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.

51. Old Rivals, New Tricks

Merry Christmas! Huh? Oh...that passed already...well...Happy New Year! Oh...it's almost February already...I'm sorry everyone! It's been literally forever since I last updated, and I know this isn't a decent excuse, but this chapter really threw me for a loop. At first I wasn't going to make a Dawn/Kenny/Barry love triangle, but I thought it'd be a great challenge for me...little did I know what I was getting myself into. I had no clue what I was doing with this chapter, I had no idea what direction to take it. It finally took a Brad Stine comedy skit to get me to realize what I needed to do. And so I started writing again. Thanks Brad! Also, my other projects have been taking a lot of my time, I recently started a video comic, bringing RaianOnzika's SATDD manga to life with my team of voice actors. And then there's real life but...who wants to hear about that? Again my apologies everyone! I hope this chapter is satisfactory! Oh yeah! Anon reviews!

Hoenn Master: Because I could use it to my advantage. And yes, in the SHOW, Dawn is ten, but then again so is Ash. In THIS story, the ages are mentioned in the very first chapter. I made Dawn thirteen years old, and Misty's fifteen, I wanted them close enough together that they could still relate with each other. Oh btw, I really hope I have more than what you calculated, especially since I'm only half-done with the story at most. I'm going all the way to the end of the Sinnoh Saga with this story.

Polly: Oh in the anime. Well after Corsola showed up, she kinda took over Staryu's role. Kinda sad yeah, I liked Staryu.

Anna: Indeed. Well remembrance I can do, sure, I'll find a way. ;)

sparky1001: Mamoswine gets attention in this chapter don't worry lol

Aditya Shukla: We'll see what happens with Ambipom

Agent900: On average? Uh...I can't give ETAs, it all depends on inspiration and how much time I can devote to it. What with two other projects going on and real life, there are way too many factors involved for me to calculate an average. Sorry. And no, I don't play Minecraft. And thanks. Oh, uh...my review page is a mess now, please don't experiment anymore. xD

And with that I say, enjoy!
_

Chapter 51

Misty's POV

I don't know whether to be furious or thrilled. On the one hand, we arrived in Sandalstraw Town and met up with Kenny, and for a while there I thought for sure that Kenny's presence and Barry's absence would help Dawn realize her true feelings and stop being so confused as to which one of her male friends would be the best choice for her. And for a while there, it seemed like it would work! Dawn had pulled me aside after accidently running into, and knocking down, Kenny, and she gave me the most sincere and heartfelt explanation she's ever given me before. She had said that she was almost sure she loved Kenny, I couldn't believe it! She had finally figured it out! And the next morning she was on her way to ease Kenny into her confession.

But then the unthinkable happened, for whatever reason, Barry was there too! He came running around the corner like a maniac and ran over Ash and Dawn and knocked them to the ground. I think I felt my heart stop because I felt REALLY sick when I saw that blonde-haired knucklehead show up JUST when Dawn was about to go through with her plan! Once Barry appeared, Dawn panicked, she had no idea what to do anymore, and then after the awkward introductions, Barry had the gall to say that Kenny was his best friend and practically his brother because they were both from Twinleaf Town, and that left Dawn out of the group because Barry had commented that he didn't really want a sister.

Dawn got mad at both of them, and ran off crying into the Pokémon Center. To top it all off, Barry didn't even realize that what he had said was wrong, until I smashed him with my mallet and took off running after Dawn. I did notice one thing before I left though, Kenny was absolutely FURIOUS at Barry for doing that to Dawn, and I took that as a sign that Kenny was very concerned for Dawn's wellbeing. The rest of the day consisted of Dawn trying to help Piplup through his evolution process. See Piplup was fighting evolution by using 'Bide', and the poor thing was just exhausting himself in the process. We would find that Piplup cherished the memory of the day he and Dawn met so much that he refused to evolve because it would ruin the memory for him since he was a Piplup back then too. He didn't wanna become a Prinplup and change what reality would be.

Dawn finally realized that and she decided that she wanted Piplup to stay a Piplup forever and ever, just like Ash and Pikachu, Dawn and Piplup would probably become friends with a bond that couldn't be broken no matter what the circumstances, that was very heartwarming for everyone. But the REAL heartwarming moment came the next morning. Dawn had been given an Everstone by Nurse Joy in order to keep Piplup from evolving, but Dawn had never told Nurse Joy what was going on. When she asked how she knew, she said that Kenny had been responsible for explaining the situation, and it was because of Kenny that she got the Everstone. I don't know if it was instinct, gratitude, or maybe even love that made her do this, but Dawn leaped into Kenny's arms and thanked him with all her heart for what he had done. Kenny was more than a little shocked, and it took him a while before he could even get his arms around her.

They're so perfect for each other, why can't she see that? Why is her mind so fogged up that she can't see the potential happiness standing right in front of her just waiting to be accepted? Now that I think about it, I know exactly what's got her so confused, or rather who. Barry's presence ruined it for her; does that mean she likes him too? I personally don't think so, if anything it's like when a thirteen year old girl falls in love with her favorite rock star, it isn't real. True love is much more sincere, and she's never confused when it's just her and Kenny. When it's her and Barry, she still isn't sure, and that's my argument for this situation. I WILL make this work.

Normal POV

"Pokémon Ping-Pong!" Barry shouted as he and his Empoleon practiced their Ping-Pong smash swings, "We're gonna dominate that tournament!"

"Not if we beat you Barry!" Ash and Pikachu were also practicing their Ping-Pong moves. After being convinced by Barry to join the tournament it had suddenly become an obsession for Ash, "I tell ya, I'm feeling confident about this tournament, I think Pikachu and I will go all the way!"

Dawn stood and watched as her Ambipom stood next to Ash and used her two tails to mimic their movements; apparently Ambipom still had some of Ash's influence inside of her, seeing as how she was determined to train for Ping-Pong alongside him. Ambipom finally ended with a backflip and her friendship symbol. "That's great Ambipom! Make sure you don't forget that move you just did ok?" Dawn said.

"Dawn!" Kenny came running out of the Pokémon Center with his Prinplup.

"Hey Kenny!" Dawn replied cordially, ever since Kenny gave her (albeit indirectly) an Everstone to help Piplup, Kenny brought her an immediate feeling of happiness, of course, that didn't she made up her mind just yet.

"So what are you guys up to?" he asked.

"Pokémon Ping-Pong!" Dawn replied.

"What? Don't tell me Barry got YOU hooked on that too." Kenny sighed.

"(Giggle) No, but Ambipom sure seems excited about it. I think it's because she used to be Ash's Pokémon, since she's still always around him she get excited about things he does." Dawn explained.

"Makes sense, but if I were Ambipom I'd be more worried about contest training, today's the day it takes place remember?" Kenny replied.

"Of course I remember, but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun on the side." Dawn said.

"Hey I'm all for relaxation and fun, but I'm saving that for another day. If I win today I'll get my fourth ribbon and I'll be all caught up to you again." Kenny said.

"Ha! Yeah like I'm just gonna let that happen," Dawn laughed, "As a matter of fact we're putting on the final touches for the contest now."

"You are?" Kenny asked.

"Do the words Pokémon Ping-Pong mean anything to you?" Ash asked. Ambipom then began swinging her two tails like they were Ping-Pong paddles.

"Wow, that's cool!" Kenny exclaimed, "So is Ambipom gonna be in the first or second round?"

Dawn smiled and turned towards Ambipom, "I'm putting Ambipom in for both rounds." Ambipom turned towards her trainer and smiled as well.

"Both rounds? Um, Dee Dee…" Kenny was cut off by Dawn.

"Ah ah ah, I told you, you can't call me that." Dawn waggled her finger at the male coordinator, she would've exploded at him but she was still too happy about the Everstone.

"Right, sorry…Dawn the last time you planned to use Ambipom all the way through, you didn't make it past round one." Kenny pointed out.

"That was then, this is now! Zoey helped me figure out what was wrong with my 'Rainbow Swift' and now I know exactly how to make sure that Ambipom is still the star of the show!" Dawn replied. Ambipom did her friendship symbol and started doing jump rope with it to affirm that statement.

"Well as long as you're confident, I'll take your word for it." Kenny said, "Hey, I just noticed something."

"Oh, what's that?" Dawn asked.

"Where's Misty?" Kenny replied.

The group looked around and noticed Kenny was right, their redheaded Gym Leader friend was nowhere to be found. Misty was in fact cooped up in their Pokémon Center hotel room, plotting her master plan on how to get Dawn and Kenny together. "Ok, so the odd factor here is Barry, so if I manage to get Barry away from Dawn and Kenny things should fall into place! Except how do I do that? Maybe I can recruit Ash and have him battle Barry all day, but then Barry would get bored if Ash beats him too many times…I can bribe Ash with a kiss and have him throw the match…his pride wouldn't let him…rrraaahhh!" Misty got up and threw her clothes from her backpack up into the air in frustration, resulting in clothes falling down all around her, including one blue bra that fell on her head and just hanged there, "Where's May when you need her? She's good at this stuff."

"Mist, you ok?" Ash asked, peeking in the doorway.

The minute she heard Ash's voice, the redhead yelped in shock and rushed to pick up her undergarments from the floor and her head and put them back in her backpack so Ash couldn't see them, "Don't you know how to knock Ash Ketchum?" she shrieked angrily as she continued to pick up her clothes.

"Sorry Misty, didn't mean to scare ya." Ash chuckled, walking into the room, "You ok?"

"Yes Ash I'm fine, now could you please go? I have work to do here." Misty sat back down in her chair and started thinking again, but she was soon distracted when a strong pair of arms gently wrapped around her shoulders and a head rested on one of them, "Ash…"

Chuckling, Ash planted a kiss on Misty's cheek which quickly made his face heat up, "Whatcha working on?" he asked softly.

Misty giggled at Ash's outward display of affection and blushed slightly, "You wouldn't be interested." she replied through tittering.

"Try me." Ash kissed her again, he was really enjoying making her happy, not to mention himself.

Misty giggled again, Ash was in a romantic mood for whatever reason, not that she would really question it, "You promise not to laugh?"

"Only if it's not funny." Ash laughed.

Misty shoved Ash's head off of her shoulder and laughed, making him laugh too, "I'm trying to figure out a way to get Dawn and Kenny together, but Barry's in the way…by the way if you tell anyone anything about this, I will severely injure you." Misty warned, her expression suddenly dead serious.

"Don't worry Mist, my lips are sealed." Ash replied, putting up his hands defensively, "Um, just for the record though, isn't this more along the lines of something MAY would do?"

