Don't let me down: Advanceshipping PG-13

[Sethern]

Title: Don't let me down
Type Advanceshipping (Ash and May)
Rating PG-13

Chapter 1

"Hey Brock I can't wait we're almost there." Ash said looking out if the airplane window. He could see the beautiful Kanto landscape. Even though they were too high to see individual Pokemon they could make out traces that Pokemon had been there. There were burn marks where various fire Pokemon competed for dominance in their communities. There were several onyx burrows and trenches that could be seen, and of course Ash could see the various cities that they were flying over. Though they couldn't see much intelligent life on the ground, that didn't stop them from spotting flocks of birds native to that region.

"Yeah, according to the flight plan we should be landing in the Pewter city airport in less than an hour. After that we can meet up at my place and my dad will drive us to your house." Brock said with his head facing the window that Ash was seated at. Ash could tell that he was looking out at a flock of passing pidgey. Some would have trouble figuring out if his eyes were open or not, and where he was looking at, but after traveling as long with him as Ash did a person could easily tell.

"It was real nice of you to meet up with me in Unova and fly back with me." Ash said, gratitude apparent in his voice. "It really shows how good of a friend you are."

"Don't mention it."

The pilot's voice buzzed over the intercom "This is your pilot speaking. We will be landing in Pewter city airport in five minutes. All passengers close your trays and buckle up."

"Hey Pikachu need help buckling up?" Ash asked his forever traveling companion and best friend.

The little yellow mouse nodded and let out a "Pi". Pikachu was sitting behind Ash and Brock in a booster seat so he could be buckled up to the plane. Ash turned around and buckled up his friend and he and Brock got ready for the landing.


>~•~•~<

"Hey mom we're here!" Delia heard Ash's voice from upstairs.

"Quick hide he can't know you're here yet." She whispered to her two guests. They hid in any available spots big enough to fit them. While they did that Delia walked downstairs. "Ash!" She excitedly yelled as she wrapped him up in a motherly hug. "I'm so glad you're finally home. How was your trip? How was the Unova region? Have you been eating all right, you seem to have slimmed down a little. Have you been changing your you know whats every day?"

"Mom! You're embarrassing me." Ash responded in the way teens do when their parents aren't really embarrassing them, but they wanted them to think that they were.

"Well, I just worry about you. You don't call enough I am just worrying about my little boy." She said still hugging him.

"Hey Mom you can let go now." After he said that she let go of him. "We got to get ready for May and Max to arrive. Too bad Misty couldn't come, but I get the whole gym leader thing is keeping her away."

His mother replied with
disappointment on her face. "About that honey, the Maples called and said something happened at the gym and that they will need to stay there for a while."

"B..but why? We were planning this for months. Why did this have to happen?" As Ash said this he became very disappointed.

"They did send something that they thought you'd like. It's upstairs, come follow me." Ash and Brock followed the younger boy's mother upset with disappointed faces.

"It is right there in your room there. Go. Ahead and see what it is." Ash reluctantly walked into his room where two familiar faces jumped out of their hiding places to surprise the boy.

"Surprise!" they both yelled, greatly startling Ash so much he fell over backwards. Luckily for Pikachu he was traveling on Delia's shoulder.

"Aaaaah. W..w....what was that for." He quickly got over his shock and was greatly elated. The two siblings ran up to him and both gave him a big group hug.

The two let go of Ash and helped him off the ground. May started talking to him. "Ash we both missed you so much. I'm really glad that we get to see you again, let alone go on another adventure through a new region together." She then noticed Brock near the entrance of the door with Delia, both busting up laughing at Ash's reaction.

"Brock! It's so good to see you too. We both missed you also."

"Yeah how could we miss our favorite male rock type gym leader from Kanto?" Max pipped in.

"Yeah unless of course, you know any other rock type gym leaders from Kanto."

"Well we know your father." Ash put in with a smile.

"We're just kidding. We missed you a million." Max said to one of his role models. The group went downstairs and gathered around the table for a nice lunch that Ash's mother prepared for them.

"Hey Max after this we have a surprise for you." May told her little brother.

"Really! What is it?" Max asked his excitement growing.

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise. You'll just have to come with us." They finished eating their lunch and thanked Delia for a delicious meal. After they helped Mr. Mime clean up the mess they headed out towards professor Oak's lab.they walked down the road and up the hill towards the lab. Once they got there they knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. After knocking a second time, professor Oak's assistant, a Pokemon sketch artist, and one of Ash's former traveling companions Tracey answered the door. Tracey said it was great to see Ash again and that he hadn't seen him in a long time. Tracey led them off towards where the professor was. Professor Oak was in his main work area in the lab, where he would do various research on Pokemon. Currently he had several books open with pictures of Pokemon Ash had never seen before.

"Why if it isn't Ash." The professor said in his usual cheery tone. "It's been a while hasn't it? I've been expecting you four for a while now, what held you?"

"You know my mom's cooking. You can't turn down something that delicious." Ash responded, mouth watering during the second comment.

Professor Oak replied with with a smile. "We'll that explains it, if I were in your shoes I would have done the same thing. I may even have gone back for seconds."

"Trust me, we went back for more than that."

The professor chuckled. "I'm sure you did, you probably eat more than your Snorlax. But that's beside the point. Lets get to the real reason why you are all here right now." He turned his gaze towards the youngest group member. "Max. Even though you are twelve right now, and are older than the typical person I help. Your parents and I think it's about time for you to get your very first Pokemon." They started walking through the lab.

"Wow! That's awesome which one do I get?" Max's eyes gleamed as he heard the great news. "Wait! Can I choose? I've always wanted to have a charmander. They are so awesome, and they are great for help. Can I please have one?" Max asked invigorated with the news that he can finally have a Pokemon of his own. They took a left and entered a storage room filled with Pokeballs in their shrunk forms lining the wall. There were various sections on that wall where there were many Pokeballs, and some with very little. Each had a name tag on the top, which was the trainer who owned them. They turned right to another row of shelves and Max saw a
Shelf with almost fifty Pokeballs on it, the trainer name was Ash Ketchum.

"Hey Ash. There are your Pokemon right there." Max said pointing at the third section on that particular wall.

"Yeah they are right there. But right now is your special time I'll go visit them later." They took one last turn to the left and came upon a room. In that room was a small white table with a blue dome in the middle, and three spherical indents spaced evenly around the dome. In each of the depressions lay a red and white sphere with a button in the middle. On each of the spheres there was a picture of a different element. On the one far left there was a picture of a leaf. On the middle one a picture if a drop of water. Lastly, on the third one located on the far right was a flame.

Professor Oak's voice echoed through the room. "Okay Max to answer your earlier question, you can pick whichever Pokemon you like. Just be sure you want it and take the ball."

"I've thought through it and I think I will pick charmander after all." Max carefully said. He reached towards the ball on the far right and picked it up. He just stood there looking at it in awe, as if it was his life he was looking at. In some ways it was, it was the key to his new future that has had many years in the making.

"Well go on open it." The professor urged Max. He then pressed the center button on the Pokeballs and a red beam of light zagged out of the sphere and formed into a small red lizard with a flame on its tail.

"Char char." Said the young fire type. It appeared to be a healthy boy with strong looking teeth. It was slightly on the smaller side as far as charmanders go, but then again so was Max.

"This is awesome!" Exclaimed the new Pokemon trainer. "I think I'm gonna call you Norman after my dad."

To that May felt obliged to say some words on the behalf of the Pokemon. "Come on what kind of a name is that? Who picks a name that boring? Normal twelve year olds would pick something like flame, dragon, hmslave. Something cool, not Norman. Think of how it's friends will feel. "So what did they name you. Oh I'm Norman, how about yourselves?" "I'm killer, he's arson, and that's well, the trainer was too lazy to give him a nickname, we just call him bob cause he looks like one." So do you get what I'm saying? Try something else."

"Well I like it. I'm sure dad would like it also." He said this with an air if confidence that the others had a hard time doubting his choice. "You like Norman don't you Norman?" He asked his new friend

"Char mander man." Norman said nodding his head.

"Aaww I thought if I changed his name he would speak differently."

An Exasperated May tried to see what was wrong with her little brother. "Max it doesn't work like that!" The others were trying to suppress their smiles. Due to the fact that May was the only one who didn't realize that Max was only joking. Lucky for the others May was focused on her little brother, who kept a straight face. "How could you believe that. I thought you were smarter than that, and saying nor norman man isn't that cool."

"But I wanted it to say normander." That comment was what it took for Ash. He started to bust up in laughing, and that's what it took for the others. All of them were laughing including Max. May realizing that it was a joke started to blush. She tried to hide her face but it didn't work in this small room.

"So are you really gonna name him Norman?" May asked her brother. After the blushing had stopped.

"Yup. It will be its own unique name."

"Okay if you like it. I'll be okay with it."

"So Max I have a question for you." Asked Brock.

"Yeah Brock what is it?" Max replied to the question with another question.

"Well since you are a new trainer, we were thinking that you should come with me back to Pewter city. It would be a great chance for you to see more of what being a gym leader is all about. We could walk there and you could catch an train your Pokemon on the way. So what do you say?"

"Hey May, would you be okay without me? I'd miss you so much."

"This would be great for you. You will have so much fun with Brock and Norman." May answered trying to encourage Max to go. "Go on I will be fine without you.

"Okay Brock the answer is yes!" The excited tween said rather loudly.

The group then headed back towards the main area of the lab, ash stayed back at the section with his Pokeballs talking to each one of them. He eventually placed the ones from his belt there on that wall and picked some an put me each in their own slot on his belt. He met back up with the rest of the group while they were talking about the Nivard region. The Nivard region is this newly inhabited island in the northern hemisphere. It was inhabited a little less than ten years ago and already there are a few big cities. The landscape is mountainous with a few valleys and beaches. A competition has been set up where you have to beat four gyms and then you qualify for the championship, just like in the orange islands. The difference is that each gym requires two trainers to compete together against the leaders. They have also set up a small number of contest halls. Each hall holds a different type of contest than the other. Each contest hall holds a contest once every season. There are various other competitions held there such as Pokemon skiing and Pokemon pulled hangliders. To get to the Nivard region you had to take boat. So Ash and May were there to pay professor Oak for tickets on a cruise ship leaving for there.

"So here is the money for those tickets to the Nivard region professor Oak. I've been saving up my winnings for it." Stated Ash holding out several bills for the professor to take.

"No no. I want to give these to you as a gift for all of your help in the past. Just a little thank you for all of your hard work." Replied Oak pushing the money back towards the young boy.

"Thanks so much! Is there anything I can do for you to show you my thanks?"

"You can spend that money on something fun for yourselves... Well it's getting late you should probably be with your mom before you go. Have fun. Bye.

"Bye professor Oak." The group said as they were leaving the lab and headed back for Ash's house. They ate dinner and headed up for bed to get rested up before the big day tomorrow. Brock slept in Ash's room with him while the Maples took the guest room. Ash had trouble falling asleep with all the thoughts of the future racing through his head. But he eventually slipped into the peaceful grasp of sleep.






So there it is. I wasn't sure whether to put that as a prologue or chapter 1 but I decided ch1, because a prologue usually isn't that direct into the story. So I currently have the outline of around 10 more chapters and I will come up with more. So everyone tell me how you think I did and what I can do to make it better. Thanks and feel free to comment bye.

 

[Sethern]

I haven't gotten any responses yet, but I'll keep on posting for those who read it. (It took so long because I write/ finalize multiple chapters at the same time so I'm almost done with another one. Here it is


Ch2


Ash awoke to the smell of pancakes cooking in the kitchen. Brock as it had seemed was already awake and out of the room by the time that Ash woke up. He hurried to get ready, excited for the meal that lay ahead of him. After he was ready he started heading for the stairs. He made his way halfway through the hallway, before he got knocked into the wall by a female coming out of the guest room at full speed.

"Ugh that really hurt." May said with her hand on her left shoulder where she ran into Ash. "Oh sorry Ash! I didn't mean to push you into the wall. It's just that I smelled good food and I had to run downstairs to get some. I love pancakes. They're my favorite breakfast food."

With the prospect of food in mind Ash forgot about being run into he wall. " I love the chocolate chip ones the most."

