said confidently.

Ash looked down beside him to make his final choice. "It's up to you buddy!"

Pikachu nodded and scampered onto the field with furiously sparking red cheeks. And when Pikachu jumped onto the field, Dawn's Buneary popped out of her Pokéball to cheer on the electric-mouse.

"Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt'!" Ash ordered. Pikachu wasted no time activating his version of the 'Counter Shield' as the carousel of electricity nailed Drifblim in no time at all.

"What a hit! Drifblim can't move!" Dawn cheered.

After seeing that Pikachu had paralyzed the Blimp Pokémon, Ash's confidence level went way up. "Fantina, you may have countered our flame shield with 'Magical Leaf' but what are you gonna do about our electric shield?"

Fantina smirked. "You certainly didn't waste any time paralyzing Drifblim now did you? But perhaps you forget that Drifblim can use Psychic-moves as well, like 'Psychic'."

Drifblim's eyes had been closed from the pain of being paralyzed, but when it opened its eyes, they glowed light blue and the paralysis literally became a victim of mind over matter as Drifblim used its psychic powers to shake off the paralysis.

Ash and Pikachu both gasped in shock and the spectators in the stands were just as shocked that Drifblim had such power.

"Yes, your 'Counter Shield' is an effective strategy. But please remember that all good things must come to an end, n'est-ce pas?" Fantina said coolly.

Ash growled, he was getting really intimidated by Fantina since it seemed that the 'Counter Shield' he had worked so hard to perfect wasn't going to work anymore.

"I think your strategy has sprung a leak! So perhaps the time has come for you to do some retooling while I do a little myself, voilà! 'Will-O-Wisp'!" Fantina ordered.

Drifblim formed blue, ghostly flames and awaited further orders. "Now use 'Psychic' to control the 'Will-O-Wisp'!"

Drifblim complied, and the blue flames began spinning faster and faster around the Blimp Pokémon, and a rotating shield was created by Fantina's creativity. "Pikachu, knock it away with 'Thunderbolt'!"

Pikachu jumped and used his 'Counter Shield' against Fantina's, but Fantina's shield didn't budge, and Pikachu ran out of stamina before any ground could be gained. "Oh no, it's sealed up!" Ash cried.

"As you can plainly see, my Drifblim is sealed into the 'Counter Shield'. It's like a 'Counter Counter Shield'." Fantina giggled.

Pikachu jumped back and put distance between himself and Drifblim, awaiting further orders from Ash.

"Drifblim's 'Psychic' maintains the powerful rings of the 'Will-O-Wisp', and it will last much longer than any move of yours!" Fantina exclaimed, "Alor, on we go!"

Drifblim took off the shield like a piece of clothing, and threw it down to where Pikachu was standing. Caught off guard, Pikachu was now trapped within Drifblim's shield, and the Blimp Pokémon descended and grabbed Pikachu's cheeks, ready for its grand finale.

"This is exactly what happened in their last battle!" Dawn exclaimed. "Ash, get Pikachu out of there and fast!" Misty cried.

"Pikachu, 'Thunderbolt'!" Ash roared. Pikachu obliged, but Drifblim's shield kept Pikachu's electricity sealed up with nowhere to go.

"Now 'Hypnosis'." Fantina ordered.

Knowing Pikachu had only a few seconds to react, Ash thought quickly. "Pikachu, try using 'Volt Tackle' to burst out of there!"

Pikachu tried with all its might to start up its electric veil without a running start, just as Drifblim launched the sleep-inducing attack.

Pikachu somehow managed to knock away the 'Will-O-Wisp' prison and even managed to graze Drifblim with some electricity from the 'Volt Tackle', but the moment Pikachu started running forward, it slowed to a halt, and fell to the ground asleep.

"No way!" Ash exclaimed in worry. "Now, 'Ominous Wind'!" Fantina ordered.

Shaking off what little damage had been done from getting grazed by 'Volt Tackle', Drifblim hovered over to where Pikachu was fast-asleep, got up close, and launched the ghostly attack at point-blank range.

Pikachu was sent flying, and Ash managed to catch the fainted Pokémon and hold it tightly in his arms, "Oh man, Pikachu." he mumbled.