Misty face-palmed and sighed, "Yes Ash, this is something May would probably be better at, but do you see what I see? I see a distinct lack of bandanas around here, so someone's gotta step up and take over that role."

"So what exactly is the problem?" Ash asked.

"Since I don't wanna lose you, I'll put it as simply as I can. Dawn likes Kenny, Kenny likes Dawn, Dawn is confused because she thinks Barry is cute and she has to choose between both of them. Dawn doesn't realize Barry doesn't like her that way, Kenny doesn't realize just how deep his feelings for Dawn run. Now the big problem, how to get the two coordinators together and keep Barry out of the equation." Misty watched Ash's expression carefully, and the two just stared at each other for a few moments, "When did I lose you?" she sighed.

"You lost me at 'Dawn thinks Barry is cute', run that by me again please." Ash said.

Misty just groaned and turned around in her chair so that her back was pointed towards Ash, "The point is I need to keep Barry away from Dawn and Kenny so I can try and get them to admit their feelings for each other without Dawn's brain being rattled by Barry being there."

"I still don't get the issue with Barry." Ash scratched his head in confusion.

Misty turned back around, "Well I won't blame you for that one, I honestly don't get it either, but who am I to argue with her? All I can do is try to lead her in the right direction. Barry isn't right for her, his attitude doesn't match her personality, but Kenny is much sweeter and more sincere, not to mention he actually CARES."

"But doesn't Kenny harass her with that nickname?" Ash asked.

"You wanna know what I think? The first time I heard him say that name he said to annoy her, but if you examine the way he's acted lately, he hasn't said that way. He's said it like…like the way you call me 'Mist'." Misty replied.

"Well I wouldn't notice, I don't see stuff like that." Ash chuckled, putting his hand behind his head.

"I know, I know, you don't have a romantic bone in your body." Misty waved her hand dismissively and turned her back towards Ash again.

"Oh come on," Ash moved up again and this time reached around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder again, "You don't mean that do you?" he asked, nuzzling his nose into Misty's neck.

"Are you enjoying wiping your nose with my neck?" Misty tried to act annoyed, but she just couldn't resist the urge to giggle as Ash's nose tickled her neck, "Say, I know you didn't come in here just to act all lovey-dovey, what did you want?"

"Oh yeah, the guys were wondering where you were, they sent me to go find you." Ash replied.

"(Sigh) I suppose I can take a break from my matchmaking service and have something to eat." Misty got back up and took Ash's arm, "And in case I wasn't clear the first time, you tell anyone or even let on about anything I told you, I swear you won't live long enough to make it to Snowpoint City."

Ash gulped nervously and just nodded, and together the two walked back into the Pokémon Center lobby, where they found Dawn, Kenny, and Barry sitting down on benches. Brock was busy pounding something into paste in a bowl with Happiny. "Hey guys!" Ash said.

"Hey Ash, looks like you finally convinced Misty to come out of hiding huh?" Brock laughed.

"I wasn't HIDING smart guy, I just had some work to do is all." Misty replied.

"What work could you have to do out here in Sinnoh?" Brock asked.

Misty gulped silently, but she quickly came up with an excuse, "Just because I'm on the road doesn't mean I completely abandoned my Gym Leader title, I was talking to Daisy on the videophone and giving her a few tips here and there about how to take on opponents efficiently, I can't let the gym just fail because I'm not there to put Daisy through battling boot camp."

"Makes sense to me." Dawn said.

"Well come on, sit down, take a break." Brock said, gesturing towards the bench. The couple nodded and sat down.

"So Dawn, you ready for the contest?" Misty asked.

"Well since I'm up for my fifth ribbon, I'm being extra careful, obviously contest experience and presentation are super important, so it's Ambipom and me." Dawn explained. Ambipom did her friendship symbol and chattered happily.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Misty replied.

"I gotta tell ya Dawn, I love how confident you look about this, there's a sparkle in your eye that wasn't there the last time we competed." Kenny said.

"Well I've been through a lot since the last time we saw each other, between dealing with my confidence issues and learning how to tame Mamoswine, it's given me a while to grow a lot as a trainer, a coordinator, and overall as a person." Dawn replied, "Meeting up with Ash, Brock, and Misty has taught me more in such a short period of time than I ever would've traveling on my own."

"Not to mention if you hadn't met me, you wouldn't even HAVE Ambipom to begin with." Ash commented.

"How can I forget?" Dawn rubbed Ambipom's head with affection, "Ambipom's the sweet and precious friend I traded Buizel to Ash for a while back. So tomorrow I'm dedicating my win tomorrow for Ash as well!"

Brock turned around from his medicine making, "Great to have no pressure, right Ambipom?" he chuckled.

"Hate to remind you Dawn, but dedication or not, I plan on winning that contest, and for me to win, you have to lose." Kenny added.

"Oh of course, I could also dedicate tomorrow's contest to our rivalry, your progress has always kept me on my toes, and it's forced me to keep on going in order to improve my coordinator skills in order to make sure I always stay one step ahead of you." Dawn stuck her tongue out playfully at the male coordinator, who just laughed in response.

"Don't listen to her Kenny; I'm sure you'll do your best too." Barry commented.

"Well duh, I can't be chasing Dawn around forever." Kenny replied.

"Although I bet you wouldn't mind that TOO much, am I right Kenny?" Misty said with a smirk.

Kenny tried his best not to let Misty's words get to him, but he couldn't help but blush the slightest bit, "I-I don't know what you mean by that!" he said, suddenly leaping to his feet, "What I DO know is that this win belongs to Prinplup and me!"

"Looks like it's a battle between the youngest members of the Twinleaf Trio! This is gonna be exciting for sure!" Barry exclaimed, "And then we follow it up with a victory at the Pokémon Ping-Pong tournament!"

"Well I dunno about you, but all this talk about battling has gotten me in the mood for some training!" Ash exclaimed, "Hey Barry, how about you and I spar for a little while?"

"Ash, what about me? I thought I was your sparring partner." Misty pouted.

"That's ok Mist, my Pokémon need to get used to other different types of Pokémon attacking them besides water-types. Besides, I'm sure you'd rather do something ELSE." Ash winked at his girlfriend, which made Misty smile as she realized what he was getting at.

"Oh yeah…that's true Ash, I'm glad to see you've decided to display common courtesy and give me a break." Misty replied, also winking discreetly.

"So whaddya say Barry? You in the mood for a battle or two?" Ash asked.

"I'll take your little challenge Ash, there's no way I'm gonna let you get away with blanking me in Hearthome City, vengeance will be mine! Let's go Empoleon!" Barry rushed outside with Ash, leaving Misty, Brock, Dawn, and Kenny to remain inside the Center.

"Well if Ash and Barry are gonna train, then I'm gonna go out and do the same thing!" Kenny also got up and headed to the battlefield.

"Wait for me Kenny, you're gonna need a sparring partner too!" Dawn hurried to follow her friend out, which just left Misty and Brock.

"You planned that whole thing didn't you?" Brock said knowingly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Misty giggled innocently.

Meanwhile, the four teens outside were taking their spots on the battlefield. "Let's make this quick Barry, we don't wanna take too much time away from Dawn and Kenny's training!" Ash exclaimed.

"Fine with me Ash, let's make it one-on-one!" Barry replied.

"Ok then! Staraptor, I choose you!" Ash threw out a Pokéball, and his newly evolved Pokémon emerged from it with a shrill cry, "Ready to go Staraptor?" Ash asked. Staraptor cried out in determination.

"Whoa! That Staraptor looks awesome Ash!" Barry exclaimed.

"Thanks! It evolved from Staravia during the Squallville Pokéringer competition, and it just so happens Paul was there too, and I beat him!" Ash replied.

"What? You actually beat Paul? That's impossible!" Barry shouted in shock.

"Oh yeah? Why don't I show you the move that gave Staraptor and I the victory!" Ash yelled back.

"I dare you Ash! Ok, I'll bring the fight of flight to you! Staraptor, show 'em what for!" Barry pitched out a Pokéball, and his own Staraptor emerged to face off against Ash's.

"Let's see what you're made of Barry! Alright Staraptor, take off and use 'Aerial Ace'!" Ash ordered. Ash's Staraptor acknowledged and took off into the sky, and immediately did a midair flip and charged for Barry's Staraptor.

"Oh no you don't! Staraptor, dodge that and then use 'Tackle'!" Barry countered. Barry's Staraptor opened its wings to take off, but Ash's Staraptor had moved so fast that it never got the chance to get going before it was tackled onto the ground, "Oh no, Staraptor!" Barry shouted.

"Nice job Staraptor!" Ash exclaimed. Ash's Staraptor swooped back into the air after her successful attack and awaited further orders, "Check that out Barry, Staraptor's got some serious speed on her doesn't she?" Ash gloated, he was obviously loving being able to tell Barry he was wrong.

"I'll admit your Staraptor's fast, but I'm willing to bet my Staraptor's faster! Staraptor, get in the air and get in close with 'Close Combat'!" Barry ordered. Barry's Staraptor shook off its pain and took off to get in close and attack with its talons.

"Now Staraptor! Time to show off that 'Close Combat' you learned!" Ash countered. Ash's Staraptor charged forward as well, and the two Staraptor battled each other with multiple midair flips and loops as they each looked for an opening in the other's defense. Finally Barry's Staraptor managed to find an opening and nailed Ash's Staraptor with a hard kick to her head. "Aah! Staraptor, no!" Ash cried.

"Yeah! Keep it up Staraptor! More 'Close Combat'!" Barry yelled. Barry's Staraptor continued to hit Ash's Staraptor with its talons, further weakening the newly evolved Pokémon.

"Come on Staraptor, hang in there! Use 'Aerial Ace' and get away from there!" Ash yelled. Ash's Staraptor suddenly gained a second wind, and used 'Aerial Ace' to not only break free of Barry's Staraptor's assault, but also managed to fight back with a hard hit. "Yeah, that's the way!"

"But how?" Barry asked in shock.

"Guess you still haven't learned what a little faith can do!" Ash replied, "Finish the job Staraptor! One more 'Aerial Ace'!" Ash's Staraptor did a loop-de-loop and charged forward again.

"No way Ash! This battle just got started! No way am I letting you win already! Staraptor, go head on and counter with 'Wing Attack'!" Barry's Staraptor regained its composure, and its wings started glowing a bright white as it moved in for the attack.

