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.

50. Stopped In the Name of Love

Hey guys...well I hope I came out a little faster this time, I really can't tell these days. xD However I DO know that I made it in time for Thanksgiving! 11:20 means it's still technically Thanksgiving day so I did NOT miss it. =P Anyways, anon review replies, and my apologies to anyone I did not get around to replying yet, I promise, I will!

Hoenn Master: Don't worry about it dude, there's no hard feelings, just keep on reading. ^^

lightningblade49: Sorry dude, I do what I can when I can, but believe me I'm trying.

Polly: Well I tried to give Staryu the spotlight for a bit, hope you're at least semi-satisfied...as for Goldeen, its back at the gym with Daisy. I knew I wouldn't have any use for it so I left it behind. Pidgeot...all I can say is we'll see.

Anna: I'm sorry, but Dustox is gone. Just like Butterfree. I'd like to do it, believe me, but there are some things I just can't do.

sparky1001: I dunno yet, I'll see what I can use and what I can't.

Aditya Shukla: It's definitely a possibility.

tray125: I'll be looking for you! ^^

Lucas: There'll be fluff here, but not necessarily with Ash and Misty.

And now without further ado...next chapter! I own nothing except the story.
_

Chapter 50

Misty's POV

So yesterday consisted of some very interesting events. We ran into a Snover that had the heart of a prankster, and it did various things to us all day long in order to get our attention and get us to take a break and try one of the berries that it grew on its body. They really were delicious, kinda like ice cream. Snover's real intentions were revealed then. All it wanted was to be friends with us. We decided to let Snover stay for dinner, and it looked really happy all the way through dinner, surrounded by all of our Pokémon. When we had to say goodbye though, it gave us a really sad look, it must've been lonely.

We decided to allow Snover to stay the night with us; little did we know that Snover was going to become a target that night. Team Rocket showed up late last night and tried to kidnap Snover for the berries it grew. Luckily Pikachu and Buneary were able to alert us to the trouble before they could get anywhere. Ash, Grotle, and Pikachu teamed up to rescue Snover and sent Team Rocket blasting off, and the rest of the night went without incident. The next morning Snover had breakfast with us too, and we decided to let it travel with us until we got to the foot of the mountain, and before we got going, Ash noticed that Grotle had all of a sudden started growing nuts on its back.

They apparently weren't human-friendly, because Ash tried one and thought it was gross, and for Ash Ketchum to not like food, that means something. Pikachu however thought it was one of the best things he had ever tasted, and happily finished off the one he had taken from Ash. Somehow though we should've known that Team Rocket wasn't done yet, as they dropped a cage on both Snover AND Grotle, and tried to make their escape in their balloon. Grotle burst the cage open with 'Energy Ball', but lost its footing and had to be rescued by Snover's 'Ingrain' move. However when it was Snover's turn to jump, it was too scared to try, and that gave Team Rocket one last opportunity.

Meowth activated two rockets that shot from the side of the balloon, and they started speeding away. There was no way we would catch them on foot, so Ash called out Charizard and took off after them in the sky. We tried our best to help out on the ground as we sprinted through the canyon, but Surskit and Piplup's attacks just couldn't keep up with Team Rocket, and Charizard just couldn't gain enough momentum to catch up to them. It looked like Snover was doomed to become a Team Rocket Pokémon, when all of a sudden Grotle started RUNNING against the canyon wall! Grotle had learned 'Rock Climb' in a last ditch effort to save its new friend.

Grotle almost lost Team Rocket though when they started to ascend, but Grotle wouldn't give up, and used the power of 'Rock Climb' to leap high into the air, and Grotle shredded Team Rocket's balloon and sent them blasting off once again. But now Snover was falling to the ground unconscious. Brock called out Happiny to catch it, but it was pretty obvious Happiny wouldn't be able to get there fast enough. Then Ash and Charizard tried to make the grab, but Ash missed and that left only one more Pokémon who could save Snover.

Grotle activated 'Rock Climb' one more time, and leaped into the air and caught Snover in its mouth. Then once they flew into range of Happiny, Grotle let Snover drop, and Happiny easily made the catch behind Grotle, who had just landed with a loud thud. Grotle then fell from exhaustion, panting wearily from the feat it had just accomplished. Ash congratulated Grotle and returned it, and once that was over, we started walking once more. After a while, we ran into a young teacher and her VERY young students, who were excited to see a Snover and the kids started playing with it. Brock tried to hit on the teacher of course, but Croagunk wouldn't allow that.

Snover then tried to get the children and teacher to eat one of its berries, and the quickly recovered Brock assured them that Snover's berries were absolutely delicious. They loved it of course, and the kids were now extremely happy they had met Snover. Before we left, the teacher explained that the nearby town was holding a Pokémon Contest, and Dawn eventually recognized it as the one that Kenny was gonna be participating in. How perfect! Now I could get Dawn and Kenny together without any interfering thoughts of the hyperactive and slightly arrogant Barry. So we headed over to Sandalstraw Town as it was called, and by the time we got there, it was almost dark.

Normal POV

"So Dawn, do you have any idea what you plan on doing now that you're joining the Sandalstraw Contest?" Misty asked curiously.

"No idea, at least not yet. First thing I wanna do when we get to the Pokémon Center is that I wanna think about what I've done with who and how often. I don't want Kenny to be seeing anything I've already done a hundred or so times." Dawn replied. Suddenly, Piplup plopped off from Dawn's head, and started walking around all wobbly. "Hey Piplup, are you alright?" Dawn asked worriedly. Piplup blinked a few times, and shook off whatever was bothering him. "That was weird." Dawn said.

"Piplup's probably just tired from battling with Team Rocket earlier. It is getting late after all." Brock figured.

"So much longer until we get to the Pokémon Center?" Misty asked.

"It shouldn't be too much longer." Brock pulled out his guidebook and looked up the Sandalstraw Town Pokémon Center, and then looked ahead and saw that they had actually reached their destination. "Oh wait, this is it!"

"What a cute little Pokémon Center!" Dawn gushed, obviously intrigued by the rustic design, "I wonder if Kenny's here yet?" she wondered.

"Why, are you looking forward to seeing him?" Misty asked, her eyebrow raised and a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Well of course I'm looking forward to seeing him! He's still my friend you know." Dawn replied, her eyes wandering around. Dawn didn't wanna look Misty in the eyes, she was afraid she might blush if she did. Of course in her own denial, she neglected to notice she already was blushing.

And as if on cue, just as Ash and Co. were walking into the Pokémon Center, Dawn bumped into someone, and who else would it be except Kenny? "Hey, are you alri…Dawn? What are you doing here?" he asked, his face suddenly tinted a very slight shade of pink.

"K-Kenny! Um, well we were on our way to Snowpoint City for Ash's next battle and uh…well we heard there was a contest here, and I remembered that your mom told me you'd be here so…n-not that I only came because YOU'D be here! I came to win and don't you forget it!" Dawn hurried off and went over to Nurse Joy to check in for everyone.

"…Nice to see you too Dawn." Kenny stammered in shock. Once he came to his senses, Kenny turned his attention to the others, although he was trying VERY hard to ignore the mischievous smirk on Misty's face. "What was up with her?" he asked, pointing behind him where Dawn was.

"She's probably just surprised to see you, that's all." Misty shrugged, although still smirking.

"Well…you two are obviously still alive so I would guess that Dawn managed to get the Lunar Wing." Kenny said, making conversation, albeit rather carefully. He wasn't careful enough.

"And how do you know about what happened with Darkrai?" Misty asked, her eyebrow raised curiously at the male coordinator.

Kenny blushed a bit more, which naturally did not go unnoticed by the redhead. "W-Well uh…you see I kinda called Dawn to show off my new Pokétch application, and she told me all about what had happened, that's all." Kenny explained nervously.

"So you're here for the contest right?" Ash asked.

Misty scowled. She had Kenny right she wanted him, and Ash, albeit unintentionally, had let him off the hook. "Of course he's here for the contest, you think he's here to do sightseeing?" she said, rather angrily.

"Geez Mist, I was just making conversation." Ash replied, putting his hands up defensively.

"That's what I was doing." Misty turned her head away from Ash and walked away to see what was taking Dawn so long.

"Geez, what's with her?" Ash asked, crossing his arms in frustration.

"She was probably enjoying watching me squirm." Kenny said with a sweat-drop.

"You were squirming? Why?" Brock asked curiously.

Kenny sweat-dropped again. "Eh…"

"I'm gonna get Ash if it's the last thing I do." Misty stomped her way over to their room after Nurse Joy had sent her in the right direction, and upon reaching the room, she opened the door and it made a loud bang upon hitting the side of the wall, startling the coordinator who already seemed nervous enough.

"Misty, what are you doing?" she exclaimed fearfully, her hand placed on her chest as she tried to regain her breath.

"Ash let Kenny off the hook. Well he may have gotten away this time, but my dense, thick-headed boyfriend won't be there to save him every time. I'm gonna get him to admit he likes you even if I have to choke him to do it!" Misty grumbled, plopping herself on the couch and crossing her arms angrily.

"Um, actually Misty, there WAS something I wanted to talk to you about, but you seem a little upset so maybe it can wait." Dawn turned to walk away, but Misty's voice froze her in her tracks.