"Come on. Lets go down together and get some food before we starve to death." They walked down the stairs and turned right to see the kitchen. In it was Brock wearing his apron cooking pancakes while Mr. Mime was competing with him to see who could make more pancakes. The table was set and already Max was sitting at it with his new charmander on his lap. They had already started eating without the two. Lucky for them the competition between the two cooks made sure there were plenty of pancakes on the table.

"Hey Brock, where's my mom?" Inquired Ash noticing his mother was not down in the kitchen.

"We're letting her sleep in. I thought she deserves a break from taking care of everything. So I made breakfast, did the shopping, cleaned, and watered the garden. And all before ten."

Brock would make a great mom. Ash thought to himself. It was real nice of him to do this. If he didn't I probably would have had to. I secretly think he has something for my mom. Wow that would be weird for Brock to be my step-dad. I'm gonna stop thinking about this it's creeping me out. He shuddered at that thought.

Ash remembering Brock's cooking reminded him of something. "Brock I really missed your cooking in Unova. I hope I don't have to go too long without it. It's delicious."

"Why thank you. Well go ahead and have some." Ash and May followed Brocks orders and started eating the pancakes. After they finished eating Delia came downstairs and they all had a good morning of time together before they all went their separate ways.

>~•~•~<

May was getting ready to board the cruise ship to go to the Nivard region. But before she could go there, had to be something that she hated. She had to say goodbye to her brother and friend. She hated goodbyes not only because they were always awkward and she never knew what to say, but also because it means you have to leave someone you're close to for a long period of time. Now was time for yet another goodbye. She decided to save the hardest one for last, so at least for now it wouldn't be as bad.

"Well bye Brock. Good luck on taking care of my brother. He can be a handful at times."

"Don't worry I'm sure we'll be fine. Max is a very responsible and resourceful boy. He will have a great time."

"Well be sure to make him call my parents. They'll want to know about how he is doing. And don't forget to call us I want to know how he's doing. Don't let him have a gym badge to easy."

"It'll be a tough job for Norman to get past my rock Pokemon. " Said Brock obviously thinking of a strategy for the future gym battle. "I'll take good care of Max. He is old enough to travel by himself, but I will still watch after him."

"Thanks, you've taken such good care of Ash, Misty, Dawn, Max, and me." May told Brock with a smile, knowing that her little brother was in good hands. "I feel better knowing that it's you who is taking care of him."

"Thanks for that May, It means a lot. Now you have a fun time in the Nivard region. I heard that that the city you'll be landing in has a contest hall."

"Yup it does, Ash and I will enter into it and I have a feeling that we're going to do good."

"You've been asking me to take care of your little brother. Now I'll have to ask you to take care of someone I feel almost as a little brother too." Brock said to May with a sullen look on his face. "It killed me to leave him while he was in Unova. If it weren't for Cilian and Iris, he may not be so fine. He still sometimes acts like the ten year old, like he did the first time that I met him."

"Don't worry I'll be here to take care of Ash. I got a good feel of how to do it watching you when we were traveling together."

A voice from the boat blared from the ship's speakers. "The S.S. Mulek will be leaving for Vanguard city in ten minutes. Everyone who is going better come aboard."

"It was great seeing you again Brock but I really must say goodbye to my brother and you, Ash." May said dreading the next few minute of her life. She knew that she would see her brother again, but this would be the longest that they would have been apart. But she still knew it was for the best. Being apart from her parents for so long made her more independent than she would have been cooped up at the gym her whole life. Now this, being apart from her brother will help further that independence, and prepare her or her future life to come.

"Yeah, you too. If you ever are in Pewter city, you know who to drop by."

"Don't worry, I will. I'll go get Ash for you now." May then left and walked across the dock to where Ash and Max were. She then told Ash that it was his turn with Brock. Ash finished saying goodbye to Max and left for his best friend. That left the two siblings alone together to say their goodbyes.

"So, I guess this is goodbye." Max said trying to not feel too sad about leaving his favorite sister for a while.

"Don't worry we will see each other again. You'll always be my little brother." May responded in an attempt to cheer up her brother.

"Well I'm not so little anymore. Soon I might have to call you my little sister." Max had recently had a growth spurt, and now he was almost as tall as his sister was. His head was up to the top of her forehead so they could almost see eye to eye. He said this last part to lighten up the mood. "In all seriousness, I love you and hope you're okay. I don't want anything bad to happen to my sister, and here, I have something for you." Max handed his sister a sealed envelope with one word on the front. May.

"What is it?" She asked Max curious about the mystery envelope. "Can you tell me more about it?"

"It should tell you in the letter. I might just have to keep you in suspense."

"Come on don't be that way." May said getting a little frustrated. Max always couldn't help it, it was just in his nature to tease his sister, and be difficult at each opportunity that presented itself. What else are little brothers for, he thought to himself.

"As I stated before, it should be in the letter, but I'll tell you just this once." Max wanted to make his last time seeing his sister for a while a good one, so he decided to try to be nice to her. "That's a letter from dad. He told me to give it to you if you and Ash were to go alone together. I guess he has the sense to plan for all situations for when we left for here." Max, even though trying to be nice, couldn't help himself at this golden opportunity. "It probably just says he doesn't want you two to make out or anything like that."

"Max!" Yelled May. She was red, both from blushing, and from anger. "Do you always have to say stuff like that? You used to be such a good boy. I take that back. You used to be not as bad. Yes we bickered but nothing like recently." She took a couple of deep breaths and regained her composure. "I love you too. I just wish you would stop saying things."

"Well that really hit a nerve. I think the only reason why you're overreacting like this is because you like him." He said this with a big smile on his face.

"No I don't!" May looked as if she was about to do something very unladylike to her brother."

Max, seeing and knowing how May was, decided to end the goodbye. "Keep telling yourself that. I think Ash would be a great brother-in-law. Well I love you and will miss you. Bye May see you later." He then ran off to meet up with Ash and Brock, before May could do something to him.

>~•~•~<

Ash and May had finished boarding the S.S. Mulek. They had found their rooms which were right across from each other's. They each put their items in their rooms and headed out to explore the cruise ship. The ship offered a wide range of activities ranging from swimming in a pool, to buffets, and Pokemon battles. They had many other activities onboard, but those three were the ones that interested the two trainers the most. They agreed to check out the battles first. Then they would go to the buffet, and lastly take a late night swim.

They walked over to the battle field. Ash was hoping to get into a battle, but the field was already taken. On one end was a trainer who didn't look too much older than Ash. He had light brown hair and he was wearing a stone bead necklace. He also had on a brown T-shirt, in addition to a white under shirt. This trainer wore a belt with various Pokeballs on it. He was fighting with a powerful looking aggron. On the other side there was an older man. He had pure white hair that was so white, it had to have been dyed. He was holding a cane infused with Pokeballs. The third one was missing, and that was obviously the one that the wartortle which was fighting the aggron, belonged in.

Ash and May took a seat on the bleachers that were set up for the purpose of watching the matches. They chose a spot near the middle, but closer to the younger trainer. There were a total of six other people there watching the battle. One was an older woman who looked to be a grandmother sitting closest to the man. She must of been his wife thought Ash. There were two more groups. One with two girls and a guy, and there were two more guys watching the battle. The battle which must have been going on for some time seemed to be in favor of the younger trainer, and his aggron, despite the type disadvantage.

"Water gun Wartortle!" The older man shouted directing his Pokemon to attack. In response the water Pokemon shot a beam of water out of its mouth aimed at its opponents stomach.

"Aggron divide the water with an iron tail attack!" As the younger trainer called out the command his Pokemon turned around with its tail stiff and glowing a whiteish grey. It was done so smoothly it must have been practiced before. The jet of water slammed into Aggron's tail with it pointed into the center. The tail being there and stiff forced the water around the Pokemon, doing no damage to it. Now it was his turn to attack. "Aggron use headbut." The steel beast lowered its spiked head, and started charging towards the frightened turtle.

"Use hydro pump!" Said the old man with authority. The wartortle seeing an opportunity not to get pummeled, took the chance and withdrew into its shell. It then started spinning blasting out jets of water towards its charging opponent. The water hit the Pokemon with an impact to knock most anything over. Though with the size and weight of the Aggron, and its momentum, it was only stopped dead in its tracks.

"Come on Aggron push through it. You've got this, just a little more." The younger trainer encouraged his struggling Pokemon. With those helpful words Aggron burst through the hydro pump and bellowed, shaking off the water, getting ready to charge again. It started to rush with its iron head aimed at Wartortle.

Since it had already closed two thirds of the distance Aggron closed the rest of the distance before Wartortle could do anything. In a last desperate attempt to protect itself Wartortle used withdraw and hid into its shell, hopeful to lessen the damage received. The charging beast rammed into the encased turtle sending it flying to the other side of the arena. It spun around on the ground, then it's limbs and head popped out of the shell. It had a dazed look on its face as it was wobbling around.

Seeing that he had momentum on his side the younger trainer commanded his Pokemon to attack once more. "Aggron let's finish him off. Iron tail it." The Pokemom obeyed and started charging towards the stunned wartortle.

"Wait No! I forfeit! My Pokemon had already taken quite a beating. There is no reason to continue if it will only cause suffering on my precious Wartortle." He then clicked his Pokeball sending a red beam out at his Pokemon so it wouldn't get hurt anymore. "You did great you deserve a nice long rest." He said to his recalled Pokemon. "So congratulations on your win. You did good and deserve it."

Following the older mans example the younger trainer recalled his Aggron. "You did wonderful. Aggron you did a great job countering those attacks." He then turned towards the older man. "And you did a great job also. It was hard to keep up with that onslaught of attacks at the beginning of the match."

"And you too, your unorthodox methods were quite enjoyable. Well I really must be going so thanks for that battle and bye."

"Bye have a nice day." The younger trainer called after him as he was leaving with the old lady. The younger trainer also headed off towards the lower decks. The rest of the viewers had also gotten up and left, just leaving Ash and May. They seeing that there was no one else, decided to have some dinner. They remembered seeing an all you can eat buffet onboard, and they thought it might be just enough to satisfy their hunger.

The two wandered around the ship until they found the place they were looking for, the Kings Hall. On the inside it looked as if it were a medieval castle hall. It had wooden tables and torches on the wall. The walls were painted to look like stone, and there was a fire blazing in the center of the room. They entered towards the left side of the room, and the food was situated on the right. They were greeted by a woman in her late thirties.

"Welcome to the Kings Hall buffet, how may I help you?" She said as if that was one of the only things she will say all day.

Ash took the lead and responded after reading the age groups, and thought to himself. Wow these places are real cheap. They count people as young as twelve year olds as adults to make an extra buck. "Two adults, please."

"What would you like to drink?"

"We'll just have some waters." She then handed Ash two glasses to fill up their drinks.

"Ok that will be twenty six seventy nine. I'll just bill it to your room if you hand me your card that will be done." Ash complied and handed the lady his room card. She slid it in a card reader and handed it back to Ash. "Feel free to seat yourselves." She then said.

Ash and May walked over and took the table closest to the fire on the right side of the room. Close to the food, they were both happy. They met their waiter Dillion. He was a little on the small side but he looked like he was in shape. He filled their waters and let them get their food. They both loaded up their plates to the point of overflowing. Then they headed back to their table and started to eat. They went back for seconds, and then started to talk.

"So May, what are you excited for in this new place?" Asked Ash in between bites of his food.

May finished chewing her food then answered. "I'm really excited for the contests. They sound so fun. I just love competing on them. With my improved Pokemon I should do great. I'm so going to beat you." She said this with a great passion, so Ash could tell the fire in her about contests had never died. "So what about you? What are you most excited for."

"I can't wait to enter the Nivard gym competition thingy. I have been meaning to ask you something. I was wondering do you want to compete in it with me?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry I plan on competing with my imaginary friend, his name is Pete. He is the best Pokemon master that ever was or will be."

"Come on be serious." Ash said with a smile on his face. May had that special skill to make everyone around her happy and smile. "If you don't I might have to enter with Pete."

"Yes I'll battle with you. It should be fun to battle alongside you instead of watching or against you. But if you hold me up I'll have to send in Pete." They eventually ate so much, plate after plate, that the owners were forced to kick them out because they ran out of food. After that mishap they both decided to go back to their rooms to get ready to visit the pool.