"Barry's Staraptor may be stronger than mine, but mine is way faster!" Ash thought to himself, "Staraptor quick, use 'Quick Attack' to get around, and then follow through with 'Aerial Ace'!" Ash's Staraptor acknowledged and used 'Quick Attack' to blow past Barry's Staraptor and then turned right around with and nailed it with an 'Aerial Ace'.

"No! Not again!" Barry shouted. Barry's Staraptor fell out of the sky and squawked weakly, signaling its defeat. "Again? What's it gonna take for me to win?" Barry returned his Staraptor to its Pokéball for a rest, while Ash congratulated his for a job well done.

Ash returned his Staraptor to her Pokéball, and noticed that Dawn was currently talking to Kenny about contest techniques. "Guess Misty was right, she really must like Kenny better, she barely even noticed Barry battling me."

"You just got lucky this time! I don't care if you beat Paul or not, I'll never admit you're better than me!" Barry stomped his feet childishly.

"Oh don't be such a sore loser Barry, you need to learn how to take a loss and learn from it instead of pouting and whining about it." Dawn said, walking over to them with Kenny.

"I'm NOT a sore loser! I just hate the fact that I lost!" Barry growled.

"Sounds like being a sore loser to me." Kenny laughed.

"Oh what do you two know anyway? I'm the eldest member of the Twinleaf Trio! You two should respect me as such." Barry crossed his arms and stood tall with a proud smirk on his face.

"Maybe when you start acting like a responsible adult, people will start treating you like one." a voice said.

"There's a voice I just love hearing." Ash replied.

Misty came walking over with Azurill in her arms. Brock was next to her holding Happiny. "Let me guess, you beat him again?" Misty asked knowingly.

"Is it that obvious?" Ash asked with a laugh. A Pokéball light flashed and seconds later Riolu popped out and started playing with Happiny and Azurill who had hopped out of their respective trainers' arms.

"Why else would Barry be jumping up and down like a four year old throwing a temper tantrum?" Misty laughed.

"I am not!" Barry yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Don't worry about it Barry, just move on, we'll battle again later." Ash said.

"Fine, whatever, right now I have Pokémon Ping-Pong training to do. At least with that I KNOW I have an obvious advantage." Barry went over with Empoleon and started swinging his Ping-Pong paddle around.

"It's just as well, now you and Kenny can get some contest training in Dawn." Misty said.

"Well it's about time! Come on Kenny, let's get to work!" Dawn called out all of her Pokémon including Mamoswine, who thanks to their recent adventure, no longer needed to be watched over like a hawk.

Ash walked off the battlefield and over to Misty who gladly greeted him with a kiss on his cheek. "What was that for Mist?" he asked.

"For being such a good helper." she replied happily.

"I thought you said you had nothing to do with it?" Brock raised an eyebrow at the water-trainer, who merely shrugged and placed Ash's arm around her shoulders.

"Alright Kenny, here we come! Ambipom, 'Double Hit', let's go!" Dawn ordered. Ambipom leaped into the air as her tails glowed purple, but then she looked up and noticed something hurtling towards her opponent. "I think that's 'Ice Shard'!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Prinplup, get out of the way quick!" Kenny yelled. Prinplup unfortunately didn't have enough time to react; luckily Ambipom was there and managed to shatter the 'Ice Shard' into a million pieces with her 'Double Hit' attack. "Wow, thanks Ambipom." Kenny said.

Dawn put her hands on her hips and frowned, she only knew one Pokémon that was capable of using 'Ice Shard'. "Hey, Mamoswine, was that you?" she asked disapprovingly. Mamoswine blinked nervously and finally decided to just play dumb and pretend to be asleep. Dawn smirked at this and crossed her arms, her eyes closed, "Aha! You know what I think?" she said as she opened one of her eyes and stared at the Twin Tusk Pokémon, "You wanna compete too Mamoswine, don't you?" Dawn put her hands on her hips and leaned towards Mamoswine, who was determined to play dumb. "Aww, guess I was wrong." Dawn said sarcastically, turning her back towards the giant Pokémon, "Ok, so let's get back to practicing Ambipom."

While Dawn had her back turned towards him, Mamoswine opened one eye to check and see if the coast was clear. Feeling it was, Mamoswine discreetly launched another 'Ice Shard'. "Uh Dawn…" Kenny mumbled.

Dawn shushed Kenny with a wave of her hand, and she merely tilted her head slightly to the left and easily dodged the slow moving ice-type attack, then she turned back towards Mamoswine, "Busted! You KNOW you want to be in the contest with us!" Dawn said. Mamoswine once again blinked nervously and pretended to sleep some more, but it was obvious to everyone other than Mamoswine that he wasn't fooling anyone, including Piplup who was now chirping furiously. Dawn squatted down in front of Piplup, "Now now, Mamoswine is acting like this on purpose, don't you get it?" Dawn turned her head back towards Mamoswine, "I'm sure you'll enter a contest with me someday Mamoswine. Isn't that right?"

Mamoswine refused to admit he cared, and just continued to feign sleep, "Mamoswine, what're we gonna do with you?" Ash sighed.

"I think Mamoswine just wants attention Ash, you gotta remember how Ambipom used to act back when she was your Aipom, don't you?" Brock asked.

"Yeah," Ash said, as he had a flashback in his mind, "Do I ever. I was chasing Aipom all the time because she kept snatching my hat."

"Just like Primeape, eh Ash?" Misty laughed.

"Yeah, it too I guess." Ash walked over to Ambipom, "I know you'll be great, we're rooting for ya!" Ash said. Ambipom smiled at her former trainer and did her friendship symbol at him.

"Well we've goofed around long enough; it's time for some serious contest training!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Sounds like a good idea to me!" Kenny replied.

And so the two coordinators spent the majority of the day training for their upcoming contest, while everyone else did their own thing, although there was a significant amount of Pokémon Ping-Pong training done by Ash and Barry. Once the sun began to set, Dawn and Kenny were finishing up their final battle.

"Alright Ambipom, this is it! Finish it with 'Focus Punch'!" Dawn ordered. Ambipom charged forward once more with her two tails ready to punch her opponent.

"Take Ambipom's attack head-on, and counter it with your 'Metal Claw'! This is for the win!" Kenny yelled. Prinplup acknowledged and charged towards the advancing Ambipom, and with a loud crash, the two attacks collided, and the Pokémon were forced to back away due to the stalemate in power.

"Alright you guys, I think that's more than enough training for today. Remember your Pokémon still need energy for tomorrow, that's when it'll really count after all." Brock said.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Dawn sighed.

"Well I'll tell you what, that was a lot of fun." Kenny replied.

"It was fun, wasn't it? And not only that, I feel more than ready to win tomorrow!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Yeah sure, but like I keep saying, I'M gonna win that contest." Kenny replied.

"Oh yeah?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, Dee Dee." Kenny replied.

"Don't call me that!" Dawn hissed.

"Why? I LOOOOOVE calling you that." Kenny teased.

But instead of retaliating, Dawn found herself blushing, Misty's idea that Kenny used 'Dee Dee' as a petname came back to her and was amplified by Kenny's last statement.

"Uh…Dawn?" Kenny said, confused as to why Dawn had suddenly changed her attitude.

Dawn blinked a few times before she was able to reply, "Um, yeah, well…don't call me Dee Dee ok?" Dawn screamed in Kenny's face, grabbed Piplup and took off for the Pokémon Center, leaving Kenny more than a bit confused.

"What got into her?" Kenny asked himself.

"Who knows?" Brock replied.

Dawn kept running until she wound up bumping into yet another person, this time a girl, "Sorry Misty!"

"Hey, where's the fire?" Misty asked her.

"Come over here." Dawn grabbed Misty's wrist with her free hand and dragged over to a corner, "I just got a little nervous, that's all."

"Why?" Misty asked simply.

"Because Kenny told me that he loves to call me 'Dee Dee', I know he didn't mean anything by that, we were just messing around. But what you had said about 'Dee Dee' being a petname got to me." Dawn replied.

"I see…hey Dawn, you hungry?" Misty asked.

"Huh? Hungry? Yeah I guess I am, why?" Dawn replied.

"Why don't you and I get something to eat? Get your mind off of things." Misty said.

"Yeah, that sounds really good!" Dawn replied.

"Great! Ok, get cleaned up and I'll meet you in the cafeteria." Misty said.

Dawn nodded and went off to their room to get cleaned up, and Misty hurried to find her boyfriend. She finally found Ash talking to Barry, probably about Pokémon Ping-Pong again, "Hey Ash!"

"Mist, how are ya?" Ash asked.

"I'm fine; um…can I talk to you, alone?" Misty said quietly.

"Well well, are you gonna let your girlfriend boss you around?" Barry asked.

"She doesn't have to boss me, I LIKE talking to her, it's part of being in love." Ash smirked at Barry and walked over to where Misty had led him, "So what's up Mist? You want a hug and kiss?"

"Boy, what's gotten into you today? All of a sudden you seem more like Brock than you seem like you." Misty smirked.

"Hmm, maybe I should stop taking his advice." Ash replied.

Misty playfully slapped Ash's shoulder and giggled, "Ok, I'm taking Dawn to dinner, and I need your help."

"Name it." Ash said.

"Hey, what are you two whispering about?" Barry came up and got in between the couple.

"Do you mind?" Misty screamed furiously.

"Yeah I do mind, I don't like being left out!" Barry shouted just as loudly.

"Barry, if you don't wanna be left out, then find your own girlfriend." Ash said.

Misty's eyes widened in horror, "Or! Or you could just back off and go practice Pokémon Ping-Pong some more!"

"No, I like that idea Ash! I'll find my own girlfriend, one who's prettier than yours, and hopefully nicer too." Barry said.

"Fine you do that, and leave me alone with my, beautiful, sweet, perfect girlfriend." Ash smiled at Misty, but the smile quickly turned into a frown when he saw she wasn't smiling back.

"And I think the best place to start is within my own Twinleaf Trio! I'm off to find Dawn!" Barry rushed off, and that's when Ash realized he had severely screwed up.

"Oh no…" Ash face-palmed, but was quickly taken out of that when Misty grabbed his collar and started violently shaking him.

"You thick-headed, brainless, monumentally idiotic bonehead! Do you realize what you've just done? I don't know why I ever trusted you with my plan, now Barry's on his way to try and convince Dawn to be HIS girlfriend!"

"I didn't mean to Mist!" Ash replied in fear.

"You NEVER mean to! Everything you do is either by chance or by accident! It was by chance you decided to enter Pokémon Ping-Pong, it was chance that got you to remember me enough to go back to Kanto and get me, come to think of it, it was chance that you even MET me! I don't know why I even put up with you!" Misty screamed furiously.