"Hold it." Misty got back up and walked over to Dawn, who had refused to turn around and face her while in her angry state. But she didn't have to, as Misty easily turned Dawn around and got her to look her in the eye. "What's the problem?" she asked, obviously trying to practice self-control.

"W-Well, I was so shocked to see Kenny, you know? The way I did see him, you know? Well…you know, my heart was just…you know…" Dawn mumbled, her head drooping back down as she talked.

"Yeah I see your point there." Misty replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. The red-headed girl went over to lean on the wall and looked at Dawn again, "You know you said 'you know' like four times in that sentence? Now why don't you try again, this time use words that'll get your point across."

"Well…I was so excited to go and compete with Kenny, and show him what I could do in contests…but without the contest atmosphere, you know…" Dawn suddenly stopped herself and covered her mouth with her hand, "I'm sorry, I'm not gonna do that anymore, I promise." She said apologetically.

Misty smiled and closed her eyes, shaking her head with amusement. "Don't worry about it, go on." She said encouragingly, her eyes opened again.

Dawn smiled back and continued, wringing her hands nervously, "I was just caught off guard I guess. When Kenny and I are practically at each other's throats as rival coordinators, any feelings I have are kinda ignored, all I really care about at that point is trying to get the last word and make sure I win. But when we're just talking as friends…I start to realize that he's more than just a rival, I start to remember all the good times we had as kids, we grew up together Misty! But…he's changed so much, we both have really, and at the same time, we're still exactly the same. You know ever since you told me that he may like me…I dunno if I even dare say love…I've been thinking about him really differently. He still teases me with the 'Dee Dee' nickname, but I've started looking beyond that…he's been acting a lot nicer around me than he used to, he's been there for me when I needed him…and Misty…I think I really do love him." Dawn finally finished.

Misty had been patiently listening to Dawn speak from her heart, and couldn't help but smile after she was done. She actually laughed a little, which caught Dawn's attention.

"What's so funny about that?" Dawn exclaimed angrily.

Misty stopped leaning against the wall and motioned for Dawn to calm down. "I'm not laughing at what you said Dawn. I just find it funny that you're so confused about who you think you should try and get together with, when you've weighed the two options: Kenny or Barry, and Kenny has come out on top each and every time. I mean, I know you told me that you felt his height was an issue, but is that REALLY that big a deal, when you take all the other things you just mentioned into consideration?"

"I don't know Misty; maybe I'm just being desperate because Barry hasn't shown any real interest in me. The only way he knows ANY of us is because we're friends with Ash, and even with him he acts really competitive, and not necessarily in a good way. But his antics are so cute, and he's really cute too. But I'm starting to wonder if cute is enough." Dawn replied.

"Listen, tomorrow is a new day, and you know Kenny's here, and I guarantee he'll wanna hang with you tomorrow morning. Tonight I want you to think about this: First of all, think about all the stuff you just told me about him, and REALLY debate this with yourself. But don't debate with your head, use your heart, because in the end, your heart's gonna be the one that's right." Misty went over to Dawn and hugged her, in an attempt to give her a little bit of tranquility on the inside. "I'm gonna shower, I'll be out in a few minutes ok? Try to relax, but don't forget." Misty released the coordinator and went into the bathroom, leaving Dawn by herself.

By this time, Ash and Brock had come in. "Hey Dawn, you alright?" Brock asked, noting Dawn's blank expression.

"Dawn, hello?" Ash waved his hand in front of her face, and when that didn't get any reaction, he snapped his fingers in front of her face. Dawn blinked a few times and shook her head, and suddenly she saw Ash and Brock staring at her in confusion.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"You zoned out, you were just kinda staring blankly into space." Ash replied.

"Oh." Dawn then started looking around, "Uh, where's Kenny?" she asked.

"Kenny went to his room, but he told us to tell you goodnight and that he'd see you in the morning." Ash replied.

Dawn couldn't help but blush. Of course after the heart to heart she had with Misty, it would've been hard to do anything else. "That was…nice of him." She said, turning away from the boys.

"Hey, are you alright Dawn?" Brock asked, now concerned with Dawn's strange behavior.

"Yeah I'm fine! Just fine!" Dawn was hiding her face from the boys, which made them worried something was wrong.

"Are you getting sick or something?" Ash went over to Dawn, but she quickly retreated.

"Dawn, if you're getting sick you should let me know so I can help you." Brock scolded.

"I'm not sick! I promise!" Dawn exclaimed.

Ash and Brock were about to corner the coordinator, when Misty came out of the bathroom in her pajamas. "What's going on here?" she asked confusedly.

"Something's wrong with Dawn and she won't tell us what!" Ash replied, beginning to get frustrated.

Misty looked over to Dawn, and she noticed Dawn begging her with her eyes to get the boys away from her. Misty thought fast and went over to confront the boys and block them off from her. "What's wrong with Dawn is none of YOUR business." she said matter-of-factly.

"Misty, if she's sick, then it IS my business, now what's going on?" Brock asked angrily.

"If you MUST know…" Misty heard Dawn gasp quietly, she was thinking that she was about to explain exactly why she was acting weird. "Dawn's going through something that only girls through." Misty said indignantly.

"What's that?" Ash asked naively.

Misty sighed and face-palmed, why couldn't it be easy? "It happens once a month, and it's no fun." she specified carefully. Now Dawn was panicking despite that Misty had saved her, why would she bring up such an embarrassing moment? Even if it wasn't really happening?

Brock immediately got it and backed off, but Ash was still confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked again.

Misty was now on the verge of a conniption, so for Ash's sake, Brock pulled him away. "She's talking about something you don't need to know about. Now let's go and leave them alone for a minute." Brock grabbed Ash by the wrist and dragged him away, despite all his protesting.

Dawn then looked at Misty with a rather upset expression. "You HAD to go THERE? You couldn't think of ANYTHING else?"

"Look I'm sorry, maybe you'd like them back?" Misty replied sarcastically.

Dawn rolled her eyes and just sighed. "They told me Kenny asked them to tell me goodnight, and he'd see me in the morning."

"Sounds he's looking forward to seeing you." Misty replied.

"Seems like it." Dawn sighed wearily, "My brain's tired."

"Get some sleep Dawn, and tomorrow you'll be able to just relax and enjoy Kenny's company for a little while." Misty said.

"Yeah…yeah I think I'll do that." Dawn walked towards the bathroom to take her own shower and opened the door, but stopped before she went in, "Hey Misty?"

"Yeah?" Misty asked, turning back towards the coordinator.

Dawn smiled at the redhead, "Thanks." she said gratefully.

Misty smiled back at her, "Anytime Dawn."

Dawn nodded slightly and headed into the shower, leaving Misty by herself, since the boys were out on the balcony. Curious, Misty went over and listened through the glass to hear what they were saying. Evidently Brock was explaining what Misty was trying to say, and when she watched, she could tell Ash was getting more and more grossed out, until she finally heard him cry out.

"No more Brock! La la la la la I can't hear you!"

Misty let out a small laugh and covered her mouth, and quickly headed to the bed to try and start falling asleep. Then she heard the balcony door slide open, and heard Ash walking towards the bathroom to knock. "Hey Dawn uh…are you uh…finished in there?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah Ash, I'll be out in a sec!" Dawn replied.

Ash leaned against the wall and waited until Dawn came out in her pajamas, and when Ash passed her, she couldn't figure out why he was refusing to look at her. "What happened to Ash?" she asked.

"I think Brock freaked him out. He explained a little bit about our uh…once a month thing." Misty replied.

Dawn's lips started to upturn into a small smirk, and it eventually turned into a huge smile, "Poor Ash, he must be terrified." she snickered.

"I'm sure after tonight he'll be ok. His brain tends to forget stuff he gets way too shocked by." Misty giggled.

Dawn giggled as well and got settled into her bunk, and then Ash came out. "Goodnight Ash." Dawn said, trying very hard to keep a straight face.

Ash turned his head over to Dawn and stared blankly for a moment before replying. "…goodnight." He mumbled. Then he walked over to Misty, who looked like she was about to burst out into laughter. Ash hesitated to get into the bed; all of a sudden he was all freaked out to be next to Misty.

Misty looked at him and pouted like a little girl, holding out her arms like she wanted a hug. "Come on Ashy." she whined.

Ash still hesitated, but he couldn't resist Misty's face and eventually smiled, and scooted in next to her under the covers, and he was immediately embraced by the redhead. After a few moments, Ash relaxed in her embrace and got comfortable. "You just love seeing me squirm don't you?" Ash asked with a smirk.

Misty nodded happily and just cuddled up closer to him, "You know I love you though."

Ash chuckled softly and just relaxed, by this time Brock had returned and he quickly turned off the lights and headed into his own bunk to sleep. Goodnights were exchanged, and the morning would prove to be very interesting.

The next morning Dawn woke up and immediately got dressed, she had spent the whole night pondering her situation, and she had finally come to a decision. She was gonna tell Kenny how she felt. "This'll be easy…all I gotta do is tell Kenny that I love him and that I'd like to be his girlfriend…but what if I should wait? Oh man what should I do?" Her late night decision was quickly changed, she decided instead to wait for Misty and ask her approval. Luckily she didn't have long to wait, as Misty was now getting out of the bed as well, being careful not to wake Ash in the process.