"Pikachu is unable to battle, Drifblim's the winner!" the referee announced.

"Oh man, Ash managed to break free with that 'Volt Tackle', but it was too late for him to avoid 'Hypnosis'." Misty said sadly.

"Pikachu, that was an awesome job…thank you." Ash placed the saddened Pokémon onto the ground and kneeled down in front of it, "Hey, your hard work's gonna pay off I'm sure of it."

Barry watched as Ash consoled the small Pokémon, and he started thinking again. "He doesn't look angry at all; in fact…he seems happy. But that doesn't make any sense, he lost! Why is he happy?"

"Hey, you wanna go up to the stands and take a rest?" Ash asked. Pikachu look past Ash, and saw Buneary who was waving at him invitingly. Pikachu smiled, nodded, and scampered up to the stands, where the small rabbit treated Pikachu to a back massage.

"Alor, such a touching moment indeed." Fantina gushed.

Ash smiled and watched for a moment, then got back to the matter at hand. "I gotta do something about 'Will-O-Wisp'. Now Buizel, you're up again!"

The water-weasel emerged a second time, and looked up at the shield enveloped Blimp Pokémon that was hovering over it.

"So Ash, how are you going to attack this time?" Fantina asked with some excitement and anticipation.

"Like this! Spin and use 'Aqua Jet'!" Ash ordered. Buizel torque its waist to gain some extra power into 'Aqua Jet', and charged forward just as Drifblim threw its shield away to hit Buizel.

But just as Ash expected, the 'Aqua Jet' extinguished the flames, and the Blimp Pokémon took a direct hit from Buizel's empowered 'Aqua Jet'. Unfortunately, Drifblim did not go down like Mismagius did, it was determined to hang on and stay strong.

"Ahh, so you brought out a water-type Pokémon to extinguish the flames did you? Alor, 'Ominous Wind'!"

Drifblim recovered and launched a ghostly wind at the water-weasel, and Buizel's 'Aqua Jet' was stopped dead in its tracks by it.

"Come on Buizel, 'Water Pulse', go!" Ash yelled. Buizel quickly recovered and threw the energized water ball down to the ground, causing a large wave to head for Drifblim. "Will-O-Wisp'!" Fantina countered.

This time Drifblim formed the flames without turning them into a shield, and the fire and water collided creating an extremely bright light to flash all around the field.

Buizel instinctively covered its eyes, but that would prove to be a costly mistake. "Not again!" Ash cried.

"Use 'Hypnosis'!" Fantina ordered. Drifblim put Buizel to sleep, and the battle could be considered over then and there. "Now use 'Psychic'!" Fantina ordered.

Drifblim held Buizel suspended in midair, and then threw it down hard to the ground, fainting Buizel and making the battle officially over.

"Buizel's unable to battle, Drifblim's the winner!" the referee announced.

Ash growled nervously, he was quickly running out of options and Drifblim's 'Hypnosis' was starting to drive him crazy.

"Fantina beat Buizel too." Dawn said sadly.

"That Drifblim sure is strong. Knocked out two Pokémon in the blink of an eye." Barry said in awe.

"Ash practiced the 'Counter Shield' technique specifically for Drifblim's 'Hypnosis', but since Fantina saved Drifblim for last, the 'Counter Shield' doesn't work anymore since Fantina figured out how to beat it already." Misty said sadly.

"I wouldn't dismiss the power of 'Hypnosis' if I were you, n'est-ce pas?" Fantina said coolly.

Ash returned Buizel to its Pokéball, "You were great Buizel, thank you." Ash grabbed his final Pokéball and threw it out, "Ok Chimchar, guess you're the last up. I'm counting on ya!"

The fire-monkey emerged for the second time, and was determined to make Ash proud.

"So come and get it!" Fantina exclaimed, as Drifblim formed 'Will-O-Wisp' once more.

"Flame Wheel' now!" Ash roared. Chimchar charged forward with all its might.

"Sorry, but that move's still the same." Fantina said coolly. Drifblim threw down the flames and the fire-monkey was knocked out of 'Flame Wheel', but no damage had actually come to it.