"Sounds like you're sorry you ever met me!" Ash replied, his anger level reaching her own.

"Maybe I am!" Misty screamed, "I'm tired of your total incompetence ruining everything I try to do, and this one was your biggest blunder ever! Thanks to you, Dawn's happiness is ruined! I was gonna tell you to keep Barry AWAY from Dawn, and here you've done the EXACT OPPOSITE!"

"Well if that's what you REALLY think of me, then why don't you just go back to Cerulean where I can't 'ruin everything you do'?" Ash growled.

"Maybe I will!" Misty replied, "But not before I fix your mess, I refuse to let Dawn suffer because you don't know how to keep your mouth shut."

"Fine, I'd say goodbye but you want me to keep my mouth shut, so whatever." Ash grunted and stomped away from the redhead, furious that she'd dare imply that he was so stupid that everything he did was an accident.

Misty on the other hand, huffed and ran to find Dawn, she had to beat Barry to her or everything she'd been working towards would be all for nothing, it wasn't like she had anything else to look forward to now, she'd all but officially broken up with Ash at this point, so her only goal in the Sinnoh Region was to make sure Dawn's love story had a happy ending…unlike her own, "It's your own fault Ash, if you weren't so immature we wouldn't be in this mess…well…now I have to clean it up, as usual." Misty was obviously furious, and her heart shattered to pieces, but NOTHING was going to stop her from completing her mission.

Dawn came walking down the stairs, and once she reached the bottom she was run over by someone, "Misty, what's the matter?" Dawn asked as she got up and dusted herself off.

"I gotta tell you something I found out!" Misty replied, out of breath.

"What is it?" Dawn asked with concern, Misty was obviously distraught about something.

"Uh…" Misty stammered, "Gotta think fast!" she did just that. "I overheard Ash and Barry talking, they made a bet that Barry could never get a girlfriend, and he's planning on trying to get to you just so he can win their bet!"

"He's gonna what?" Dawn exclaimed, "W-What am I gonna do?"

"Spurn him, don't give him an inch, if the only reason he wants to get close to you is to prove Ash wrong, he doesn't deserve you!" Misty replied, "This might work out better than I ever imagined!"

Suddenly Dawn spotted Barry walking up to the two, "Here he comes!"

"Oh man, I gotta go, don't let on that I told you anything, but remember, don't give in!" Misty rushed up the stairs, and by this time Barry had made it to Dawn.

"Hey there Dawn." Barry said coolly.

"Hello Barry." Dawn replied, her attitude cold.

"You know, I've always thought you were quite a looker, maybe the two of us could get together later and discuss it over dinner?" Barry said, leaning against the wall.

Dawn smiled, but this smile was a rather arrogant one, "Sorry Barry, but I've already got plans, maybe some other lifetime." Dawn shoved Barry out of the way and walked past him, giving the blonde-haired boy a shock.

"This isn't over yet, there's no way I'll let Ash win this!" Barry exclaimed to himself.

Brock was busy reading the latest breeding magazine, when suddenly the door to the room opened and slammed, "What the? Misty?" he said in shock.

Misty leaned against the door panting with exhaustion, "Ha! That oughta keep Barry from getting anywhere near Dawn!" she said proudly.

"What have you done now Misty?" Brock asked suspiciously.

"Oh nothing, all I've done is make sure that Dawn will clearly be able to realize who's best for her." Misty replied.

"Not that this is any of my business, but why is Dawn's love life any of YOUR business?" Brock asked.

"Because Brock, as a romantic, it's my duty to make sure that the perfect matches are made each and every time, just like Dawn and Kenny." Misty explained.

"And you and Ash, right?" Brock teased.

At the mention of the trainer, Misty's temper immediately ran up again, "Don't even talk to me about that ridiculous idiot who almost ruined Dawn's life with his big mouth, if it weren't for me Dawn would probably be getting ready for a date with…uggh, BARRY right about now. Just don't even MENTION Ash, like FOREVER." she hissed.

Brock stared at the water-trainer in shock, he had never seen Misty THIS angry at Ash before, and just like Misty was concerned for Dawn's love life, he couldn't help but wonder if Misty and/or Ash had said or done something they would BOTH regret for the rest of their lives, "Misty, you haven't done anything stupid right?"

"You're calling ME stupid? Ash is the one who's stupid! Telling Barry to find his own girlfriend, that's exactly what we've been trying to AVOID!" Misty replied.

"Misty, did you break up with Ash?" Brock pressed.

After a few moments to gather her courage, she replied, "Yes Brock, I did, it's over between us." Misty suddenly felt herself wanting to cry, but she wasn't going to let her emotions show anymore, so she took a deep breath and continued, "As soon as I see Dawn and Kenny together officially, I'm heading back to Cerulean and retaking my position as Gym Leader, where I won't ever have to see, hear, or think about Ash Ketchum ever again." Misty walked off to the balcony and closed the door behind her. Convinced that the one-way window would keep Brock from seeing her, Misty gave in to her tears and broke down sobbing.

Brock stared at his own reflection in the one-way window/mirror for a few moments before leaning back in his chair and running his hand through his spiky hair. "I gotta do something." Brock got up and decided to recruit some help, there was only one person who had been talking to Misty on a frequent basis the past few weeks besides Ash himself: Dawn.

On his way to the lobby, Brock saw Ash walking down the hallway, his mannerism pretty much the same as Misty's now. "Hey Ash." he said.

"Hey Brock." Ash mumbled, still walking.

Brock turned around as Ash walked by him, "Ash, I wanna talk to you."

"Not in the mood." he replied.

"Listen Ash, I know about what happened between you and Misty…" Brock saw Ash's fists tighten up, "I love you like a brother man, and I can tell you're hurting, and I can tell you from personal observation that Misty's hurting just as much as you are…meet me outside in like five minutes, I KNOW you wanna find a way to fix this, I'm willing to bet you love her too much to just give up." Brock continued his search for his coordinator friend, confident that Ash would come through.

Brock now ran into someone else, but it wasn't Dawn, "What's up Kenny?"

"Hey Brock…actually I'm glad I ran into you, something weird is going on around here." Kenny replied.

"Yeah tell me about it." Brock sighed.

"Wait, you know?" Kenny asked.

"I'm sure we're talking about two different things…hey have you seen Dawn?" Brock said.

"No, I was actually looking for her." Kenny replied.

"Well if you see her, tell her I'm looking for her…and if you see Barry, keep him occupied, challenge him to a battle, I can't have Dawn preoccupied with something else, not when Ash and Misty's relationship hangs in the balance." Brock said.

"Hangs in the balance? What is going on around here?" Kenny exclaimed exasperatedly.

"No time to explain Kenny, let's just say they had an intense argument and I need Dawn's help to sort things out." Brock continued on, leaving a very confused Kenny in his wake.

"Geez, how long is this hallway anyway? Maybe I took a wrong turn somewhere." Brock turned the corner and bumped into someone, someone a lot shorter than him, "Dawn, finally!"

"Yes, you found me!" Dawn exclaimed, going along, "Were you looking for me?" she asked.

"I need you to go talk to Misty, she and Ash…broke up just now." Brock replied.

Dawn gasped, "They did what? But why? That's impossible!" she exclaimed.

"Misty's mad at Ash for accidently provoking Barry to try and uh…get together with you." Brock explained.

"She's what?" Now Dawn was getting upset, "That does it, I'm settling this once and for all, she's ruining HER life for ME? That's where I draw the line. Where is she Brock?"

"She's in the room, on the balcony, just watch out, you should know by now that when Misty's upset, it's VERY hard to reason with her." Brock replied.

"Well SHE should know by now that I'm just as stubborn, especially when it comes to my friends!" Dawn ran off to find their room, and eventually made it without any run-ins, and just as Brock said, Dawn found Misty on the balcony, "Misty, we need to talk!"

Misty jumped in shock and feverishly tried to rub the tears away from her eyes, "H-Hi Dawn! You ready to get something to eat?"

"Don't even try it! You broke up with Ash over ME? How could you be so stupid?" Dawn exclaimed.

Misty clenched her fists, "I see Brock doesn't waste any time. Looks like Ash isn't the ONLY one with a big mouth."

"He didn't tell me to make you mad…" Dawn was cutoff.

"I know why he told you, so you could convince me to change my mind. Well you both can forget it! Ash Ketchum is an insensitive, BIGMOUTHED jerk!" Misty replied.

Dawn growled, "Insensitive huh? Is that way he gave you this?" Dawn reached for Misty's waist and grabbed a Pokéball, and immediately Vaporeon emerged from it and looked at Misty with concern, "A testament of his love for you! Now you tell me how insensitive he is, giving you a Pokémon you've wanted for years!"

Misty stared at Vaporeon, who merely stared back with a longing look in her eyes, "W-Well…" Misty crossed her arms and closed her eyes, "It doesn't change the fact that he almost ruined everything!"

"What about those Luvdisc when we went Phione watching! Remember what that lady said?" Dawn asked.

"The Luvdisc…" Misty mumbled, "W-Well she said it was just a legend! Doesn't prove a thing! Face it Dawn, as soon as I get you and Kenny together I'm going back to Cerulean!"

"Oh for crying out…" Dawn suddenly came up with an idea, "Well in that case Misty, I guess I'm gonna be single for a LOOOOOONG time!" she exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked suspiciously.

"Well if the only way to keep one of my best friends is to stay single, I will. How can you expect me to be happy with ANYONE if I know the minute I'm attached, I'll lose YOU?" Dawn replied.

"You can't do that!" Misty shouted.

"Can and will!" Dawn sat down next to Misty, "I appreciate you trying to help me Misty, but the truth is, it's gonna have to be MY decision in the end, and you're one of my best friends, when I met you for the first time I saw how much you care for Ash, and how much he cares for you. And after a while, I started to love you too, you're like the big sister I never had! And Brock and Ash, they're my brothers! You guys are practically my family, and I couldn't stand to lose any of you because they had a fight."

"Oh Dawn…" Misty hugged her coordinator friend, "You mean that?"

"Of course I mean it!" Dawn replied, "So come on Misty, you KNOW you don't wanna do this, you love him, and you KNOW he loves you. At least think about it?"

"(Sigh), alright Dawn, I'll think about it…for YOUR sake." Misty said.

"That's good enough for me!" Dawn got back up, "Now come on, let's eat!"

Misty and Dawn walked out of the room and headed down to the cafeteria. Meanwhile, Ash was waiting outside for his meeting with Brock.

"Glad to see you listened to me big guy." Brock said, as he walked out of the Pokémon Center.

