THE BLUE SPIRIT

CHAPTER 009 – TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION

Ash arrived at the Indigo Plateau within two hours after leaving Pallet Town. Even though it was a respectable distance from his hometown to the tournament area, Pidgeot was one of Ash's fastest pokémon, especially in the air. She could've gotten there quicker but decided to take her time since she was enjoying the trip, doing the same when they left New Island and flew towards Pallet Town. Ash didn't mind at all since they had time and he did promise Pidgeot that they would go on a long trip together.

They landed in front of the Indigo Plateau Hotel. It was a massive yet aesthetically pleasing building, which had a sign in front of it saying that the tournament registration was held there. Ash looked around, not seeing anyone. Figuring they had probably missed the morning rush of trainers signing up, Ash hummed to himself. Sliding off Pidgeot, he thanked her for the ride and told her to get a good rest as he returned her. Her poke ball vanished from his hand in a blue glow after minimizing it. He unclipped Gardevoir's luxury ball and brought her out, her ball disappearing in a blue glow as well and immediately brought forth Lucario in addition. Without a word spoken, the aura canine moved to be beside both his Master and Gardevoir.

"Alright, let's go sign up," said Ash, leading the way and his pokemon followed. Walking toward the building and entering inside it, they took in their surroundings. Nice yet respectable furnishings gave them a cozy feeling despite the rather large lobby that allowed them to be at ease. No one else was around except for a young woman with pink hair wearing a nurse's uniform behind the front counter. Moving towards her, Ash saw that she was one of the many identical Nurse Joys and she was busy typing away while working on something on her computer. There was a door behind her that had a very familiar image of a medical syringe. He realized that the ground floor of the hotel doubled as both reception area and Pokemon Center. "Good morning Nurse Joy. I'm here to register for the tournament so I was wondering where I can do that?" asked Ash.

"Good morning sir and welcome to the Indigo Plateau Hotel," replied back Nurse Joy with her practiced greeting phrase, barely doing a split second glance at him before looking back at her screen. "You can register for the tournament with me. Please provide me with your invitation and Poke Dex," replied the nurse. Ash put his duffel bag on the floor so he can take out the requested items and he placed them on the counter. She took them without looking up from her computer screen and went through both items quickly. "Okay, so here's the invitation, I'll open that up in just a second to verify. First let's slip your Poke Dex into the system's scanner here and let's see…hmm…okay so you're Aaaa…Aaa…" Nurse Joy stuttered as she looked at the picture on her computer screen. Turning her gaze towards the trainer standing in front of her, it was then that she just realized who was there standing in front of her. "You…you're…" She couldn't finish what she wanted to say yet her mouth kept opening and closing.

Ash chuckled while his pokemon became amused. "Yea, it's me."

"Ash Ketchum!" shrieked Nurse Joy, making Ash's ears, along with his pokemons', ring from the high pitch. "Oh my Mew! They said you disappeared! Nobody was able to find you! The news said even your mother didn't know where you were! You know how many people went looking for you?!" blurted out the nurse with rapidly spoken words.

Ash recovered from his ringing ears quickly but now his cheeks turned a little red. "They did? Did everyone act this way because of me? I'm sorry about that. I just went somewhere private for heavy training." He rubbed the back of his head, feeling embarrassed over what she told him. He knew of some doing that, but didn't realize there were more who had done that. Damn, Mom must've gone through some stuff too. And she didn't tell me? Definitely need to get her a gift for going through all that and keeping my secret.

Realizing how she was acting, Nurse Joy composed herself. "Excuse me for my outburst," she said but Ash just waved it off. "So, that's what you were up to? Well, I'm glad that you're okay Mr. Ketchum and participating at this tournament."

"Thanks but please don't call me Mr. Ketchum. I'm not into formalities," he told her.

"Alright. Well, welcome back Ash," she told him with a kind smile, making him and his pokemon return the smile. "I'm sure a lot of people are gonna be extremely happy to hear you're back!"

"Whoa, wait up!" cried out Ash suddenly, waving his hands in front of him, making the nurse look at him with a surprised expression. "I don't want anyone to know I'm here. I'm gonna participate under an alias and disguise. I can do that right? I really don't want the attention. Please Nurse Joy!" pleaded the raven haired trainer.