"Flame on flame…" Ash suddenly smirked as a brilliant idea popped into his head, although Fantina was a bit confused.

That's strange, is something funny?" Fantina asked, curious about Ash's sudden change of attitude.

"What's up?" Dawn asked.

"I'd know that sparkle in his eye any day! Ash has an idea!" Misty said excitedly.

"But it's gonna take more than to break their 'Will-O-Wisp'." Barry said.

Upon hearing the negative comment, Misty hopped to the row behind them, and gently whacked Barry on the head with her mallet.

"What was that for?" Barry asked angrily. "I told you to say useful things." Misty replied with a satisfied smirk.

Dawn and Brock rolled their eyes and diverted their attention back to the field. "If they wanna see flames, we'll show 'em flames! 'Flamethrower', go!" Ash roared.

Chimchar fired, and Fantina confidently ordered her 'Counter Shield'. "My 'Counter Shield' works against any move!"

Drifblim launched the 'Counter Shield' down, and it collided with the 'Flamethrower'. But instead of countering it, the 'Flamethrower' merged with the 'Will-O-Wisp', turning it into a purple color and nailing Drifblim with an extra-powered attack.

"They did it! It broke the shield!" Barry exclaimed in shock.

"It didn't just BREAK the shield! That 'Flamethrower' absorbed the 'Will-O-Wisp' like I thought it would, and made it even more powerful! Guess you don't know everything about 'Counter Shields' after all Fantina!" Ash exclaimed.

Fantina giggled with some embarrassment. "I guess I spoke too soon. Your Chimchar's power is vraiment magnifique. But I'm afraid your rematch road ends here! 'Ominous Wind' Drifblim!"

Drifblim launched its most powerful 'Ominous Wind' in hopes of ending the battle before it got out of hand, but Ash was officially on the offensive and there was no turning back now.

"Chimchar! 'Dig', let's go!" Ash yelled. Chimchar dug into the ground and dodged the 'Ominous Wind' and popped out of the ground behind the Blimp Pokémon. "Chimchar, grab a hold of Drifblim, quick!"

Chimchar grabbed onto one of Drifblim's arms and forcefully threw it to the ground. The balloon-like Pokémon bounced like a ball, and Chimchar followed it with extreme determination.

"I've never seen 'Dig' used like that before, go figure!" Barry exclaimed.

"That's because you've never seen Ash use 'Dig' before! Finish it off Ash!" Misty cheered.

"Quel surpris! But now it's time for 'Hypnosis'!" Fantina ordered.

"Chimchar, 'Flamethrower'!" Ash roared.

By the time Drifblim turned around to attack, Chimchar was already there spewing flames at point-blank range. Drifblim took the hit at its full power and hit the ground with a ball-like bounce. But instead of bouncing back up into the air, Drifblim stayed on the ground, fainted.

"Drifblim is unable to battle, so Chimchar wins! And the match goes to Ash the challenger!" the referee announced.

"We did it!" Ash cheered.

Ash's friends in the stands leaped up and celebrated, although Barry was more in shock than happiness.

"Wow! They actually beat Fantina!" Dawn squealed.

"Was there ever any doubt? I knew Ash could do it!" Misty added.

"Things were shaky there for a while, but Ash pulled it off in the end. What a great battle!" Brock added.

"Well that's just great! Now I have to live life knowing Ash did what I couldn't!" Barry groaned. Misty, Dawn, and Brock sweat-dropped at Barry once more.

"Merci beacoup Drifblim, you a truly hard worker." Fantina said, consoling her Pokémon. Drifblim gave a small smile and returned to its Pokéball just as Ash's friends rushed from the bleachers to congratulate him on his victory.

Misty was the first one down and she embraced her boyfriend tightly, laughing happily as she did so. Ash reciprocated exactly the same way, hugging her tightly and laughing with joy.

"You were incredible Ash! Even when the chips were down you pulled it out of the fire with fire!" Misty exclaimed.

"I owe it all to Chimchar; he went all out for me today." Ash replied, petting the fiery primate's head. Chimchar chattered happily in response.