>~•~•~<

May was just about ready to get out of her bed. She decided to take a quick rest before she got changed into her swimming suit. She then heard a knock at her door. May walked over to the door and took a look at who was out there, it was Ash. He was dressed in his swimming suit with a towel around the back of his neck, and Pikachu on the towel. She then opened the door and greeted the boy.

"Hey Ash, what's up?" She asked seeing disappointment on his face.

"I was just checking out the pool and it was closed down for some reason. So that not so good. But on the bright side, there is a Pokemon show about to start in a little bit. That is if that interests you."

"Yeah, that sounds great. We should get going, but first you should go get dressed." May waited until Ash came back fully dressed, and then they headed back. Pikachu wasn't with him so she asked him why. To which he responded Pikachu fell asleep so he left him. They entered the theater And sat near the front close to the stage. The room started to steadily fill up. May notice someone sit down next to her, she cocked her head to the left and noticed it was the younger trainer from the battle earlier today.

"Hey I'm May." She said to the trainer. "I saw your battle earlier today, you did a great job. It was an interesting match."

"Hey thank you May. I'm Breeric, and it's nice to see that some people watched me." He had changed into a nicer, button up shirt, but he still had on his stone bead necklace.

"No problem, my friend and I both train Pokemon." May then nudged Ash. "He wants to be a Pokemon master, and I aspire to becoming the top coordinator." She then nudged Ash again to get his attention. "Hey Ash this is Breeric, he was the trainer who we saw earlier today."

"Nice to meet you Breeric, I'm ash if you didn't already know." He then turned his attention back to the performing Pokemon. Following Ash's lead, both May and Breeric began watching the show that they came for. There were multiple performing Pokemon which varied from weight juggling machamp, to agile sneasle performing acrobatics, to poocheyena jumping through ever changing ice hoops created by a walren. There were many more acts, and after it was over they said their goodbyes to Breeric, he apparently was also stopping in Vanguard city. So they thought that they might see more of one another. They then headed for their rooms to get ready to sleep for the night.

>~•~•~<

May was about ready to go to bed, but before she could she checked off a mental checklist for getting ready for bed. Brushed my teeth. Check. Showered. Check. Put on pajamas. Check. Oh yeah that's what I forgot. I forgot to put my bandana away. She the headed to the bathroom counter where she had left her bandana before she took her shower. She then neatly placed it in her fanny pack. While she was putting it away she noticed something that wasn't usually there. She pulled it out an it was an envelope, with one word on it. May

Oh yeah, I forgot to read that letter from Dad. I'm so tired right now, so I suppose I can read it in the morning. May yawned out loud I know I should, but what could be so important he couldn't tell it to me himself? May gently put the envelope back in her fanny pack, making sure she didn't damage it. She then finished her mental checklist and laid down on her comfortable bed. Only to be rocked to sleep by the soothing swaying of the ship.




The third chapter should be done soon so not much wait. Don't forget to tell me how you did and be sure to pm me if you have any questions.

 

[ThatOneQuilava]

Well Sethern, So far, so good.

First off, I have to say that this fic has potential. The setting, the people, the "feel". Play your cards right and you could have a good thing going. I particularly like how you're not rushing the story. I've read some fics that throw everything at you in the first two or three chapters, then continue with so-called "filler" material for the remainder of the story, allowing little room for character development.

On a more technical aspect, just a few typos here and there, but nothing a quick read-over can't fix.

Other than that. Keep it up. I'm looking forward to the next chapter!

À la prochaine!

 

[Sethern]

Well Sethern, So far, so good.

First off, I have to say that this fic has potential. The setting, the people, the "feel". Play your cards right and you could have a good thing going. I particularly like how you're not rushing the story. I've read some fics that throw everything at you in the first two or three chapters, then continue with so-called "filler" material for the remainder of the story, allowing little room for character development.
!

Thanks, I've decide on trying to make this fic a little longer one. So yeah if I threw everything in at first there would be nothing or it would be hard to write about.



This one is going to be a little shorter than my others.

Ch3


THE PREVIOUS DAY

Back in Peltaburg city the gym leader Norman was having a discussion in his office with a man. His office had been recently remodeled due to the gym being flooded. It wasn't flooded on purpose, but more of a recently evolved magikarp not knowing its own powers. Luckily for Norman, Slaking stopped it before it got too out of hand. Unluckily for Norman, the damage was already done. Now while it was being repaired of water damage, he sent his kids out to free up some space. He was now using their rooms to store some of the undamaged items from the gym. He also had made a makeshift office in one of he untouched side rooms in the gym. It was an empty room with a table and two chairs in it. The walls were bare, and the floor was concrete. Currently both chairs were occupied, one by the gym leader, and the other by his guest. They chatted a while before getting into a more important matter.

"So Jim, now for the real reason I asked you to come here. My son Max just informed me that my fifteen year old daughter, and her friend, only a year and half older than her, have left towards the Nivard region together. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but you know of the trouble that's been happening around there, right?" Norman said this last part with concern.

"Yes I'm familiar with it." Calmly stated Mr. Talenvine. Jim Talenvine was a big guy who held himself with authority. With his height and being a little heavyset, he would be a person easily seeable in a big crowd. He wore a black business suit without a tie so he didn't look too formal. Standing he was easily a head taller than Norman, so he was good at asserting his dominance over people. Norman though, having known him knew how to handle with him. He also knew that despite his threatening appearance that he was a great guy.

"So then you see the situation, if they had my son an their older friend with them I'd be fine but just the two of them can get into trouble." He then gazed directly into one of his close friends eyes, and said. "So can you help me out or what?"

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do," Jim then stood up, and brought out his phone. He then walked into the corner and said into it once it had been answered. "I think I have a job for you." He then listened for a little while before answering again. "Meet me at the Peltaburg grill for some lunch in about an hour. I'll tell you more there." He then hung up the phone and said his goodbyes to Norman.

As he was leaving Norman yelled towards him. "I'll come with you to lunch." He then got up and followed him. "I haven't eaten all day, and I should give him some details."


>~•~•~<

PRESENT TIME

Ash woke up thanks to a loud voice over the intercom. He didn't hear the first part, but he understood what it meant. "be leaving Vanguard city, and we will be headed towards Slatport city in ten minutes." He looked over at the clock right next to his bed, and sure enough the clock read 11:50. He then noticed Pikachu over in the corner of the room nibbling on some food.

"Pikachu! We over slept!" Pikachu looked over and tilted his head as if to question his we overslept. "Fine I overslept." Since he traveled with Pikachu for so long he could understand most of what he said and did. He then rushed to get ready to leave, he started by putting on his clothes. He realized he didn't have enough time to do his morning routine, so he threw everything into his backpack, grabbed Pikachu, and ran to leave the ship. Ash ran down the hallway an stopped at the elevator, he thought it was taking to long for it to come to his floor, so he ran up the three flights of stairs at full speed. He then sprinted down the deck bumping into a few people who had just boarded the ship. Then he ran down and finally made it to the docks. Down waiting for him was a young woman sitting on a bench waiting for someone who she knew would be late.

"What took you so long slowpoke?" May asked in a mock way. She got up from the bench and stood next to Ash looking at the magnificent city that lay ahead of them. Vanguard city was an expanding city that started being built eight years ago. Already near the north end of town the city part was almost complete. Despite many completed buildings in that section, there was still much building. There were buildings being made of wood, some of brick, and a couple sleek looking buildings that Ash couldn't tell what they were made of. The north end seemed to be for more of the business and there were a couple of tall skyscrapers in construction. Towards the east side it was bordered by the ocean. There was a long sandy beach that was crowded with people. It seemed as if the east side was where all the residential houses were located. It was mostly built already, but there was some construction. The south was also bordered by the sea. There was really no beach so there were plenty of docks, many filled with fishing or pleasure boats. There were also some bigger ships such as the cruise ship leaving the port then. The buildings here were mostly all under construction so Ash and May could see hundreds of workers building large buildings. The workers as they could see were working alongside just as many Pokemon. There were the heavy lifters, such as machoke, machamp, vigaroth, and some sawk. There were also some flying Pokemon helping with higher construction. These included be aviary and skarmory, along witha few others. Ash had seen some Pokemon construction before, but this was the irst one that used psychic Pokemon. There were Mr. Mime, alakazam, and xatu. There wasn't a west side because there was a large imposing mountain that jutted out towards the middle of the city. There was also a river that ran from the mountain through the south side of the city. It ran into the ocean, and the only way to cut over the river would be to go over the large bridge in the center of the river. The river, which had multiple boats on it, seemed to flow lazily. Though with rivers you never know.

Ash snapped out of his daze due to May repeating her question. "What took you so long? You almost left with the ship leaving me here all alone. What a typical Ash." She said with a smile.

"Oh you know, lost track of time." He said nonchalantly.

"So you overslept." The way she said it made it known it wasn't a question.

"Basically." He then let out a slight chuckle. He May and Pikachu started walking down the docks. They continued walking until they hit a market that was just a little inland.

The market was stocked mostly full of fish but it had other forms of food, varying from mushrooms to roasted farfetch'd. They wandered around the almost empty store until they found someone who worked there.

"Hey, excuse me, but could you tell my friend and me where the nearest Pokemon center is?" May asked the man at the counter sitting next to a cash register.

"Well you see, here, information like that isn't free, so if you want to know buy something." While he was talking May noticed that he spoke with a slight slur.

At this May was enraged. "What to you mean by that! I'll let you know, that's no way to treat people."

"Now little girl, calm down, it was only a joke. The Pokecenter is up on the north side of town. Just follow the road across the bridge and you'll eventually find it on your left. But seriously this place has a no loitering policy, so if you're not going to buy anything I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Alright, thanks for the info, we'll be leaving now." They headed out and found the main road. The two followed it up to the wide bridge over the flowing waters of the river. They walked down the sidewalk on the right side of the paved road. Every fifty feet or so there was a light post. On each side in between the sidewalks and road was a bike path. The two occasionally saw people on bikes, but the majority of the people preferred to drive. They continued down the road until they saw the Pokemon center across the street, and down a ways. They went across the road through an underground tunnel that led to the other side, designed for foot and bike traffic.

They made it to the enter and entered the automate doors. May noticed a person and quickly muttered.

"Oh no not him." Seeing the two walk in the guy walked up to them and had four words to say.

"Hey May, miss me?"




The reason why I made it shorter was to leave on a cliff hanger.

 

[ThatOneQuilava]

Damn the cliffhanger!! Ah well, I have an idea of who it might be...

Anyway, back on topic. Again, liking the the slower development pace. Also, I like how you took the time to describe the area. Good job with that. Plot-wise, I'm interested to see why Norman's hiring some people to watch over Ash and May, be it covertly or not. Anyway, keep it up.

;156;

 

[Sethern]

I'm not sure if you know who it is, unless you do. The next one might be done soon or in a while. If I stop being contradictory it might help. I'm visiting family so I might take a little more time.

 

[Sethern]

Ch 4

(Direct continuation of last chapter)



Miss him? No way! Why would he think after all that he did to me, I would miss him? May shuddered at the thought of what this young man had done to her. Just him being near her brought up buried emotions, these emotions were clouding her usual cheery demeanor. Why of all people who could have been on this region, in this city, in this center. Why did it have to be him? She was snapped out of her angry daze by a his voice.

"You too dumb or not disciplined enough to answer when someone talks to you?" He then turned his attention to Ash. "You should train her better. She's not very good at listening to orders, but then again she never was."

Ash, even though not being directly insulted, still took great offense at his ill treatment of May. He unconsciously took a step in front of her. He then proceeded to ask angrily. "May, who is this jerk?"

To which she responded. "That jerk is Ian. He used to pick on me when we were littler. He's the kind of person who tries to do terrible things to whoever he's around." She directed her anger towards Ian. " Why are you even here anyways?"

Ian put on a pose of hurt and guilt. "May that hurt, that's no way to treat old friends, now is it?"

"You're not my friend, and you never will be. I guess some people never change."

"We'll I guess I haven't. You on the other hand, Wow! I could use someone with a body like that. If I knew you'd be this hot, I'd try to have gotten on your good side. It still might not be too late. I could teach you a few tricks, if you are willing to put in the effort."