Nurse Joy was shocked over his request. She was wondering why he wanted to do that but couldn't even say anything since she was over whelmed by his pleading look. After a moment, she let out a sigh. "Oh alright. I can't say no to that face," relented Nurse Joy, blushing slightly that only a certain fairy pokemon caught. Ash let out a relieved sigh. "I won't tell anyone you're here, but in order to compete in the tournament, you must register with your Poke Dex. Good news is only the president, Mr. Charles Goodshow will know. I'll send him a message right now telling him that you want to enter under an alias. You might want to get a disguise on soon and think up of a name quick. I have a feeling there's gonna be a midday rush any minute."

Ash thanked her as he retrieved his invitation and Poke Dex. Telling her that he had a disguise and that he'll put it on now, he turned to fully face Gardevoir afterwards. Knowing what he wanted her to do, the psychic fairy had her eyes glow blue for a couple seconds before the glow faded away and her eyes returned to her original color. Ash turned to face Nurse Joy once more.

She let out a yelp once she saw what he did, covering her mouth with her hands as she instantly turned crimson red. She thought that he looked attractive before but now, he looked more mature and very handsome. "Ash, is that you?" whispered the nurse through her hands, which were still over her mouth.

Ash laughed out loud, his pokémon smiling at the nurse's reactions. "Yea, it's still me. What do you think? I had my Gardevoir do this for me. Not many people will notice with the beard, black eyes and birth marks gone. Oh and I have a name ready. Let me type it in please."

The nurse nodded and handed him the keyboard. He typed in his alias and she glanced at the screen. "Interesting choice. May I ask why that one?" questioned Nurse Joy.

"Well, it's the name of a hero from one of my all time favorite videogame series," explained Ash. "And I honestly couldn't think of anything else either," he added with a sheepish look on his face as he rubbed the back of his head.

Nurse Joy giggled over his behavior and words. That's so adorable, but wow, what a dork! "Well, it does kind of suit your new look."

Ash smiled at that. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Inputting his data into the system, the pink haired nurse quickly finished that and started typing an email to send to the president. "Okay, I believe you're all set. I'll send this message to the Mr. Goodshow right away. Oh and here's your room key." She took out a key from a drawer to her right and gave it to him. "All of the top trainers get complimentary suites at the Indigo Plateau Hotel, courtesy of Mr. Goodshow. I hope you enjoy your stay," said Nurse Joy kindly.

Ash couldn't help but grin at that. "Wow, my own suite. Cool. Looks like we're gonna have a good time here guys." His pokemon nodded in agreement. "Thanks for everything Nurse Joy. You're the best. And from now on, please call me by my alias."

Nurse Joy's cheeks turned pink at the praise, turning slightly away and nodded. "Oh, just doing my job, but thank you. You might want to go check out your suite and settle in before everyone else gets here."

As if on cue, the hotel lobby doors slid open and a group of trainers walked in. Pikachu quickly slid inside his duffel bag and zipped it shut with a small opening left to allow air inside. Ash heard the group's voices and his eyes widened. With a rapidly increasing heartbeat, he quickly grabbed the bag and moved towards the left side of the lobby some distance away from the counter with his pokémon right behind him while sporting concerned expressions since they could sense his feelings.

Oblivious to his inner distress, Nurse Joy smiled slightly at his actions. He really doesn't want to be seen, she thought. But I wonder why. Did something happen?

Ash knew who those voices belonged to but he couldn't believe it. Of all the times to cross paths with them after so long, they just had to come now. He was too afraid to meet them right now, having many different kinds of thoughts race through his mind. Forcing himself to calm down, Ash remained in his spot and acted as casually as he could. He hoped they wouldn't notice him since he went in the wrong direction as the elevator was on the other side of the counter. As they walked through the lobby towards the counter and their voices became clearer, Ash couldn't help but listen in on their conversation while trying to remain calm.

"About time we got here," said one of the girls from the group.

"Yeah. Could've gotten here earlier if someone didn't stop to take a bathroom break," remarked another girl.

"Well, excuse me for having a bathroom emergency!" snapped one of the guys in the group.