"What an amazing battle! That 'Counter Shield' technique was totally awesome!" Dawn exclaimed.

"And the way you battled with just the right balance of offense and defense was something to watch, way to go." Brock added.

"Hey, thanks guys. But like I said, this victory goes to my Pokémon." Ash replied.

Finally it was Barry's turn to comment. "Well Barry, what'd you think?" Ash asked.

"Well…I guess you were pretty good." Barry replied, although hesitantly.

Ash shrugged and took the comment as a compliment, and then Fantina came up to him. "If you would all follow me please." she said.

Fantina led the group outside the gym, where the sun was already setting after a long and intense battle. "Congratulations Ash, you and all your Pokémon are truly magnifique. S'il vous plaît, take the Relic Badge."

"Wow, thanks!" Ash graciously accepted the badge, and did his signature victory pose. "Alright! We got the Relic Badge!" Pikachu, Chimchar, and Buizel also did their own poses, and the group chuckled at Ash's excitement.

"Merci Ash for a truly incroyable battle, I've never gotten so much enjoyment out of any battle before this. But now I'm afraid it is time for us to part ways." Fantina said somewhat sadly.

"Wow Fantina, thank you. I had a great time too." Ash replied.

"And don't worry ma chéries Misty and Dawn; I have not forgotten my promise to battle you as well. One day our paths shall cross again, and we too shall have a battle incroyable!" Fantina exclaimed.

"Thanks so much Fantina!" Dawn exclaimed. "And when we do have our battle, we'll be ready for you!" Misty added.

Au revoir and adieu mes amis! And good luck out on the road!" Fantina exclaimed.

And with that, the group waved farewell to Fantina and headed back to the Pokémon Center for a well-deserved rest.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, the group, along with Barry, headed to their balcony to enjoy the beauty of the night sky.

"So Barry, where are ya gonna go now?" Ash asked.

"It's a no-brainer. I'm going to Iron Island." Barry replied, not looking back.

"Iron Island?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. I trained there for a while and won at the Canalave Gym. I figure it'll be a good idea to train there again." Barry turned around to meet the group's gaze. "And that's my strategy."

Dawn pulled out a map and pointed out Iron Island to everyone. "See? Iron Island's over there." Dawn said, pointing to a spot on the map, "It's a boat ride from Canalave City."

"So maybe my next gym battle should be at the Canalave Gym. Hey! Why don't we all go there together?" Ash asked.

"Yeah! It'll be fun hanging out together!" Dawn agreed whole-heartedly.

Barry ignored Dawn's comment and leaned on the table looking directly at Ash. "Ok. If you win THERE maybe I'll start thinking of you as a REAL rival." Barry said, apparently getting his smugness back.

"What?" Ash asked in some shock.

"See, the Canalave Gym's main focus is on Steel-types, so give it a shot if you dare! I kinda doubt you can." Barry said with a smug look on his face.

"I'm so sure badge number six is gonna be mine; they might as well give it to me up front!" Ash exclaimed determinedly.

Dawn sweat-dropped when the two rivals had a stare-down with each other. "Well, you can't accuse them of not getting into it." she said.

"And no doubt our trip to Canalave City won't be dull in the least." Brock added.

"I'll see to that personally." Misty added with a grin, pulling her mallet out halfway.

And so, filled with confidence after his fifth Sinnoh Gym victory, Ash and the others are headed to Canalave City with the feisty Barry along for the ride, and the group would be moving on the next day on the road to Sinnoh.
_

A/N: Well I hope you guys liked it! And uh oh, does anyone smell a love triangle forming? And Misty doesn't like that either. What will happen with Dawn and Kenny/Barry? You all will have to find out later. And lol, Barry abuse. xD If anyone still needs a translation, check chapter 32. All credit for Fantina's French goes to RaianOnzika of dA. Speaking of dA, I wanna give a shout out to Midia-Melodramatic for helping me with bringing my story to life! If you haven't checked yet, she's drawn six images for the first six chapters! Go check her out! One final note, all signed reviews will automatically be added to my self-made notifications list, and you will get messages from me letting you know when the next update should be expected! So make sure to leave a review!