"Your disgusting!" May shouted at him contempt apparent on her face. Luckily for them the Pokemon Center was relatively empty with no one in sight. Nurse Joy was most likely working on some injured patients with a few trainers walking through doors on the opposite side of the Center. So in all no one heard their arguing. "You are the,"


Ian cut her off mid sentence. "Whatever. The reason I'm out here is because your dad is paying me to tag along with you two. You know how our dads are tight? They also think we are tight like them, mostly because I was crying tears if joy when you left on your journey. He probably just doesn't want punks like him," he said pointing to Ash during the last part. "getting too friendly with you. After all you are Norman's special little girl."

May was starting to get even angrier at her childhood bully. She knew that what he was saying shouldn't affect her, but just everything he did bugged her. From what he said, to the little things like his .

"First of all, we would never do something like that." Ash said standing up to Ian to help out May. "And second, we don't need you, so you can go."

"No can do little dude. You see, this is a job, and I always finish my jobs. This is also punishment for my dad bailing me out of jail. For stabbing that old lady at the grocery store who was trying to use coupons." Ash and May were mortified at this last comment. After a few long moments, Ian softly chuckled. "Learn to take a joke kids, but I'm staying with you guys like it or not."

Ash then turned towards May. "May,I can tell that you hate this guy. But if what he says is true, then we have to let him stay." Ash was trying real hard to help his friend in a stressful time. He realized the help he could give was reason. "Ian, if you're to come along with us you have to stop saying terrible things like what you've been."

"No promises, this isn't a debate, I'm coming with you." You could try to forse me to leave, but looking at you two I don't think that's possible." Ian was half a foot taller, and easily 40 pounds heavier than Ash with his well musculared body. He then paused to see if Ash would challenge him, which he didn't. With a smug look on his face he continued "If that's settled where are we going?"

Ash turned back to May and was consulting her again. "So if you're okay with it, and he acts like a decent person can he stay? It's up to you." He waited for an answer. After a while of deep thought May finally spoke to him.

"Fine. But only because he's here for my dad. He wouldn't do anything bad to me.......Would he?"

Ash was caught unprepared by the question. "A....a..uug..umm y.yeah. Your dad loves you and wouldn't do anything to put you in harm's way. He really cares deeply for you., and you know that too. Just remember you're his little girl." He then looked over towards Ian who was looking disinterested at the two. "Ian
We have deci."

He interrupted Ash. "Yeah little dude I heard. Even if she said no I'd still come. Now where are we going?"

"If you'd let us finish our sentences you'd have known already. We're going to rest up here for a little while, and then we will be going to the contest hall." Ash and May waited until Nurse Joy came out of the operation room to talk to her. Meanwhile Ian was just standing in a corner staring at them.

They asked the nurse to make sure their Pokemon were in tiptop shape and ready for the upcoming contest. She took their Pokeballs on a tray which sat Pikachu. After a half hour she approached them, and told them their Pokemon were in excellent condition. They retrieved their Pokemon and left the center followed by Ian.

"Uuh May, where is the contest hall?" Asked a slightly embarrassed Ash.

"Without someone you wouldn't be able to find your own feet. Lucky for you, you have someone pretty resourceful with you." She said with superiority. "I took a map from the center as we were leaving." She then pulled the map from her fanny pack, she then studied it for a short while.
While she was looking, Ian let out a short impatient breath. "Here it is! We just head west for a few miles, and turn north and there it should be.

They walked there in companionable silence until They hit the point where try had to turn north, where Ash broke it. "So Ian, if we only left yesterday, how did you get here so fast?"

"Think about it." Was his response. After waiting a little bit he explained it to them. "If you took a ship, what is the only other way that has a decent speed to travel? You fly on an airplane." Since there are no airports yet on Nivard, you have to go by Pokemon." I have a small raft that my Sharpedo and my Swampert pulled. Those two can build up a considerable speed, they Are some of the best Pokemon you'll ever meet. Also it's fast and one of the most fun things you'll experience." While talking about his Pokemon his eyes shined, an it was almost like an entirely different person was in there talking.

They then came upon the massive contest hall. It was a gigantic building, at least five stories high. It was a pale white stone building, with a white dome rimmed with gold. There were various patterns etched into the building with different patterns inside of them. Around the edges and woven throughout the building were black lines in the stone. The lines were arranged in a similar fashion to a computer chip. At even intervals were large windows. They were placed so the crowds could see out, without the outside world distracting the contestants. There was a giant stone ribbon, hanging over the the large glass door in the center of the wall. Directly above the door was a pure black overhang, the overhang was in the shape of a low dome. There was a slight trickle of people entering the hall, this included Ash, May, and Ian.

As they walked in they could greatly appreciate how spacious the building was. At the front was a large lobby area where various people were gathered. The lobby and entrance were around ten feet higher than the rest of the ground. To get down there was a staircase cut through the platform leading to the ground. In the center was a depression that held a huge, tournament sized arena. At different heights were smaller contest platforms, each held up by support beams underneath. To get onto them you had to go up one of two central elevators. Each stop had a small platform with multiple walkways leading to each arena. All around each of the arenas were bleachers. The bigger the arena the more seats it held. They could also see many screens around the buildings showing off the different arenas. Ringed around the stadium sized building was lodging for the contestants to stay at in between contest rounds. Near the back was a medium sized recreational area where many trainers were playing with their Pokemon. Since they could get a better view from the inside, they noticed the dome was actually white tinted glass, which let a lot of natural sunlight in. Along the various paths and walkways were street lights, to light up the path when it was dark out. In one corner there seemed to be a Pokemon treating facility, and in the other a shopping mart. There was also a dining hall that they could see near the back. This place was almost a mini city as of itself, in fact it was bigger than a few small towns they had passed through in the past. It was clear that this place took a lot of time, effort, and money to build. The three neared the registration desk near the entrance. Then they were greeted by a peppy woman who introduced herself as Jacky.

"Hello! I'm Jacky,and what can I help you three with?" Jacky inquired energetically.

May took the lead on this one. "Hi Jacky, nice to meet you. I'm May, this is Ash, and that's Ian." She pointed to each one of her companions in sequence. "We'd like to enter into the the contest here, I hope we're not too late to join."

"Oh no no, you should be fine. It doesn't start for a few more days. Yes you'll be one of the last entries, but it should work out."

They handed her everything they needed to get registered and headed on. They wandered around the lobby for a little bit, during which Ian fell back into the background. The two were going around seeing what this place had to offer, until they saw a slightly familiar face.

"Hey May, hey Ash what brings you around here?" He had a puzzled look on his face, almost as if he were thinking of something. "Oh wait, that was a silly question to ask. You must be competing to be in the upcoming contest." He said realizing his mistake. "So you two are both coordinators?"

Since May was the one who previously talked with him, she felt more comfortable in continuing the conversation. "Well as I said on the boat, I'm not sure if you remember, I'm a coordinator. Ash here, he does a little here and a little there. So how about you?"

"I'm kind of like Ash, I do a little whenever I can, but I wouldn't miss the biggest Nivard contest of the year. Oh, my best friend Lumidas, he's a huge contest nut. He tries to participate in everyone he can. He also tries watching every one that's near. Too bad he got hospitalized a while ago. He'd love to participate in this." His mood started slipping as he was thinking about his friend.

"What happened to him?" Asked an ever curious Ash

"Oh, he got attacked by one of the local gangs. Sure he tried to protect himself but there were too many, and he didn't want to endanger his Pokemon."

May looked shocked. "Is he okay? Will he be alright?" May could see the look on Ash's face as he was staring at Pikachu. She could tell that he was thinking what he would do in that situation.

"It was rough. At first he was in terrible shape and beaten very badly. Though he's gotten better and should get released in a few weeks. Still I wish he could make it here. "

To draw the subject away from his friend, May asked him a question. "So, I've noticed how you're real familiar with this area, but we saw you on that ship. So are you a local or what are you?"

Glad that the subject switched he answered her question. "Well you see, the Nivard region has always had a few small villages on it for many generations, but within the last ten years it's been flocked to by many people. Most of the people around here have only been here a year or so. But my family was one of the first people to come over. We moved here when I was eleven, or about six years ago. So my family has been here longer than most. To answer why I was on the boat, I was visiting family. See I'm originally from the Hoenn region and started my journey there. So I was seeing my relatives."

"Aw cool. I'm also a Hoenn'er so that's cool. What city are you from?" She seemed to get excited talking about her home.

"I'm from Dewford island. You?"

"Peltaburg city is me."

"So since you two are new around here can I show you around?" He started leading them through the building. He first took them to the recreational area that they had seen earlier. "This is the park." The park was a medium sized grass field. There was a fountain and a few boulders were stationed around it. There were also multiple benches, a few of which were occupied. There were some people playing with their Pokemon there. "This is where you can come to do a mixture of things. First you can play with your Pokemon. You can also practice your contest moves here. Also some people just come here to relax."

He then pointed to two people standing near the middle together, a boy and a girl. "That's Paronin, and Zyan. They're a few of my friends." Paronin and Zyan were too far away to hear their names being called, so they continued to play with their Pokemon.

Paronin was a girl, slightly older than May was. She was slim and around the same height as Ash. Her brownish blond hair hung down past her shoulders. She was currently playing toss the egg with her Blissey and Zyan. Strangely enough Blissey still had its egg in its pouch. They kept tossing the egg to each other while trying to keep it away from Zyan. Zyan was a tan guy, with short black hair, and he was wearing a form fitting t-shirt. He was well muscled and looked fit. He jumped in the air, and caught the blue ball Paronin and Blissey were tossing.

Wait, I thought they were tossing an egg. May thought to herself. That sure is peculiar. But before she could ponder more on it, Breeric led them farther. He showed them the shopping mart, the medical facility, the dining area, and they stopped at the lodging.

"Hey can I see your registration cards you got when you registered?" Breeric asked the two, who started fumbling around looking for them. They both found them, Ash's in his pocket, and May's in her fanny pack. They then proceeded to hand Breeric their cards. He briefly looked over them. "Wow, your lucky you got in this. You two are number fifty eight and fifty nine." It was apparent that Ash and May didn't know what he was talking about, so, he continued to explain his words. "You see, this particular contest, though rather large, has a limit of participants at sixty four. So you see, if you were a little later, you may not have been able to participate. But on the track of the lodging." He pointed to a few of the houses near the dining hall. "Lucky for you two. Your lodging is only five away from the dining hall. The house number corresponds with what order you registered in. Well I have to get going, the contest starts in a few days, so I have a long day of practicing up ahead. Well it was nice seeing you May, and Ash.

"Nice to finally get to really meet you Breeric." Ash said as he was feeding Pikachu a quick snack.

"Thanks for showing us around." May said with a grin on her face. "Too bad your being so nice, it'll make it less enjoyable having to face you. Oh well, at least we can still be friends afterwards. Well bye see ya tomorrow." They then headed towards their housing as Breeric turned and headed away.

The housing consisted of many one storied apartments connected to one another. You couldn't go to another ones room unless they went through the front door. All the lodging shared one roof. The roof was flat, so you could also go from room to room that way. As try headed inside their next door areas, Ash and May decided that they'd meet on the roof in ten minutes.

Ash walked up the staircase that led to the roof. He opened the door and noticed May sitting on a bench in between their rooms.

"Come have a seat." She told him. He sat down next to her. "Hey where is Pikachu?" She asked Ash, who didn't have his constant companion with him.

"I don't know when or how, but somehow he found a bottle of ketchup. It's almost like a drug to him, he just sees some and has to have it."
He then chuckled to himself. " He'll probably be preoccupied with it for the next hour or so." He then looked at May. "So May, what's your favorite part about this place?"

"I'd have to say my favorite part, is, hmmm." She then thought for a few moments. "The park. It seems like a real fun place, well that and the dining hall. I hear the contestants get free food there!"

"With how much we eat, I won't be surprised if they decide to make us buy our own food." He then pondered on that statement with a worried face. "How will we ever win if we're starving?"

"It's a loose loose situation Ash." She too was thinking about the dire food situation. "If we cut back on eating we would save money, but we'd have to eat less. On the other hand if we eat a ton we would have to pay for it, but we would be full."