"You should've known better than to try and impress a girl with spicy food when you can't handle it," said a different male.

Several in the group laughed at that, making the first male grumble under his breath before another male's voice was heard. "Alright, moving on from Gary's bathroom blunder…"

"Shut up, man!"

"…we're here now," continued the same person, ignoring Gary for the moment. "And I'm gonna win this tournament. Just watch and see guys!" exclaimed the third male.

"Yea right, this tournament is for the best. You really think you can win it all?" asked a fourth male and judging from his voice, the youngest so far from the group.

The sound of someone getting hit followed by a sudden yelp being let out suggested that the fourth male was hit. "Max, how many times have I told you?! Stop being so annoying! And as our friend, you should know Richie is one of the stronger trainers out there," said another girl from the group.

"Stop hitting me!" yelled Max.

"Then stop being so annoying!" snapped the same girl.

Chuckling at their antics was heard before someone else spoke up. "Hey May, just drop it and let's get our room okay?" advised a different girl.

Before May could say anything, another girl spoke up. "Dawn's right. Let's just get our room so we can relax for a bit."

May let out a sigh and seemed to calm down. "Yeah, you're right Serena. And you too Dawn. Thanks."

"Alright. So, first things first. Let's have Richie register for the tournament and then we'll get our rooms," suggested another male from the group and a chorus of agreements was heard from them all. Sounds of footsteps indicated that they walked closer to the counter and a conversation with Nurse Joy began.

While they did that, Ash continued to listen in on them talking about registration and getting a room. He heard them say some things and joke around a bit while deciding on who would room with whom while Richie registered for the tournament. It's been so long. I miss them and I miss these kinds of group stuff. I want to tell them I'm back but I'm scared as to how they'll act. I don't know if I can face them right now. Will they be angry that I left for so long? Happy that I'm back? Did they even miss me at all? They sure seem a lot closer to one another than before. And they do seem happy… He felt a little depressed at that, thinking for a moment that they had forgotten about him. He quickly snapped himself out of it. No point thinking about that. I'll find out sooner or later I guess. I should focus on what I'm trying to do. I wonder who else is in the tournament. It might be fun battling Richie again. Well, at least this time I won't lose, that's for su- "OOUF!" Lost in his thoughts, Ash was suddenly tackled to the floor from behind with his duffel bag falling on the floor beside him. Luckily, nobody heard the slight grunt of pain that came from inside the bag while Lucario and Gardevoir stepped away a little and stood stunned over what just happened.

"DAWN!" shouted the group of trainers together after realizing what their friend just did. They hurried towards her and the man she had tackled to the ground and tried to pry her off of him but were unsuccessful.

"Dawn, this isn't funny! Now let him go!" yelled out one of the girls in frustration.

"NO MISTY! I'm never letting him go again!" cried out Dawn, beginning to sob into the back of the man. "I'm n-never letting A-Ash out of m-my sight again!"

The group of trainers stopped what they were doing and looked at her, then at the man who was faced down. Noticing how familiar he looked, they all started thinking the same thing while several within the group started feeling many different things; no way…could it be?

Lucario and Gardevoir had nervous expressions on their faces while their trainer had many thoughts fly through his head as he tried to process everything quickly. Shit, shit, shit, shit shit….fuck! How did she know it was me?! Damn it! He forced himself to calm down and took in a quiet breath. Okay, what do I do? What do I do? What do I say? How do I act? Shit I don't know. How did Dawn know it was me anyway? What did Dawn see or notice…wait…I wore the same style of clothes I always would…damn it. But she only saw the back of my head…oh…right. I did leave my hair the same. Shit, that's probably why. Should've dressed differently and changed my hair color too. Ah, it's too late. But, now I know that at least one of them missed me. But I can't tell them it's me just yet. I'm not ready. But...maybe I can salvage this and use this…

