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.

68. Race to the Top

Hello readers...it's been a while, I know, but life has a way of keeping me busy...and also knocking me down for the count. Recently it got to the point where I got so exhausted my body just plain shutdown. Not fun, I'll tell you that, spent 2 days in bed pretty much just sleeping. BUT! I do have for you all the next chapter of AAML: D&P, and let me tell you what, you're gonna be shocked by the end of it. I own nothing except the story.
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Chapter 68

Misty's POV

Um...well...that was certainly...something...after we ran into Barry and his...girlfriend Candice...there's no accounting for taste I suppose...I'll get more into that later. Anyway, after all that, Ash and Barry got into a heated argument over - get this - who was prettier? Me or Candice? I'll admit it was sweet and all but good grief, what a superficial argument, and to top it all off, they decided they would have a Pokémon battle to decide who was right? I mean really, who does that?

So yeah, we followed Ash and Barry into the forest, except for Tracey and my sister, she'd had enough and wanted to spend some alone time with Tracey like she'd been planning. More power to her, she's earned the down time. We followed them into the forest and found them staring each other down but not actually doing anything. When Dawn asked why, Barry - very casually mind you - said they couldn't battle without a referee. I so just wanted to smack them both upside the head. Dawn eventually gave in to their stupid request, but before the battle could get started, Miss Johanna and Mrs. Ketchum came and found us in the forest. She explained how she was down several booth workers and needed help, so Kenny, Candice, Brock, and Leona all went and volunteered their services.

Oh yeah! Leona's here now too! Makes sense since she's originally from Twinleaf Town too, and I finally got to see what might very well be the true "Twinleaf Trio" in action, as apparently Leona was also very good friends with Kenny, not just Dawn. Dawn in particular seemed especially excited to see Leona show up, of course, I'm not exactly sure why that is. I suppose I can ask her later. Anyways, after they left, Barry made fun of Ash for the fact his mom was here, and so I got angry and challenged him to a battle instead since that's the only language Barry seems to speak.

Gyarados was just about ready to mop the floor with his Heracross all over again, when Barry suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs and pointed up at a Xatu that was flying overhead. Barry immediately abandoned the battle and ran deeper into the forest, and we followed him. What we saw confused the heck out of us, it was a small circus tent with all sorts of psychic-type Pokémon performing tricks, and of course an adorable little Seel balancing on a ball, just felt the need to get that little detail out there, you can never accuse me of not giving a water-type its due credit.

Barry explained what had happened the first time he saw the tent several years ago, but despite that, we had some suspicions since Ash had mentioned his aura was picking up some strange vibes from the tent. Gotta say, having an aura-powered boyfriend is pretty cool, he's not that experienced using it yet, but it's already come in handy a lot more than anyone could have expected. Unfortunately, by the time Ash was able to figure out what was going on, it was already too late. A bright light flashed from the tent, and the next thing I knew, I was in the middle of nowhere, shrunk down to barely ten inches tall.

Now if you know me, you know that I have a couple of...let's call them insecurities...when it comes to my height. Despite being pretty darn tall for my age - even when I was only eleven I towered over most girls my age - I still felt like it wasn't enough thanks to my sisters...ugh, I finally thought I'd shaken off the "runt" title and then some sick and twisted joke decides to make that title a reality? It was bad enough as an insult, I didn't need it to become real! The flashbacks from when Sabrina shrunk me, Ash, and Brock down ran rampant in my mind, of course then it wasn't so bad since I wasn't alone, this time I was. And yes, I'm well aware the only reason my older sisters had that kind of advantage over me was simply because of just that, they're older. Even Lily, the second-youngest in my family, is three years older than I am.

I'm even taller now than I was back then of course, five foot eight is nothing to sneeze at, especially for a fifteen year old girl. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of my height...despite the fact Ash passed me up...which I suppose isn't so bad...and I look forward to the day when I eventually pass up my sisters, which I fully expect to do by the way, Violet's the tallest at five-eleven. Yeah that's right, I'm aiming for six feet tall, is that crazy of me? Being really tall has always run in my family, so it's not impossible, all I need is about an inch a year until I turn eighteen...huh, I never realized how much of an impact being called "runt" for so many years had on me until I thought about it just now. Funny how childhood experiences shape the way you think when you're older.

I'm getting off track, can't believe I just went on about my height for this long. I think my sisters and I need to sit down together and have a little heart-to-heart, they messed with me in ways even I wasn't fully aware of until I thought about it. Not that I hold it against them since they've gotten better and we've gotten closer as sisters since then, but it's not something that should be bottled up forever. I don't plan on exploding when I turn fifty, so eventually this stuff needs to come out into the open, at the proper time of course.

But enough about that, back to the matter at hand. So eventually I spotted a Natu - normal sized, as none of the Pokémon had been affected by the shrinkage - and I followed it, figuring that if Xatu was the reason the tent had appeared in the first place, then Natu was the key to fixing everything. Unfortunately, I eventually lost track of it, and soon found myself walking along a very familiar river. It was the river I fished Ash and Pikachu out of years ago, and even my old fishing pole was there, hook in the water and everything. I decided to try and reel it in, which was tough since I was so small, and hoped that somehow history would repeat itself and I'd find Ash and Pikachu that way.

Unfortunately, what I found was the last thing I wanted to find. Instead of Ash and Pikachu, I found the three Tentacruel belonging to the Invincible Pokémon Brothers! I managed to survive the 'Poison Sting' barrage when I was thirteen, but I was my normal size...at ten inches tall, I'd probably get killed from taking those hits! Luckily I never had to, as Gyarados appeared and came to my rescue just like he did years ago. It took a minute for him to spot me afterwards, but once he did, I felt a lot more secure knowing I had some form of protection since my other Pokéballs were apparently on the fritz.

Then Ash showed up with Pikachu and Riolu, and we compared mental notes and came to the conclusion that whatever was going on was actually meant for our enjoyment since we were reliving important events in our lives when we first bonded with our Pokémon, Ash had relived the Spearow chase when Pikachu saved him on their first day of being partners. When I mentioned how it'd be fun if we weren't small, Ash and Riolu decided to try and fix us using their auras. It did take a while, and a lot of effort on their part, but eventually Ash got back to his normal size. When Ash tried it on me, I felt his aura wrap around me like a warm blanket.

I gotta mention this...I have never, ever felt something quite like what I did when Ash focused his aura onto me. Remember that blanket comment I just made? That's exactly what it felt like, a blanket of love and affection that was channeled through his aura into me, straight from his soul into my own. It was like getting hugged and kissed everywhere at once, like a warm bath would surround you with water. Only this was - from head to toe - a feeling of pure bliss, one that I certainly wouldn't mind feeling again in the future.

I lost track of myself, sorry. Anyway, Ash and Riolu did manage to get me to a little over two feet in height, but by then their aura had stopped feeling warm and was starting to feel uncomfortable thanks to all the stress they were putting on themselves. I forced them to stop and immediately my growth came to a halt. Considering how exhausted Ash and Riolu were, I honestly didn't care anymore that they'd technically failed to bring me back to normal, I had just gotten my first example of what Ash meant when he said he wasn't that good at using his aura yet, it apparently works like a muscle, and Ash had just pushed it too hard.