"So let's just hope that they won't make is pay for a lot of food." Ash then decided to change the subject. "So that Breeric guy, you really seemed to like him."

May started to blush, thinking that Ash thought she liked Breeric. Sure he's good looking, but I barely know him. And I thought that Ash didn't notice stuff like that too often. "Aah...uh......eh."

Before May could say anything intelligent, Ash continued speaking. "Yeah I really liked him too, he seemed like a great guy. I think he'd make a great friend, what about you."

Seeing that Ash was talking about the friendly like, May regained her composure. "Ya..yeah he seems like a real nice person. I just hope that we will be able to beat him in the contest."

After she finished saying this, a half naked Ian walked up out of his room. "Hey punks, what are you two up too up here? Anything I should tell your dad about?"

Ash and May were both getting tired of Ian. Ash spoke up first. "Hey Ian do us two favors. One, get some
clothes on, there are ladies present. Two, can you just leave us alone?"

"I don't take orders from little punks like you. You're barely good enough to be able to leave mommy. Until you prove otherwise, don't give me orders. I might be able to do something about my dress, but I'm here to stay with you guys."

It was getting late, and already all the street lights had turned on. There were still a few people out, but most were in their houses or on their roofs. Ash thought he could see Zyan in the distance. Since it was getting late, and to get away from Ian, Ash and May retired to their rooms for bed. Ash walked into the room to find Pikachu passed out in a puddle of ketchup, and with the bottle on his body. He cleaned up his buddy, and they climbed into the bed, to slowly drift off to sleep.



So there it is. Sorry for the long time it took to get this up. I have an excuse, first I went to some family's house, second I had a swkotor and swkotorII playing marathon


Authors Note. Some subtle foreshadowing in this chapter see of you can guess it. (Don't ruin for others so use spoilers [and no this isn't a gimmick for people to comment {or is it}]) (and its not that there's a contest in a few days) More notes!! The reason I don't describe the physical attributes of a character to a perfect T is that I find that the imagination creates better people that I could ever write down.
I also like making characters, because that way I can work more with them. This includes back stories and attitudes and personalities. Just because I feel like telling about what I do, I do some very minor comedy and have a very dry sense of humor so some of that is apparent in my work, and it makes it a little more lighthearted. There will still be some darker parts of this story. Also sorry for longer time to get this out, a lot of stuff has been going on lately.

 

[Sethern]

I hope you guys like this chapter. Thanks for all of you who read this. I hope you are liking it.

Ch 5


"Hey you two, no more!" I'm trying to feed everyone here! I think you two had enough!" Yelled the burly cook, as Ash and May were going for yet another helping of breakfast. Already they had each had five plates, all packed full with food. It was a wonder how they both could eat that much.

"But we haven't had enough yet." Complained Ash.

"For the past four days, you two have been eating me out of stock! The normal person takes one or two plates, three at the max. But you two! You have a limit of four or five plates, MINIMUM! You two will eat me out of business!"

"We needed to eat extra to fill up our strength, for the opening round today. We're sorry, we'll eat less next time."

"Okay, just remember to think of the other contesters."

"Will do." Then they left in a hurry, before the cook could change his mind. As they were running out, Ash managed to grab a sausage, without the cook noticing.

>~•~•~<

"Where could he be?" Ash inquired of May. "He did say meet him here at ten, right?" Ash scanned around the training field, looking for a tall guy in a brown t-shirt.

"Yeah, I'm positive. He said to show up here for some precontest training, right about now." May gazed around, also looking for their training partner.

"Well I guess we should start without him. He should show up sometime."

"Got it, right now lets just practice some moves instead of coordinating our attacks together." She then reached into her fanny pack and pulled out a Pokeball. She tossed it into the air saying, "Come on out, Wartortle, show us what you've got!" The blue turtle came out of the ball spinning, white water was being shot out of its five holes. It spun in an arch, until it came to a rest at May's feet, popping out of it's shell. It was eager to show off some of it's practiced moves.

In response Ash grabbed the third Pokeball on his belt, and shouted "Sceptile I choose you! Come on out!" The tree gecko evolution shot out of the ball in a red beam. He jumped high in the air. Then he proceeded to shoot leaves towards the ground. Before the leavesa could hit the ground, Sceptile lit up his arms in a leaf blade attack. He then sliced all eight leafs in half before they could hit the ground, and lifted up landing softly on his feet.

"So Pikachu, whose opener do you think is better?" May asked their friend.

Pikachu looked nervous, as he was answering the question between the two competitive friends. "Pi pika pika pi chu pikachu pika cha chu." He then thought a little more, "Pi chu chu ka chow pika chu."

"So you decided to play it safe, and say we were both great? Huh, you think you can get out that easily?" She said with a devious grin.

"Yeah, little buddy, whose the best?" Said Ash teaming up against Pikachu.

"Chow chu!" He then crossed his arm and sat down on the ground, refusing to look at either person.

"Haha, I guess we should call that a tie." Chuckled Ash happily.

"Yeah, I just hope the judges like them, it would suck to come all this way just to lose in the first round. Now show me what you can do."

"So one of the first things that Sceptile showed me, when I picked him up, was he learned double team. So I incorporated that into a move." He then nodded towards Sceptile, who understood what Ash was talking about.

Sceptile jumped into an open area in the field, he then started spinning around. He was spinning so fast that he was just a blur. Ten glowing projectiles shot out of the Pokemon's mouth, and made a perfectly spaced decagon. All of this happened in four or five seconds. He multiplied and spread out over the seeds, each seed had a Sceptile hovering over it. The Sceptile rotated counterclockwise swiftly between each seed. They rotated for a few seconds until they each fired a seed at various angles. Every other Sceptile shot a second seed, directly across the decagon, right after the first. The first seeds smashed into each other. They shattered into a green mist. The mist settled down on the field, leaving emerald colored splotches on the ground. The second seeds slammed into half the Sceptile, dissolving them instantly. The remaining five moved in and circled the pentagon. The remaining Sceptile switched rapidly between the mist spots, this time in a clockwise manner. Their mouths opened slightly, orbs of whitish yellow light formed. The balls grew slightly, their heads tilted up. The five remaining Sceptile let out their solarbeam attacks. The beams of light shot out and met in one central point, fifteen feet above the center of the pentagon. With the Sceptile rotating swiftly around, the beams formed a solid pentagonal pyramid. The pyramid glowed golden, it thrummed with all the energy contained in the attack. It slowly shifted colors, gradually becoming white with more energy. It slowly pulsated with power, until in a brilliant flash, the pyramid erupted into a curtain of golden mist. The remaining Sceptile dissolved with the mist. In the center of the pentagon, posed in a battle stance, stood Sceptile, shrouded in by the wall of gold vapor.

A mesmerized voice came out from behind Ash. "Wow, that truly was spectacular. I'm at a loss of words for that spectacle. All I'm going to say is, that was a minute worth watching, you and your Sceptile truly are remarkable." The voice belonged to Breeric, who sometime during this all, managed to sneak up on them.

"Hey, when did you get here?" Asked Ash, startled by Breeric's voice.

"Hey, sorry I'm late guys, you know how traffic can be." He said without energy.

"Nice try, you're staying here for now, so don't try pulling the traffic thing again." Said May, disclaiming his third blame on traffic.

"Would you believe I was digging ditches for the needy?"

"Haha, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

"Okay fine. Does I overslept sound good?" Breeric said, while letting out a yawn.

"Yeah I guess, we just don't need anymore Ashs. One's enough for me."

"Hey! I'm right here you know." Ash was upset by May's comment. He didn't expect her to say something like that, so it hit him hard.

"Hey sorry, I was only kidding." She thought for a second or two. "Let's get back to practicing for the opening today." May seemed happy to change the subject. Already, the three of them had practiced almost every day the past week. They had occasionally been joined by Paronin or Zyan, along with some other contestants. Today there were more people out on the field than usual. It seemed as if everyone wanted some last second practicing.

"Hey Ash." Breeric spoke. "Would you mind if I use that move you just preformed in a contest?"

"Wait what? I'll be using that move, I don't want the judges to think less of it." Ash said, contemplating his request.

"No no, I don't mean here. I was asking for future contests." Explained Breeric.

"Sure, why not? I wouldn't be a very good person to not share it with people, and plus I guess anyone could just do it without me knowing. So thanks for asking."

"Hey don't mention it. I guess I'll send out my Pokemon now." Breeric reached towards his belt, and plucked the last capsule from his belt. "Go Houndoom!" He yelled as he tossed the Pokeball high in the air. Houndoom came out spiraling towards the ground. As it was descending it let out a fire attack. It circled the creature spreading out wide. As he landed powerfully on the ground, he landed in the center of a skull, identical to the one on its neck, scorched into the grass.

"I find that symbol, strangely enough to be my good luck symbol." He looked fondly at his Houndoom. "Maybe it's because Houndoom here was my first Pokemon, given he wasn't a Houndoom at the time, but it's still him."

"I find I have a good luck charm too. Or at least for contests anyway." Ash rustled around in his jacket until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out what looked like a half sun, with pink and white ribbon to the rounded side. The flat side was towards the top. The sun was made of a metallic substance, with a darker half circle lining the inside of the sun.

"Scept sept tile." Said the leaf Pokemon, noticing the object he worked so hard for.

"Hey Ash I didn't know you still kept that with you!" May said, extra happy.

"Hey what is that? What's it supposed to mean. Both May and your Pokemon seem to have some connection with it. So tell me the story."

"Well there I was traveling with May and Sceptile. We just so happened to come upon a plot to kidnap the Kanto Elite four. While raiding the evil team rocket base, we found this. Though three of their most elite members, Jessie, James, and Meowth tried stopping us. We managed to defeat them and stop the kidnapping before it ever started. That's how I found it." He said this all with a new seriousness, that Ash usually didn't show.

"With some of the stories you've been telling, I wouldn't be surprised if that was true. Though most seem too good to be true. Though if they are true, I still don't believe this particular one. Mainly because May is over there busting up." It was true, unlike Ash at the point where he said that Jessie, James, and Meowth were elite members, she couldn't keep a straight face anymore. From her experience, those three were little more than time filler.

How else would I be able to spend every day, without those three clowns showing up. At least they make good target practice for my Pokemon. I sure hope they don't show up here. After calming herself down, May reached into her fanny pack. She felt an envelope and she pushed it to the side. I should probably read that. She thought to herself. She kept searching until she found what we was looking for. It was an exact copy of the item Ash was holding. She placed it side by side with his. It seemed to complete it, make it whole.

"So what happened was," She then proceeded to tell the story, where during Ash's first contest, he and May tied. Instead of competing more over it, or have just one own the ribbon, they decided to share it. "That's the real story of how he got that. Since that day, I've always carried it with me. So Ash, why do you carry that thing with you?"

"Well, that was the day I first entered, and won, a contest."

"We tied, and you know it!"

"Haha, okay, tied in a contest. It was a special gift from one of my best friends."

"Do you carry around all the gifts from your friends. Like Misty's lure, my Teddiursa statue, or whatever the others gave you?"

"Other than the half of a Pokeball, with Gary, the ribbon is the only one I take where ever I go."

"Why?" May asked a little surprised.

"One, as I said before, it's one of my good luck charms. It also reminds me of a special person, you." Ash said this second part with a slight grin on his face. His cheeks were also turning a very slight red.

"That's a cool story, but we really should get back to training." Said Breeric trying to change the subject.

Ash perked up. "Yeah that's right, the contest starts in a few hours! We should finish up soon and get ready." Ash had something at the top of his mind that he had been wondering for the past week. "So Breeric, what's this place's stance on what the people have to wear?"

"From what I understand, this place is more focused on your Pokemon and their abilities, thinking the true beauty is on the inside. So dressing up isn't required, and has no effect on the scoring. Some people still dress up though. I for one find I do just fine in everyday clothes. Just remember this is about the Pokemon abilities, not the coordinator's fashion sense."

"Hey thanks. May I believe it's your turn. Now show us all of your secrets." They continued practicing for the next hour. Then the three each headed to their rooms to prepare for the contest.


>~•~•~<

Ash was busy in his room brushing his Sceptile. He was trying to make him look the best for the first round later today.