Dawn mouthed a message to Misty and waved her over. Misty was a little curious, so she decided to go along with it, and followed Dawn into the bathroom. "So what's up?" Misty asked.

"Well last night I thought I had made a decision, but I wanted to run it by you first." Dawn replied nervously.

"Ok, so what did you finally come up with?" Misty asked.

"Well I figured that I would just go up to him and explain how I feel, isn't that enough?" Dawn asked.

"Ahh, the direct approach." Misty nodded, scratching her chin in thought.

"So you do approve right?" Dawn asked hopefully.

"It sounds decent, but don't just go up to him saying 'Kenny I love you', you have to ease into it. Why don't you get him to spar with you in a contest battle, and then invite him to get some lunch?" Misty suggested.

"Alright…yeah I'll do that!" Dawn suddenly lunged forward and embraced the water-trainer tightly, "Thanks Misty, for everything!" Dawn released the redhead and took off running; she had a mission to complete.

"Good luck Dawn." Misty sighed hopefully. With that out of the way, Misty went back to her normal morning routine.

Meanwhile, Dawn was running down the Pokémon Center corridor, a determined look on her face as she ran on, she hadn't forgotten to place Piplup on her head before she left of course, as the penguin was hanging on for dear life on the bluenette's hat. "This is gonna be so great! All I gotta do is make sure I stay focused on the plan! Now I just have to find Ken-!" Dawn's train of thought was cutoff when she suddenly rammed into someone in the hallway. "Ow, hey watch where you're…Kenny?" Dawn was rubbing her head in anger until she noticed it was Kenny.

"Hey Dawn, I was coming to see you, although I have to be honest, I really wasn't expecting to run into you like this AGAIN." Kenny laughed. Kenny got back up and held out his hand to help the dazed coordinator, and Dawn blushed slightly at the gesture, and hesitated to take it. "What's the matter?" he asked innocently.

Dawn's mind was racing; this was NOT part of the plan. She looked at his hand for a few moments, just wondering what his hand would feel like, would it be warm? Would her mind start making things up when she touched it? Like if maybe his hand wasn't all she was imagining it in reality, but her emotions would make it seem that way. After all that thought, she finally took his hand and was easily helped up by the male coordinator. She suddenly realized that she was a lot closer to him than she had intended, and in that split second, her brain and heart received yet another shock. "Oh my gosh, he grew!" That one half-inch she had on him had apparently vanished since the last time they had seen each other, as they were now exactly eye to eye, and that only made Dawn blush more. In order to keep from being noticed, she quickly turned around and went to pick up Piplup, who was evidently still dizzy from the crash and was wobbling around aimlessly. "Thanks Kenny." she said without turning around.

"No problem Dee Dee." he replied with a sneaky grin.

That did it. All those tender thoughts she was thinking about him were immediately thrown out the window upon the mention of that name. Holding Piplup under her arm, she stomped over to him and growled, "How many times do I have to tell you NOT TO CALL ME THAT!" she screeched furiously, as she pounded his head with her fist.

"Ok ok, I'm sorry!" Kenny replied fearfully, trying to block the assault of his coordinator friend.

Dawn huffed and walked past him, Piplup now placed back on her head, but she had barely taken two steps when Piplup fell off again. "Hey Piplup, you ok?" she asked curiously. Piplup shook his head for a moment and then laughed bashfully. "Guess you're still a little dizzy. Come here, I'll carry you." Dawn placed Piplup in her arms and walked over to the lobby, with Kenny now walking beside her. She and Kenny were about to walk outside, when she looked down the nearby corridor and thought she saw something familiar. "I know that hairdo." she said quietly.

"What was that Dawn?" Kenny asked.

The split second she took to look at Kenny was all it took for the figure to vanish. "Maybe I'm seeing things. Never mind. Hey, would you mind coming outside with me to have a contest battle? I could use a little practice." Dawn asked.

"Sure thing, I could use a little more training myself, I always gotta be ready to beat you after all." Kenny laughed and ran outside, provoking Dawn to chase after him.

"Hey, get back here Kenny!" Dawn laughed as she chased after her childhood friend. Dawn quickly made her way outside, and Kenny called out his Prinplup in order to start the contest battle. And then, Ash and the others came out of the Pokémon Center as well, they had apparently taken a lot longer than she realized. "Morning everyone!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

The trio greeted back, and Dawn threw out her other Pokéballs so they could start their training. "Aright everybody, come on out!" With a loud pop, all four of Dawn's remaining Pokémon emerged from their balls and cheered upon release, "Alright gang, we're closing in on our fifth ribbon, so let's train like there's no tomorrow!" The Pokémon cheered their approval.

"Don't forget though, I'm in that contest too, and I'm not just gonna let you get that ribbon." Kenny taunted playfully.

"You might as well, because there's no way we're gonna lose! Right gang?" Dawn asked her Pokémon for clarification, and they cheered in agreement, all except for Piplup who was now wobbling all over the place, and finally fell backwards onto his butt. "Whoa, Piplup?"

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" Ash asked, looking down at the apparently still dizzy penguin.

Piplup looked up at the concerned humans and just shook his head in embarrassment. He got up and stood tall with his flippers proudly on his waist, but after a few seconds he fell back down and looked up at Dawn. Dawn squatted down in front of her confused penguin with concern on her face, "You've been acting strange lately…are you certain you're alright?" she asked.

"It might just be because of our collision a while ago, I know I'M still feeling a little woozy." Kenny suggested.

"Yeah, that might be it. Thanks Kenny." Dawn replied gratefully.

Misty smiled inwardly at the friendly interaction the two coordinators were having, it really looked like Dawn was on the right track. But when Misty heard a voice coming from around the corner of the Pokémon Center, she froze. "Oh no, NO. It just CAN'T be."

"Aaah! Look out look out look out look out look out look out!" Someone came running from around the corner and rammed into Ash and Dawn, knocking them both over and causing both their hats to fly into the air.

"Hey Ash, Dawn, you ok?" Brock asked. The two hats fell back down from the sky, and landed on the wrong heads. After a quick exchange, the boy who had just run them over spoke up again.

"Hey you! Why I oughta, what do you think you're doing?" the boy exclaimed angrily, holding his head in pain as he got back up, "I'm gonna make you pay a fine for that!" the boy opened his eyes and suddenly cried out in shock. "It's you guys!" he exclaimed pointing at them.

"B-B-Barry? You're here too?" Dawn exclaimed in shock, her face red with blush. THIS was DEFINITELY NOT part of her plan, which upon seeing Barry, had immediately been tossed out.

"Who else would it be?" Barry asked. Barry noticed Misty had turned her back towards everyone, "What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"It isn't Barry. It can't be Barry. It's gotta be someone who looks and sounds just like Barry. He CANNOT be HERE of all the places in all the towns in all of Sinnoh, he CANNOT be HERE interfering with Dawn's feelings! Now when I turn around he'll be gone, and I'll see Dawn hugging Kenny and finally being happy. Three…two…one…" Misty turned around and opened her eyes, and much to her horror, there was Barry, staring at her along with the other now very confused members of the group, all except for Dawn, who Misty noticed was obviously having an internal struggle with herself.

"Both Kenny AND Barry HERE in the same place? What am I gonna do now? Oh man, back to square one, just when I think I've made a decision something like THIS happens? Who do I choose?" Dawn thought to herself. Dawn looked over to Misty for help, but she could tell just by her face that she was EXTREMELY upset, and she knew why she was upset too. She definitely wasn't happy to see Barry there. "What are you doing here Barry?" she asked, now looking over to the blonde trainer.

"Wait a sec, you guys know each other?" Kenny asked in confusion.

"And just a cotton-pickin' minute! YOU know THEM?" Barry asked Kenny in shock.

"Yeah, Dawn's one of my best friends, and these are her other friends: Ash, Misty, and Brock." Kenny replied.

"I know that! I know them too you know!" Barry exclaimed.

"You know Barry too Kenny?" Ash asked.

Barry answered for him, "Of course, best buddies, ain't that right Kenny ol' pal?" Barry asked.

"Yeah…although we only met each other like fifteen minutes ago." Kenny replied with a sweat-drop.

"S-So lemme get this straight, you both are friends?" Dawn asked, seeming to not want to believe it.

"Oh yeah, see, I just found that Kenny and I are from Twinleaf Town," Barry stood next to Kenny and wrapped his arm around his neck, "So that means we're practically like brothers. The deal is Kenny's going to enter the contest, and then I'LL enter Pokémon Ping-Pong for a double win! We're gonna do some special training!"

"So if you two are brothers because you're from Twinleaf Town, what does that make Dawn, who is also from Twinleaf Town might I add." Misty asked, her eyebrow raised at the blonde trainer.

"Hmm, you know I never thought about that…well it really doesn't matter, I never wanted a little sister anyway." Barry replied dismissively. Misty smirked, she KNEW Barry would say something like that; she was sure now that Dawn would snap.

"So I don't matter enough to you huh? Well let me tell YOU something jerk, who said I even WANTED to be part of your little Twinleaf team? You two have a great time together and I'm gonna go and do something useful! Like figure out how to beat the snot out of Kenny in the contest, and maybe for good measure, I'll join YOUR whatever it is tournament, and take you down there too!" with that said, Dawn snatched Piplup and ran back into the Pokémon Center with tears running down her cheeks.