Quickly coming up with a plan, Ash slowly twisted himself around, while the sobbing blunette kept him in her bear like hug. As a result, she was now crying into his chest. "You know, as much as I'd like to have a pretty girl be on top of me, this isn't what I had pictured it to be like," joked Ash. Dawn stopped her crying abruptly after hearing his words and slowly looked up at the man's face. Seeing someone else's face when she thought it would be Ash's, made her become frozen in shock. "Hi there." Dawn yelped and jumped off the man with a beard when he spoke. He chuckled and slowly got to his feet and stretched his back. "Man, that's some tackle you got there. It's Dawn, right?" he asked her while looking at her. He saw that she hadn't changed her normal attire much besides a slightly longer frilly pink skirt that reached the middle of her thighs along with a white blouse and black tank top that went over it. Dawn looked at him for a second and then slowly nodded while reddening. "Well, nice to meet you. Some advice? Next time you want to say hi to someone, don't tackle them from behind. Okay?" he advised kindly while chuckling. Dawn's blush reddened even further and she looked down at her feet in embarrassment.

"Master, what are you doing?" asked a concerned Lucario through their aura bond.

"Don't worry Lucario. They don't know it's me, otherwise I would've been in a death hug, or crumpled in a corner after they kicked the shit out of me. Do me a favor though and let Gardevoir know what's going on and help her relax."

"Understood."

Taking the opportunity to make sure everything was alright between them all, one from the group spoke up. "Sorry about that. Our friend…no, all of us, know someone who is very special to us and we haven't seen him for a long time. You just happened to look similar to him from the back I guess," said one of the males in the group. He was tall, with tanned skin, short spiky dark hair and squinty eyes. He wore brown pants, an orange shirt and a green jacket over it. "My name is Brock, nice to meet you." Brock raised his hand and Ash shook it, secretly feeling glad that they all were missing him after hearing those words.

"Yea, sorry about that. Sometimes our friend gets carried away," added the red haired girl. She introduced herself as Misty. She was wearing blue shorts that reached half way down her thighs, with a yellow blouse. Her long red hair was tied in a pony tail that flowed down behind her back.

"She's not the only who gets carried away. I remember you did something similar too Misty. And my name is Serena," remarked the honey blonde haired girl, shaking hands with Ash as well. Serena was wearing a black tank top with a red skirt that flowed down to her knees and had long honey blond hair that was curled at the ends.

"We all have Serena, not just them two," cut in the brunette with the bandanna on her head, in order to prevent Misty from exploding. She was wearing a red tank top with a black short skirt. She extended her hand and Ash shook it. "My name is May and this is my little brother Max. And that's Richie, Cilan, Iris and Gary."

Ash shook hands with each person that May pointed out. Max was the youngest and shortest of the group. He had on a green shirt and brown shorts with dark hair and wore glasses. Richie had almost the same outfit as Ash, except the colors were reversed, with black pants and jacket and blue shirt. Cilan was as tall as Brock and had green hair and was wearing what looked to be like a tuxedo without the jacket. Gary was wearing a white lab coat with black jeans and a black shirt with brown red hair. Iris had long purple hair that was split into three pony tails with the middle one being longer than the other two. She wore a loose yellow sport dress that went over tight white pants. As he greeted each of them, Dawn remained quiet and still in her position since she was still very embarrassed.

When he finished greeting the last person of their group, he spoke. "It's very nice to meet all of you. You seem to be a good group of friends," said Ash.

"Thanks, ah…" started Brock.

"Oh I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Solid…" Gary held in a snort over his name and Max tilted his head, wondering where he heard that before but nobody noticed them. "…and this is Lucario and Gardevoir. I'm from Kanto and here to compete in the tournament," said Ash.

"That's great Solid. We're here to cheer on Richie as he competes as well," said Iris brightly.

"Oh so you're in the tournament too, Richie? Anyone else?"

"Yup and just me. I hope you're ready for a good match. Sorry, but let me finish registering and getting my room," said Richie as he went back to finish things up with Nurse Joy.

"Why is Gardevoir hiding behind you?" asked Serena. Her group glanced at the fairy pokémon, who was hiding behind the raven haired trainer but had her head sticking out a bit from behind him. At being the center of attention all of a sudden, said pokemon promptly blushed and squeaked while ducking behind him again.