"You know me too well Brocko." Ash chuckled dryly, "I can't just let her go like this, I've gotta find a way to make things right."

"The only way to fix things is to talk to her, calmly and with love, speak from your heart, and I'm sure she'll listen." Brock said.

"Sounds good to me Brock, anything to get my Misty back. Do you know where she is?" Ash asked.

"My guess would be she's still with Dawn, check the cafeteria." Brock replied.

"Ok…um…Brock, can you come with me?" Ash asked.

Brock smiled and placed his hand on Ash's shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze, "Sure thing big guy." the two men walked back into the Pokémon Center, and were immediately confronted by Kenny.

"Uh guys, why is Barry asking me questions like what's Dawn's favorite flower?" Kenny asked, positive that they knew something about it.

"I'll explain everything in a minute, right now; I have to take care of something." Ash replied.

Ash and Brock walked by Kenny, who was absolutely baffled at what was going on, "Relationships in trouble, Barry trying to get Dawn's attention, Dawn freaking out when I say something, what is this world coming to?"

Ash and Brock found Misty and Dawn inside the cafeteria having sandwiches, "Alright Ash, this is it." Brock said.

Ash nodded and made his way to the table.

"I told you Misty, here he comes now." Dawn whispered.

Misty gulped down her mouthful of food and refused to make eye contact with him, "Now what do I do?"

"Misty, please don't send me away, I wanna talk to you." Ash said, his voice showing his desperation.

Misty looked at Dawn, who merely nodded slowly at her. Sighing, Misty went to the corner of the cafeteria, still refusing to look at Ash, who followed her there, "Ok, this is it."

Misty turned around with her arms crossed, "Make it fast."

"Yeah…so…how are you?" Ash asked nervously.

Misty shook her head and began to walk away, her stubbornness was still at large and she didn't want to give in.

"Misty wait!" Ash exclaimed. Ash sighed with relief when Misty stopped, "It's now or never…time to do what Brock said, speak from my heart."

Misty turned around again, "What Ash?" she asked.

"Re…re-remember when Darkrai invaded your dream and turned it into a nightmare?" he said.

Misty tensed, but at the same time her expression softened, as her mind raced at the remembrance of that event, "Yeah, I do…" she said hesitantly.

"W-Well, I had to go into your fears to find your soul, and I saw a lot of pictures of um…me and Angie, me and Anabel, May, Dawn, I even saw Melody a couple of times…" Ash explained.

"And?" Misty asked.

Ash slowly made his way closer to Misty, seeing that her body wasn't tightening, he felt a little more comfortable getting nearer, "Well…I saw your biggest fear…"

Misty tensed all of a sudden, obviously she knew what her own biggest fear was, "You saw THAT?" she asked.

"Yeah…" Ash cautiously reached for Misty's hands, and his heart suddenly soared when she didn't pull them back as he held them in his own, "You probably didn't hear me say it but…I promised that your worst fear would NEVER come true, and I still intend to make good on that promise, I don't know if you still feel the same or not…" Ash's heart fell a little at his own words, "But I still love you, and I always will…" Ash decided to go for broke, and brought Misty in for a hug, silently praying that Misty would accept his apology and come back to him.

Misty wasn't sure what to do, she was in a daze now. He had confessed his love to her…AGAIN, how could she be so cruel as to reject him now? It wasn't even that, she didn't WANT to reject him, she wanted with all her heart and soul to accept him back into her life as the one thing she had always wished him to be, HER boyfriend, and perhaps later in life…her partner, husband, father of her children… "Ok Misty, your imagination's running wild here…why are you being such a jerk? You know he loves you, and you still love him…come on Misty, give up this stubborn streak, he's still the sweetest boy in the world, and he's all yours." Misty wrapped her arms around Ash's neck and rested her head on his shoulder, and as she felt Ash's strong arms gently tightening their grip around her, she couldn't help but let some sorrowful tears escape her eyes. "I'm so sorry Ash." she whimpered.

Ash smiled and closed his eyes, it appeared that Brock was right, he spoke from the heart and now here he was, holding Misty in his arms like he loved to do so much. He felt the water dripping onto his shoulder, and imagining the pain Misty was feeling made his heart heavy, "I'm sorry too Mist." he sighed, tears starting to drip from his eyes as well.

Dawn and Brock watched as the newly reformed couple held each other tightly, "So, mission accomplished?" Dawn asked.

"Looks like it." Brock replied.

"Can someone please explain to me what's going on here?" Kenny exclaimed, walking over to the cafeteria.

"Let's just say, everything's alright now." Dawn replied.

"Glad to hear it, but why is Barry asking me weird questions like what Dawn's favorite color?" Kenny asked.

"Oh, it must be that stupid bet he made with Ash. He said that Barry couldn't get a girlfriend so he's trying to prove him wrong, and the only girl he knows is…me." Dawn replied.

"What? He can't do that!" Kenny shouted.

"Why not? It might be fun to see how far he goes to get my attention." Dawn snickered.

"But-but, I-I mean what if he goes TOO far? I mean, what if he…" Kenny was cutoff.

"You know Kenny, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous." Dawn winked.

"Jealous? Me? Don't make me laugh! I'm just concerned is all; can't a guy be concerned for the wellbeing of his best friend without being accused of being jealous?" Kenny replied.

"Apparently not, seeing as YOU'RE the one making a big deal of all this." Dawn laughed.

Suddenly Barry showed up, "Hey Dawn! I gotta ask you something; do you have a favorite food?"

Dawn smirked, "Why does it matter?"

"Uh because, I was just wondering." Barry replied.

"Sorry, my favorite food is my personal business." Dawn said matter-of-factly, "Now if you both will excuse me, I'm heading to bed, I have a contest to win tomorrow!" Dawn walked off to the stairway, making sure to swing her hips just to try and torment the boys a little, if there was one thing she decided about this whole thing, it was that whoever wanted her was going to have to EARN her.

Later on, Ash and Misty had finally made their way back to the room; both of them were in an absolute bliss now that their relationship had been salvaged. When they found Dawn and Brock, they spoke up, "Hey guys, Misty and I wanna say something." Ash said.

"What's up?" Brock asked.

"We just wanted to thank you, for being such good friends and not letting us do something stupid. Brock, you're the big brother I've always wanted, never giving up on me OR Ash no matter what the circumstances. Dawn, you're my little sister, and I can't thank you enough for talking me out of breaking up with Ash." Misty replied.

"All that stuff Misty just said? Well that goes double for me." Ash added.

The room suddenly took on a light and soft atmosphere, as the friends hugged and laughed and enjoyed the family moment. Finally Dawn walked out onto the balcony, and Misty followed, "So…SIS, who did you finally decide on?" Misty asked.

"Neither one of them." Dawn replied.

"Come again? I told you I'm not breaking up with Ash now, I'm not going ANYWHERE." Misty said.

"I know, I know. But there's something that I realized about an hour ago. Have you ever noticed how guys are called males and girls are called females?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah…" Misty replied, confused as to where she was going with this.

"Well there's a reason for that. If I want a male all I gotta do is go down there and capture their hearts, and it'll be for free. But for THEM to get THIS male, there's gonna be a FEE involved." Dawn replied.

Misty laughed, "I see where you're going with that." she said, "So you're gonna make them earn you huh? I can't believe I didn't think of that."

"Well you were already attached, so you didn't have to." Dawn shrugged.

"Well good luck with it Dawn, I'm gonna try and focus on keeping MY relationship afloat." Misty said.

"GOOD, stop worrying about MY happiness and worry about YOURS, that way you actually STAY happy!" Dawn replied.

Misty smiled and walked back inside, and quickly found Ash and gave him a swift smooch on his lips which he was more than happy to reciprocate, of course in the process they had grossed Brock and the Pokémon out and scared them out of the room and onto the balcony.

"I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you," Misty muttered as she smothered Ash in kisses, "Did I mention I love you?"

Ash laughed as he held her in his arms, "I love you too Mist, you have no idea how much it hurts when we're mad at each other."

"Take my word for it, I KNOW how much it hurts." Misty replied.

"Yeah I suppose you do." Ash smiled and planted a sweet kiss on Misty's forehead before getting up, causing Misty to whine like a little puppy wanting attention, "Hey, I gotta go shower, we can't forget that Dawn has a contest tomorrow, I'll be back."

Misty sighed and fell backwards onto the bed, and awaited her Ash's return. After a while, the whole group finally settled down for bed, with Ash and Misty closer together than they had ever been before.

The next morning, the group was woken up early by a knocking on the door, Brock got up and was greeted by Barry, who rushed in pushing a cart with covered platters on it, "Good morning Barry." Brock said sarcastically.

Barry bumped into Dawn's bunk, causing the coordinator to wake up with a start and shriek in shock, "Barry? What are you doing in here?" she shouted angrily.

"Good morning Dawn! I thought you'd enjoy having breakfast in bed! I got you some waffles!" Barry exclaimed, revealing the food underneath the tray. However Barry wasn't prepared for Dawn's reaction.

"Barry get out of our room and take this junk with you!" she shrieked.

"Junk? I woke up really early to get you this stuff!" Barry shouted back.

"Did I ASK you to do this? I don't have to be up for another hour! GET OUT!" Dawn tossed the tray cover at Barry who ducked it and ran out of the room in fear.

"Ok, definitely NOT one of my better ideas…but I'm not giving up! I WILL prove Ash wrong!" Barry ran off to plot his next move.

"Forgive me for prying Dawn but…I think he might be trying too hard." Misty said, as she stretched and forced herself to get up.

"He's trying to bribe me into liking him, but I know that he isn't sincere so breakfast in bed doesn't prove squat to me," Dawn also forced herself to stand as the excitement had left her incapable of going back to sleep, "But I'm not gonna tell him that, I wanna see how long it takes for him to realize that he can't buy my affections."

"But if he's trying to get you for the sole reason of winning a bet with Ash, it might NEVER be sincere!" Misty replied.

"Don't underestimate me Misty, you said it yourself, I'm a pretty girl who deserves nothing but the best, and whether that best be Kenny or Barry is still up to THEM. I'm looking for sincerity and honesty above all else. If Barry REALLY has any TRUE feelings for me, he'll come around, when he realizes what a catch I am." Dawn walked into the bathroom to get ready for the contest, while Misty just gaped in shock.

"Wow, just two days ago she was panicking because she wasn't sure which boy she liked, now she's turned completely around and she's letting THEM come to HER." Misty said in awe.

"Maybe you and Ash should get into fights more often; it was your talk with her that triggered it." Brock replied half-jokingly.