"Dawn, wait!" Kenny shouted, his hand reached out as if trying to grab her, "Dee Dee…" he sighed.

Misty's smirk had long since vanished after watching that, she knew Dawn had crushes on both boys, but she had no idea it was so deep-rooted, or just how susceptible she was to being hurt. But even through all that, Misty had taken note that Kenny was concerned for Dawn, but Barry was just confused as to what had happened. Misty then walked up to Barry, "Can I help you?" he asked.

Within the next two seconds, Barry was now groaning on the floor after being bashed by Misty's mallet, "I hope you're satisfied." she hissed. After that, Misty ran after the coordinator who had run off in tears.

"Boy, she's got issues huh?" Barry said, getting up rubbing his head. The rest of the group frowned at Barry in disapproval, Kenny more than anyone else. "What? A guy can't have an opinion?" Barry asked.

"You didn't have to say THAT!" Kenny growled, his fists clenched in anger, "You basically told her that she doesn't matter to you!"

"If I were you Barry, I would go apologize." Brock suggested, rather strongly.

"Apologize? Are you nuts? I can't do that with hammer girl waiting to hit me again!" Barry exclaimed.

"Then wait until they come back, and then apologize!" Ash exclaimed.

"(Sigh) Fine, I guess MAYBE what I said was a LITTLE uncalled for. I didn't MEAN to hurt her you know." Barry replied.

"I'm sure you didn't, but you have to be careful with your words." Brock said.

"Alright, I'll try to be more careful from now on." Barry sighed in defeat.

"Good, that's how a Twinleaf Town resident does things." Kenny replied in approval.

"Gee, Dawn must think more of Barry's opinion than I thought." Misty was jogging through the Pokémon Center in search of the hurt bluenette that had run off, she was just about to go back outside thinking she had run back out to chew Barry and Kenny out some more, when she spotted a familiar white cap on the floor inside an open room. Quietly making her way in, Misty looked around and noticed a mirror, and on the reflection she saw Dawn on the other side of the floor next to the bed, quietly sniffling as Piplup did his very best to console her. "Dawn, you ok?"

"Do I look ok to you Misty?" Dawn wept, looking up at the water-trainer, "He just doesn't care Misty, neither of them do, why do I even bother getting my hopes up?" she hiccupped.

"Dawn…it…i-it's not that he doesn't care, I'm sure right now he's feeling VERY sorry for saying that to you," she said as she silently recalled bashing Barry's head, "You can't just give up like this."

"And why not? Give me one good reason why not!" Dawn demanded.

"Because you owe it to yourself not to! Come on Dawn, this isn't you! Don't let your emotions take control of your common sense! Are you really going to give up on ever finding love, because Barry, who we BOTH know has a big mouth, decided to say something stupid?" Misty asked incredulously.

"I'm just so lost." Dawn sighed.

"Well I'm not. I know for a fact that both Kenny and Barry are regretting the way you feel right now, not to mention me, Ash, Brock, Piplup, and all your other Pokémon too! Come on back outside ok?" Misty pleaded.

"J-Just give me a minute, ok?" Dawn begged. Misty sighed and walked out of the room, leaving Dawn and Piplup to themselves. "What am I gonna do Piplup?" Dawn asked wearily.

"Pi pi plup." (I don't know.) Piplup sighed, patting his master on the shoulder.

Dawn sighed and started to get back up, maybe Misty was right, maybe she was being too hasty in her judgment. After a few moments of deliberation, she decided she would go back outside and make nice with the two males who had unintentionally hurt her. "Come on Piplup, let's go back out there and get some training done!" Dawn said determinedly.

"Pi plup!" (Alright!) Piplup leaped into Dawn's arms, and together the two rushed back outside, where apparently Kenny and Barry had been waiting for her.

"Dawn, are you ok?" Kenny gently placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed softly, which caused Dawn to freeze up.

"Come on brain, he's just touching my shoulder, don't just stand here like an idiot, SAY SOMETHING!" Dawn blinked a few times and finally replied, "Yeah, I'm ok."

Now Barry walked over to Dawn and scratched the back of his head nervously, "Hey listen, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything…so…I'm sssss….ssssssoo…" Barry seemed to be having a hard time getting the word out, "Sssssooorry."

"See, now was that so hard?" Misty asked teasingly, the water-trainer was greatly enjoying Barry's squirming; it was obvious that Barry's pride was NOT enjoying this sincere apology thing.

"When you're trying to be the strongest trainer ever, it's hard to let yourself look anything other than awesome and powerful." Barry replied with frustration, and then Barry turned back to Dawn, "So come on! Accept my apology already or I'll fine you for making me look uncool for an extended period of time!" he stomped childishly.

Dawn smirked and rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Hmm, I don't know, you don't seem to mean it." she said mischievously. Misty was quietly congratulating Dawn for making Barry earn his way back into the group's good graces.

"Oh come on, whaddya want me to do? Get down on my knees and beg?" Barry asked incredulously.

"Now there's an idea!" Dawn laughed.

"WHAT? I am NOT gonna do that." Barry turned his back to the coordinator and crossed his arms, he had already been humiliated enough, there was no idea he was gonna do that.

"Alright alright, apology accepted Barry, since it looks like that's the best I'm gonna get." Dawn finally sighed jokingly.

The group laughed at the blonde trainer who was now stomping like a little kid again, "Stop laughing at me or I'll fine you all!" he roared.

After the group's laughter calmed down, Dawn noticed that Kenny's hand was still on her shoulder, and it seemed like he was gently squeezing it as if to comfort her. Dawn could feel her face heating up a little, so she decided to try and shake it off by putting up her fist in determination, after all, she did have training to do. "So Kenny, how about that contest training?" she asked.

"Sure thing Dawn, let's do it!" Kenny replied. The two coordinators took the field, which got Barry excited too.

"Alright Empoleon, come on out!" Barry threw out a Pokéball, and his powerful starter Pokémon emerged, "As long as they're gonna train for the contest, Empoleon and I will get ready to dominate the Pokémon Ping-Pong competition with our super smash hits!" Barry exclaimed, as he and Empoleon swung a Ping-Pong paddle and flipper respectively, which of course caused the entire group to sweat-drop.

Suddenly, Piplup started to panic, as his body suddenly started to glow white. "Piplup what's wrong?" Dawn panicked, noticing her penguin was in distress.

"I wonder if that light means what I think it means." Brock said.

"It sure does, Piplup's starting to evolve!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Evolve?" Dawn asked in shock.

"You got it, Piplup's gonna become Prinplup!" Ash replied excitedly.

But suddenly, Piplup tightened his whole body and began straining to use an attack, as his body glowed a different kind of white. "T-That looks like 'Bide'!" Dawn gasped.

Finally the glowing light dissipated, and Piplup was still a Piplup. "The evolution stopped." Ash said.

Piplup panted in exhaustion for a few moments, before finally collapsing and falling on his back unconscious. "Piplup no! Please say something!" Dawn knelt down and held Piplup at arm's length, but the penguin Pokémon was making no signs of regaining consciousness.

"Let's get Piplup to Nurse Joy quickly!" Brock exclaimed.

"Right!" the group quickly followed the breeder into the center, all except for Barry who needed a moment to process what had just happened, "Hey wait up!"

The group rushed in, and Dawn took the lead so she could get to Nurse Joy, "Nurse Joy, there's something wrong with my Piplup!" she cried.

Nurse Joy put down her paperwork and rushed to the examination room, "Follow me, quickly!"

The group followed the Nurse to the examination room, where she took Piplup from Dawn's arms and hooked him up to wires to get his vitals. Dawn hands were clasped and held up to her mouth in worry as she watched the Nurse work; first her crisis with Kenny and Barry, and now her best Pokémon friend was unconscious. "Please be ok Piplup." she whispered. She bowed her head and closed her eyes in worry, as she tried to hold in her emotions.

Dawn then felt a feeling that had very quickly become a familiar one. She looked up and saw Kenny standing next to her, his hand placed comfortingly on her shoulder, he was giving her a reassuring smile, which got her to relinquish a small smile in return. And to herself, Misty also smiled, as she saw that Dawn and Kenny were obviously becoming more comfortable around each other. Hopefully these small steps forward would eventually lead Dawn to take the next step and get into a relationship with her fellow coordinator. "Now the only thing I have to worry about is figuring out how to keep them together and how to keep Barry away from them."

Finally Nurse Joy took off the stethoscope she had been using to examine Piplup and stood up straight. "Nurse Joy, how's Piplup? Everything will be ok won't it?" Dawn asked hopefully. Kenny gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze to reassure her.

"Dawn, don't worry. Your Piplup just used up a lot of its energy. A good rest is all that's needed right now." Nurse Joy replied.

The entire group sighed in relief at the prognosis, and Dawn immediately felt her whole body relax at the good news, but she also felt slight disappoint when Kenny let her shoulder go. "That actually felt kinda good."

"Your Piplup is a very determined little Pokémon, I'm glad to say that he'll be ready to go after tomorrow." Nurse Joy said.

"Thank goodness." Dawn sighed, "Um, is it ok if I stay here for a little while Nurse Joy?"

"Of course. Take all the time you'd like." Nurse Joy smiled and walked out with Chansey, "Just call if you need anything." Nurse Joy closed the door behind her, leaving the teens by themselves.