Ash gave both a sigh and a slight chuckle. "Well it's both funny and sad. The funny thing is that she is very shy and scared of new people or pokémon, unless she's in a battle, then she just focuses on her opponent. The sad part…well…" Ash started scratching the back of his head, which made the group remember a certain friend of theirs as he did that action. The others waited for him to finish. "Let's just say she had a bad past with other pokémon trainers before we crossed paths," finished Ash with a glum look on his face.

"What assholes!" commented Dawn, speaking again and having calmed down, but then she became embarrassed and her blush returned when Ash glanced at her.

May smacked the back of her head. "Dawn, Max is here!" snapped the brunette

"May, I've heard worse things okay? I'm not a kid anymore!" complained Max, embarrassed that he was still being treated like a child.

"Wow, you're all acting like kids," remarked Iris.

"Takes one to know one," jeered Max, making Iris scowl.

Ignoring them, the honey blonde haired girl spoke up while the red head moved closer to the white and green pokemon. "That's so sad. I'm glad that someone nice like you found her," said Serena sweetly.

"Thank you Serena," he replied back softly that made Serena redden slightly.

When Misty got closer to Gardevoir, she noticed how the pokemon was clutching onto her trainer's back. "Oh, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you, ever. I promise. And it's not like we're here to take you away from Solid either."

"Yeah, as long as he continues treating you right," added May while moving closer to them as well.

With that said, both Misty and May shot glares at Solid as if daring him to challenge them on that remark. As soon as they did that, both Dawn and Serena, with the former still red from embarrassment, moved to stand beside the two to show their support of their words even though they didn't say anything.

Everyone there thought that Solid would get angry or say something in retort. But what he did instead surprised them all. He simply gave a genuine smile back a moment after being on the receiving end of the girls' death glares. The four girls and the rest of their friends immediately understood; he would never do something like that, and for some reason, that made them like this new man in front of them.

Taking the imitative, Misty looked back at Gardevoir. "Will you give us a chance? We can be your new friends," asked Misty softly as she raised her right hand in front of her, palm up and open.

Gardevoir looked at her for a moment, then at the three other girls beside her and finally glanced at her trainer, who gave her an encouraging smile. She understood that these girls were people she could trust and can develop strong bonds with them. Looking back at the red head, she raised her hand and placed it on Misty's hand. Misty smiled as did Gardevoir and a moment later, May, Dawn and Serena joined in by placing their hands on top of their grasping hands too and they all smiled a little wider.

"What a heart lifting flavor this has been," remarked Cilan with a smile on his face.

Iris elbowed the connoisseur lightly in the stomach. "You're doing it again," chastised Iris but Cilan just ignored it.

"I'm quite impressed. I've not known any other person, let alone four at once, to bond with her so easily," commented Solid and that statement caused the girls to start blushing with each of the four reacting with embarrassment.

"Well, it's not like we're doing anything special," said Misty as she rubbed one arm with her other hand.

"I mean, it's just girls becoming friends with one another," added Serena while looking away to the side while Dawn remained quiet but was looking at her feet while tapping the floor with her shoe's tip.

"Yeah, so don't make it into a big deal," finished May while crossing her arms over her chest and giving a pout.

Ash smiled softly at them. Wow, they've really matured and gotten close to one another over the years. "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry," he told them, with his attention on the four and as a result, he missed the shared smirks between the others in the group.

But before any of them could say anything else, Richie rejoined the group. "Okay guys, looks like we can only get one room in the Indigo Plateau Hotel."

"Did they say why?" asked Brock.

"Nurse Joy said they've been booked weeks ago and only some rooms were reserved for participating trainers if they arrived early enough," explained Richie. Ash heard what he said so he excused himself from them for a moment and his pokemon followed after him.

"Well, that sucks," complained Iris after a short silence between them all.

"See what happens when you make us late because of your stunt Gary?" teased Max.

"Shut up squirt!" snapped Gary.

"Hey, I'm not that small!"

"Whatever," said Gary before turning to Richie. "Did they say what floor it's on?"

"Yeah, it's on the twenty-first floor. Why?"

"Damn it. Floors from the twentieth to twenty-fifth are one room with two twin beds."

"Well it's a good thing we brought sleeping bags," commented Brock happily as Gary scoffed.

"Just like the good old days huh, guys?" spoke up Dawn cheerily as she tried to keep everyone in happy sprits, having finally gotten over her embarrassment. "So, um…did anything see where Solid went?" she asked as she looked around with several of them looking around.

