The road from the Petalburg City to the Fortree City is quite long, which is why the gang of four young trainers, is still on their way, even though it's been several weeks since they left Petalburg City.

The day after May caught Bulbasaur, and the gang left the Forbidden Forest, they arrived in a small City - the same one May and Ash saw from the Forbidden Forest. The City was small, and there was nothing noteworthy about it, but the gang used the chance that they were in a city, to spend the night in the Pokemon Center, which beats sleeping in the bags in the middle of nowhere.

While they were there, Ash decided to help May a little bit, and called Professor Oak so he can transfer him Ash's Venusaur.

Once he had his strongest Grass type with him, Ash called May, Serena and Max, to come out to the battlefield next to the Pokemon Center. There, much to their surprise, he released his Venusaur, from his Poke Ball.

Ash said that he brought his Venusaur, so that he can help May's new Bulbasaur, and to give it some pointers.

May was so happy with what Ash has done for her and for her Bulbasaur that she went and kissed Ash on the cheek, much to his surprise, and to the shock of Max and Serena, who weren't expecting that.

May quickly realized what she has done, and then she blushed crimson in embarrassment. She also recalled how Ash carried her in the Forbidden Forest, so she blushed some more, but when she recalled how she caught Ash completely naked, fucking her mother and Jane, she was completely red.

Ash saw the way May was acting, and he couldn't help himself but take a peek at her surface thoughts. Once he saw what she was thinking, Ash decided to excuse himself, and left as quickly as possible, though he did caught a sight of the look on Serena's face. It was not a happy look, that's for sure.

The rest of that day, Ash spent away from May and Serena, as he didn't feel like being glared at by Serena, while at the same time, being given strange looks from May. He was perfectly satisfied with being alone in the forest outside of the city, while May, Serena and Max, spent their time with Venusaur, and May's Bulbasaur, as the two were interacting with each other.

XXX

The next eight days, the gang was pretty much trapped in the forest, because they didn't come across any City, Town, Village, or any kind of settlement. They were very painful eight days, as they could only spend time in the forest, and sleep on the ground. The road they walked through for the last week and a day, was the single longest road any of them have ever traveled across, without running into any place where other people live.

Finally, after eight days, the gang arrived in Rubello Town, where they saw that there is a Pokemon Contest. They also met Drew, and learned that he is going to compete for his next Contest Ribbon.

They have also met several other people - mostly woman - with one of them being called Savannah. Savanah is a member of the 'Mothers for Pokémon' group, or MHP, for short. They are a group of woman who go to a bunch of Pokemon Contest to watch and occasionally compete. They are big fans of the contests and even have a list of the best contesters, along with the most promising ones. Drew is on all of their lists.

Savannah and the other woman from the group, recognized May and Max as Norman's children. They talked with them, and said how sorry they were for what happened to Norman, and that they would help them in any way they can, if May and Max wish so.

From then on, Savannah and the gang got to know each other better, and the gang learned that Savannah is going to enter the Rubello Contest for her second ribbon, while Savannah learned that neither May, nor anyone in the gang, was interested in Pokemon Contests, but they did decide to at least spend few days in the town, watch the contest, and give their support to Savannah.

The rest of that first day, and most of the next day, May and Serena have been helping Savannah to train her Lairon and Flareon, so they can be prepared for the contest, in which Savannah will most likely have to go through Drew, if she wants to win the ribbon.

While May and Serena helped, Ash and Max didn't. Max simply didn't have experience to help anyone - even himself - while Ash didn't think that he is someone who can help another person prepare for the Pokemon Contests.

Instead of helping Savannah, Ash helped Max train his Pokemon. Surprisingly, he also helped Sandra (Savannah's daughter), who wishes to be a Pokemon trainer one day, and travel around the world to meet different Pokemon, different people, and different places. Sandra didn't have any Pokemon, but Ash helped her anyway, by giving her pointers on how to treat her Pokemon, how to train them, when to know when it's enough of training, and when to push them even more.