"Um…guys, if you don't mind, I'd like some time alone with Piplup, is that ok?" Dawn asked pleadingly.

"Sure thing. Come on guys, let's go." Brock said.

"Yeah! I got some serious Pokémon Ping-Pong training to do! Seeya later Dawn!" Barry rushed out of the room with Empoleon following, and one by one the rest of the teens walked out as well. After a moment or two, Dawn looked up and noticed Kenny hadn't walked out yet, he was standing in the doorway with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you sure you're alright Dawn? If you want I'd be glad to stay here and keep you company until Piplup wakes up." Kenny said softly.

Dawn smiled and shook her head, "No need to worry Kenny, I'm alright, really. I'll catch up with you guys later, I promise." Dawn gave her childhood friend a sincere smile, which caused him to smile back, and finally walk out.

A little while later, Dawn had made good on her promise and had caught up with the others for dinner, somehow she wasn't surprised that she had found herself seated next to Kenny; however she was VERY surprised to find Barry on the other side of her. And if she had looked carefully, she might have noticed Misty scowling whenever she looked at Barry, and smiling whenever she looked at Kenny. "You know, it's really a surprise, I had no idea Piplup was so close to evolving!" she exclaimed as she took another bite of her roll.

"It's not surprising to me! It's all because of what a great trainer you are!" Kenny replied.

Misty smiled, until she heard the next sentence coming out of a different mouth.

"Yeah, Kenny's right! Great job Dawn!" Barry added.

"Gee, thanks you guys." Dawn replied, her face slightly tinted pink from the compliments.

"Although I should warn you, the evolutionary road from Prinplup to Empoleon only gets harder and harder, you just mark my words." Barry said smugly.

"But the reward's more than worth the hard work, compared to Piplup, Prinplup's twice as big, which gives you twice as much of a chance to show what you've got in a contest!" Kenny added.

"Sounds exciting!" Dawn exclaimed.

"You know something Dawn, you're gonna have to change the way you do battle. Remember it was the same thing for me when Turtwig evolved into Grotle." Ash said.

"That's right…" Dawn mumbled.

"I think that example is overdoing it a little Ash. There's a, literally, HUGE difference between Turtwig and Grotle. But Piplup and Prinplup aren't too different in size; I highly doubt Dawn will have to redo her entire battle strategy when Piplup evolves. At most she'll have to change bits and pieces of it." Misty said.

"Oh yeah! Well in all honesty I don't think that would matter anyway, I've already gone through that whole process once when Swinub evolved all the way up to Mamoswine." Dawn replied, "I'm gonna have a Prinplup soon…I'm starting to get really psyched!" Dawn took another bite of her roll, and didn't notice Brock's now thoughtful expression.

"Hey Brock, what's up?" Ash asked, noting the breeder's change of attitude.

"Hmm?" Brock was taken out of thought by Ash's comment, "Oh, it's nothing."

Ash was still confused, but decided to drop the issue.

"Well guys, it's getting late and I'm sure Piplup's gotta be awake by now. Brock, can I have some Pokémon food for Piplup? The poor thing's gotta be starved by now." Dawn said.

"Yeah, sure Dawn." Dawn and Brock got up from the table, leaving the others to themselves.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed with how Dawn's improved as an overall trainer. I remember when we both left Twinleaf Town she didn't even know how to use a Pokéball properly!" Kenny laughed slightly, recalling the event.

"I'm the one that taught her how, she was about to throw one without making it bigger first." Ash also laughed.

"Well she's got a long road ahead of her once her Piplup evolves into Prinplup. Getting an Empoleon is one of the toughest things even a trainer of MY caliber's had to deal with." Barry said.

The two teens sweat-dropped at Barry's statement; they were having such a good time, that they didn't notice that Misty was being uncharacteristically quiet, she too was also now deep in thought, as she had come to a sudden realization.

Meanwhile, Dawn was on her way to Piplup's recovery room, holding a tray with a bowl of Pokémon food on top. When she opened the door she noticed Piplup was staring at his reflection in the window. She walked up to him, and Piplup quickly turned around when she noticed his trainer walk in. "Glad you're awake, want something to eat?" she asked. Piplup shook his head sadly and turned his back to her, which caught Dawn off-guard, "O-Ok then...maybe later." she stammered, putting the bowl of food down next to the nightstand.

Dawn knelt down next to the bed and placed her arms onto the mattress. Piplup still had his back turned to her. "Piplup I'm sorry…I should've known you were going to evolve. But hey! Isn't it great?" She didn't notice it, but that comment had caught Piplup's attention. She folder her hands and leaned her chin against them and her elbows leaned against the mattress, she was as pleased as could be at the situation, "Wow, soon you're gonna be a Prinplup! Awesome!" Piplup suddenly turned around to face her, chirping desperately.

Dawn mistook it for fear, and grabbed the flippers of her faithful starter. "Hey! It's natural to be scared, but you'll be fine! I'm going to be right there with you, 'kay?" Piplup broke free of the coordinator's gentle grip and went into a panic trying to convey his message. Dawn grabbed Piplup and laid him down on the bed, but he was still squirming desperately, "Piplup stop! You've got to calm yourself down, please!" Dawn exclaimed. Suddenly Piplup started glowing again, and Dawn let go as Piplup involuntarily stood up. "There's that light!" Dawn gasped, "Piplup, just let it happen this time!"

But Piplup refused to let the evolution take place. He summoned all of his strength and started glowing in his own counter light. "Are you using 'Bide' AGAIN?" Dawn asked in shock. Finally the light vanished, and Piplup was still a Piplup, but he had once again been left drained of strength, as he panted with exhaustion. "That WAS 'Bide'!" Dawn knelt down again and grabbed onto Piplup's flippers again, "Piplup why do you keep on doing that? See, if you evolve into Prinplup, then you'll get bigger and be able to learn all sorts of amazing new moves! And then we'll be able to win more contests and…" Piplup had heard enough. He threw Dawn's hands off of him, shocking Dawn further, and also hurting her inside. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Piplup shouted in anger and opened the Pokémon Center window, and hopped out of it to run into the forest next to the Center. Dawn rushed to the window and watched as her starter Pokémon ran away, "Piplup wait! Piplup!" she cried. But it was no use, Piplup wasn't coming back. "What am I gonna do?" Dawn asked herself, "I gotta get help!" Dawn ran out of the room to look for her friends.

The friends she was looking for were currently being shoved through a Pokémon Center hallway by Barry and Empoleon, shouting protests at the trainer and his fully-evolved starter. "Chill! Look, you'll enter Pokémon Ping-Pong too, so OBVIOUSLY you'll need to train!" Barry explained, "We'll all train together!"

"Wait a second Barry! I never said I was gonna enter!" Brock said.

"And I didn't even know what Pokémon Ping-Pong even was up until today!" Misty added.

"But Brock, Misty, don't you get it? We can't lose! The doorway to becoming the world's strongest Ping-Pong team is about to open before our eyes!" Barry exclaimed excitedly.

Barry and Empoleon continued to push the frustrated teenagers through the hallway, but stopped when Dawn suddenly came running around the corner, and rammed into Kenny once again. "We really gotta stop meeting like this." Kenny laughed, but then noticed Dawn was out of breath, and was obviously in a panic, "Whoa, what's the matter Dee Dee?" Kenny had used that name again, but not maliciously this time, he was sincerely worried about her.

Dawn ignored the name usage, she was on too important a mission to care about it right now, "You gotta help me, it's Piplup! Come on, follow me!" Dawn took off past them towards the exit, and her friends followed. They eventually reached the forest. "Piplup ran away into the forest! He almost evolved again and used 'Bide' to stop it…after that…oh I just don't know!" Dawn cried.

"I get it…it all makes sense." Brock said.

"I think I get it too." Misty added.

"What do you get? What's going on here?" Ash asked.

"Ash, remember Bulbasaur? He didn't wanna evolve, so he stopped himself from doing so." Misty said.

"Exactly. Piplup wanted nothing to do with evolving which is why he's using 'Bide', and seeing as how exhausted he seems, he must've been doing it for a while." Brock explained.

"I don't understand it…poor Piplup…he must be starving by now…one thing's for sure, we've gotta look for Piplup now!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Right, let's split up!" Ash said determinedly, "Misty, Brock, let's go this way!" Ash pointed off in the direction he intended for them to go.

"Prinplup, come on out and help!" Kenny called out his starter to help them search, "Come on Dawn, I'll go with you and search this way!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Right, thanks Kenny!" Dawn replied gratefully.

"Alright, let's go!" Ash yelled. The two search parties took off running in opposite directions, leaving only Barry and Empoleon.

"Hey! Wait for me you two!" Barry took off running after Dawn and Kenny, finally accounting for all the humans.

"I can't believe I was so stupid, Piplup must hate me so much right now!" Dawn said sadly, as they ran through the forest.

"There's no way Piplup could hate you Dawn, maybe he's a little frustrated, but he'll never hate you, we just gotta find him so you can fix this!" Kenny replied.

"Hey, what's that light over there?" Barry stopped and pointed through some trees, where a bright light was shining.