We sat there and relaxed for a bit, when Dawn and Barry suddenly appeared with their Pokémon, and not long after that, Natu came and started pecking at me and Ash! Apparently it didn't appreciate Ash's aura messing with what it had done. After we convinced it that we appreciated its attempts to give us a good time and that we wanted to go home, a Camerupt appeared and we had to hit the three rings on the side of its body to get Natu to warp us back. Once we did that...um...we got to see...well...a possible future we could all have...once the light died down, we saw we were back to normal and the tent was gone...and Barry's dad showed up...um...I can't get over what I saw...I really gotta talk to Ash as soon as I can, right now I'm with him and the others and we're walking back to Twinleaf Town, with Barry's dad Palmer with us. I really hope I can get some time alone with Ash soon.

Normal POV

As the group made the short walk back to Twinleaf Town, Barry had taken it upon himself to explain what had just happened to them to his father. When Barry finished his story, Palmer chuckled a little and looked straight ahead. "So, you went to Xatu's Forest as well."

"I guess..." Barry said hesitantly, "But Dad...it wasn't a dream, was it? I mean, things didn't seem right in there."

"Yeah, being shrunk down to only ten inches tall isn't exactly normal." Dawn added.

Palmer just chuckled again before glancing over at the young teenagers, "You tell me whether it was a dream or not...like Xatu said, it all depends on you."

"But what does that mean Dad?"

Palmer looked straight ahead again with a smile on his face, "I mean the past creates the future." he explained before glancing over at his son once more, "Depending on how hard you work in the present, that effort connects to the past, and that creates your future."

"I get it!" Dawn exclaimed, "So when Xatu said that if we wanted to get to the future we saw, we just have to keep working hard and make sure we never give up on our dreams!"

"Not necessarily."

Dawn's excited expression faltered at that, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Palmer looked straight ahead with a serious expression on his face, "Bear in mind, the future is never set in stone-"

"Xatu said that too!" Barry interrupted.

Palmer simply nodded. "Mhmm, please don't mistake me for ruining your dreams Dawn, or any of you for that matter, but there's something I learned a long time ago and I think it's very important you know this." Palmer closed his eyes and thought for a moment before continuing. "You can fight for your dreams, and if you work hard enough, you may very well accomplish it! But don't get caught in a state of mind where if you do fail to reach your goals, you'll be miserable for the rest of your life..." Palmer sighed, "People who are so overly-confident in themselves that they fail to plan for the unthinkable usually wind up suffering for the rest of their lives, wishing they could have succeeded in their dreams." Palmer looked at the teenagers seriously, "I have the utmost confidence in all of you that you'll accomplish your dreams, you're all extremely talented if what Barry has told me is true. But I just want you to be aware that there's more than one thing you can enjoy doing in the world, and sometimes, the fallback option can turn out to be greater than your original dream, if you allow it to be."

Dawn looked up at Palmer in awe, "You sound like you know a lot about this sort of thing."

Palmer exhaled with a small smile, "That's a story for another time. For right now, let's all just enjoy the festival!"

Barry raised a fist in excitement, "Now you're talkin' Dad! I can't wait to face off against you in the final round of the tournament tomorrow!"

Palmer laughed at that, "It won't be just me son, things are going to be a little different this year."

Barry's smile vanished, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Palmer could even reply, they reached the festival grounds where several of the booth workers and patrons began calling out to Palmer, welcoming him back home in excitement. "If you'll excuse me." Palmer ran into the middle of the road with an excited grin on his face, "It's what you've waited for Twinleaf Town, because Palmer...is home!" Palmer shouted a sort of victory cry and raised his fist into the air, and the crowd surrounding him cheered in response. Then the Frontier Brain reached for a Pokéball and pitched it out like a baseball pitcher, "Dragonite, go!" Palmer's Dragonite appeared and also shouted out in victory, and the clamors of the crowd grew in intensity.

"Wow! It's Dad's Dragonite! Talk about awesome!" Barry exclaimed.

Just then Candice ran over with sparkles in her eyes, "I heard that! Barry, you never told me that your father was the Palmer! The Frontier Brain for the vaunted Battle Tower?! THE TOWER TYCOON?! How cool is that?!" she squealed.

Barry just snickered and rubbed the spot under his nose with his finger, "Well I figured it'd be a nice little surprise. When I was a little kid, my Dad and his Dragonite were the best of the best in Twinleaf Town, of course that title's been taken by yours truly since then."

"All that and a bag of chips huh?" Leona scoffed with a smirk as she walked over with Brock and Kenny, "You're not exactly the most humble guy on the planet are ya?"

"Hey, greatness is in my blood." Barry shrugged and walked over to his father with a smug grin, "Tomorrow I'll be the one challenging my Dad in the Battle Challenge, and you'll all get to see just how powerful we really are!"

Palmer chuckled and placed his hand on his son's shoulder with a firm grip, "I love the confidence son, but remember, you have to get there first, and I told you, things are gonna be a little different this year."

"You keep saying that, what do you mean by it?"

"No spoilers." Palmer laughed at his son's downtrodden expression, "Don't worry, you'll find out tomorrow. In the meantime, what say we go home and catch up for a little while? I'm sure you're anxious to hear some of my newest stories, and I want to hear all about your recent adventures as well!"

Barry's smile returned in full force as his father's arm draped around his shoulders, "Sure thing Dad." As the two began walking through the crowd and into the sunset, Barry took a moment to look over his shoulder, "You comin' Candice?"

Candice beamed and rushed over to her new boyfriend, waving goodbye to her other friends as she did so, "I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

Dawn crossed her arms and looked on in amusement as the trio walked off. "That girl's got it bad, eh Misty?" Dawn looked over to the redhead and noticed that she seemed spaced out, "Hey...you alright?"

Misty blinked and glanced over at Dawn, who was looking up at her in concern. "Oh, sorry Dawn, did you say something?"

"What's up with you? You've been totally spaced out ever since we got back."

The redhead blushed and looked away, "I'm fine...I just...I need to talk to Ash."

"Does it have something to do with what Xatu showed you?" When the redhead's blush intensified, Dawn got her answer. "Wow...whatever it was must've been a big deal."

"The biggest." Misty whispered to herself before turning to Dawn, "I'll be ok Dawn, I just gotta talk to Ash, that's all."

Eventually the crowd dispersed and all the booth workers shut down their stations for the night. "I want to thank everyone for all your great help today, we couldn't have made this day possible without you!" Johanna said gratefully.

"It's no problem Miss Johanna, we were glad to help!" Brock replied.

"And as a special thank you, Delia and I have decided to cook up a special feast for all of you!"

"ALRIGHT!" Ash cheered obnoxiously loudly, and he sweat-dropped at all the weird looks he was now receiving. "Heh, sorry..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "Just the idea of my mom and Dawn's mom teaming up in the kitchen gets me excited."