During a day, Max and Sandra have gotten close, and have become good friends.

When the grand day of the Rubello Contest came, Drew and Savannah went through the preliminary round, and then defeated their opponents in the battle rounds, before finally, in the final round, Drew and Savannah went against each other, for the win, and for the contest ribbon.

Before the contest started, Savannah was very nervous, as this was only her second contest, and she was lucky to have won her first ribbon on her first try. She doubted that that will happen again, and as such, she was nervous.

Fortunately for her, as the rounds went, she lost most of her nervousness, and by the time her battle against Drew started, Savannah was ready to kick some ass.

Much to Drew's shock, and to the surprise of many - though not the gang - Savannah managed to defeat Drew and his Masquerain, using her Lairon. Savannah was awarded her second ribbon, while Drew stayed on three, and will have to work hard to get the final two he needs to qualify for the Grand Festival.

Sometime after the contest was finished the gang said goodbye to Savannah, Sandra and the other woman from the MFP, before they restarted their journey toward the Fortree City.

XXX

As Ash, and the gang were on their way to the Fortree City, Ash got a call from Amber.

He was happy to hear from her, as it has been a while since they talked with each other, and he has no idea what she's been up to lately, and how many badges she currently has. He thinks that she has all of them, as she has been in the Hoenn Region for several months longer then Ash, and on top of that, Ash and his friends have had some trouble with their stay in the Region, which has extended their stay even longer than it should be.

Of course, since they haven't talked in a while, Ash doesn't know if Amber and her friends have had some trouble, but considering that there are two criminal organizations in Hoenn, he wouldn't be surprised to hear that they did have one or two run-ins with Team Aqua and Team Magma.

As such, Ash was really interested to talk with Amber, and now, he will have a chance to talk with her for longer than they could on the phone, or the Pokedex.

It turns out that Amber and her friends from Johto Region, will be coming to the place called Crossgate Town, because Amber wants to compete in some competition, which is being held there. Ash and his friends have to pass through Crossgate Town, in order to get to the Fortree City, so this is a perfect chance for Ash and Amber to see each other, and talk after a while.

As Ash and the gang were walking on the mountain road, they finally came at the cliff, which is overlooking a small town at the foot of the mountains.

"Is this the Crossgate Town?" Max asked.

"Yes it is," Ash replied. "It's also known as the 'Crossgate of the Winds'."

"That does make sense." Serena added, as they all stood there and enjoyed the wind.

"It almost makes you feel like you are flying." May said, as she spread her arms and closed her eyes to enjoy the feel of the wind.

Their relaxation moment was interrupted by the noise from above, making them all look up, only to see a Swablu flying over the sky, with some kind of a ring in its mouth.

"Wow, a Swablu!" Max shouted, as he saw a small flying type Pokemon.

"It reminds me of the Swablu we met a while ago," May said, as she looked at the Swablu, with a small smile on her face, though it was easy to see on her face that she was sad for not catching that Swablu. She would have really wanted to have it on her team, even though she wouldn't be a Flying Type Pokemon trainer, like Serena is most likely to be. No. May has other plans, and an interest in two types of Pokemon, though she only has one Pokemon from one of the two types, while none from the other. She will have to take care of that soon, if she wants to start training herself and her Pokemon.

Suddenly, a big gust of wind blew through the mountain, and blew Swablu away, making it fall toward the bottom of the mountain.

Ash reacted quickly in order to save Swablu. "Swellow, come out and catch that Swablu!" Ash shouted, as he released his flying type Pokemon.

Ash's Swellow being much stronger than a small Swablu, flew through the gust of wind, and caught Swablu on his back, before he flew back to the road, where Ash and the others, were waiting.

"Great job, Swellow." Ash praised his Pokemon for saving a Pokemon in need.

Just then, a voice of a boy was heard by everyone. They looked at it, and saw a blue-haired boy, wearing a green pants, and mostly yellow shirt, with some orange on it. "Swablu, are you all right?" He shouted as he run toward Swablu.