"Let's check it out." Kenny led the way for the two other teens, when they got through the shrubbery they saw a waterfall with Piplup underneath it, he was using 'Bide' again to stop the evolution process. When the light disappeared, Piplup collapsed and fell off the rock he was sitting on, and fell into the water below.

"Piplup, oh no! Are you ok?" Dawn ran out of the shrubs and picked up her exhausted penguin, "You used 'Bide' again to stop from evolving didn't you? Why do you keep doing that? You DO want to evolve don't you?" That comment set Piplup off again, and the penguin shoved his trainer away for the third time that night, chirping furiously at her. "What is it Piplup? Why are you so mad?" Dawn asked cluelessly. Piplup turned to run away again, but when Dawn made a move to follow, he fired a 'Bubblebeam' in anger to keep her busy.

While the water splashed in the coordinator's face, Piplup leaped for the bushes and vanished from sight. "Piplup, come back!" Dawn ran after the penguin through the bushes.

"Come on Barry, let's go after them!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Right!" he replied. The two males chased after Dawn and Piplup, but they would soon find trouble.

"Oh man, where could Piplup have gone?" Dawn turned her head in all directions looking for her angry starter Pokémon, but then she heard a desperate plea for help coming from Piplup, and she quickly ran towards the sound. She gasped when she saw Piplup squirming desperately to get out of a spider web. "Piplup! Hold on!" Dawn ran to save her penguin Pokémon, but before she could get there she was knocked down by a 'Sludge' attack from behind. Dawn fell and rolled onto her side, and looked around nervously for where the attack came from.

She looked into the trees and spotted an Ariados glaring down at her. "Aaah! Ariados!" The Ariados fired more 'Sludge' attacks, forcing Dawn to run and jump all over the place in order to avoid getting nailed. "Kenny, Barry, help!" she cried.

"I'd like to Dawn, but…we're stuck!" Kenny yelled. Dawn looked and saw that her two friends and their Pokémon had been caught in another spider web that had been made by two more Ariados.

"I'm gonna fine you for hindering the progress of the world's soon-to-be strongest trainer!" Barry yelled furiously as he and Empoleon struggled to break free of the sticky strings.

"Don't worry guys; I'll get you out of there!" Dawn turned to help them, but the two Ariados fired warning shots at the coordinator, forcing her to stop. "Alright, that does it! Mamoswine, come on…huh?" Dawn reached around her waist and noticed something that caused her heart to drop, "I forgot my Pokéballs at the Pokémon Center!"

The Ariados fired another shot at Dawn, who just barely managed to dodge it. "Dawn, forget about us! Go free Piplup first so you can defend yourself!" Kenny yelled.

Dawn nodded and took off in the other direction, but the first Ariados fired another shot and knocked Dawn to the ground with the explosion. Finally, Piplup had seen enough, and managed to point his head upwards so he could fire a 'Bubblebeam' towards the antagonizing Ariados. "Now's my chance!" Dawn got up and ran for the web again, but now the other two Ariados had taken their attention off of Kenny and Barry and were chasing down the female coordinator.

"Oh no you don't! Prinplup, use 'Bubblebeam' and help Dawn get to Piplup!" Kenny ordered. Prinplup stopped struggling for a moment and fired a beam of bubbles at one of the other Ariados, who was effectively stopped from attacking.

"There's an idea!" Barry exclaimed, "Empoleon, take out that other one with 'Hydro Cannon'!" Barry ordered. Empoleon opened its beak and launched a super-powered ball of water at the other Ariados; unfortunately the attack was aimed wrong thanks to the webbing.

"Dawn, look out!" Kenny shouted.

Dawn looked back and noticed the 'Hydro Cannon' attack bearing down at her, she did a face-plant to avoid the attack that just barely grazed her hair, and flew past her, instead the water-attack hit the webbing that had trapped Piplup, and the explosion destroyed the web and sent Piplup flying into the air.

"Mistake! Sorry!" Barry yelled.

But Dawn didn't even take heed, all she saw was her penguin falling back down to earth. "Don't worry, I'll catch you!" Dawn ran underneath the penguin and caught him gently into her arms, "You're safe." she sighed. Piplup also couldn't help but sigh, but their moment of peace would soon be broken by an angry hiss. "Uh oh…" A whole mob of Ariados came crawling out from the branches of the trees, all of them growling angrily at the coordinator, "Whoa, there's a lot of them…"

All the Ariados charged up their most powerful attack, "I-Is that what I think it is?" Dawn whimpered. A bunch of orange colored balls of energy formed on their heads, confirming her fears, "It is! It's…Hyper Beam!" she squeaked. The attacks continued to charge, as Dawn stood frozen in place.

"No! Dee Dee!" Kenny struggled and fought to break free of the webbing, but it was just too strong for the young boy, "Someone help!" he shouted.

The two teens struggled to break free, when finally Barry got an arm free, "Hey, I got loose!" he exclaimed.

"Get free and help her now!" Kenny yelled.

Barry ripped off the remaining webbing and broke free, and hurried to get Dawn out of the way, "Hey don't just stand there, get moving!" Barry tackled the young girl and got her out of the way, but Dawn accidently let go of Piplup at the same time the 'Hyper Beams' were fired.

"Oh no, Piplup!" Dawn cried as she hit the ground with Barry. But when Dawn looked, she saw that her penguin was just standing there taking each blast, "Piplup no!" she screamed. But then Piplup took the final blast, and the white glow he had been enveloped in suddenly reached out and hit every last one of the surrounding Ariados, and sent them flying into the sky. "That was 'Bide'." Dawn gasped.

Dawn was helped up by Barry, "Thanks for the save Barry." she said gratefully. Barry nodded with a smile in response. Then the coordinator went over to her panting Piplup and picked him up, "Thank you so much Piplup." she said gently, hugging the penguin close to her. Piplup chirped with exhaustion and relaxed in his trainer's embrace. Finally Dawn went over to Kenny, who had stopped trying to escape the webbing and decided to let Dawn come and help him.

Dawn gently pulled off the webbing covering the male coordinator's body, and he stretched his body out upon release, "That's much better! Thanks Dawn." he said gratefully.

"Thank YOU Kenny, for helping out." Dawn replied.

"Aww, well it was really Prinplup you know." Kenny laughed bashfully as he bent down to free his Pokémon.

"Hey! Don't forget about Empoleon! After all it was its 'Hydro Cannon' that got Piplup free." Barry exclaimed, as he hastily threw the webbing off his starter.

Dawn laughed and then sighed contentedly, something about being here with the two males was heartwarming for her, but right now she had more important things to worry about than deciding which boy she wanted a romantic relationship with, like repairing her already existing relationship with her Pokémon. She looked over and spotted a lake, and that was when she got an idea, "Could you guys excuse Piplup and me for a sec?" she asked.

"What for? Anything you have to say you can in front of – ooof!" Barry got elbowed by Kenny, who glared at him in anger.

"We'll be right over here if you need us." Kenny smiled at his childhood friend, who smiled back at him in thanks.

Dawn walked over to the lake, smiling as she heard Barry's voice fading away, he was probably complaining about the elbowing Kenny gave him. She knelt down and put Piplup down, "I dunno how to thank you Piplup, you saved my life again." she said gratefully. Piplup stood tall and put his flippers on his waist. Dawn giggled, "Piplup, remember? This very same thing happened once before a long time ago on the first day you and I met…and because of what happened that day in the forest, I chose you at Prof. Rowan's research lab."

Piplup started chirping frantically at that statement, as if he was trying to relay a message to his coordinator master. "Piplup, what's the matter?" Dawn asked.

Suddenly they heard a loud rumble through the bushes, and the angry yells of Kenny and Barry. "What's going on over there?" Dawn grabbed Piplup and ran through the bushes and saw Prinplup and Empoleon being held in midair by two mechanical arms.

"Whoever's doing that, you're gonna get fined! Empoleon, 'Hydro Cannon'!" Barry ordered.

"Alright Prinplup, use 'Bubblebeam'!" Kenny also ordered.

The two Pokémon charged their attacks, but suddenly the hands on the two arms started spinning at super-fast speed, which caused Prinplup to faint from dizziness. Empoleon held on to consciousness, but it too was just as helpless as its pre-evolved counterpart. "Alright, who's out there? Come out and fight like a man!" Barry shouted furiously.

The arms withdrew into the forest, and then a robot emerged from the trees with its eyes shining brightly like headlights on a car. "What the?" the two males said in shock.

"There's only three people I know who use stupid robots like that, and they're always together. Team Rocket!" Dawn hissed.

"What? Those losers again?" Barry growled and shouted back at the robot, "Do you have any idea how much I'm gonna fine you for stealing Empoleon?"

"And if you know what's good for you you'll give back Prinplup too!" Kenny added.

Team Rocket ignored the outburst and had the robot reach out its arm again after it had deposited Prinplup and Empoleon into traps. The arm weaved its way through the trees and went for Piplup, but Dawn refused to give him up as she too was raised into the air, "There's no way I'm letting you have Piplup!" she exclaimed as she strained to hang on.

But then the hand spun again, slower this time, after all Team Rocket wasn't a fan of actually hurting anyone, just stealing Pokémon. The hand spun just fast enough to loosen Dawn's grip on Piplup, and surely enough the coordinator was forced to let go and she fell towards the ground. "Dee Dee!" Kenny shouted in worry.