"Look who's finally talking again," sniggered Gary before anyone else can talk. "Don't worry; your boyfriend's at the counter."

Dawn reddened over his words while May and Misty smacked him upside the head hard, causing the young researcher to yelp in pain. "Leave her alone Gary!" warned both girls before looking at Dawn, all three girls sporting slightly flushed faces.

"Tch, fine. Can't even joke around anymore," he muttered before seeing another being quiet. "Hey, Serena, how come you're not talking?"

Serena's eyes widened with her cheeks turning pinkish as she was put on the spot. "I…ah…I…"

"Wow, are you kidding me?" started Gary as he moved his gaze from Misty, to Dawn, then Serena and finally May. "Well, well, well, looks like we're back to three years ago everyone. Four girls all crushing on the same guy again. Oh this is gonna be interesting," said Gary as he started laughing out loud, not noticing their rapidly angering states.

The four girls' faces were tomato red and glaring at the young researcher. Brock, Richie, Max, Cilan and Iris all glanced at each other. They knew Gary was in some deep shit and they were concerned that he was not taking it seriously. "Ah, Gary, you might want to stop while you're still breathing, cause…" started Brock with concern.

But he was interrupted by the pokemon researcher continuing on since he didn't know when to stop and was not thinking of the consequences of his words. "Let's put a bet on them. Actually, let's do a few bets. Like who makes an idiot out of themselves first, not counting Dawn's since it was before. Let's see who'll actually make a move. And let's bet who's going to make out with him first and then…"

*WHAM* The pokémon researcher was sent crashing to the floor face first and groaned in pain as he laid there unmoving.

Misty towered over him with her trademark mallet in her hands while Dawn, Serena and May stood beside her with all four of them sporting angry gazes. "Consider that a warning Oak."

"Why is Gary on the floor?" questioned Ash, appearing behind Misty. He had an idea as to why but couldn't act like he knew them.

"Gaahhh!" screamed a startled Misty who reacted out of instinct. Ash was hit in the stomach with her mallet, causing him to grunt as he fell down on his rear. "Oh! I'm so sorry Solid!" apologized Misty as soon as she realized what she did and bent down to help him back up.

"It's alright. Should've known better than to stand behind someone." Especially if it's you Misty, he finished in his head.

"Ah man, one of us could have won that bet already," started Gary as he stood back up and nursed his head with his hand. "Who would've thought it'd be Misty who does something stupid first."

"Bet? What bet?" Ash looked around with actual confusion over what was going on.

"Oh don't worry about it." May stepped towards Ash and Misty, who was giving Gary a death glare. "Gary just likes to say stupid things all the time. Sometimes we have to remind him to stop being such a moron before he gets himself hurt," explained the brunette while Gary simply rolled his eyes over it.

"Ah, I see."

"So, what were you doing at the counter Solid?" asked Dawn as she walked up to them, being careful not to stare at him.

Gary smirked and was about to say something when he noticed Misty hold up her mallet again. His smirk faded away and gulped, wisely choosing to stay quiet at the moment.

Oblivious to that, Ash answered the blunette. "Oh I was checking out which room I have and I found out that it's a pretty big one. I was gonna ask you guys if you wanted to switch. I don't need such a big room since it's just me and my pokémon."

"That's very kind of you," remarked Serena with a smile.

"But we can't do that Solid," interjected Cilan before anyone else could agree to it.

"What do you mean Cilan? Don't talk for everyone like a kid!" shot Iris, annoyed that he would give up a solution to their problem that just conveniently came up for them.

"No Iris, Cilan's right," Brock answered and the rest dropped their heads in defeat. "We can't accept that Solid. It was meant for you."

"Seriously? What do you think I'm gonna do all alone in some big room on the thirty fifth floor?" he asked them rhetorically and was surprised when everyone's jaw dropped. Nobody made a sound except for Nurse Joy, who was the only one, quietly giggling behind her counter as she had been eavesdropping on the conversation from the beginning. Ash started becoming nervous over their silence. "Ah guys, are you okay?"

"Did you just say thirty-fifth floor?" asked Richie.