Swablu saw the boy, and flew from Swallow's back, and into the boy's arms. The boy looked at his Pokemon, and sighed in relief that it was fine.

"It seems that your Swablu had some trouble with that wind." Ash said to the boy.

"Yeah, thanks for saving him," the boy said. "My name is Shane, by the way."

Ash introduced himself, before May, Max and Serena went and introduced themselves as well.

"It's nice to meet you all." Shane said.

"What's with that ring, by the way?" Max asked.

"Oh, it's what we use in the PokéRinger Competition." Shane said. As soon as he said that, Ash and the others recognized the name. Then and there, they knew that Shane is most likely on of the participants of the competition, Amber told them about.

XXX

Sometime later, Ash, Shane and the girls, were in the large field, looking as many hot-air balloons were flying in the sky. Shane has explained to the group about the PokéRinger, and how it is what the Crossgate Town is known for.

Shane explained to them about the rules, and what they need to do, if they compete.

"What an awesome game." May commented. She knew of the competition since Ash told her about it, after his talk with Amber, but she didn't know the rules before now, and now that she does know them, she likes it, and is interested in competing.

"I'm assuming you and Swablu were training for the competition?" Ash questioned, though he already knew it.

"We sure did." Shane confirmed.

"This PokéRinger, seems like it's a pretty big deal." Serena stated.

"It is," Shane confirmed. "At least for everybody around here. And since the competition is going to start today, everybody is really excited."

"Yeah, I know," Ash said. "We barely made it here in time."

"Wait," Shane spoke. "Are you here to compete? I thought you didn't know anything about the competition."

"Well, we heard about it not long ago, because my sister called me and told me she was going to be here and enter the competition," Ash spoke. "We were on the way to the Fortree City, so we decided to stop by here for the competition, so I can see my sister, and so May and Serena can enter and compete, as they are interested."

"I see," Shane spoke. "Well then, you better go and sign-in, before the time runs out. You can search for your sister after that."

Ash and the others nodded, before Shane took them to where they need to sign-in for the competition. Once they were finished, Shane left, as Ash and the girls went to look around for Amber.

It took them a while, because there were a lot of people around, and it was hard to find anyone, but eventually, they were able to find Amber, and her friends.

Ash saw Amber standing in front of some stands, with two other girls, which he recognized as Macy and Casey. The two of them were two out of three girls, Amber has been traveling with, with the last one being Marine, though Ash couldn't see Marine with the others, and assumed she is somewhere around the competition ground.

As he saw Amber standing there, with her back being turned toward him, so she couldn't see him, Ash decided to mess with her a little bit, and started slowly approaching her from behind, with Amber not noticing anything.

Macy and Casey did see Ash approaching, and they recognized him, but before they could say anything, Ash put his finger over his lips, to show them to be quiet. The two girls said nothing, and continued to speak with Amber, pretending that nothing is happening.

It took Ash couple of seconds to approach Amber from behind, before he place his hands over her eyes, so she couldn't see him. He wasn't saying anything either, and just stood there, to see how Amber will react, and if she would try to guess who he was.

"What's this," Amber asked, as she felt hands around her eyes, and she raised her hands to touch the ones which were covering her eyes. "Who is this? Are you expecting me to guess who you are?"

Ash said nothing, though he nodded to Ambers friends. "Yes," Macy said with a smile on her face. "They are expecting just that."

"Ok then," Amber said, as she continued to touch the hands over her eyes, as she tried to guess who it was. "Well, since Marina is not here, normally I would have said it's her. But these hands don't feel like those of a girl. They are more male-like, and since I know of only one guy who would do this to me, I would have to go and say that it's Ash."

As Amber said that, Ash removed his hands from Amber's eyes, allowing her to turn around. As soon as she did and saw him, she jumped at him. "ASH!" Amber yelled, as she jumped at Ash, and hugged him around the neck, while at the same time, she wrapped her legs around Ash's hips.