The group just laughed and eventually walked back to Dawn's house, where they met up with Prof. Oak, Tracey and Daisy. "There you all are!" the Professor exclaimed.

"I take it you heard the announcement then?" Johanna giggled.

"I most certainly did, it's been a long time since I was able to enjoy a nice home-cooked meal, and I have no doubt that both you and Delia combined will be able to create an extravagant feast in no time at all!" Prof. Oak replied.

Johanna nodded with a smile and unlocked the door to the house, and everyone walked in one by one...all except for a certain male coordinator who just stood in the doorway with a remorseful smile on his face. "What's the matter Kenny?" Dawn asked when she noticed her friend refusing to come in.

"Thing is..." Kenny scuffed his shoe against the front porch, "I've got my mom waiting for me back home...I wanna stay, but I did make a promise."

Dawn smiled and walked up to her best friend and gave him a hug, "Then I'll see you tomorrow, ok? Go home and say hi to your mom for me."

Kenny returned the embrace, and found himself holding it longer than he probably should have. But after a moment he realized what he was doing and dropped his arms, backing away slowly with a smile on his face, "Sure thing Dawn, I'll see you tomorrow for the battle." With that, Kenny turned around and began the short walk home, his heart feeling considerably lighter after sharing that embrace with her. "No denying it anymore...I'm in love with her...now the real question is, what do I do about it?" he pondered that very question the whole way home.

Dawn watched him leave until he was out of sight, and when she turned around to go back inside, she found that the door had been closed on her, "Hey! Lemme in!" she banged on the door with her fist before trying the knob, which of course was locked, "Whoever's idea of a joke this is, it's not funny!"

Suddenly the door opened up, and Leona rushed outside and closed it behind her before Dawn could even react. The girl smirked at Dawn and crossed her arms over her chest, "Dee Dee, we need to talk."

"Ash...we need to talk."

Ash turned from what he was doing and saw Misty's anxious expression, "Well, sure thing Mist, what is it?"

She shook her head, "Not here...alone."

Ash's mouth took on an 'o' shape for a moment before he nodded and followed his redheaded girlfriend up to their room, ignoring the jeering teases of his friends. Once they finally got there, he walked in and Misty closed the door behind him. "So what's going on Misty? Is everything ok?"

Misty put her hands behind her back and looked down at her shoe for a moment, "I think so...maybe everything's better than ok..."

Ash scratched his head, "I'm really not following what you mean."

The redhead shook her head and quickly went up to give him a tight embrace, squeezing him a little tighter than usual. She sighed in contentment when Ash returned it. "No more stalling, gotta get this over with." she forced herself to let go and tilted her head ever so slightly upwards to meet his chocolate-brown eyes, which were brimming with the adoration he always seemed to regard her with when they were alone. "Ash...what did Xatu show you?"

"Oh..." Ash blushed as the memory came to him, "Well...I saw...us...and I was...holding this little girl with pink hair in my arms, and you were there next to me, Pikachu on your shoulder...and you were holding the girl's hand..." Ash's blush deepened, "I think...she was...our daughter..."

Misty's eyes started watering up, "I saw the exact same thing." she breathed, going back in for another embrace, "I almost can't believe it." she spoke into his shoulder.

"Me either...we looked so...happy..." Ash pulled away for a moment, "One thing confuses me though."

"What's that?"

"Neither you or me have pink hair...so where did she get it from?"

Misty's face took on a thoughtful expression. "Maybe from Lily? It's weird, I know for a fact we're all blood-related, but not a lot of people believe it without some kind of proof, we all look totally different."

"None of your sisters dye their hair?"

"Nope, it's all natural...maybe we adopted her?"

Ash shrugged, "If we did, I'm good with it. I kinda like the idea of becoming a home for a kid who needs one."

"That's sweet Ash, that's really sweet...but...I hope you wouldn't mind..." Misty blushed beet-red, "Having some kids of our own too."

Ash's blush became the embarrassed kind, "I uh...guess not," he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Let's take it one step at a time, huh?"

Misty giggled, "Did I get a little too deep for you Ashy?"

Ash nodded, "Kinda."

The redhead shook her head in amusement, "I'm sorry, but you know I'm a romantic."

"Yeah, I know." Ash chuckled, "Was there anything else we needed to talk about?"

"No, that was it." Misty placed a soft kiss on her boyfriend's lips, and then pulled back to bring him back outside. "Come on Ash, let's join the others before Daisy starts putting ideas in everyone's heads."

Ash blushed out of embarrassment again, "Uh yeah...good idea."

Meanwhile, Dawn was getting interrogated by her other best friend on the porch. "I'm starting to regret telling you we needed to talk."

"Come on Dee Dee," Dawn flinched at the name, "If you can't tell your best friend who you like, who can you tell?"

"Misty already tried to get me together with Kenny and it almost ended in her breaking up with Ash," Dawn narrowed her eyes at Leona, "I told you, I'm waiting for someone to make the first move, I don't care if Barry's attached to Candice already." she exhaled loudly, "I like Kenny, I do, but I'm done doing the chasing. I'm enjoying being chased. I know Kenny likes me, but he needs to come to me, not the other way around."

Leona sighed and stared up at the ceiling, "Ok Dawn, I can see I can't convince you...I give you credit for sticking to your guns." she looked over at the bluenette, "Just promise me one thing."

"Depends on the promise."

"Don't let Kenny slip through your fingers..." Leona looked down at the ground, "Once upon a time, I had a little crush on our favorite coordinator, and I decided to wait for him to come to me, maybe we could've gone on our journey together..." she closed her eyes, "Then my family moved on to start the hot spring hotel, and I moved on too...it wasn't easy, but I eventually outgrew my feelings for him...to a point, at least." she shrugged.

"To a point?" Dawn asked suspiciously.

Leona shook her head, "No one ever really totally gets over their feelings for a person, there's always that lingering tenderness that goes with you for the rest of your life. You could say I have a soft spot for Kenny, even if I don't feel inclined to start a romantic relationship with him anymore...the only way that doesn't happen, at least in my opinion, is if a relationship breaks off on bad terms."

"I had no idea."

Leona smiled sadly at her best friend, "Just make that promise Dawn, that's all I'm asking."

Dawn nodded, "I promise."

"Good." Leona got up and so did Dawn, "Now that that's settled, whaddya say we see what your mom and Ash's mom came up with for dinner?"

Dawn laughed, "If what Ash tells me about his mom's cooking is true, it'll probably be the best thing we'll ever have in our lives!"

"Only one way to find out!" the two girls rushed into the house, and once dinner was served, they weren't disappointed. Johanna and Delia had teamed up to create a feast that left everyone with full stomachs, and there were still leftovers to boot. The rest of the night went without incident, and needless to say, anyone entering the battle tournament tomorrow was extremely excited.