"Remember what we practiced. Stick to it, and you should be fine." In response the lizard Pokemon hissed happily at him.


>~•~•~<

"Wartortle, you know what to do, stun those judges. I know you can do it, I'm glad you're my friend." May pepped her Pokemon while she was making both of them snacks.


>~•~•~<

Breeric was standing on his roof with his Tyranitar. He could see all around the complex. He was able to see all the preparation going on for the contest. He could see a few people had come early. In the pool he could see a lone trainer playing with his Swampert.

He was busy tossing rocks at Tyranitar, for him to hit with some attack. A rock here, dark pulse. A rock there, crunch. Another rock here, dragon claw. He kept at this for a few solid minutes, then went inside to get ready.


>~•~•~<

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the biannual, Vanguard city, contest! I'm Dillian, and I'll be the Master of Ceremonies today. There will be a judge panel for each field, but the main judge panel will be made up of Gwilliam."

The person on the far left stood up. "Hello everyone, I can't wait to see what you all have to offer." He was a young adult with pale skin. He had slight northern accent that he tried to hide. He was dressed in a white shirt and a tie, his short black hair was neatly combed.

"The person on the right, is none other than our very own Clemente!"

"It's a pleasure to see all you here." His Iberian accent was so thick many couldn't understand what he was saying. His slightly balding head led to a large nose. He was wearing a sleek black business suit. He wasn't very tall, but he carried himself with a certain authority.

"And now for the last judge, Mr. Gonzales."

The clearly least professional of the three stood up. "Mr." Gonzales was actually not much more than in his late teens. "Do good, and try not to waste our time. There were plenty of people who couldn't join, so remember that." He was wearing a red shirt and a zebra patterned vest, with a matching hat. Not much could be read into his expression, especially behind his dark sunglasses. "Now impress me, I want to see some action." He sat back down for the MC to continue.

Dillian started listing off names of coordinators, and in sequence, they would take a step forward from the straight line they all formed. They were called from the order that they registered for the contest in. So Ash, May, and Ian were next to each other, towards the end of the line.

After all the names were called
Dillian proceeded to tell more about the rules. "So there will be four rounds to this contest. One on each of the five days except for the fourth. Today for round one, two coordinators will be paired against each other. Their Pokemon will preform a string of continuous moves, between the times of fifteen to sixty seconds. Points will be docked for each second gone over or under. The judges will give a score of between one and fifty. They will score according to move fluidity, the number of moves, the look of the attack, how well it worked, and a random aspect of the move. I will go more into detail of the other rounds later. Remember only one of the pair will be moving on, so do your best. The number of the contestants have been randomly selected, so look towards the main screen for their place, time, and opponent. That will be all, get ready. The first rounds will start in twenty minutes.

As they looked towards the board Ash, and May noticed they each were competing at the same time.

"Hey too bad we can't watch each others performance." Said a disappointed Ash. "I'd really like to cheer you on."

"Don't worry about it, we could always watch each others recordings. Though I know what you are getting at. It won't be the same that way."

Ash was staring intently at the screen. "It looks like the only people we know who are going up right now, are Zyan and Ian. It's your call, who do you want to watch?"

"Well I don't really like Ian, but I don't really know Zyan too much right now. Though with Ian it seems like he is trying to give us some more space, and it seems like he's trying hard to be a better person. I don't know, I still can't stand him." She said thinking hard about the subject.

"How about I go watch Ian, so he doesn't feel bad, and you will do the same for Zyan."

"Deal."

>~•~•<

Zyan's Absol had just finished its attack. To start off, Absol used a future sight attack, he then began spinning round, in a swords dance attack. When he felt the attack was about to come in, Absol let loose a razor wind attack. He kept spinning. The future sight attack came in and merged with the razor wind attack. The two circled around Absol for a few seconds, until from all sides it came in. At the last second, Absol let out a night slash attack. The Night slash cut right through the combined attack like a hot knife through butter. The future sight/razor wind attack imploded on itself into a shower of sparks.

The final score was a thirty-two. He would have gotten a higher score, but the future sight attack took longer than expected.

Zyan was the second person to go, and his opponent scored twenty eight points. They just really weren't prepared for this type of challenge. So the other coordinator and her Skity had been eliminated from the contest.

>~•~•~<

"Go Golem." Immediately Ian's Golem came spinning out in a rollout attack. She was spinning in large circles around the field. Soon after, she jumped up in the air and slammed into the ground. Throwing many boulders up into the air. Golem kept spinning around dodging around the craters, and falling boulders. Golem slowly tightened her circle to the point were she was almost just spinning. Golem jumped up again, but this time, when she hit the ground, it started to vibrate. The earthquake attack intensified until in one final movement, the boulders evaporated into dust.

"Great job Golem!" Excitedly yelled Ian. Golem rolled up to him and he wrapped his arms around her. "That was wonderful, now lets take a look at your score." The judges announced that Golem had earned a score of thirty eight.

"Great score. You did an awesome performance, it'll be tough for the other one to beat that score. Now take a nice long rest, you deserve it." He then recalled the rock Pokemon.

The opponent's Luxray had a great performance, until towards the end it tripped, docking its points, and wasting time. It would have beaten Ian if it weren't for that trip. When he realized he lost, the other coordinator began yelling at the Luxray, and demanding a redo. The Luxray had been quivering in fear.

The judges told him he could have, if he didn't yell a his Pokemon that way. Ian put in, "Your Luxray did a great job and did its best. All the thanks you gave it was a yelling. You should be ashamed, people like you shouldn't even have Pokemon."

"You think you'd do a better job at taking care of that loser?"

"Yes, at least I'd care for it."

"Fine take it." He then chucked the Pokeball at Ian. "I can just get my father to buy me another one, and one who won't fall on its own two feet!" He then stormed off and out of the building. He wasn't seen ever again at the contest building.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you, little buddy. Unlike that other trainer, I'll make sure you're happy. He then placed the Pokeball in his pocket.

After the round, Ash approached Ian. "Wow that was real impressive back there."

"Do you really think my Golem did good?"

"Yes, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the way you handled that trainer." Ash's admiration in his voice was clear.

"Thanks, you know you're not so bad yourself, for a punk. You couldn't see, but up close you can tell that Luxray has many bruises. Since we've all been in here for the past week, strict no battling rules. It was clear that was an abusive trainer. People like that make me sick. They shouldn't be able to have Pokemon."

"Yeah I know how that feels, I've seen many cases of that in the past. Though the one I hate the most was with my Charizard when he was still a Charmander. The story is, there was this trainer who thought his Charmander was weak, so he left him on the side of the road, and told him he'd come back. When my friends and I got to the Pokemon center, we heard him bragging about how stupid and weak his Charmander is. It wasn't stupidity, it was loyalty. It started to rain, I'm not sure if you know, but if the flame goes out on its tail, a Charmander dies. So we barely managed to save it. After seeing that it wasn't as weak as he thought, the bad trainer wanted his Charmander back. Though we wouldn't let him, I think that was one of the best decisions I've ever made."

"I hope I never do something like that. I'll be sure this Luxray has a good home. I think I might send home my Ryperior for it. Wow, that's a decision I always hate, when you have to choose who to take with you. That's why I like it when I don't do official things, like contests, so I can have all of them at once. Is that the same for you?"

"No, I'm usually on the official business, but it seems like a great idea. I'll have to try it sometime."

A voice came out if the many speakers around the building. "First round contests are over. Now time for the second round people. Report to your field within fifteen minutes."

"We'll you better go. It was nice talking with you. Even if you are a loser." He then paused for a second. "Hey sorry, I'm trying real hard not to insult you guys. It's just how I am, to always be saying things, but I'm trying. I'd watch your match, but I'm going to get Luxray checked out, see what kind if damage that abusive trainer did."

"I understand completely, and thanks, I better be off."


>~•~•~<

"Great job Sceptile. There's no way that score can get beat. You deserve some extra dessert." The final score for Sceptile's attack totaled forty six. The tree lizard preformed the attack perfectly, the judges seemed to love it, the only thing it lacked was it only consisted of three attacks, instead of four.

The other coordinator walked up, and Ash offered some encouragement. "Hey good luck Chris, you'll do great." Chris's was a heavy set man, in his early thirties, who on several occasions, would eat with Ash and May. He was wearing a blue button up shirt and slacks.

"Hey thanks, I'll have to give it my all to beat you." He reached into his pocket, and tossed a Pokeball. "Do your best Magby." Magby kept out of its Pokeball, did a twist flip, landed on its mouth, shot itself up, and landed gracefully on its feet. It then proceeded to roll around, all around the field, burning its name into the ground.

The judges, after careful consideration, gave it a score of thirty three. They said it was a cute attack, but it wasn't the most fluid, or all fit together.

After all this was over Chris approached him. "Hey Ash great match. I guess I'm glad that since I couldn't win, you could."

"I thought Magby did great, I'm just glad the way you handled losing."

He was interrupted by Chris. "What do you mean, what else could I have done?"

"You see, the last match I watched, the losing coordinator got real mad, stormed off, and threw his Pokemon away at one of my friends. His Luxray only tripped, and he yelled at it. It also had numerous bruises from the abusive trainer."

"That's a shame. People like that are the causes for some people trying to do Anti-Pokemon laws. They just give us all bad names."

"Well Pikachu and I better be off. I want to see if we can catch the end of May's attack."

Chris called out to him as he ran off. "Good job, get there soon."


>~•~•~<

When Ash got there, May had already started her attack. Only if I got here half a minute sooner. Ash thought to himself. At least I got here. I'm lucky mine got out before hers.

Wartortle finished off his attack by using Watergun to propel himself high, then Hydro Pump to slowly spiral back to the ground. Wartortle ran towards his owner. May picked him up and was praising his ability. She took her attention away from the turtle, only to see the score the judges gave him. Wartortle received a solid forty. This was received by more cheering on May's part. As she was walking away she finally noticed Ash.

"Ash! You came and saw me! If you couldn't tell, I passed!" She was ecstatic by her achievement. " How'd you do? You couldn't have gotten beaten with that attack."

"That doesn't make me feel any better. Said a sullen Ash. Even Pikachu began to play on, forming fake tears. "We didn't. We Didn't.... We didn't Lose!" At this point him and Pikachu were bawling. He perked up all of the sudden, though Pikachu didn't catch on. "No we won, it was great. Looks like we'll both move on. How'd Zyan do?"

"He did good, and won." She debated wether to ask this next question or not. "How about Ian?" The contempt was clear in her voice.

"You know he isn't all that bad of a person now."

"It's just like him, I don't believe he changed."

"Well first of all, he won, but only by a little. Though he did stand up to an abusive trainer. He got the trainers Luxray, and is right now, getting it treated. He also told me he is trying to change." Ash's initial disdain of Ian had slowly worn away. Now he is starting to see the good qualities, masked behind the bad ones. "He is actually becoming a good person."

"Okay, I'll believe it when I see it. So when'a dinner?"

"Not until all rounds are done with." Unhappily answered Ash. "I know, why don't we grab a quick snack." Ash said, coming up with the solution to his problems

"Sure why not?" And they were headed off.

>~•~•~<

That night a group of six sat down at a table, close to the food, at the dining area. Ash, May, Ian, Breeric, Paronin, and Zyan started conversing about the days events.

"Hey Ash, that attack you did with Sceptile, you two looked good out there." Said Paronin commenting on Ash's performance.

"Hey thanks. How was yours?"

"We all won, mine could have been better, but a win's a win." They say people attract like people, but here in one group, sat six of some of the best coordinators in the contest.

"So Ian," Zyan started to question the oldest member of the group. "I heard you dealt with a real bad loser today. Is it true that he gave you his Pokemon?"

"Yeah that's true. Though I don't want to talk about it too much. Long story short, the other guy would have won, but his Luxray tripped. So he yelled at it threw a fit, and chucked his Pokeball at me." As an after thought Ian added "We checked it out, and he beat his Pokemon."

"Can we see the Luxray?" Zyan had had some previous experience with taking care of injured Pokemon. "My dad is a PokeDoctor, I might be able to help it."