Amber then went and kissed him right on the cheek, though it was a bit too close to the lips for Ash's liking. Amber didn't care though. She hasn't seen Ash in almost a year, not counting the video calls on the phone, so she has missed him a lot, and wanted to give him a big kiss, to show him that.

While Amber didn't seem to care about the kiss she give to Ash, which while it wasn't necessarily bad, or indecent, it was definitely strange, and the girls who were around them, from Ash's group and from Amber's group, were thinking that the kiss was a bit more than it was necessary.

Serena was especially annoyed, because she was starting to remember that Ash draws girls on himself at abnormal level, and now she's thinking that even his own sister is attracted to him. She wanted to rage and say something about it, but managed to hold herself back, before she made a commotion, and made everyone - especially Ash - angry at her. She decided to keep quiet, and consider the kiss as nothing more than a little sister, missing her big brother a lot, and as such, she just gave him a big kiss to show him that.

"I missed you so much, Ash," Amber said with a pout on her face, making her extremely cute. She was still in Ash's arms, and didn't seem to be letting go any time soon. "You don't call to say what you're doing. You don't call to ask what I'm doing. It's like you completely forgot about me."

The pout was clearly fake, and everyone knew that. She was just messing with him, but Ash just couldn't stand to see that look on her face. "I'm sorry, Amber," Ash apologized, even though there was really no need for it, as he hasn't done anything wrong. "But I was just too busy lately, that I simply didn't have time to call you."

Amber has talked with Ash not that long ago, and she knew some of the stuff that were happening around Ash lately, and as such, she mostly knew what he was busy with.

Deciding that there is no need to mess with him any longer, Amber let go of Ash… or better said, she let go of his neck, while he let go of her ass - which he was holding all this time - which also hasn't escaped anyone's notice, including his and Ambers, though no one has said anything. It's not like there was any other way he could hold her in that position, instead of holding her by her ass.

Since she is now standing on her own feet, right in front of Ash, and with her front turned to him, Ash finally had a chance to see Amber for the first time, in about a years. He has to say that she has changed quite a bit.

Amber is now just over 12-years old, so she is still young, but she does look-like she is about a year maybe a year and a half older. She has had her long green hair, cut to be shoulder length, while before it nearly went to above her ass. Before it was straight, but now it was slightly wavy, and is parted at the middle, falling at the side of her head. She is wearing a flowy mid-thigh white dress, not much different than the one she used to wear when she was younger, though this one is sleeveless, and is a bit more revealing on the chest area. On her feet, she is wearing a shin-high cream colored boots. And finally, she has a backpack on her back.

Ash has to admit that if not for the backpack, which makes her look more like a kid then she really is, Amber could be considered, sexy… even though she is only 12-years old.

Ash then looked at Macy and Casey, giving them a good look all over. He had to admit, just like Amber, the two girls have grown up quite nicely, and no longer have the kid's look that they had almost a year and a half ago, when he saw them the last time. Right now, the two girls look like a decently good looking 12-year old girls, though Ash will not say it out loud, but while he thinks that they are good looking, Amber is a league above the two of her friends.

Macy used to wear a yellow blouse, red shorts, and winter leggings. Now though, she still wears red shorts, though this time, it's over a much thinner leggings. Instead of yellow blouse, she is now wearing red shirt with black flame pattern on the ends of the sleeves, along with the word, 'Fire', at her back. Her hairstyle is also changed, though not that much. Before she had her brown hair tied in two tails, which fell from the back of her head toward her lower back. Now though, she has two tails, tied to the side of her head, and are falling over her ears. (Kind of like Sakura, of the Kimono Sisters) Finally, she has a red and black backpack on her back.