The next morning, everyone met up in the middle of Twinleaf Town where the battle tournament was taking place, and Johanna had dressed up for the occasion, wearing a turquoise dress that puffed out at the bottom and a large bright green bow in the back of it, on her arms were white gloves that reached past her elbows, and around her neck was a frilly white collar. "Twinleaf Festival goers," the former top coordinator addressed the crowd through her handheld microphone, "Since today is the final day of the Twinleaf Festival, I have but one request...for each and every one of you to get in there and give it all you got!" Johanna tossed two seal-covered Pokéballs in the air, and the balls twirled around each other before releasing Glameow and Umbreon, who immediately began criss-crossing each other in midair with 'Quick Attack'.

"Wow! Dawn, your mom is the absolute coolest!" Daisy exclaimed.

"It's definitely an impressive display, no doubt she was a top coordinator." Tracey added.

Once Johanna's short performance came to an end, she took up her microphone once more. "I'm proud to say thanks to you, our festival has been a rousing success! So on behalf of my fellow event planners, I'd like to thank you all!" the crowd cheered as she waved at them, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the last event that I'm sure you've all been excitedly anticipating! Introducing our very special guest...the one and only Tower Tycoon...Palmer!" Johanna gestured to her right, but instead of the thunderous applause she was expecting, she received murmurs of confusion. "Palmer?"

"Oh no..." Barry face-palmed.

"Where's your dad Barry?" Candice asked.

"He's probably somewhere getting a snack, he mentioned that he didn't really get to eat breakfast."

"Well we better go find him, Miss Johanna looks like she's about to have a nervous breakdown!" Kenny exclaimed.

"You kids go on ahead, I'll take care of this!" Prof. Oak rushed over to the panicking Johanna and whispered something into her ear, and the woman's eyes immediately lit up at whatever he said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that Palmer is running a bit late, but worry not because our other very special guest Prof. Oak is here to share some more words of wisdom until Palmer arrives!" Johanna handed Prof. Oak the microphone, and the world-renowned Pokémon professor immediately began a lecture on the recent discoveries made about the legendary dog Suicune while she rushed over to her daughter. "Dawn dear, please go find Palmer!"

"We're on it Mom! Come on guys!" Dawn ran off with Ash, Misty, Brock, Kenny, and Barry following close behind. The other stayed back to try and offer some moral support for the rattled top coordinator. "Poor Mom, she's worked so hard on this festival and it seems like everything that could go wrong has gone wrong!"

"We'll find him Dawn, don't worry." Kenny placed a comforting hand on the bluenette's shoulder before turning to Ash, "I don't suppose you could use your aura to hunt Palmer down, could you?"

Ash shook his head, "I don't have a good enough feel for Palmer's aura, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him and all these other people."

"Hey wait a second! There he is!" Barry pointed over at the Octillery snack stand, and sure enough, there was Palmer chomping down on several small treats on toothpicks. "Hey Dad!"

"Oh, hello everyone." he said with his mouth full, "Is something wrong?"

"Dad! What're you doing?!" Barry shouted, "You're supposed to be at the battle tournament right now!"

"But my guest hasn't arrived yet!"

"Guest? What guest?" Dawn asked.

"Never mind, it's too late!" Palmer turned around and took a large bag filled with Octillery snacks from the female worker and handed it to Ash, "Here, a small gift for you!"

"Uh, thanks?"

"Best Octillery snacks ever! Keep up the good work!" Palmer shouted as he ran off.

"Let's book!" Barry chased after his dad and the others followed.

But Ash stopped for a moment after getting an impression through his aura. "What the?"

Misty stopped when she realized Ash had stopped, and she turned around to see Ash looking around in confusion, "What's the matter? Let's go!"

"I could've sworn I felt someone's aura...someone familiar..."

"It's probably just Team Rocket sneaking around again, who cares?!" Misty grabbed his hand and dragged her boyfriend along with her, "Now come on, we're late!"

"I know I recognized that aura...and it wasn't Team Rocket..." the black-haired trainer had no chance to investigate however, as he had already been dragged back to the battle area by his girlfriend.

By this time, Palmer had taken his place on the field and Prof. Oak had graciously handed the microphone back to Johanna, who had since regained her composure and was once again addressing the crowd. "And now, what you've all been waiting for, because it really is time to join me in welcoming a real Sinnoh Battle Frontier Brain, the Battle Tower's Battle Tycoon...you know him, you love him...PALMER!" Once again Johanna gestured to her right, and this time Palmer was there and he immediately began posing and getting the crowd fired up. The former top coordinator then walked up to him and smiled up at him, "We're so honored that you agreed to join us in today's Twinleaf Festival event. Thanks!"

Palmer grinned and put his hands on his hips as Johanna held the mic up to him, "The Twinleaf Festival is a great tradition, and so the honor is mine...for today the great Twinleaf Town is home to the Battle Tower!" Palmer threw his fist up into the air, and the rest of the crowd did as well as they cheered at the top of their lungs.

"Whoa, look at him work the crowd!" Dawn said in awe.

"If you ask me, I'd say it's all part of being a Frontier Brain, of course not every Brain follows his example." Brock chuckled.

"And now, let's get over the simple battle challenge rules." Johanna said, "The competition is open to all who consider themselves trainers, and our event will be conducted in tournament format, and whoever emerges victorious will have the honor of facing off against Palmer!" the crowd cheered once more at that.

Ash pumped his fist in excitement, his suspicions long since forgotten, "Oh man, I'm getting psyched! That battle against Palmer's as good as mine!"

"Yeah, dream on Ash." Barry scoffed, "When it comes to winning it's Barry all the way."

"Alright you two, you may be rivals but don't count us out!" Dawn exclaimed determinedly.

"Us either!" Brock added.

"You've practically got a whole army of us to get through if you wanna reach the top, but make no mistake, I don't intend to let any of you beat me!" Misty exclaimed.

Johanna continued to address the crowd as the teens trash-talked each other. "In addition to the privilege of battling Palmer, the winner of this challenge will be presented with this!" Johanna gestured to a trophy that was sitting on a table in between Izzy and Cara, "The beautiful gold trophy crafted right here in Twinleaf Town!"

Palmer grabbed the trophy and a microphone, and he took his turn speaking. "Alright then, we'll soon know whom this trophy will belong to, and may the very best challenger win!" Palmer held the trophy up into the sunlight, letting the sun reflect off its polished form.

"Now, please allow me to introduce our judges, helping with the festival from the very start, say hello to Mr. Sayer and Noelle!" Johanna gestured to the man and young woman who had been working each day to make sure the booths and the festival itself was running smoothly.

"It's good to see Noelle getting the credit she so richly deserves!" Brock exclaimed with hearts in his eyes.

Misty narrowed her eyes at the breeder, "Watch it Brock, her Bellossom still looks pretty ticked off at you."

Brock's love-stricken fantasy was quickly shut down when he saw Noelle's Bellossom glaring at him from its position by Noelle's side. "Maybe you're right." he gulped.

"Alright, let's get the fun times started! Prepare for the Twinleaf Town edition of the Battle Tower!" Johanna did a little twirl before calling out the first matchup, "Leading off the battle challenge we have a couple of Twinleaf Town natives going up against each other! On the one side, we have Kenny! And on the other, it's Anthony!"