Barry once again leaped into action, literally that is as he leaped forward to get underneath the coordinator and try to catch her. Barry's longer and stronger legs made it possible to get to her which was something Kenny wouldn't have been able to, but instead of catching her, he merely broke her fall as she landed on Barry and knocked him down once more. "Sorry again Barry." Dawn said.

"I'm so angry at those creeps for stealing Empoleon, I'll let this one slide and I won't fine you!" Barry growled, his anger towards Team Rocket slipping into his voice.

"Uh, thanks." Dawn just sweat-dropped before turning her attention back towards Team Rocket, "Give Piplup back right now!" she screamed.

By this time, Ash and the others had found Dawn and her team. "What's going on here?" Ash yelled.

"Team Rocket again! They stole Piplup, Prinplup, and Empoleon!" Dawn replied.

"What? They'll pay for that!" Ash growled.

Then the beak of the robot opened up, revealing the team of crooks, and Piplup was deposited into the robot as well just as they started their motto.

Jessie: "Chitter-chatter is that the lurid lilts sound of hot-air I'm hearing whether I like it or not?"

James: "It's putting my poor eardrums on the spot."

Jessie: "On the wind!"

James: "Past the stars!"

Meowth: "Dere's a plot!"

Jessie: "Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"

James: "Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!"

"Save it for someone else, you're Team Missile right?" Barry said dismissively, he made it blatantly obvious he wasn't interested in Team Rocket's motto.

"You must be deaf or somethin'! You heard da twerpette call us Team ROCKET like three times!" Meowth hissed.

"I have a tendency to forget losers like you…but one thing I WON'T forget is the fact that you still haven't given back Empoleon and the amount of your fine is rising even as we speak!" Barry replied.

"Piplup, Prinplup, and Empoleon belong to us!" Dawn screamed.

"Such twerpish denial. The fact is we're the only team worthy of a great evolutionary set like this." Jessie said.

"Oh yeah? Well I think the Twinleaf Trio happens to be a way better team than you!" Barry yelled. That comment confused everyone, including Dawn and Kenny.

"Twinleaf Trio?" they asked.

"Yeah, we Twinleaf Town dwellers gotta stick together, and the fact that we all have a Pokémon on the evolution line makes it even more awesome!" Barry replied.

"The Twinleaf Trio…I like that!" Kenny laughed.

"The Twinleaf Trio…how…catchy." Misty turned around and growled to herself, "I'm never leaving Dawn behind with Barry again; she's gonna be SOOO confused once this is over."

"Hey! Don't forget we're the ones with your Pokémon so no matter what split-second name you come up with we're still the winning team here!" Jessie exclaimed.

"I'll fix that right now!" Ash yelled, "Pikachu, 'Thunderbolt' let's go!" Pikachu jumped up and fired a furious blast of electricity at the robot, but then the robot held up its flipper, which had three metal rods on it. The rods conducted the electricity into the robot and traveled down towards the two trapped Pokémon, who wound up getting zapped by the electricity. "Oh no!"

Jessie laughed, "The more zapping you insist on doing, the more zapped your Pokémon friends will be feeling." she said.

"You're powerless against our Piprinoleon so just give it up!" James exclaimed.

"Although watchin' you dopes do da dumbest tings over and over takes its toll, we got our prize! Drive!" Meowth closed the beak of the robot, and it sat down so that large and powerful wheels could pop out from underneath.

"Let's slide!" Team Rocket laughed.

The robot blasted past the group of teens, but Dawn had not missed her desperate Pokémon crying for help from one of the containment bubbles of the robot. "Piplup, no!" Dawn sprinted for the robot and leaped onto its tail before it reached full speed.

"Dee Dee!" Kenny ran after them, with the others following closely behind.

Meanwhile, Dawn was carefully making her way over to the spot where Piplup was stuck, "You ok Piplup?" she asked.

"Plup pi plup!" (No I need help!) Piplup shook his head fearfully.

"Don't worry; I'll get you out of there!" Dawn yanked on the bubble glass, but to no avail, "No good!" Dawn looked around for another solution, and spotted a hatch at the top of the robot, "Hang on Piplup, I'm coming for you!" Dawn carefully climbed her way up the robot, almost slipping on a foothold on her way up, but she eventually managed to reach the hatch, "Alright Team Rocket, you're gonna pay for taking Piplup!" Dawn twisted the hatch handle, it wouldn't budge at first, but eventually she managed to loosen it. Finally she opened the hatch and she jumped into the robot where Team Rocket got shocked by her presence, proven by their outbursts.

"It's the young twerpette!" Jessie exclaimed.

"Piplup belongs to me!" Dawn had her fists clenched at her sides in anger, "Give Piplup back now!"

"Hmmph, we get the word 'now', it's the 'give back' part of your pointless demand that falls on deaf ears." Jessie said, her hands at her hips confidently.

"Not to mention our Piprinoleon is private property!" James pointed an accusing finger at the coordinator, "And you're trespassing!" James shouted.

Dawn growled and took a very discreet step backwards, she really wasn't in any position to defend herself since she had left her Pokéballs behind, and without Piplup she had no means of getting Piplup back. But suddenly a 'Bubblebeam' blasted through the grate next to where Dawn was standing, and out came Piplup. "Piplup it's you!" Dawn exclaimed.

Piplup shouted off at Team Rocket in anger, and Meowth translated it, "That impudent little twoip Pokémon's sayin' if we want da twoipette we're gonna hafta go through Piplup foist!"

"Impudent's a big word, but well used." Jessie snickered.

James pointed his finger again, "Compared with capturing Empoleon and Prinplup, catching you will be a day at the beach!"

Piplup replied by jumping up and down in fury, shouting at the trio again, "Whoa, tough talk! Piplup says it'll take us apart like it did all dose scary Ariados! Hmmph, big mouth!" Meowth translated angrily.

"Don't overdo it! I can still protect you!" Dawn said to her Pokémon. Piplup's presence had given Dawn a confidence boost, but then Piplup started trying to explain what he had been trying to explain to Dawn all along.

"Now Piplup's sayin' dat it's gonna protect da twoipette just like it did way back on day one! 'I'll always be here to protect you' is what I'm hearin'. Hmm…I dig where Piplup's comin' from. I always wanted ta protect da boss by keepin' dat pompous Persian mucho miles away!" Meowth exclaimed.

"I get it now…that's why you've been using 'Bide'…so you wouldn't evolve…" Dawn knelt down in front of Piplup, "And I also realize that YOU chose ME, because of what happened that day in the forest." Dawn said. Piplup nodded to confirm.

Suddenly Meowth started bawling, "Waaah! Oh, gets me right here! I neva heard a beautiful story like that!"

"Will you stop wearing your heart on your sleeve?" Jessie hissed.

"Indeed…now you saps let Meowth's sappiness be!" James pointed his finger once more.

Dawn ignored them completely, as she grabbed onto Piplup's flippers, "That means we'll be the most special of special partners forever…now use 'Whirlpool'!" Dawn ordered. Piplup jumped up and launched a powerful 'Whirlpool' at the trio, and the robot's head blew up as a result, sending Team Rocket flying out of it.

Dawn and Piplup jumped down from the robot remains and went to check on Prinplup and Empoleon, who had been shaken up by the explosion. "Oh my, are you ok?" she asked. Dawn and Piplup helped the two other Pokémon back up.

"Tacky twerpette!" Jessie screamed angrily, "The only arrogance I can stand is mine!"

"I think a Pokémon battle would be just what the doctor ordered!" James got back up and grabbed a Pokéball, "Alright Carnivine, hop to it!" Carnivine emerged, and then went back to bite on James' head, "Why you can't seem to hop to it without biting is beyond me!" James threw Carnivine back in the right direction, "Use 'Vine Whip'!"

Jessie joined the battle with her own Pokémon, "Quick Seviper, use 'Poison Tail'!" Seviper went to make the attack, as did Carnivine.

"Quick Piplup, use 'Bubblebeam'!" Dawn ordered. Piplup fired and knocked Seviper and Carnivine back. "Excellent!" Dawn exclaimed. But then Piplup started to glow again, "Oh no, not at a time like this!" Piplup used 'Bide' again to stop the evolution, which caught Team Rocket by surprise.

"I'm tinkin' Piplup's getting' ready to evolve!" Meowth exclaimed.

"But if we end up with a pair of Prinplup the boss's gift will be kaput and our evolutionary set spoiled! Piplup, evolve not!" James yelled.

"Stop! If it wants to evolve let the poor thing evolve! We can head this heist into an Empoleon triple-play! And if we were to give three tops of the evolution heap to the boss he'd be so giddy he'd give us the shirt off his back!" Jessie said.

"I don't like it Jess." James moaned.

"Stop being so literal and trust me!" Jessie turned her attention back towards Dawn and Piplup, "Seviper, let's go!"

"Carnivine, you follow suit as well!" James yelled.

The two Pokémon closed in the coordinator who could do nothing except brace for the impact as Piplup was still fighting the evolution.

"You get away from them!" a voice shouted, "Prinplup, use 'Bubblebeam' now!"

"Empoleon, 'Hydro Cannon'!" another voice shouted.

Upon hearing the orders, the two Pokémon jumped into action and knocked the other two antagonizing Pokémon backwards.

"Dee Dee, are you ok?" Kenny shouted as he ran towards them with the others close behind.