Casey used to wear white shorts, with black stripes; light blue shirt, under a yellow with black stripes jacket, along with a white with black stripes baseball cap. Now she wears knee length black leggings, with yellow stripes. She no longer wears a jacket, but she wears a yellow with black stripes shirt, along with her old baseball cap. Her hair style was a bit similar to Macy, at least the twin tails, but Casey also had some small bangs on the side of her face. Now though, she has her hair tied in a high ponytail, and has the tail pulled through the back of the baseball cap. All in all, she has changed her old clothing, but has stayed true to her love for the Electabuzz baseball team, and their yellow and black colors. On top of that, she is much better looking than the baseball-obsessed brat she was, when Ash first met her.

Ash then went and introduced May and Max to Amber and the others girls, as they have never met each other. After that, it was time for some talk.

"So," Ash finally spoke. "What have you've been up to, lately?" He asked his sister and her friends.

"Nothing much," Amber spoke. "We've traveled all over Hoenn to get our gym badges so we can compete in the Hoenn League. We caught some Pokemon, and trained them, along with some of our old ones. Besides that, all we did was travel around, saw many different things, and met many different people. It was quite fun."

"Did you get all the badges?" Ash asked. Instead of Amber, it was Casey who answered.

"We sure did," she said, wearing a large smile. "It took us a while, since there was four of us, and sometimes we had to spend few days in the same city to be able to have all out battles, but we were finally able to do it few weeks ago, when we got our last gym badges in Sootopolis City."

May raised her eyebrows when she heard that. "That's not exactly close to here," she commented. "Why did you come all the way here, from there?"

"Well," Macy spoke. "We wanted to train our Pokemon in a desert terrain, so we were on the way to the Hoenn Dessert. We heard about this competition, and we decided to try it out with some of our Flying Type Pokemon. It could be a good training for them."

"What about you, guys," Casey asked, while looking at Ash, May and Serena. She didn't ask Max, as he was too young to compete. "Are you going to compete as well?"

"I won't," Ash replied. "I only have one Flying Type which can use training, but I doubt that this competition would help it much. As such, I decided to sit this one out."

"Well, we will compete," Serena said, drawing looks at herself and May. "It could be a good experience for my Swellow."

"Yeah," May also spoke. "I hope that my Taillow will gain more experience, and will be able to evolve soon."

"So you are going to enter with Taillow and Swellow?" Amber questioned, making May and Serena nod.

"What about you?" May asked.

"I'll enter with one of my favorite Pokemon," Amber said with a smile. "I love all of my Pokemon, don't get me wrong, but recently I have developed an interest in one type of Pokemon, and I have decided to focus more on them. The Pokemon I will use in this competition, is part Flying Type, and part, the type I'm interested in. I won't tell you though, which type it is. I'll leave it as a surprise."

May and Max pouted slightly as they really wanted to know which Pokemon, Amber plans to use, but they guessed that they will have to wait and see. Serena was also interested, but she didn't pout. As for Ash; he was surprised that Amber seems interested in just one type. He really thought that she will be an all-round Pokemon trainer, like he is, but he guessed he was wrong. Ash really wonders, which type Amber has interest in. He did notice the looks on Macy's and Casey's faces, when Amber mentioned which types she started to prefer, and while Casey didn't seem all that interested, Macy had a smirk on her face. It made Ash wonder.

"Well, I also have interest in two types of Pokemon," May spoke, surprising everyone. "But unfortunately, I can't use any of the Pokemon from those two types, in this competition."

"Why?" Macy asked. "And which types is it?"

"From those two types, I only have one Pokemon," May said. "He is of one type I'm interested in, while I have no Pokemon from the other type. I guess I'll have to focus in the future to capture them. As for which types they are, well… I guess I'll let you wait and see." She finished with a big smile.

Ash, Serena and Max were really curious about which types of Pokemon, May was talking about. They went over the list of Pokemon May has, and have come to realize that it could be any type, except water, as she has more than one Pokemon whose type is water. But besides that, it could be any other type.

"I never thought you would focus on just one type, May," Max said. "I mean, dad liked Normal Types, and I also like Normal Types, but I didn't think that you would be interested in just one or two types of Pokemon."