A young man with messy brown hair and dark-green eyes stepped up, grinning cockily at his opponent who had yet to take the field, "No sweat, coordinators aren't real battlers, I'm gonna take this poser's lunch money!" he cackled.

"Not real battlers huh? I'll show 'im!" Kenny rushed onto the field, grasping at a Pokéball tightly. "I'll teach you to have a little respect!"

"Show 'im what for Kenny!" Dawn called out.

Kenny grinned and looked over his shoulder to give his best friend a thumbs-up before turning back to glare at his opponent. "Hope you're ready to get schooled!"

"Alright, competitors, choose your Pokémon!"

"Breloom, come on out!"

"Hitmonlee, let's kick it!"

The two Pokémon came out and glared at each other, the animosity between the two trainers transferring to them. "Wow, a Hitmonlee, that's pretty cool!" Dawn pulled out her Pokédex to scan the new Pokémon, but she never expected what happened next.

"Hitmonlee, the Kicking Pokémon, and an evolved form of Tyrogue. Its legs double in length, and opponents are surprised by Hitmonlee's attack range when facing it for the first time." Prof. Oak explained. "And now...a poem to go along with it! 'Send them flying, with one kick, Hitmonlee'."

Dawn squealed like a fangirl at that, which provoked everyone around her to cover their ears, "Amazing! Brilliant words just roll off your tongue!"

"She really likes poetry, huh?" Barry said, "Even if it doesn't really sound like poetry?"

"Yup...you wouldn't believe how starry-eyed she gets whenever she hears one." Misty replied, "Hmm...that gives me an idea."

"Me too." Leona giggled.

Dawn narrowed her eyes at her two friends, "Am I gonna have to separate you two?"

"Without further ado," Johanna exclaimed, "Let's get this battle started!"

"Let's make this quick! Hitmonlee, leap up and use 'Blaze Kick', full power!" Anthony's Hitmonlee leaped high into the air using his spring-like legs, and ended up blinding Kenny and Breloom by forcing them to look up into the sun. "Do it!" Hitmonlee came crashing down fast and hard with his food enshrouded in flames, and Breloom took a hard hit and bounced on his back once before falling on his face. "Like I said!"

"And Breloom is immediately put on the defensive by a quick and hard hit by Hitmonlee!" Johanna announced.

"Kenny is definitely not off to a good start." Tracey said.

"No kidding, that Hitmonlee's fast!" Daisy added.

"Come on Breloom, we're not gonna take that!" Breloom got up and growled at the Kicking Pokémon, "Let's hit back with 'Mach Punch'!" the end of Breloom's claw glowed as he surged ahead and managed to get a hard hit off to the Kicking Pokémon's gut, which sent the pure fighting-type flying backwards before he did a flip to regain his balance. "Now let's follow up with 'Energy Ball'!" a green ball of energy formed in front of Breloom's mouth, and the Mushroom Pokémon fired with a hard jerk of his head.

"Nice try!" Anthony snickered, "Hitmonlee, send it back!" Hitmonlee jumped up and did a hard kick that actually sent the 'Energy Ball' flying back to Breloom, and the Mushroom Pokémon took the hit and shook his head to regain his composure, "Pfft, this is pathetic, that all ya got?"

"We're just getting warmed up!" Kenny growled, "Alright Breloom, let's use 'Stun Spore'!" Breloom shook his whole body and a cloud of yellow spores blew over to Hitmonlee and enshrouded it. "Yeah, that's the way!"

"Yeah, that should even up the odds!" Leona cheered.

"But look at Hitmonlee, it's acting like it doesn't feel a thing!" Dawn observed.

"That's likely because it doesn't." Prof. Oak said.

Anthony chortled and just called out his next attack. "Use 'Poison Jab' now!" Switching from kicking to punching, Hitmonlee again leaped up into the sky and this came down on Breloom with a hard poison-type strike. "Keep it going!"

"No! 'Mach Punch' Breloom!" Kenny's call managed to get the Mushroom Pokémon to react and swing his claw fast enough to knock Hitmonlee away before it could do anymore damage. "That 'Stun Spore' did nothing!"

"But how's that possible?" Daisy asked.

"You see, Hitmonlee's special ability is called 'Limber', and its sole purpose is to prevent paralysis, so of course moves like 'Thunder Wave' and 'Stun Spore' would have no effect on it." Prof. Oak explained, "However, thanks to that 'Poison Jab', I believe you'll find that the odds are about to be evened up."

"Really? How?" Ash asked.

"Come on Breloom, you can't give up!" Breloom suddenly got up and seemed to look stronger, and Kenny's eyes lit up as he realized what happened. "Alright! Hitmonlee's attack just backfired big time!"

"Look at Breloom, it looks so much stronger all of a sudden!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Indeed Dawn," Prof. Oak said, "You see, Breloom's natural ability is 'Poison Heal' and it is exclusive to its evolution line. When Breloom is poisoned, instead of taking damage, it will actually recover damage instead."

"So it looks like Anthony's cockiness got the better of him." Misty snickered, "I always enjoy seeing arrogant jerks get knocked down a peg or two."

"I take offense to that remark!" Barry scowled.

Misty smirked, "Did I even mention your name? Way to incriminate yourself though." Misty grinned when Barry did a face-fault, ignoring the annoyed glare Candice was currently giving her. "Go Kenny! Show 'im what you got!"

"Now we've got something going! Alright Breloom, use 'Facade'!" Breloom smirked and began glowing in a bright orange aura that made his body shine, and then it surged forward to tackle the Kicking Pokémon.

"Not gonna happen! Use 'Blaze Kick'!" Hitmonlee leaped up to attack, but this time Breloom was ready as he also leaped up and intercepted the fire-type move without so much as breaking a sweat. "B-But h-how...how'd that happen?!"

"Whoa, what move was that?!" Leona exclaimed with wide eyes.

"That was 'Facade'!" Brock replied, "Facade' is a special move as its attack power doubles if the user is paralyzed, burned, or poisoned!"

"That's correct Brock! I would say this was excellent planning on Kenny's part to equip his Breloom with a move that would come in handy against Pokémon that would try to use status effects on it." Prof. Oak applauded, "I must commend that young man, he's certainly turned things around!"

"That's my Kenny!" Dawn purposely ignored the knowing smirks on Misty and Leona's faces, at this point all she cared about was not giving them any satisfaction, "You can do it Kenny! Finish this!"

"I won't lose to some lousy coordinator!" Anthony snarled, "Alright Hitmonlee, finish this with 'High Jump Kick'!" Hitmonlee got up and narrowed its eyes at the Mushroom Pokémon, then it leaped into the air with its knee outstretched to attack.

"Time to use your new move Breloom! 'Sky Uppercut', full blast!" On Kenny's command, Breloom leaped into the sky with his claw glowing light blue, and the two Pokémon met in the air where they smashed into each other with their attacks. "Uh oh!" Both Breloom and Hitmonlee crashed to the ground, stirring up dirt and dust and blocking the field from view. "Breloom!"