Everyone stared at Ash and waited for him to answer the question. "Ah yea, I did. Why does that matter?" Ash tilted his head in confusion and scratched the back of his head again, causing everyone to picture their friend in their minds again.

The pokemon researcher of the group took it upon himself and started explaining. "There are only forty floors in this hotel. From the nineteenth floor and down, they are all single rooms with a single bed, bathroom and a TV. From the twentieth floor to the twenty-fifth, those are a little better with a little extra stuff, such as two beds. Twenty-six to thirtieth floors have two rooms with four beds. From the thirty first to the thirty-seventh floors, they are much nicer, bigger and usually held for important people, such as company owners, popular and rising trainers and other important people. The thirty-eight floor is for the Elite Fours of each region only. The thirty-ninth floor is held specifically for the Champions of the different leagues. And the last floor is reserved for the President of the Pokémon League and the current Pokémon Master," lectured Gary.

"Ah, okay, I gotcha. Anyway, it doesn't matter to me. You guys can have it since I don't care."

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" screamed Dawn, May and Iris together, causing the group to jump. Some of them laughed a little after calming down.

Ash chuckled a bit before replying back. "No, I'm not crazy. Even though it's supposed to be some great room, I don't care about it. Here, let's switch since it'll be better for you guys since you're a big group."

"How about we share the room?" Serena asked, causing everyone to look at her. "Well, think about it. If it's supposed to be a big room or suite or whatever, we could share it, so none of us feel guilty about using it."

"You know, that's a great idea! Let's go!" said Max and dashed towards the elevator.

Brock glanced at Ash who shrugged and picked up his duffel bag. Understanding him, Brock argued no more and they all headed towards the elevator. Ash returned his two pokemon and held his duffel bag in front of him so they can fit. It was still barely enough space though, as it was tight squeeze. The four girls had ended up sandwiching Ash between them and were blushing like mad. Iris saw and just shook her head but started thinking about some things. Gary noticed as well and he smirked, catching Richie's eye and gestured towards the five with his eyebrows. Richie caught the hint and grinned but knew better than to make a comment so he chose to keep his mouth shut.

After a moment or two, they reached the thirty-fifth floor and stepped out into the hallway. They only saw three doors in the hallway; one right in front of them, labeled "A", one down the hall to the left labeled "B" and another on the opposite end of the hall labeled "C". Ash's key had an "A" on it, so he put the key into the lock, unlocked the door, pushed it open and they walked into the room.

It wasn't a room. It wasn't even a suite. It looked to be more of a pent house than anything. Every single person had a shocked look on their face as they weren't expecting something like this. They were greeted with a huge living room that was furnished with several comfy looking couches, a large square coffee table in the middle of them and with a flat screen TV hanging on the wall. A spacious kitchen next to the living room sporting advanced appliances and near the kitchen were a set of sliding doors that opened up to the attached balcony. They walked around the area and found there were five bedrooms with four queen sized beds and the fifth, larger room had a king sized bed. There were two bathrooms and one master bathroom in the larger room. The group assembled back together in the living room after checking out the place, each one having an insane grin on their face.

"And you wanted to give this up!" laughed Iris as she pointed at Ash and everyone chuckled.

"Yeah, it's a very nice place. But I probably wouldn't have cared after a while. Like I said, I'm a simple man with simple needs."

"Yea, whatever buddy. Keep telling yourself that," teased Gary but Ash merely chuckled.

"So, I take it we're sharing this place and that's good for everyone?" asked Cilan.

"Yeah that's good with me. But Solid gets the master bedroom, since this was his at first. And we all need to thank him for letting us be here. That's the only way I'll allow us to stay here," finished Brock.

"Thank you!" chorused the group together.

Ash's cheeks turned red and he rubbed the back of his head. "No need. I'm just glad to help out." Understanding him, the group of friends smiled. "Okay, so we're sharing, cool." He turned to face Richie. "I can return your key for you if you want Richie since I forgot to do something downstairs for the tournament." Richie thanked him for that as he handed him his room key while the rest started picking out rooms and roommates. The raven haired trainer left the suite and headed downstairs as he had something important to discuss with Nurse Joy…