"Actually, I like all types, don't get me wrong," May spoke. "But I just discovered that I prefer two types, of the others. It's really interesting though, that I have interest in those two particular types, especially since one Pokemon from that type, scared the hell out of me at one point. As for the other type, I was never that interested in them, until I saw another girl as their trainer, and have suddenly become interested."

Ok, that was a bit more information given to them, but still, neither Ash, nor May and Serena, could guess which types May was talking about. In the end, they just decided to let it go for now, and wait for her to reveal it to them.

Letting go of that conversation, Ash asked. "Where is Marina? Wasn't she with you?"

"She is around here somewhere," Amber said. "We split up to look around, but the three of us reunited not long before you arrived. Marina is not back yet, but I'm sure she is close, and will be back soon."

"Ok," Ash said. "Well then, I guess you should get ready for the competition, while Max and I will be around. Is that fine with all of you?"

All the girls nodded, and were about to leave. Before she left though, Amber said to Ash that they need to talk some more after the competition ends, as they haven't had a chance to speak in a while.

Ash agreed, before Amber left with the other girls, while Ash and Max stayed behind.

XXX

For the next few hours, Ash and Max went around the competition ground, looked at many different stands, and met other trainers, some of which have recognized Ash, and wanted to take a picture with him, or to get his autograph. Of course, being a good guy, Ash was more than happy to take a picture with everyone who wanted, and to give the autograph to all the children and other trainers, who wanted to get one.

By the time the competition was to start, Ash must have signed over 100 autographs, and he isn't even sure how many pictures were taken. Still, he was happy that he was able to make many little kids happy, and was even happier when he heard that they want to be just as good as he is, and some of them have even told him in the face, that they will defeat him one day.

Ash smiled at that, and said that he will remember that, and that he looks forward to that day.

By then, the competition was about to start, and Ash and Max reunited with the girls, who were all together at one place, waiting for their time to go and compete.

When Ash and Max found the girls, they also saw another girl with them. Max didn't know who she was, but Ash did recognize her, even though she has changed, just as much as Amber, Macy and Casey.

The last time he saw her, Marine used to wear a bikers shorts, red blouse, and white mid-riff jacket, along with a cap on her head. Now though, she wears white mini skirt, with black lines at the bottom of it. Pure red sleeveless shirt, and her old cap. Her hairstyle is the same as it used to be, and Ash guessed that it's working for her, so she didn't see the need to change it, unlike Amber, Macy and Casey, who have all changed their hairstyles. Just like the other three girls, Marina also looks more mature, and in Ash's opinion, is growing up nicely, meaning she will most likely be a very beautiful woman when she grown up some more.

From there, Amber and her friends, along with Serena and May, stood one next to the others, with many other competitors, standing next to them. They were all on the field, looking at the big screen, which shows the competitors, and how they will be sorted into several different blocks, with each blocks having four competitors. The girls all hoped that they will all be in different blocks, so that they won't have to go against each other, but since there are only four blocks of four competitors, the chances of them not being in the same block, are very low.

Along with the girls, Shane was also standing there on the field, and he is also hoping that he won't go against Serena and May, as he considers them friends, and doesn't want to go against them right at the start.

By then, all the Pokemon the trainers will be using in this competition, have been revealed, and while it was already knows that Shane will use his Swablu, that May will use Taillow, and that Serena will use her Swellow, Ash and the others didn't know which Pokemon, Amber, Macy, Casey and Marina, would use.

This competition is designed in such a way that one must use a Flying Type, or at least a part Flying Type Pokemon, in order to compete, as the Pokemon must be able to fly, in order to compete. When it comes to the Flying Type Pokemon, there are many of them, but most of them are part flying type, part another type, with barely any Pokemon being a pure Flying Type Pokemon. All those Pokemon also come in many forms and many colors, so Casey, who is a big lover of Electabuzz Baseball Team, and their yellow and black colors, found one of only few yellow and black Flying Type Pokemon, which also happens to be a part Bug Type. Her Pokemon, was Ninjask. The moment Ash saw the Pokemon Casey was going to use in the competition, he sighed at the amount of love the girl has toward her favorite baseball team, to the point she even chose a yellow and black Pokemon to compete, even though that Pokemon is part Bug Type, and will be at the disadvantage against the other Flying Types. The only good thing Ash sees in Casey choosing to compete with Ninjask, is that the Pokemon has a lot of speed, so she might have a chance to win, by out-speeding her opponents, before they strike her down.