"What an amazing display of power, but are the Pokémon still able to battle?!" Johanna and the rest of the crowd waited with baited breath to see who had won. When the dust settled, the winner was revealed. "Hitmonlee is unable to battle! The winner is Breloom!"

"Alright Breloom, we did it!" Kenny rushed onto the field to embrace his grass/fighting-type, who gave an exhausted sigh once he got there.

"What an amazing move that 'Sky Uppercut' was, I had no idea Kenny's Breloom could do that!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Well he did say it was a new move, looks like Kenny's still getting stronger." Ash replied as Anthony wordlessly returned his fighting-type and left the battle area, ignoring the jeers and boos of the crowd provoked by his bad sportsmanship. "And it looks like that guy won't be able to make fun of coordinators anymore."

"No doubt." Brock added.

"That was an excellent beginning to this tournament, but we still have plenty more battles to get to, so let's get on with the show!" Johanna's announcement preceded several different battles, which included Ash and Pikachu making quick work of a young boy and his Croconaw, Dawn and Piplup annihilating another boy and his Larvitar, Brock and Sudowoodo giving a beat down to an older woman and her Furret. Even Daisy managed to move on to the second round as she and Misty's Staryu were able to defeat a young girl and her Duskull after some quick thinking by the quickly-improving Gym Leader.

"Goodness knows I hate to sound vain, but even I'm impressed with how well I've done!" she exclaimed after her victory.

"Oh yeah big sis, you're in the running for the meekness award for sure." Misty shrugged with a sweat-drop.

Unfortunately for Tracey, he wound up going against Barry and his Empoleon, and despite the fighting spirit of his Scyther, the old Pokémon just couldn't handle the raw power Empoleon had at its disposal. "Can't win 'em all I guess, I guess I'll stick to sketching battles instead of doing the actual battling."

Leona didn't fare much better, as her Swinub wasn't exactly trained for battling, and the Crawdaunt it was up against had a very powerful 'Crabhammer' which made quick work of the Pig Pokémon and knocked it out about three minutes into the battle. "You know, I love my Swinub to death, but I kinda wish I could get them to evolve into Mamoswine like you have Dawn."

Dawn actually laughed at that, "Be careful what you wish for Leona, I had to go through a lot of growing pains with Mamoswine, I'd say you should enjoy their time as Swinub while you can."

"This is one of those 'I'll tell you later it's a long story' situations, isn't it?"

"Ohhhhh yeah."

Candice blew past her opponent as well, a test of speed between her Sneasel and a young girl's Grovyle ended in a victory for Sneasel when its 'Icy Wind' slowed it down to the point where Sneasel was running circles around the poor grass-type. "Not everyone can overcome type advantages like Ash can apparently." she shrugged.

"And now for our final battle of the first round!" Johanna announced, "On my left, it's Misty, and on my right, it's Pablo!"

Pablo was a short, round child with a shirt that was clearly too small for him as his belly was bare from the lack of fabric, he also wore a backwards baseball cap on his head. "You ready?" there was a distinct Spanish accent to his voice, but he seemed more than capable of speaking English quite well.

"You know I am!" Misty replied to the boy.

"Ok, challengers, choose your Pokémon!" Johanna announced.

"Time for my secret weapon! Ludicolo!"

"Misty calls Shellos!"

The two Pokémon emerged, one much larger than the other. "Another Ludicolo, how about that?" Dawn said.

"I'm more excited to see what Misty's gonna do, this is her first battle with Shellos!" Ash pulled his Pokédex out of his pocket and rushed over to her, "Here, check and see what moves he can use!"

"Oh yeah! Thanks Ash!" Misty activated Ash's Pokédex and scanned her newest Pokémon for a move set as Ash rushed back to the sidelines.

"The moves this Shellos can use are 'Mud-Slap', 'Icy Wind', 'Sludge', and 'Muddy Water'." the Pokédex chirped.

"Wow! That's really impressive! I had no idea you had so many awesome moves Shellos!" Misty exclaimed as she pocketed Ash's Pokédex. Shellos just blushed bashfully. "We'll make quick work of this Ludicolo!"

"Looks like Misty hit the jackpot with Shellos, 'Sludge' should be especially helpful against a water/grass-type like Ludicolo since it would have resistance to ice-type attacks due to its water-typing." Brock observed.

"Now, let the battle begin!" Johanna shouted.

"Ludicolo, let us begin with 'Bullet Seed'!" The Carefree Pokémon blasted a barrage of seeds from its mouth, but the redhead water-type trainer was prepared for it.

"Intercept that attack with 'Muddy Water'!" Shellos suddenly summoned a wave of brown water that swirled around him for a moment before absorbing the grass-type attack and drenching Ludicolo. "Yeah, that's the way! Now use 'Icy Wind' while its wet!" Shellos immediately fired, and Ludicolo instinctively crossed its arms and took the hit, icicles forming on its body thanks to the water freezing on its body.

"That little blue Shellos sure has a lot of power!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Hey, under Misty's command, any water-type can be super powerful!" Ash crossed his arms over his chest with pride as he watched his girlfriend put the poor kid on the ropes.

"Fight back Ludicolo! Try 'Seed Bomb'!" the boy was clearly flustered after Misty's initial onslaught, and that fact was mirrored by Ludicolo's rushed attack, it was sloppy and not very powerful as white glowing seeds blasted out of its mouth.

"Nope! 'Muddy Water' again!" Again the brown wave of water intercepted the attack, with the only difference being that the attack couldn't actually hit Ludicolo since the explosions from the 'Seed Bomb' broke up the attack, but Shellos had taken no actual damage. "Now 'Sludge', let's go!" a barrage of brown goo came out of the tiny Shellos' mouth, and the half-frozen Ludicolo once again couldn't do anything but take the attack head-on, and it fainted as a result of the super-effective attack.

"Ludicolo is unable to battle, the winner of this battle is Shellos!" Johanna announced.

"Way to go Shellos, that was amazing!" Misty reached down and picked up her blue Shellos for a soft hug, being careful not to squeeze too hard so that goo didn't come oozing out of it. She then walked up to her opponent who seemed downtrodden by the defeat. She held out her hand in a show of sportsmanship, "Hey, you did a good job."

The boy smiled a little and shook the redhead's hand, "I haven't been training for very long, but I'll get stronger! And next time I'll beat you!"

Misty smiled back, "Looking forward to it!"

"Misty was totally awesome! That battle took no time at all!" Ash cheered as he raised a fist in the air in victory.

"I'd factor in the quality of her opponent too Ash," Brock chuckled. "But I will admit, Shellos has a lot of potential, and under Misty's training, he's sure to be a strong Pokémon moving forward."

The second round quickly began, and Johanna made sure to put an extra flare on this announcement. "And now for the first battle of our exciting second round, we have a Gym Leader showdown for the ages! On my left, it's once again Misty from Cerulean City in Kanto! And to my right, it's Snowpoint City's own Candice!"

"That was quick, I literally just finished battling." Misty shrugged, "Oh well, back to it I guess."