"I'll pass on that if you don't mind." Misty said indignantly, "The last thing I want is another fight like the one yesterday, that was AWFUL."

"Yeah it was, on all of us." Brock replied.

Dawn poked her head out of the bathroom, "Misty can you help me with my hair?" she asked.

"On my way." Misty joined Dawn in the bathroom, grabbed a hairbrush and began the long task of untangling Dawn's bedhead.

When it came time to leave for the contest, both Kenny and Barry greeted Dawn cordially and allowed her to take the first step out the door, Dawn silently beamed at the attention she was getting from BOTH boys, this was going better than she had ever imagined! Now that THEY were trying to gain HER affections, the ball was officially in HER court, which meant that she would be free to choose whoever for whatever reason she deemed worthy, "I am going to ENJOY this."

Finally they reached the contest hall, and Dawn and Kenny walked through the coordinator hallway, which earned several objections from Barry who argued that he wouldn't be able to try and get Dawn to like him if she was off in a restricted area, after a while however, Ash, Misty, and Brock were able to corral the frustrated trainer, who pouted and crossed his arms in anger when he got to the bleachers.

Meanwhile, Dawn and Kenny were able to be alone, "So, now Barry's gone, let's see if Kenny tries anything." What Dawn wasn't even aware of though, was that Kenny already WAS trying something, and she was apparently unaware, as Kenny made sure that their arms swung in opposite directions, allowing their hands to bump into each other softly, after a moment or two, Dawn realized what was going on and blushed slightly, "Subtle, shy, SINCERE, he wouldn't gain anything by touching my hand, so it must be just because HE wants to…well he'll LOVE this." Dawn stopped in her tracks, which piqued the interest of the male coordinator next to her.

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

"Nothing Kenny," she said with a smile, "Before we go in there, I just wanna tell you something."

"Sure, what is it?" Kenny asked.

Dawn grabbed Kenny's hand and held it up like she was building determination, "Let's both go in there and be the best we can possibly be, we'll show them what residents of Twinleaf Town can really do!"

There was nothing feminine or flirtatious about the way Dawn grabbed his hand, it was more like the way two male best friends would give each other a handshake, but even that type of contact was enough to make Kenny's heart beat a little faster, "What's going on with me? Dawn's never made me feel this way before…"

"Kenny, you ok?" Dawn asked, although she knew what was causing the silence, the blatant contact of their hands was making Kenny's mind shut down.

He was in such a daze; Kenny had forgotten that Dawn was waiting for a response, "Oh! Right, yeah Dawn, I hear ya!" purely on impulse, Kenny strengthened the bond, "We'll both show them exactly what we're made of!"

The two coordinators both let go of the other's hand, and rushed into the lobby to await their turn in the contest. Finally Marian came out, and began the opening announcements.

"Prepare yourselves to be charmed with an unbelievable assortment of Pokémon as we bring you exciting contest interaction between Pokémon and coordinator! So without further ado, it's time to witness the matches of the Sandalstraw Town Pokémon Contest!" Marian announced.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group had been escorted to a special VIP area, they had been informed that Dawn had requested they sit there so that her Pokémon had room to cheer for her, which of course included Mamoswine, who was apparently asleep, but had a pink pom-pom on his head. "Let's cheer 'em on gang!" Ash exclaimed.

The Pokémon all began cheering, especially Ash's Riolu who was currently wearing the blue sweater Dawn had given him. And then Barry said something for the first time since he had been separated from Dawn, he was evidently starting to feel the buzz in the air, "Wow, I've never been to a real contest before, there's a lot of excitement around here!"

"Yeah Barry, people from all around Sinnoh are watching this contest on TV too!" Ash replied.

"These contests get national coverage?" he exclaimed in shock, "Maybe I should think about becoming a coordinator!" The rest of the group sweat-dropped at that.

Back in the lobby, Dawn and Kenny were standing next to each other as they watched Marian speak on the television and show off the ribbon to the camera, "Our victorious contest coordinator will receive the prestigious Sandalstraw Ribbon! And after five wins the coordinator is eligible to compete in the Grand Festival! And now it is my distinct honor to introduce our panel of judges! Our head judge: Mr. Contesta!"

Mr. Contesta: "Thank you! I can't wait to see the many brilliant performances I'm sure are in store for us today!"

"Next, from the Pokémon fan club, Mr. Sukizo!" Marian announced.

Mr. Sukizo: "Sandalstraw Town's remarkable!"

"And finally, Sandalstraw Town's own Nurse Joy!" Marian announced.

Nurse Joy: "Thank you, and I wish the Pokémon and their coordinators the best of luck."

"And I'm your announcer Marian! The pleasure is all mine! So now let's begin with round one! The performance stage where all of the Pokémon get to show off their moves! So here is our first entrant: Jessilina!" Marian announced.

Jessilina rushed onto the stage, "Hello sweethearts! Mime Jr., let's get this party started!" Jessilina tossed out a Pokéball, and Mime Jr. emerged in a flurry of pink hearts, "First, 'Teeter Dance', go!" Jessilina ordered. But instead of beginning to dance, Mime Jr., got down on its hands and knees and closed its eyes, and judging by Jessilina's expression, that was exactly what was supposed to happen. After a few moments, everyone began to wonder what was going on.

"Whoa, no one's moving down there." Ash remarked.

"Yeah, what's up? I thought 'Teeter Dance' was up next?" Barry asked.

"Must be another cheap Jessilina gimmick." Misty replied.

But then suddenly, Mime Jr. began giving off pink waves of energy, and that was when Jessilina called it out, "Now! The moment's here so let's dance!" Mime Jr. acknowledged and did a midair backflip and landed back on the hat on its head, and began slowly spinning like a top while its body glowed in light blue aura.

"Who would've thought? That hold was part of a planned strategy to create an even flashier move!" Marian announced, "And not only that, that 'Teeter Dance' has taken the whole audience by storm, it's a hit! I think we're witnessing a new presentation style, AWESOME!"

"What am I doing?" Ash wondered, as his body danced involuntarily.

"I don't know but it's sure a lot of fun." Barry replied, his body doing the same exact thing.

"It WOULD be fun except that it's Jessilina doing the move." Misty hissed, as she tried her hardest to resist the move.

"You don't like her much do you?" Barry asked.

"It's a long story." Misty replied.

"You gotta give her this though; it's a neat move to use in a Pokémon Contest." Brock added.

Back in the lobby, the waiting coordinators watched Jessilina and Mime Jr. do their thing, they had been left unaffected by the 'Teeter Dance' thanks to the fact that they were watching from a TV. "Wow, Jessilina's sure changed her style." Dawn said.

"Awesome, and the effects of that 'Teeter Dance' have spread throughout the entire stadium as well!" Kenny added.

Finally Mime Jr. stopped dancing, and that marked the end of their presentation, "Now cue the applause!" Jessilina was right, she had walked away from her flight technique, and the audience gave her a standing ovation for giving them a brand new style.

Mr. Contesta: "Truly an innovative and enjoyable presentation that really brought out Mime Jr.'s unmistakable charm within."

Mr. Sukizo: "Also, remarkable!"

Nurse Joy: "That Mime Jr., those moves, so sweet! So charming!"

"And now for our next performer!" Marian announced, allowing another coordinator with a Seedot to take the stage. While all this was going on, Barry was watching in amazement at the moves he was currently being exposed to, how had he not known anything about this before?

Finally it was just about time for Kenny to take his turn, "Looks like I'm up!" he exclaimed.

"Show 'em what you're made of!" Dawn replied.

"You got it!" Kenny rushed off and reached the curtain just as Marian announced it was his turn, "Now Machoke, go!" Kenny threw out a Pokéball, and his Machoke emerged as pink bubbles swirled around its kneeling form, "Use 'Focus Energy'!" Kenny ordered. Machoke roared out a battle cry and flexed its muscles; they pulsed with power as the adrenaline flowed through its body.

"Oh please, they give him points for THAT? I can do that!" Barry started flexing his muscles and striking poses, which earned sweat-drops from everyone.

Then a huge machine lowered an absolutely enormous barbell in front of Machoke, "And now an enormous barbell weighing three times more than Machoke's own weight has been lowered onto the stage!" Marian announced.

"Now use 'Strength'!" Kenny ordered. Machoke took a deep breath and focused all its power into one feat of strength, as it grabbed ahold of the barbell and lifted it up into the air using only one arm.

"Unbelievable! Machoke is lifting that humongous barbell with only one arm like it was nothing!" Then Machoke went all out, "Machoke just switched arms! Incredible!"

"Wow, that's so cool!" Ash exclaimed.

"I gotta admit, I CAN'T do that, I gotta catch me a strong Machoke one of these days." Barry added.

"You know how you get a strong Machoke Barry? You start at the bottom with a Machop and work your way up from there." Misty replied. The redhead still had issues with Barry, as HE still had issues realizing that hard work was the absolute best way to get strong Pokémon.

"You know, contest moves are usually beautiful and graceful, so I think it was a smart choice for Kenny to show off how powerful Machoke is." Brock said.

Back in the lobby, Dawn was watching in admiration, "Wow, Kenny really nailed it. Everyone knows exactly what he wanted to show us about his Machoke now." she said.

"Seems like the smell of sweat to me." Jessilina commented, turning her head indignantly, "Annoying."

"Guess we're back to being rivals huh?" Dawn sighed to herself.

On stage, Kenny was almost done, "Ok Machoke," Kenny ran towards the barbell and leaped into the air, "Wrap it up!" Kenny grabbed ahold of the barbell and held himself up in the air, signaling the end of their performance.

"Wow! How'd he do that?" Dawn exclaimed.

Mr. Contesta: "Truly a fantastically straightforward performance that showed off Machoke's appeal."

Mr. Sukizo: "And, remarkable too!"

Nurse Joy: "Such well-developed biceps, Machoke couldn't go wrong."

After accepting the applause, Kenny returned Machoke to its Pokéball and ran back inside, and the first person he ran into was Dawn, "Hey Dawn! What'd you think?" he asked.

"Amazing! Who knew you could show off a Pokémon like that? And who knew YOU had the abdomen strength to hold yourself up like that?" Dawn replied. She had to fight keeping a smirk off her lips, as she saw Kenny's face start to heat up a bit at the compliment.

"W-Well…well you're not beating me this time! After all I did see you win the Wallace Cup." Kenny exclaimed, trying to keep his nervousness hidden.

"Oh yeah, you mentioned that once before." Dawn replied.