Macy was a big surprise, because she picked a god-damned Charizard to use in the competition, much to the shock of all the other competitors, when they saw Macy's picture, with her chosen Pokemon. Ash had to admit that he was surprised, but not that much. He knows that Macy loves Fire Type Pokemon, and there are three, maybe four Pokemon in the whole world, who are flying and fire type, so Macy choosing Charizard, isn't a surprise. Its bigger surprise that she has one to begin with, as it's not easy to find a Charmander in the wild, and raise it to evolve into Charizard, not to mention that they can be very hard to train, as they know to be very hot-headed, and sometimes, a Charmeleon and Charizard, won't listen to their trainer, if they don't believe that the trainer is good enough to train them. The fact that Macy chose Charizard, means that her Pokemon is listening to her. At least that's what Ash hopes so. He doesn't want to think that her Pokemon won't listen to her, and she chose it anyway. It would really be embarrassing for Macy if that's the case.

Marina's choice was the least surprising so far. She has chosen a Pidgeot. A big and powerful Pokemon, but not that rare, and not that strange to use in this kind of a competition. As he was looking at the picture of Marina and her chosen Pokemon, Ash realized that unlike with Casey and Macy, he doesn't know anything about Marina. He doesn't know what she likes and doesn't like, nor if she prefers one type of Pokemon, over the other types.

The biggest surprise came when Ash saw the picture of Amber, and the Pokemon she chose to compete with. It was a flying type all right, but the other type is Fire. Amber went and chose one of only few flying and fire type Pokemon in the world, other then Charizard, and that Pokemon is Talonflame. Seeing that she has chosen Talonflame, and remembering what she said earlier, Ash realized that the type of Pokemon, Amber likes more the other types, are Fire Type Pokemon. Ash also realized, why Macy had a smirk on her face, when Amber was talking about the Pokemon Type, she likes. The two girls ended up loving Fire Type Pokemon, above all the others.

It was a really big surprise for Ash. He knew that the last time he saw Amber, she had love for all Pokemon, and he is sure that she still does, but he was surprised that she chose Fire Types, above the other types. He never thought of her as a Fire Type Pokemon lover. He thought that if there is a chance that she would just focus on one type, it would be Psychic Types, if for nothing else, then because of her connection to Mewtwo, and their past. He also thought of a possibility that she could be a Dragon or Flying type Pokemon trainer, as Dragon Types are hard to train and need great trainers to train them, which Amber is. As for the Flying types, he just thought that they suit her, in a way even more then they suit Serena, who somehow ended up with the majority of her Pokemon being part Flying Types, which started her love for them. Right now, Ash can see Serena as a Flying Type Pokemon trainer.

By the time Ash stopped with his musing, the blocks for the competition have already started being drawn randomly by the computer.

Shane ended up being chosen to go to the A-Block, along with two other unknown trainers, and with the fourth trainer being Casey. The two looked at each other, and though he didn't know her, Shane knew that Casey won't be an easy opponent, as she is a friend of Ash's and his sister, who he knows to be great trainers. Shane has actually recognized Ash, Serena and Amber, from the Silver Conference tournament, which he has watched on the TV, though he hasn't said anything to them about it. He felt that if he says anything to them, he would be putting pressure on himself, and on them. This way, he can pretend that he doesn't know them, and it somehow makes him feel like he has better chances to win, even with Serena and Amber competing. At least he is happy that Ash isn't competing. Shane doesn't think he would have any chances of winning if Ash has entered the competition.