"Alright! Now Candice can finally show once and for all that she's the best!" Barry exclaimed excitedly as Candice took her spot on the field opposite Misty.

"Hate to break it to you Barry, but like I said before, Misty's the best, not just in looks but in battling too!" Ash countered.

Barry glared at Ash and got in his face, "And like I said before, Candice is the best!"

Ash glared right back, "Misty's the best!"

"Candice!"

"Misty!"

"CANDICE!"

"MISTY!"

"Will you both, for crying out loud, just SHUT UP?!" the redhead screamed furiously.

The two boys shrank back at the violent outburst, "He started it!" they both blurted out, pointing at each other accusingly. "Me?! You started it! Why you!"

The two likely would have gotten into a knockdown dragout, but some much needed intervention took place before things could escalate. "Ashton Ketchum, let's have a little talk, shall we?"

"Ow, not the ear! Mom not the ear!"

"Son, I think it's time we discussed the proper way to handle one's business."

"Come on Dad, just lemme-OW! You don't have to squeeze my arm so hard!"

Delia and Palmer dragged their children in separate directions, leaving the rest of the group in a rather awkward situation. "Did anyone else find that really uncomfortable?" Kenny asked.

Everyone, Prof. Oak included, raised their hand in agreement. "I had forgotten how passionate Ash can get about certain things, and clearly Barry is the same way."

"Passionate is...a word..." Brock chuckled, "Not the word I would use, but a word."

"Now that that's over..." Misty shook her head in exasperation, "What say you and me see who really is the better battler?!"

"I can practically feel the kiai coming off you in waves! Bring it on Misty!" Candice tightened the sleeves of the jacket wrapped around her waist and slapped her face just as she had for her battle against Ash, "Yeah! Let's do this!"

"Battle begin!" Johanna shouted.

"Time to go all out! Abomasnow, show us your kiai!"

"Misty calls Gyarados!"

The two most powerful Pokémon in each other's arsenal emerged from their Pokéballs, and immediately an intense staredown began between them. "It's Abomasnow versus Gyarados..." Dawn said in awe, "But Abomasnow managed to beat even Charizard in a one-on-one matchup, how's Misty gonna pull this off?"

"Don't know, Abomasnow showed off its raw power when it beat Charizard like it did, Misty's gonna have to use a strategy beyond trying to overpower Candice if she's gonna win this match." Brock replied.

"Let the exciting first battle of our second round begin!" Johanna's announcement led to Candice immediately going on offense.

"Alright Abomasnow, let's start things off with a 'Wood Hammer'!" Abomasnow lumbered forward with her arm glowing green with power.

"Wait for it Gyarados..." The water dragon's muscles tensed in anticipation, as Abomasnow was almost right on top of it, "Now! Dodge and weave, and then use 'Flamethrower'!" Using its serpent-like body, the dragon was able to dodge and weave the large Pokémon's strikes before reeling back and blasting a flame that clearly made the grass/ice-type feel the heat. "That's the way! Now use 'Hyper Beam'!"

"We're not gonna be pushovers! Abomasnow, 'Blizzard'!" the Frost Tree Pokémon was able to sense Gyarados' power, and so it actually put a lot of effort into the attack, and the two blasts collided and caused a huge cloud of thick steam to cover the battlefield.

"Man that steam is thick, I can't see a thing!" Dawn squinted to try and get a better view.

"This might work out well for Misty though," Brock replied, "Gyarados can't move right after firing 'Hyper Beam' like that, so the steam might give Misty some cover while Gyarados recovers."

"Now this is more my style!" Candice exclaimed excitedly, "Alright Abomasnow, go in there and use 'Ice Punch'!" Abomasnow had no problems navigating through the steam, and quickly found the water-dragon and unleashed a vicious punch to its body that caused it to roar in pain. "EEEE-YES! Keep it going Abomasnow!"

"Abomasnow wasn't even affected by the steam!" Kenny exclaimed in shock.

"That's perfectly understandable," Prof. Oak explained, "After all, Abomasnow usually create snowstorms for them to hide in, so if they can see through that, logic dictates this would not be a problem either."

Finally the steam lifted, and Misty was able to get a good look at what was happening again. "Quick, use 'Hydro Pump' and get it away from you!" Using the water-type move came naturally to Gyarados, and while the attack didn't do much damage, the sheer water pressure was enough to knock Abomasnow onto its back and give Misty some distance to work with. "Gotta avoid letting that happen, Abomasnow can see through that stuff and Gyarados can't."

"Abomasnow's still as strong as ever." Dawn commented.

"Candice is worthy of her Gym Leader title, no doubt about that." Brock nodded.

"So what's Misty gonna do? If that's just gonna happen every time there's nothing she can do!" Daisy said worriedly.

As Misty weighed her options in her head, the battle continued as Candice continued calling out attacks, and Gyarados did its best to either dodge them or bounce them off with a well-timed 'Protect'. "The only offensive move Gyarados has that won't make Candice create a smokescreen for herself is 'Hydro Pump', and hammering away with that will be a complete waste of time since Abomasnow is part grass-type." the redhead thought, "I could use 'Headbutt', but that move's not particularly powerful either..." Misty frowned at herself, "If nothing else, this battle's gonna teach me to start teaching Gyarados more physical moves to balance out all the special moves he knows, his strength lies in his attack stat anyway, I should've been doing this a long time ago."

"One more time Abomasnow! 'Blizzard', full blast!" Abomasnow unleashed the snowstorm, and Misty had Gyarados counter with 'Flamethrower', and just like last time, steam covered the arena and completely blocked everyone's view. "Now we've got them! Finish it off with 'Wood Hammer'!"

"Is it over?" Daisy asked.

"It might be...Gyarados doesn't have a good matchup against Abomasnow when it comes to their moves." Tracey sighed.

"Come on Gyarados! We're not gonna give up!" Much to Misty's shock, the water/flying-type suddenly leaped high into the air and roared down where it could now see Abomasnow looking up at it, also stunned by the sudden change in elevation. "What in the world?"

"How did Gyarados jump so high?!" Daisy exclaimed, her jaw dropped in shock.

"I do believe Gyarados is using 'Bounce'!" Prof. Oak replied, "It's a flying-type move where the user bounces high into the air and either kicks or tackles the opponent on the way down!"

"Just like Buneary!" Dawn added.

"You can tell the connection between Misty and Gyarados is strong, Gyarados learned that move right in the nick of time!" Brock said, "Now Misty's got a real shot at beating Candice!"

"Way to go Gyarados!" Misty shouted up at her dragon, "Listen up, use 'Flamethrower' on your way down!" Gyarados acknowledged the order, and as it began its rapid descent, it spewed a flame that struck Abomasnow right in the chest and knocked it down.

"Abomasnow, no!"

"DO IT!" Gyarados landed right on top of the downed Frost Tree Pokémon, and after getting crushed by nearly 520 pounds right after taking a powerful 'Flamethrower' and wearing itself out with attacks, Abomasnow passed out which gave Misty the victory.

"Abomasnow is unable to battle! The winner is Gyarados!"