"We're fine! Thanks guys!" Dawn replied.

Kenny rushed over to Prinplup and slid onto his knees to embrace his starter Pokémon, "Prinplup, you're alright!"

"Empoleon!" Barry also hurried over to embrace his starter, who was more than happy to accept.

But then their attention turned towards Piplup, who was still fighting the evolution. "Looks like Piplup's still fighting evolving." Brock said.

"Yeah…" Dawn sighed as she watched her beloved starter fight off the evolution.

"Time to put the kibosh on this calamity!" James yelled.

"Now Seviper, 'Poison Tail' pronto!" Jessie ordered.

"Carnivine, beguile with 'Bullet Seed'!" James also ordered.

The two Pokémon attacked once more, but this time the others were ready.

"You'll never get anywhere near Dawn and Piplup as long as I'm around! Prinplup, use 'Metal Claw'!" Kenny ordered.

"That goes double for me! The Twinleaf Trio watches each other's backs no matter what! Empoleon, 'Hyper Beam'!"

Prinplup and Empoleon launched their own attacks and bounced Team Rocket's Pokémon back onto the ground.

"Come on Seviper show some spine!" Jessie screeched.

"Carnivine, upright!" James shouted.

The two Rocket Pokémon pushed themselves back up after taking a beating from the attacks from Prinplup and Empoleon, and then finally Piplup stopped glowing and chirped determinedly, "Hey, the evolution stopped!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Then this one's all yours Dawn! Finish them off!" Kenny said.

"Yeah, show them that they should never mess with the Twinleaf Trio!" Barry added.

Dawn laughed and got back into the battle, "You got it! Alright Piplup, let's wrap this up with 'Whirlpool'!" Piplup acknowledged and threw a powerful blast of swirling water at the Rocket Pokémon, who got trapped in the attack and flew towards the Rocket humans (and Meowth of course) and got blasted off once more.

"Dat Piplup's a lot tougher dan meets dee eye. We may have made a royal mess but I'm satisfied nonedaless." Meowth said.

"Will you put a cork in the prose?" Jessie hissed.

"We pummeled our Piprinoleon and you want to wax poetic?" James added.

"We're blasting off again!" *Ping*

The teens watched Team Rocket blast off into the distance, and then the misty remains of the 'Whirlpool' explosion began to gently fall like a light snowfall around them. Dawn knelt down in front of Piplup once more, "Piplup, thank you." she said. Piplup turned around to face her. "Looks like you saved me again." she giggled. Piplup nodded happily. "I know you treasure the memory of the day you and I meant, and that's why you wanna keep on as my Piplup…" Now Dawn's eyes were starting to water and her voice began to crack as she started getting emotional, "I'm sorry…forgive me for not understanding your feelings."

Piplup just waved her off with a wink, dismissing the whole thing and letting her know that he forgave her whole-heartedly. Dawn wiped her eye and picked Piplup up into the air, holding him over her head and laughing happily, "I want you to stay being my Piplup FOREVER! I promise we'll ALWAYS be a team!" Piplup chirped with a happiness it had lacked the whole day, finally the message had gotten through.

Dawn lowered her arms and held Piplup tightly with love, and then turned to face her friends, "And thanks you guys, especially you Kenny, and Barry too, I dunno what would've happened if you guys hadn't been there to back me up." she said.

"Aww Dee Dee, you don't have to thank us." Kenny replied.

"Hey! Speak for yourself! I for one will be glad to accept whatever praise she may have for me!" Barry exclaimed.

Kenny groaned and spoke up again, "Well, you don't have to thank ME anyway."

Dawn giggled, "Ok fine, I won't." she stuck her tongue out at Kenny playfully, "And one more thing, don't call me Dee Dee."

Kenny laughed and walked stride for stride with Dawn back to the Pokémon Center with the others following close behind, with one exception. "Hey guys! What about me? Aren't you gonna tell me how awesome I was back there? Gah! Come on Empoleon!" Barry ran after the group back to the Pokémon Center.

When they got there, the group said goodnight and went to their respective rooms, after that long day they were exhausted so they decided to just hit the sack right away, with the exception of one redhead who was determined to pull Dawn aside one more time, "Come here." Misty grabbed Dawn by the wrist and dragged her into the bathroom, much to the confusion of their two male companions.

"What's the matter Misty?" Dawn asked.

"TWINLEAF TRIO? What's all that about?" Misty asked incredulously.

"Oh that. That's just something Barry came up with; don't ask me why though, because I have no clue." Dawn replied.

"Well where does this leave you then?" Misty asked.

"What do you mean?" Dawn replied.

"You know what I mean. The whole Kenny versus Barry situation, you can't choose them both!" Misty exclaimed.

"I don't know Misty, both Kenny and Barry were great tonight, Barry saved me twice actually! I just don't know Misty, right now I don't wanna worry about it. Right now I have to deal with how I'm gonna keep Piplup from evolving. We'll see what happens ok?" Dawn replied, hoping that Misty would drop the subject.

Misty sighed and walked out of the bathroom, "Dawn was so close! If Barry hadn't shown up for a stupid Ping-Pong tournament, Dawn and Kenny would've been happily in love together! But nooooo, Barry shows up and ruins everything! One of these days…one of these days…" Misty made her way into the bed where Ash was already snoozing, and just fell asleep; she was too frustrated to bother anymore.

The next morning, the whole gang gathered together in the Pokémon Center lobby to meet up with their no longer tired Pokémon. They were greeted by Nurse Joy who had Piplup, Prinplup, and Empoleon standing with her, "Piplup, Prinplup, and Empoleon are all completely recovered now and they're doing just fine." she said. Piplup hurried and leaped into Dawn's waiting arms while Prinplup and Empoleon went to stand next to their trainers.

The group gleefully thanked Nurse Joy for healing their Pokémon. "Hey! Now we can get back to some serious Pokémon Ping-Pong training! The Twinleaf Trio is gonna take the tournament!" Barry exclaimed.

"Uh yeah, sure Barry." Dawn sweat-dropped.

"And now Dawn, I have something I'd like to give to you." Nurse Joy said. Chansey walked over to Dawn holding a small chest.

Dawn took the chest into the palm of her hand, "What is it?" Dawn opened it and it revealed a rather plain looking but smooth rock.

"It's an Everstone." Nurse Joy replied.

"An Everstone? What's that?" Dawn asked.

"An Everstone has the power to prevent Piplup from evolving ever!" Brock explained.

"Now Piplup won't have to keep on using 'Bide'! Isn't that great?" Nurse Joy said with a smile.

"It's great…but…how did you know? I never told you Piplup was fighting evolution." Dawn said.

"You can thank that young man right there." Nurse Joy pointed towards Kenny, who immediately turned slightly pink.

"Kenny?" Dawn asked.

"Well…I could tell that you were worried about how you were gonna stop Piplup from evolving, so…last night after everyone went to their rooms, I went over to Nurse Joy and asked her to give you an Everstone to give to Piplup." Kenny said bashfully.

Dawn felt her mouth drop slightly, she was shocked for a moment, but then she felt her heart swell with indescribable joy, that was the sweetest thing anyone could've ever done for her, and it had been done by Kenny. Dawn's eyes began to twinkle and her lips upturned into a big smile, and purely on impulse, she rushed over and embraced the male coordinator tightly, "Thank you so much Kenny! You can't imagine how happy you made me!" she squealed.

Kenny was caught off-guard by the sudden display of affection, his face had practically flashed red when her body came into contact with his, but after a moment or two, he slowly got his brain working again, and his arms kicked back in shortly after, as he slowly got his arms around Dawn's waist to reciprocate the gesture, "Y-You're welcome Dawn, glad I could help." he replied.

Dawn opened her eyes for a moment and saw Misty smirking at her while she was embracing Kenny, and in response she merely rolled her eyes and broke the embrace, although she did find herself somehow wishing she hadn't, as she had found it more enjoyable than she thought she would, "Don't think this changes anything though, because you're still going down in that contest!" Dawn exclaimed determinedly.

"We'll see about that! In fact, why don't we go outside and have a practice battle right now? I'll show you what I'm made of!" Kenny replied, his brain finally functioning properly again and his face a normal color.

"You're on!" Dawn exclaimed. The two coordinators rushed outside and started battling with Piplup going up against Prinplup, while the others watched on the sidelines with the exception of Ash and Barry who were busy playing Pokémon Ping-Pong. One thing was for sure, the relationship between Dawn and Piplup had grown much stronger, and apparently so had the relationship between Dawn, Kenny, and Barry. With the contest coming up, only time would tell the outcome of the whole situation.
_

A/N: Dawn just can't seem to catch a break can she? And Misty's pretty ticked too by the looks of things. Well we'll see what happens in the next chapter! Oh yeah! I have a couple of announcements! Number 1: I recently won a contest on deviantART with my fic "Our Own Sunset", so I want you my readers to go onto my deviantART (I'm whocares4972) and go to my journal and vote on which scene from AAML: Diamond and Pearl version gets drawn by a prize artist!

Number 2: I need another flash animator for my Sonic project...if you know how, please message me and I'll let you have my recently registered Skype account so we can discuss the sprite movie. In payment, I will take a chapter request for this story or I'll write you a oneshot! Please help! I'd really like to get this movie of mine going!