Casey doesn't know Shane, but she heard from May and Serena, that they've met the kid, and that he can be a potential threat, so she has decided to take him seriously.

The next group was B-Group, and here, Amber ended up along with the last year's champion, Volt, who was using a Pokemon called, Volbeat. Volbeat is a Bug Type Pokemon, so it should be at a disadvantage against the Flying Types, but considering that Volt already won with it once, then it means that this Volbeat has skill. Ash is sure that Volbeat won last year, because Volbeat is a Pokemon which can learn Electric Type moves, even though it's a Bug Type Pokemon. Electric moves would give it advantage against Flying Types.

"Oh yeah," Amber said, as she saw that she was in the group against the last year's champion. "This is gonna be a good one."

"Are you sure about that," a voice spoke behind Amber, making her turn around, only to see the last year's champion towering above her. "Up against a champion like me. You won't even be a good warm-up."

"I wouldn't underestimate anyone if I were you," Amber said to the big guy. "Just because you won last year, doesn't mean that you will win this year. Anything can happen once the match starts."

"Yeah, yeah," Volt waived off Amber's words. "We'll see about that."

"What's up with that guy?" Marina asked, from where she was standing next to Amber. Macy, Casey, Serena, May and Shane were all around there as well, and have heard the words spoken by Amber and Volt.

"Mah, just some loud-mouthed fool." Amber said, much to the surprise of Serena and May, as they didn't think that she would insult someone like that. Then again, she is Ash's sister, and while they didn't spent a lot of time together, she must have learned something from him, like how to treat people who have big heads.

The next was a C-Block. In this block, Marina and Macy, ended up together, along with two other, unknown competitors.

"Well damn," Macy said, as she saw that she was in the same block with her friend. "We have to go against each other right from the start."

"The luck of the draw," Marina shrugged. She wasn't happy to go against Macy, as they are friends, not to mention that Macy will use Charizard. Marina shuddered at the thought of that thing. She knew very well that Charizard is one of Macy's strongest Pokemon, along with her first Pokemon, Typhlosion. Defeating that Charizard, will be a pain even for her Pidgeot, who happens to be one of her stronger Pokemon.

Finally, is was a D-Block, and Serena and May, both ended up in that block.

"God, damn it!" May nearly shouted, when she saw that she was in the same group with Serena. "Of all people here, I had to end up in the same group as you, Serena!"

Serene smiled at May's reaction. "Well, as Marina said. It's the luck of the draw."

"Screw the draw," May said, much to everyone's surprise! She seems to have quite a colorful language, and no one knew that so far. "You are probably the only person in this competition I didn't want to be in the same group with, and I ended up with you. The only person I can think of that would be worse than you, would be Ash, and he isn't even competing!"

"Well, Amber is probably a better trainer then I am," Serena said. "She would probably be worse opponent for you, then me. At least you know me and my skills, while you know nothing about her. And let's not forget Macy, Casey and Marina. They are not bad trainers, and are going to be very hard to defeat."

May sighed. "Damn it," she swore. "And here I hoped to get my Taillow some experience so she can evolve. If I lose in the first round, I won't have a chance to do it."

No one said anything to that. They all saw that May is angry at the bad luck she had in a draw, so they decided it's best to let her cool down a little bit.

"Ladies and gentleman," the announcer's voice was heard around the competition ground! "The ring balloon has been released!"

The Ring Balloon is a large, golden and white balloon, with a large pole attached to the bottom of it, and at the end of the pole was a ring, which the Pokemon will have to get to, grab it, and then take it down to the goal post, in order to win the round.

"The four A-Block trainers, will climb to battle altitude," the announcer continued to speak, as the four trainers, among which were Shane and Casey, were going upwards in the sky, each in their own hot-air balloon, and from four different spots, "where at the start signal, the first match of the Crossgate PokéRinger Competition, will begin!"

The big screen biped, starting the match, followed by the four trainers releasing their Pokemon.