"I still don't know how Misty managed to keep up with you, but either way, with three ribbons I'm still down by one, but so…my main goal is to win and get ahead of you." Kenny replied.

Dawn blushed softly at the compliment, "Thanks Kenny, you're embarrassing me." she giggled.

Kenny was caught off guard by her soft response, he expected her to shoot a competitive comment back, but seeing her giggle and made happy by his words, warmed his heart somehow. "W-Well you're not reading me!" Kenny exclaimed suddenly.

"Huh?" Dawn asked.

"What part of 'I'm gonna beat you' don't you understand? My goal is to get you and that's that!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Huh? Get me?" Dawn asked.

Kenny blinked a few times and blushed furiously when he realized what he accidently said, "I mean my goal is to win and get AHEAD of you! That's what I meant!" he exclaimed nervously.

Dawn smiled, the fact that he was hiding meant to her that he really did care…but she wasn't ready to give in yet, she was waiting for just the right time to make her final decision. Of course, there was nothing wrong with a little shameless flirting just to toy with him was there? "I dunno, it sure seemed like you meant to say you wanted to get ME, is there something I should know about Kenny?" she asked teasingly.

"It was just a slip of the tongue I swear! Listen I gotta go; I have to get ready for the next round! And I better be seeing you in the final round, got it?" Kenny rushed off in total shock and embarrassment, "WHAT is going ON here? All of a sudden I can't get Dawn out of my head!"

Dawn giggled to herself, she found it amusing to see Kenny all frazzled by her. But right now, she had something else to focus on, and that was to steal the show and make it round two. Dawn grabbed a Pokéball and ran towards the stage, and burst through the curtain just as Marian announced her turn, "Ambipom, go! Spooootlight!" Dawn tossed the ball and her two-tailed monkey emerged from the flying musical notes produced by the Pokéball seal. "Now 'Double Team' into 'Focus Punch'!" Dawn ordered. Ambipom acknowledged and split into eight, and together the Ambipom used 'Focus Punch' and shattered the musical notes that had been floating around, causing sparkles to fall down onto the audience, "Great way to start!"

"Keep it up Ambipom!" Ash exclaimed from the stands.

"Wow, she's not doing bad at all." Barry commented.

"It's the perfect balance of great moves and speed, and the two of them are totally in sync." Brock said.

"Kinda makes it hard to believe that Ambipom used to be Ash's." Misty teased.

"Hey!" Ash exclaimed. Misty couldn't help but giggle.

Back in the lobby, Kenny was watching Dawn at work, "You're doing great Dee Dee, show everyone what I know you can do!" he said to himself.

"Next use 'Swift'!" Dawn ordered. Ambipom acknowledged and began making stars, but then before they actually got launched, Ambipom slapped them hard with her tails, sending stars flying in all directions.

"They did it! They nailed the Pokémon Ping-Pong move!" Ash exclaimed.

"Using that move was a great idea for sure!" Brock added.

"Well she DID have an awesome coach after all." Barry smirked arrogantly.

"If you're such a great coach, why did you wake her up a whole hour before she needed to be awake and ruin her mood this morning?" Misty asked. Barry sweat-dropped at that.

Ambipom then began spinning like a top in the air, and a whirlwind of stars followed the monkey as she spiraled upwards, "And finally, wrap it up with 'Double Hit'!" Dawn ordered. Ambipom had now been enveloped by the whirlwind, and used 'Double Hit' to slow it down and cause it to immediately break up, when it vanished, Ambipom was standing there with Dawn, doing a closing pose with her. And in the VIP section, a certain Pokémon had been woken from his sleep, and was now in complete awe at what he had just seen.

Mr. Contesta: "The synchronicity between coordinator and Pokémon was impeccable; I would have LOVED to see more of that!"

Mr. Sukizo: "True, remarkable!"

Nurse Joy: "Ambipom's performance was charming in every way, the move where it swung its tail was lovely too."

"Sounds like high praise from the judges to me." Misty said.

"Hey, check out Mamoswine." Ash replied, directing their attention to the twin-tusk Pokémon who was staring in awe.

"Looks like he liked it." Brock said.

"What'd you think Mamoswine? Weren't Dawn and Ambipom great?" Ash asked.

Mamoswine replied by closing his eyes and beginning to snore. "Oh man." Ash sighed.

"Mamoswine's really intrigued don't you think?" Brock said sarcastically.

"He's just in denial, when Dawn says it's his turn, just watch Mamoswine wake up." Misty replied.

Dawn then walked into the VIP section with Kenny, who had given her congratulations upon seeing her after her performance. She sighed and placed her hands on the top of the barrier, as she anxiously awaited the results of the first round.

"Relax Dawn; you gave an awesome performance out there." Ash said.

"I've never seen you and Ambipom work better." Misty added.

"Thanks, but the wait for the results can be so nerve-wracking…and then there's him…" Dawn looked past her friends to look at Kenny, who was now talking with Barry, "He said his goal was to get ahead of me, he told me he's determined to win this contest and beat me."

"Well you know you gotta accept his challenge! That's what a rival's supposed to do!" Ash replied.

Dawn had pretty much ignored Ash's statement; she was still looking at her coordinator friend. Kenny noticed Dawn staring at him, and couldn't help but blush a little as he gave her a thumbs-up. He hoped Dawn wouldn't notice his face turning a bit red since she wasn't close up to him, but someone was.

"Hey Kenny, you alright? Your face is kinda red." Barry mentioned.

"I'm fine! Really! I'm just a little winded that's all!" Kenny replied a little too loudly.

Dawn smiled and turned back towards the stage; Misty joined her. "If you wanna know what I think, I think he's trying to impress you." she said.

"If that's the case, he's doing it unnecessarily. I've ALWAYS been impressed with his coordinator skills. You know he actually told me his REAL goal before I went on to perform…he said he wanted to get ME, not get AHEAD of me." Dawn whispered.

"And he denied it right away right?" Misty asked.

"Of course. But I did flirt with him a little, just to see his reaction, he blushed so badly." Dawn giggled.

"So I guess now you're convinced of his feelings for you?" Misty asked.

"Yeah I think so. But I'm not changing my mind; I'll wait for him to make the first move. If he wants me, he's gonna have to come to me." Dawn replied.

Finally Marian returned, "Ladies and gentlemen! The long and suspenseful wait is finally over! After careful consideration by our panel of judges we now present on-screen the eight talented coordinators who will be moving on to the second round!" she announced.

The screen revealed the profiles, and it showed that both Dawn and Kenny managed to make it to the second round. "We're in!" Dawn squealed.

"You and Ambipom did it!" Ash exclaimed.

"Now remember, stay calm during round two." Brock said.

"Right Brock, thanks." Dawn sighed.

Now Kenny walked over with Barry, his blush long gone by now, "Dawn, don't forget that our battle has just begun!"

"You bet!" Dawn replied.

"You can ALSO bet that I'm gonna win! I'll have my fifth ribbon before you and then I'll be waiting for you at the Grand Festival, got it?" Kenny said.

"I'M the one who's getting a fifth ribbon first; I'm not losing to YOU." Dawn replied.

"Yeah, that's what I like to hear!" Ash exclaimed, "From BOTH of you!"

"But don't forget, rivalries may be fun, but friendships are irreplaceable. Don't ever forget that you two are friends first, and rivals second." Misty said.

"Of course, I couldn't imagine life without Dawn, she's the main reason I keep working so hard at being a coordinator!" Kenny replied.

"Wow, that's exactly the same way I feel!" Dawn replied.

"Yes!" Misty thought victoriously.

"Well then may the best coordinator win, that's me by the way. And like I said before, I can't wait to battle you in the Grand Festival!" Kenny said.

"Same here, except I'M the best coordinator!" Dawn replied.

The battle rounds began fast, and Dawn and Kenny immediately began to dominate their battles with their combination of power and style. Eventually Dawn had to face off against Jessilina and her Seviper, but she easily took care of them with Ambipom's 'Double Hit'. As everyone expected, the two coordinators who would compete for the Sandalstraw Ribbon were Dawn and Kenny. "Well Kenny, you got what you wanted, it's me and you in the final round!" Dawn said.

"Sure is, you've been awesome all the way through this contest." Kenny replied.

"Thanks, you've been great too!" Dawn said.

"But all that ends right here, I'm giving you everything I've got!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Trying to impress me Kenny?" Dawn asked with a smirk.

"Impress you?" Kenny replied. He shook his head and got refocused, "If by 'impress' you mean 'take you down with my awesome coordinator skills' then yeah, I guess I am trying to impress you!"

"If you say so Kenny, but if that's the case, then you're not gonna impress me because that ribbon is mine!" Dawn replied.

"We'll see about that!" Kenny said.

Finally Marian called for the two coordinators, and just before they split, they shared a friendly handshake, a sign between them that today they were rivals, but like Misty said, they were friends first and foremost. The two took their respective places on the stage, and Marian announced the start of the battle, "Alright Ambipom, spooootlight!" Dawn tossed the Pokéball once more, and Ambipom emerged from the musical notes, swinging her tail like a Ping-Pong paddle.

"Now Prinplup, let's go!" Kenny tossed out his ball, and his faithful starter emerged from a flurry of multi-colored stars.

"You can do it Ambipom!" Ash cheered from the stands.

"Why are you cheering for Ambipom? Shouldn't you be cheering for Dawn?" Barry asked.

"Dawn and Kenny are both my friends, I can't pick between both of them, but if I cheer for Ambipom, it feels better since she used to be MY Pokémon." Ash explained.

"So in other words, you're copping out." Misty teased.

Ash sighed, "Ok fine, maybe I am."

The group laughed at that, all except for Mamoswine who seemed to be mesmerized by what was happening on the field, and Riolu who didn't exactly know what was going on.

"Ambipom, don't let your guard down, Kenny's an awesome coordinator!" Dawn exclaimed. Ambipom nodded determinedly.

Kenny was taken aback by the compliment, but he quickly refocused, "Don't let Dawn distract you Prinplup!" he exclaimed. Prinplup turned around and raised an eyebrow at Kenny, "D'oh, you know what I mean!" Kenny said, trying to fight back a blush. Prinplup shrugged and got back to the task at hand, as Marian made some final announcements.

"Looks like even Prinplup knows what Kenny feels." Misty giggled.

"What do you mean by 'what Kenny feels'?" Barry asked.

"Oh crud, I said that out loud? Think fast!" Misty panicked, "I-I mean that Kenny's good at trash-talk, but in the end the fact that he's battling a friend makes it more...pressuring!"

"Oh good, for a second there I thought I'd have to give up on my bet with Ash." Barry replied.