"Sorry, I said I don't want to talk about it. If you must know, Luxy is resting at the medical facility." It was clear he was thinking of his injured Pokemon, and its obvious abuse. "I really hate people like that."

"It's a shame people like that are out there." Breeric felt he should add to the conversation. "If you're going to miss treat them, or use them for bad purposes, you shouldn't have any Pokemon."

"I for one, am starving!" May said theatrically. "I say, let's get us some food, you all with me." Across the table were various yeah, sure, and okays. As they got up, the cook eyed them nervously. They all heaped their plates and ate.

>~•~•~<

"Hey guys, this is the newest addition to our team." Ian was introducing Luxy to the rest of his team. His Sharpedo was in the water tank meant for Pokemon who can't survive without water. Swampert Golem and the others were standing on different spots on the roof. "Luxy here will be joining us now. So I want you all to get acquainted."

The other Pokemon said their greetings, but Luxy just cowered back into the corner if the roof. When ever Ian would say his name, the Luxray would shy back. It was clear his previous owner had taken his toll on the Pokemon.

"Don't worry, I will never hurt you. I just want you to be happy. I know you'll have a great home with us." He reached over to pet Luxy, and for the first time, he didn't shy back.




I hope you guys liked this longer chapter I hope you all are enjoying this fic, and thanks for reading.
Also if you think anything should be different or in it, feel free to comment or PM

 

[Sethern]

Sorry it's taken longer, but I've had stuff going on, I bet you all can agree with this time of the year.

Ch 6 time! Merry Christmas! This'll be an early present for you all. So what I'm going to try to do from now on. One, I notice I could be posting faster, so I'm going to try to finish the chapters faster. Even though it might be hard, I want my chapters to be longer. I feel like I'm getting there, but if anyone has some pointers, they'll be welcome. And to accomplish the length, I'll put in hour long author notes. Just kidding. Let's get on with the fic.

Ch6

"Numbers 45, 17, 32, and 12 will be facing off against each other on arena four." Dillian, the blue suit clad MC, announced the numbers he pulled out of a large bowl directly in front of him. There were two bowls, one filled with remaining contestant numbers, and the other with the five contest categories. The large bowl was the color of a cloudless sky, and the other, smaller bowl, looked as if it had been baked in an oven. It had a bricky look to it.

Breeric clasped his hands together near his chin. Okay good. I'm up against some people who got little more than twenty on last round. Breeric started going through strategies and outcomes against these new opponents. While he thought, his brow furrowed to the point where it looked like a caterpie was on his head.I guess it all comes down to which category I get. I hope I get tough; I'd have the perfect combination. Sweat glistened off his forehead as he anticipated what the MC would draw. Even though he was prepared for most situations, he still couldn't help but get anxious. As he waited he fingered the stone beads on his necklace. He was also spinning emerald ring on his right hand; which contrasted nicely to his blue shirt. The emerald was hexagonal in shape, and darker around the edges, giving it a more shadowy, life like feel.

Finally after what seemed like hours Dillian reached into the smaller bowl to his left, and read off the short, red slip of paper. "This particular contest, will be of the Cool category!" As the MC it was his job to make the people excited, so he spoke with a great enthusiasm. He seems like an actor, just getting paid to put on a show. I hope he never tries riling up a crowd into a frenzy. Dillian continued talking about the cool contests. He also shared a personal story of his first contest.

Cool, I know what to do. All I need to do is exchange Eevee, and the competition won't know what happened. A huge smile appeared onto Breeric's face. He thought with his new strategy, he couldn't possibly lose, and it showed on his face. Things would be going on his way.

The MC continued drawing numbers, and categories until all eight groups were determined. After all this was done, he gave the contestants some last minute advice. "Remember, think hard about your Pokemon choice, choose one that will have the right moves for your category. Feel free to switch out with any of your other ones, at our medical facility. Also remember, you will be showing off individual moves; so some moves help your score, and others will hurt the other Pokemon's. Keep to your category, don't be repetitive, know who to direct the attack towards, and you should be fine. See you all out there." Dillian walked away from the podium, signaling the coordinators to disperse and get ready for the special second round.


>~•~•~<

At the Medical facility, Breeric was waiting in a long line to transfer his Pokemon. Looking around, he could see a few notable thing in this center. One, it was not run by any Joys. Instead, it was manned by a group of volunteer workers taking care of the sick or wounded Pokemon. Two, they had a little shop of do it yourself medical supplies in the corner. Lastly, the only Pokemon in sight was a Luxray being bandaged by Mr. Glight, Zyan's dad. Mr. Glight was a tall tan man, who under his teal face mask, had a short stubbly beard. He was wearing a dark brown jacket, that faintly depicted a Syther mid-swoop. He walked over to greet one of his son's friend. Despite the fact that Breeric couldn't see past the mask, he could tell Mr. Glight wore his usual smile.

"Hey Breeric, how's it going. I hear you've been doing pretty good in your contest." Asked the middle aged man. For the past few years Breeric and Zyan would practice and hang out at each other's houses. Because the city was newly made, and much construction was going on; there weren't too many people under the age of twenty. So living close to each other, the two would naturally do things together. And through all this, Zyan's dad got to know Breeric quite well over the past few years.

"Yeah, I've done great, all thanks to my Pokemon. How about yourself? It doesn't seem too busy around here." When he said this, he looked optimistically at his young Eevee's ball.

"Nope, which I guess is a good thing. The only patient we have here, is that Luxray. Someone brought him in here yesterday; apparently that guy got this here Luxray, from an abusive trainer. So we're just caring for him, until he heals up." Mr. Glight looked fondly over to the injured Pokemon. This job was perfect for him, due to his medical skills, and his love of all Pokemon. In a world where the Pokemon Centers were dominated by Joys, it was hard for others to get work in PokeDoctoring. Being a freelance doctor, he and his family came to Vanguard, to help with the construction Pokemon. Since he wasn't stationed in one building, he could go out to the Pokemon, which helped with getting business. In a city like this, there was always work to be done.

So it is true. I didn't really believe that Ian guy, but it sure seems like I was wrong. I guess I didn't want to believe he could do something that nice, after all he's said to May. I guess he isn't so bad after all, I think I owe him an apology."

After a few more minutes of small talk; Mr. Glight, or Demetri as he had told Breeric to call him, asked a favor of the young man. "I need to ask you a big favor."

"Sure, what is it?" Breeric was a little nervous, with a doctor, a favor could be anything to Pokesiting, to donating an arm; and he really liked both of his arms just the way they were. But he wasn't about to turn down someone in need.

"You see, my son Zyan, he's been acting different lately. It may just be hormones, but I don't think it's that simple. He hasn't been the same, since the incident, but he's acting even weirder recently. So I was wondering if you could keep an eye on him, ad make sure nothing is going on. Can you please do that for me? I know if there's anyone I can ask, it's his best friend."

"You betcha, I can do that. Zyan is almost like a brother to me, I'll make sure everything's alright." It was now Breeric's turn to exchange Pokemon. He then proceeded to talk to professor Birch, who had kept all his excess Pokemon over the years.

Professor Birch, while still a big person, had seemed to have lost some weight over the years. His wooden brown hair seemed a little less full, so to make up for that, he was growing out his beard. His beard had already grown a few inches, and was becoming thicker than his hair. He wore his usual white lab coat, with a baby blue undershirt depicting a Mudkip; which was tucked neatly into his brown slacks. He was immersed in piles of leather field journals from previous professors.

The professor, while happy to talk to him, wasn't dragging on long conversations, because he was busy, and didn't know Breeric that well. He exchanged his Eevee for what he believed would win this round. Right now he had mixed feelings. For one, he was happy that he was prepared, but he was also concerned for his good friend. His worry was apparent, to the point where the professor asked about it.

"Hey Breeric, are you okay? Is everything going fine?"

"Sort of." Was his reply after a few seconds. As a continuation to a few more seconds of silence, he spoke once more. "It's just that one of my good friends has been acting strangely. So his father asked me to keep an eye out for him. I'm just worried that something bad's happened."

"You shouldn't worry too much, it's probably just the stress of the contest."

"You're probably right, I shouldn't worry so much. Well I'll be going, talk to you later." He hung up after the professor finished saying his goodbyes. Breeric left for the next person in line, a woman with cyan hair to take her turn.


>~•~•~<

Before going to the competition, Breeric decided to stop by his lodging. He wanted to make sure he looked decent for the next round. Even though he didn't believe that one should get all dressed up for something like this, he still thought people should look decent, and respectable.

He looked in the mirror and put on a new, clean, t-shirt. Put on some deodorant, grabbed his Pokeballs, and started off towards his door.

Breeric headed out to his designated red sandstone field. This particular field was fitted on the bottom level of the complex, to hold all the rock. Currently in the dual rows of bleachers, there were around thirty people watching. Of those thirty, ten were other coordinators in a designated area for their kind. Out of everyone, they seemed to be having the most fun; making jokes, laughing, playing around, anything to relieve the stress of this competition.

Out of the ten, Breeric could only recognize six. The guy towards the left most of the top row in their area was, Phisher. Phisher in a few months would be entering into his teens. Out of everyone here, I imagine at his peak, he'd be able beat most anyone. He just needs more practice and training. Breeric could see the potential in the young boy, and felt esteemed that he was the young boy's idol.

Sitting next to him was a woman he didn't recognize, possibly the boy's mother. She wore a purple button up shirt with a black undershirt. In her hair, she wore two Pokeball hairpins. Directly under them were two young girls Breeric didn't recognize.

On the opposite end, were two people. Breeric knew one of them, a guy in his twenties leaning on a girl his age. The guy's name if he remembered correctly, was Paul. So by reasoning, that must be Paul's girlfriend Isabella that he kept talking about.

Lastly, the three people in the middle he all knew. Towards the left was May, the midteen coordinator. She looks Beautiful in her normal red vest, and I just love the way her hair hangs around the side because of her bandana. Too bad, she and Ash are obviously dating. I guess I should respect that, it's a shame, May's a real great person. Breeric was staring at May, who didn't notice a thing because of what she was doing with the two other people she was sitting by. Right next to her was Ash, who was busy trying grab his hat from May and Paronin. The two girls, on either side of him, were tossing the hat back and forth in an arch so Ash couldn't get it. If he really wanted that ha back, he'd either stand up, or get close to one of the girls. I guess he enjoys this game.

On the other side was Paronin Burnheart. She ha a slim face, a nose that was slightly pointed, thin lips, and her emerald eyes sparkled with her joy. Her head was tipped with shoulder length blond hair. Her green tee was the exact same color as her brilliant eyes. At the bottom of her jeans, she wore clouded green, open toed sandals, that showed off her green painted toes.

Breeric's hazel eyes lit up while looking at Paronin. He couldn't decide who he liked better, Paronin or May? They both had great qualities about them, they were both kind, athletic, had a great sense of humor, great personalities, along with many others, they were also great looking. May seemed to be a little more energetic and outgoing, while Paronin was more flirtatious. They each also had some bad qualities. Paronin on one hand seemed to always be happy or sad, no middle ground; on the other hand, May ate so much , it would put a serious depression on his savings. May and Ash seemed to be a thing, so that wouldn't be a good friend of me, but Paronin hasn't really seemed to show any interest this past year. It's weird, it seems she likes everyone but me. Why does this have to be so hard? He thought exasperatedly.

While he was thinking of this, at the field, the rules for this round's contest were given again by an older gentleman who went by the name of Hendre; so the new people could know what was going on, and to refresh the competitors.

"So this contest is based off of the virtual contest game that has become rather popular in the past few years." As he was speaking he was supplementing a few of his words with hand gestures. "Each Pokemon will take turns performing a choice move. They will score points based on the move, and typing. You will have thirty seconds to choose an attack. Remember this is a cool category contest, so pick the moves accordingly. Some moves change the order they will perform, or hurt the score of their competitors. Only a few moves can be repeated without a negative effect. Then the order for the next round will be determined. There will be five rounds. I think I've covered all the basics. So let the round begin, number 45 Jamie Laceio, you're up first. Followed by 32 Trevor Chorda, 17 Breeric Undar, and lastly 12 Alexa Bubagrien. Everyone send out your Pokemon!"