Gyarados roared in victory, and Misty threw her fist into the air in celebration, "Way to go Gyarados! That new move of yours came along just in time!"

"She did it! Babe she did it!" Daisy jumped up and down for joy, squealing for her little sister who had overcome unfavorable odds.

"Yes Daisy, she did it." Tracey laughed and sweat-dropped a little at his girlfriend's immature behavior, "I'm glad you're excited for her."

"Yeah, but I bet Barry's not too thrilled right now." Kenny snickered.

"Where are Ash and Barry anyway?" Dawn looked around, and saw the two trainers returning with their heads low and their shoulders considerably slumped, "You guys ok?"

"Don't ask." they both replied.

Meanwhile on the battlefield, the two competitors were shaking hands, "Nice battle Candice, you had me on the ropes for a while there."

Candice nodded, "Your Gyarados is something else, I can't say I didn't enjoy this match even if I did lose. You showed some real kiai!"

The two girls headed back to the sidelines to join their friends, and all their respective boyfriends did was mutter a small congratulations (or in Candice's case, a condolence) for the battle. "Looks like Miss Johanna didn't have to give Ash a scolding after all, Mrs. Ketchum was here to give him one herself." the redhead laughed.

"I'm glad you find my pain enjoyable Mist." Ash grumbled.

"I've never been more embarrassed in all my life." Barry face-palmed.

"Here, have some of those Octillery snacks Palmer gave you." Misty handed Ash a bunch of the small treats on toothpicks and took some for herself, and the rest of the group soon followed their lead. "These really are pretty good!"

The battles continued, and Brock ended up facing off against Barry, and just like with Tracey, the breeder's Pokémon couldn't keep up with the raw power Empoleon had at its disposal. "Barry's a lot tougher than Ash and Misty make him look." that comment got Barry stomping up and down, which of course got everyone laughing at him.

Daisy and Staryu went up against Ash and Staraptor in a sort of rematch from the battle in Cerulean City months ago, and this time the results were a little more expected. "He creamed me. No surprise, I figured out he let me win only a couple weeks after they both left." she grumbled as she chomped on some Octillery snacks. "These things are sinfully good, I'm gonna have to go on a diet when I get home." she still frowned as she said it. Tracey wisely said nothing.

Dawn and Kenny faced off against each other, and this time the battle ended in victory for Kenny as Breloom's 'Energy Ball' managed to be the difference maker against Piplup. "Mmm...I lost!" she said with an angry mouthful of Octillery snacks. "Somebody's really gonna get fined!"

"First of all, that's my line, second, chill out, you weren't gonna get past me anyway." Barry chuckled.

"And you're not gonna get past me." Ash countered.

Kenny went up against Misty in the third round and lost to her Vaporeon, as he and Prinplup couldn't overcome Misty's mastery and knowledge of water-type strategies. "Looks like I finally met my match." he sighed, taking a handful of Octillery snacks, "So are these the chosen comfort food of the day?" the rest of the group nodded at him. "Wonderful."

Ash and Pikachu faced off against Barry and Empoleon, and this time the battle was much more evenly matched. But just like every other time before this, Ash and Pikachu's 'Thunderbolt' took out Empoleon and his 'Hydro Cannon', and soon enough he was on the sidelines angrily chomping the heads off of some poor Octillery snacks. "You all happy now? I was supposed to go up against my dad. Ash, it's fine time."

"Get over it Barry." Ash rolled his eyes, "Looks like it's you and me in the finals match Misty."

Misty smirked, "May the best woman win?" she held her hand out.

"Sure th-hey wait a sec!" Ash watched his girlfriend laugh and run out to the battlefield, and he joined seconds later. "I'm gonna get you for that!" Sure enough, the battle was tight, but in the end Charizard was able to overpower Gyarados thanks to a little help from his 'Solarbeam', which eliminated the redhead and advanced Ash to the battle against Palmer, "Did I ever thank you for teaching Charizard how to use 'Solarbeam' Mist?" Ash grinned cheekily.

Misty viciously bit the head off of an Octillery snack and glared at him. "This," she pointed at the now headless snack, "Is what you should be thanking your lucky stars that I'm not gonna do to you!"

"Heh..." Ash gulped, "Sure thing Misty." As Johanna began her announcing though, Ash suddenly tensed up, as that familiar feeling he'd felt earlier returned to him. "Again?"

"Ash? What's the matter?" Tracey asked.

"I know I've felt that aura from somewhere before...but where?"

"And the winner of today's challenge is Ash Ketchum! So let's give a big round of applause to Ash, here all the way from Pallet Town in Kanto!"

Johanna's introduction got his attention, and he wordlessly headed over to his spot on the battlefield with Pikachu walking right beside him. "Why can't I remember where I've felt that aura from?"

"Ok, as you all know, this is only the beginning for Ash, as he prepares for a new challenge...so now, let's hear a word from his next opponent, Tower Tycoon Palmer!" Johanna gestured to the other side of the battlefield, where Palmer was looking down at the ground with his arms crossed, his eyes closed, and a confident smirk on his face.

Palmer opened his eyes and looked straight at Ash, "This battle marks the Twinleaf Festival's end! Soon Ash, you'll show me just what you're made of!"

Palmer's challenge distracted Ash and got him back in the zone, "You bet, so don't go easy on me Palmer!"

"Oh don't you worry...we won't."

Ash and the rest of the crowd, Johanna included, were confused by Palmer's statement. "We?"

"Yes, we!" Palmer snickered, "You see, while the Twinleaf Festival may indeed be a great tradition, it's always good to change things up a bit and keep things fresh! So instead of going up against just me, you and a chosen partner will be facing off against me and a special guest of my own!"

"Say what?!"

"What is Dad talking about?! Is this what he meant when he said things would be different this year?" Barry exclaimed.

"I'm more curious as to who his special guest is, there's no one else here we haven't seen before." Kenny replied.

Misty's eyes widened, "Wait...Ash's familiar feeling...could he have been sensing Palmer's guest?"

"But who would qualify as someone Ash has met before?" Brock wondered.

Palmer laughed and began speaking once more, "I met this young lady a few weeks ago and I was very impressed with her desire to increase her ability in Pokémon battling, I was also quite surprised by her remarkable ability to tell what Pokémon are feeling!"

Ash's eyes widened in shock, suddenly everything had fallen into place. "It can't be..."

"It is indeed true that I am the Tower Tycoon, but what many of you don't know is that there are in fact two Battle Towers! I run the one here in Sinnoh, but she runs the one in Ash's home region of Kanto! Put your hands together for my special guest and battle partner for this match, Kanto's Battle Tower Frontier Brain and my fellow Tower Tycoon...Anabel!"

A very familiar looking lilac-haired girl appeared from behind the judges booth and stood next to Palmer, smiling at Ash the entire time. "Hello Ash, we meet again."
_

A/N: Yep, cliffhanger, heheheh, I'm not saying anything else, you all are free to speculate until the next update, which - I always promise - will eventually come. Review and tell me what you think, I'd love to hear your reactions to this. Until next time dear readers.