"He would've given up?" Misty thought incredulously, "NOW who's got the big mouth?"

"You don't HAVE to go after Dawn you know; think about how Dawn would feel if she found out that you were faking it this whole time!" Ash replied.

"Yeah, your Twinleaf Trio would break up so fast your head would spin!" Misty added.

"I guess…it would be kinda…wrong." Barry admitted, "Alright fine, I'll find someone else, but mark my words Ash, you WON'T win that bet!"

"We'll see." Ash replied with a smirk.

Misty suddenly embraced the Pokémon Trainer tightly, whispering in his ear, "You did it Ash! You got Barry to back off! I'm so proud of you!"

Ash blushed and grabbed Misty's hands and pulled her off him, at first she was hurt by the rejection, but then she remembered who was around, and sure enough, Riolu was staring at them with his face also red via aura connection. "Nothing to see here Riolu, go back and cheer for Dawn." Ash said.

Riolu's blush disappeared and he smiled, and he turned back to the field to cheer. "I'm still proud of you though, you'll get a full hug later when Riolu's not around." Misty winked. Ash beamed at her and turned back to the stage, now that Marian was done with her announcements, the clock began to tick down from five minutes.

"Alright Prinplup, use 'Drill Peck'!" Kenny ordered. Prinplup charged forward spinning like a drill as it prepared to hit Ambipom hard with the flying-type move.

"Counter it with 'Swift' Ambipom!" Dawn exclaimed. Ambipom acknowledged and swung her tails, which launched a flurry of stars that negated Prinplup's attack and knocked the penguin back, depleting Kenny's points slightly, "Now use 'Double Team'!" Dawn ordered. Ambipom did just that, as she split into eight different Ambipom.

"That won't stop us! Now use 'Bubblebeam'!" Prinplup fired in a sweeping pattern, which rapidly took out all the fake Ambipom, and depleting Dawn's points slightly.

Now that the fakes were gone, the final blast of 'Bubblebeam' was free to hit Ambipom, but then Dawn came up with an idea, "Ambipom, hit it back with 'Focus Punch'!" she ordered. Ambipom swung her tails and smashed the incoming attack back, which blasted through the rest of the attack and sent the hit move back towards Prinplup, and gave Kenny the biggest shock of his coordinator career.

"Hey, that was a Pokémon Ping-Pong move!" Barry exclaimed.

"Way to go Ambipom!" Ash cheered.

"So what was that about Pokémon Ping-Pong being a waste of time?" Dawn exclaimed.

Kenny growled, "Hit 'em back with 'Metal Claw', quick!" he countered. Prinplup's fin began to glow from the influence of 'Metal Claw', and the penguin copied Ambipom's previous action and hit the 'Bubblebeam' back at them, which only caused Ambipom to once again do the same thing, and so on.

"This is turning into a Pokémon Ping-Pong match! A first for a Pokémon Contest!" Marian announced. One thing was for sure, the crowd was sure enjoying it, especially those who would probably be either watching or participating in the Pokémon Ping-Pong match the next day.

"Wow Kenny, I know I said I wouldn't be, but I have to admit, I'm impressed." Dawn said.

"Really?" Kenny asked hopefully, but then he realized what was happening again and he shook his head to refocus, "Gotta stop thinking like this!" he thought. "I wasn't exactly sleeping while you guys were practicing! Now Prinplup, 'Bubblebeam'!" Prinplup smashed the previous attack back at Ambipom, and then added on to it by firing again. This time Ambipom looked on in intimidation, there was no way her 'Focus Punch' could knock back all those bubbles.

"No need to worry Ambipom, use 'Double Hit'!" Dawn ordered. Ambipom acknowledged, and her tails glowed purple as the super-fast attack popped all the incoming bubbles and depleted Kenny's points further.

"Now, 'Drill Peck'!" Kenny ordered. Prinplup followed the last of its 'Bubblebeam' and got ready to attack.

"Ambipom, 'Focus Punch'!" Dawn countered. Ambipom flipped backwards and used both her tails as individuals to launch a two-sided 'Focus Punch', which brought Kenny's points down just because of the appeal.

"Awesome!" Barry shouted excitedly.

"Ambipom sure can rock!" Ash exclaimed.

The two attacks collided, and the two Pokémon slid back to their respective sides of the field, although Prinplup seemed noticeably more shaken than Ambipom. "Now, jump and then use 'Metal Claw'!" Kenny ordered. Prinplup acknowledged and put its fins together, as it leaped up into the air and spun like a drill as it nose-dived Ambipom.

"Alright, take their attack head-on! Use 'Double Hit'!" Dawn countered. Ambipom leaped up to meet the attack in the air, but then Prinplup used the 'Metal Claw' to open up Ambipom's defenses and stop the attack, "Oh no!"

"This is it Prinplup! Use 'Drill Peck' max power!" Kenny ordered. Prinplup hit Ambipom dead-on, and the monkey slid across the field and fainted from the incredible power of Prinplup's attack.

"No, Ambipom!" Dawn exclaimed. Ambipom chattered woozily, and the judges gave three red X's to Dawn as Ambipom was no longer able to battle, which meant that Kenny had won.

"Alright Prinplup, we did it pal!" Kenny rushed onto the field and embraced his starter Pokémon, "Thanks Prinplup, you really battled hard!"

Meanwhile Dawn gently helped the groaning Ambipom into a sitting-up position, "Ambipom, you were great," Dawn softly hugged the monkey, "Now you deserve a good, long rest." Ambipom was grateful, but she couldn't shake the feeling of failure that was looming over her now, she had lost, she had failed both her masters, Dawn AND Ash.

"Oh man, Ambipom." Ash sighed.

"It was just too much to take." Misty added.

"Well, Kenny and Prinplup ARE steadily leveling up." Brock said.

Back in the hallway, Dawn met up with Kenny. "So I guess now you're gonna hold this over me huh?" Dawn asked with a smirk.

"Nah." Kenny replied. This answer came as a sincere shock to Dawn. "I realize we've been rivals all day because of the contest, but now that I won, I'd really rather go back to being friends, at least until the NEXT time we face each other." Kenny said.

Dawn smiled and blushed ever-so-slightly, Kenny couldn't even notice it. "If that's what you want Kenny."

"It's what I want, trust me." Kenny replied.

"Then you got it!" Dawn hugged the coordinator and quickly backed off, and now it was Kenny's turn to be shocked, "I'm gonna go back and change, you go back out there and accept that ribbon of yours, you sure earned it!" Dawn ran off to the changing rooms, leaving Kenny in a daze.

Kenny just stared in the direction Dawn had run off in, until Prinplup started tugging on his pant leg. "Huh? Oh, sorry Prinplup." Kenny said bashfully. Kenny tossed out Machoke, and together the three walked back out to the field, where he was given the Sandalstraw Ribbon by Mr. Contesta. "Check it out guys, this ribbon belongs to you." he said.

Back in the VIP section, Dawn had changed and joined her friends to watch Kenny during the award ceremony. "Hey, do you guys think maybe today I got too hung up on getting my fifth ribbon?" she asked, as she applauded Kenny on his job well done.

"I dunno about that Dawn, but I will say this, if I were going for my last gym badge, I'd be hung up for sure!" Ash replied.

"Yeah, it's that feeling when you're SOOOO close that you just can't think of anything else!" Barry added.

"Even so, you and Ambipom performed really well today, and I think you two should be very proud." Brock said, "You save that ribbon for the next time."

"Thanks Brock." Dawn replied, "Alright guys, you heard what Brock said? We'll do it!" Dawn's Pokémon cheered in agreement.

"And that concludes the Sandalstraw Town Pokémon Contest! So until we meet again for our next get-together, take care!" Marian ended the contest, and the crowd began to thin out. The group headed back to the Pokémon Center expecting to be able to relax, but they got a surprise from Kenny.

"What? You're leaving already?" Dawn asked, obviously disappointed.

"Yeah, I finally got as many ribbons as you, but I've still got a whole lot more work to do. Plus I wanna catch some new Pokémon as well." Kenny replied.

"Man, you need to learn to chill out more!" Barry exclaimed.

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black." Kenny said. The group laughed, with the exception of Barry of course. "Well, I'll see you guys." Kenny turned to walk out, but was stopped.

"Kenny, can't you stay just one more day, please?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah! The Twinleaf Trio needs to dominate the Pokémon Ping-Pong tournament! Speaking of which Dawn, I watched during that whole contest battle, Ambipom's tails are great! Actually they're not just great, they're awesome! So why not go nuts with Pokémon Ping-Pong?" Barry said.

"Ambipom and me?" Dawn asked.

"Doing Pokémon Ping-Pong?" Ash added.

"Ambipom, do you want to?" Dawn asked. After some consideration, Ambipom smiled and did her friendship symbol, "Well alright then! Looks like I'm entering the Pokémon Ping-Pong tournament!"

"Awesome! Now how about you Kenny?" Barry asked.

"Well…I dunno…" Kenny replied hesitantly.

"Oh please Kenny? It'll be fun! Come on, just stay one more day?" Dawn asked pleadingly.

Kenny looked into Dawn's eyes and felt his face begin to heat up again, he didn't understand why he was feeling this way, or why it had been happening during his journey whenever he saw her; he simply couldn't resist those big, blue eyes. "Well…alright." he said. This answer was rewarded with another swift hug that ended almost as quickly as it started, but either way, he was shocked.

"This is great! Tomorrow we're gonna show everyone some awesome Pokémon Ping-Pong!" Dawn exclaimed.

And so with the whole gang together for one more day, and the Pokémon Ping-Pong tournament coming up the next day, things were sure to turn out interesting.
_

A/N: Well, did you like it? I tried to add some more AAML fluff, and there was a LOT of AAML drama as you could tell. But it gave me the furnishings to change Dawn's point of view on her potential relationships, and then there was the Brad Stine joke, were you able to spot it? If not, just ask me and I'll lead you to it on YouTube. SO now we see that Dawn's gonna let THEM come to HER, but is Barry really changing targets? Misty sure hopes so, and now Ash is on her side as well, keeping Barry at a distance with their rivalry. I'm trying my best to get Dawn and Kenny's relationship to be a balance between rival and friend, but it's getting hard for me, since I SOOO want them together. There, I said it, I'm a Penguinshipper ok? I'm sure anyone who read this story could tell anyway. Well, I promise I'll try to hurry the next chapter up! And one more thing anon reviewers, please don't use the reviews as a way to tell me things, I can't answer you anyway unless I find a way to contact you. With that said, stay tuned!