They all sent out their Pokemon who all stood in a line. The order of the Pokemon was ordered like this, Patrat, Croconaw, Salamence, and Axew. Drowning out the outside world, Breeric focused himself solely on the contest. All the outside stimuli bounced off his senses without ever being processed. His vision narrowed down to just the few Pokemon on the field. For all he knew, Ash was making out with May while Paronin watched eagerly. Stop thinking of that stuff! Focus on the contest! Breeric turned his wandering mind sharply back to the contest. There was the contest, and only the contest. He ran his hand through his thick medium short brown hair. He found whenever he did this, it would help him focus.

Hendre excitedly yelled into his microphone. "The cool contest starts NOW!" It was strange to see so much energy from such an old person. If he was a little younger, Breeric thought they would make some great friends. That or he'd be the over-excited annoying person everyone knows.

Breeric was very optimistic about this round. I have this in the bag! If I just keep my head, I should be fine. He then turned his attention to the competition. The hardest one here will probably be Croconaw. Breeric had a strategy to think and be focused, even though sometimes it was about different things, it seemed to work. He would even think aloud in his head while the opponents did their attacks. Leer, three points. Slash, three points. I'll use dragon claw to lower the others score.

"Use dragon claw!" Salamence followers the orders. It's claws began to glow a deep purple, then he slashed into the air, dispersing the purple as he swiped. Two points for me. Everyone except Axew has one less now I'm tied with the other two. Okay the last one is using false swipes! Oh no, I hope not doesn't work against me. Good, it only worked against Patrat. So the scores are Patrat 0 Croconaw 2 me 2 and Axew 1. Since I was tied for highest I'll be first next round. I think I know what I'll do. Rage'll work The rage worked, giving him three points.

It's just me and Trevor. The other two are so far out of the game they couldn't come up. He's up by one point, but I have a plan. Croconaw used rage first. Now he's up by four. Axew used slash, and Patrat used leer. They were still too far behind to do anything about it. This is going to be great! "Salamence use Iron Tail!" He yelled this energetically knowing if it didn't miss this, he'd win. Salamence preformed a pristine Iron Tail attack. He got one appeal point. Now if it only works, I'll win. Come on, come on, lose those points. Breeric tuned in the outside world once again. His senses were flooded with stimuli. One thing he noticed right away was Ash, May, and Paronin leaning in, entranced by the contest. I really hope they are rooting for me. Trevor's a nice guy, but it would mean a lot if they want me to win.

The judges gave the final score to the match. Breeric won with fifteen points. Followed closely by Trevor's Croconaw at fourteen points. "Hey congratulations Trevor, you did a great job. I didn't know if I'd win at some points." The younger boy felt proud at his hard work. It wasn't every day that you got beat by such a great coordinator.

"Hey thanks, you deserved that win, sure, I'd've liked to win but I'm glad you did." After praising all their Pokemon, the trainers put them back into their respective balls.


>~•~•~<

I'm getting closer to winning every day, but for now, I'll eat this sandwich. Breeric ate his sandwich piled high with lunch meats, and vegetables. He was accompanied by Ash and May. She was busy teasing Ash, saying he was eating more than his Snorlax. Ash responded defensively by telling how much his Snorlax had eaten in the past.

As they were arguing Breeric was looking at them. Searching through them, with his eyes. Noticing every little detail. He noticed the little scars, under Ash's eyes. He saw his plate full of food, he observed Ash would save all his food that was green, and eat it last. He noticed that Ash would take two small quick bites, followed by one large slow bite. He saw Ash's interactions with May, always making her either laugh or infuriated. She always seemed to smile when with him.

Breeric was good at noticing the little things about people. He also noticed things about May. Her pointer finger on her left glove, was slightly more worn than the other side. It was worn in such a way, that to an observant person, it was obvious she chewed on her glove. Whether in times of stress, or whenever, Breeric didn't know. He also noticed her shoelaces were tied closer to the inside of her shoe than outside. Leading him to suspect she tied her shoes, while her leg was across her lap, while sitting on an elevated surface. He also noticed different things about her, like how her red jacket fitted her figure nicely. Okay, I need to move my mind away from May's torso. It is real nice looking, but its not my place to stare. Okay, okay moving my mind up, and everything is sure to follow. Socks! Yes Socks! That's where I'll start! If a mind could show enthusiasm, Breeric's just won the gold, beat everyone else's minds with it, and stole the silver and bronze. Not much special, except the two are slightly different heights, maybe she was in a rush, or didn't have any matching pairs, or she could have just pulled one up farther. Maybe she just didn't notice. Her sleeves fit nicely around her arms, creating a good looking barrier of cloth. The top of her zipper isn't as worn as the rest of her zipper. She must usually not have the jacket zipped up all the way. I like the way her collar sticks up, it makes her look cuter. Her neck, it is real beautiful, I think it looks great, it looks real slim, and it brings out some of her looks. As another bonus, it's attached to it is one of the most beautiful heads I've ever seen. Her face, it just seems so wonderful. And those sparkling eyes, I wish I could just stare into them, they are perfect, on a perfect girl. Those are one of my favorite features on her. Her hair looks real good, tucked to the sides by her headband. She is just one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen. I just hope someday she can see herself the way I see her. Wow I'm glad that no one can hear me think, they'd probably think I'm weird for liking and thinking that way. She also has a great personality, so upbeat and. Did someone just call my name? Yeah they're both looking at me now. I hope I didn't miss anything important. Why am I still thinking? I really need to stop, or I will never know what's going on. I guess I'll just pay attention now. Seeing that the two were waiting for a response, Breeric wondered what they asked of him. "Hey sorry, could you repeat the question, I was just thinking."

"Oh we just noticed you staring off into space." Ash casually said. "So we decided to see how long we could stare at you without you noticing." In contrast to his first statement. This last part was said with a vigor.

May felt like adding to the story. "We made it a minute it so, then I called your name, after that you lasted around ten seconds." She looked looked closely at him, trying to unsuccessfully peer into his thoughts. "So what were you thinking about?"

If only she knew. I can't tell them. It would get Ash real upset, and I don't know her the best. But throughout this last week, I can tell she left her impression on me, and everyone else she meets. Since I can't tell her, I'll just make up something. "I was just thinking about my round earlier today, and this contest." He said sincerely, and it was sincere. Earlier he had had today's events racing through his mind. "Already I'm in the top twelve percent. Whenever I win, somebody has to lose. In this, there can only be one winner. That means sixty three disappointed and sad people. Sixty three that had a lot of hard work and practice, go for nothing were it really counts." Ash and May looked a little confused, yet full of understanding at what he was saying. He started back up speaking with melancholy "What I'm trying to get at, even though the top four people get prizes, so many have to go and bring the disappointing news to loved ones. It would feel terrible for them to tell them despite their hard work, they failed."

"Even though we may lose sometimes, it shouldn't stop us." Ash said, trying to she'd some light on the subject.

"Take a look at this guy for example." May spoke optimistically as she pointed to Ash, she had that look on her face that said, she was up to something. "He's like the master of failure! He's entered five league championships. And guess how many he has won?" Ash was getting a puzzled look, comprehending what May was doing, only a few seconds too late. "Zip, zero, he's lost all of them. On live TV too. His goal is to become the worlds greatest Pokemon Master. Has he gotten there? Nope, but does he still try? Yes, so when life chucks a lemon tree at you, you doge it to not die, then pick up the remains, build a stand with them, and make some lemonade!"

After a little while, Ash understood hat she was saying. "Hey!" He said defensively. "You know I don't like to talk about that. Does everyone have to know I lose the most important battles everywhere I go?" He had a mixed look of hurt anger, with a touch of humiliation.

Upset that what she said in a joking manner hurt him, May apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that what I said would make you feel that way." She hoped that Ash would accept her heartfelt remorse.

"I guess it's alright. So Breeric any tips for this round?" Ash was eager to change the subject from his biggest losses, to just about anything else. He would have even been willing to talk about the time he dressed up as a girl to challenge a gym leader.

"Study up. Play the contest game, they have some in the lounge. Learn the move typing. Also try to win." They ate the rest of their lunch in companionable silence. Before he finished, May got up and left for the game. Leaving just Ash and Breeric together.

"You've got something special, little dude." He said to Ash out of nowhere.

Not knowing what about, Ash tried to clarify."What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Not wanting to head anymore cryptic nonsense, Ash decided to nod his head and say, "Okay."


>~•~•~<

"So how'd you do?" Breeric asked the girl sitting next to him. It was beginning to be late and most of the building was lit only by street lights, and the setting sun. It was still bright out, but that would change in a few minutes. The two were sitting on a log, bathed in firelight. This complex had fire pits spread around the field. They were spread out and around to make the coordinators' stay more enjoyable. Seeing how more than just one were occupied, it worked.

"It was good," She said to Breeric. The firelight flickered off her plush white jacket. "I beat that Ian guy, so no complaining there." People saw how Ian acted, so most, generally disliked him, but after yesterday, that was changing.

Breeric was glad they were in a conversations, because it gave him an excuse to observe her. Ah Paronin, you've been my friend for years. I don't think you show any interest over me. I think that's why I'm so attracted to May, because I don't have a shot with you. Though you look almost, if not, just as good as May does. You are also a real great friend, who really cares for your friends. I'd tell you how I feel, but I'm nervous, because you've never shown your feelings in all these years. It's almost like you share with everyone, but me. Why do girls have to be so difficult? "So when do you think he'll be here."

Looking off into the distance she noticed someone walking in their direction. Coming at not quite a jog, but a fast walk. "It looks like he is walking over right now." Breeric had already told Paronin about Zyan's father's request. She thought it would be a good idea for them to talk with him about it. So in order to cary out the task, Paronin got Zyan to come be with his friends. She told him that they wanted to celebrate all three of them winning this round. To expound on the alibi for bringing in the tanned teen.

Zyan slowly walked up to the two friends sitting on the log. He was wearing a short sleeved plain white T-shirt, on the collar was a pair of lime green sunglasses. He wore yellow gloves on his hands, they were identical, except that the left one reached up to his elbow.

It's real sad how he still doesn't feel confident enough to show it. Breeric was remembering the gruesome training accident that occurred last year. I thought after the conversation I had with him; about how no one would think bad of it, and some might think it looked cool, he would finally take off that glove. Still I'm glad of how he's handled it. Some would start hating that Pokemon, but he hasn't treated him any different. He even puts extra love towards it, to make sure it knows it's not to blame. Breeric couldn't, after the past year, get the image of his best friend's sliced open arm out of his head. No matter how hard he tried, the image just wouldn't leave him. We were doing our daily training last August. Running on that mountain trail, like we did every day. Our Pokemon were out, everything seemed great. Out of anything that could happen, he tripped. It's reasonable I tripped many times on that rugged trail. The only difference is that right in front of him was his Bisharp. His flailing arm was impaled upon Bisharp's two back torso blades. He shuddered remembering the gruesome moment. The look of his flayed skin. He remembered the look on Zyan, so weak, so helpless. He also remembered Bisharp successfully quell the blood rage he was about to go into. The mixed look of concern and blood lust. I remember rushing him to the hospital where his father was stationed at. It seemed like the only logical choice. The arm, though cut to the bone in two separate places, healed up just fine, except it hurt whenever it was put under pressure. The only thing left to remember that day by, were his two large scars on his forearm. That was why Zyan got the elongated glove. Now the perk is, only those who know about the accident, know the real reason he wears it, the rest have no clue. They most likely think it's some sort of fashion statement.

After sitting for a minute Breeric took the lead, "So Zyan, we were wondering if you are doing okay. So are you okay?"

"Y..yeah, everything had been uh..um great." He paused a few seconds, then gave a heavy sigh. "This contest has just been real stressful. So some more free time would be enjoyable." He sighed again, then gave a small fake laugh.

I have a feeling that he's not telling us something. It seemed that Paronin was having the exact same thought, because before Breeric could speak his mind, she was already talking.

"You sure you're alright?" She said this in a caring way, with genuine concern on her face. "Is there something you're not telling us? You just seem real depressed today. Remember we are your best friends; you can tell is anything, we'd understand." It was clear that her words were making Zyan think.

She always was great at reasoning with people. I hope she hasn't used that "reasoning" power on me to get something. Has she? I hope it wasn't something too embarrassing. I really hope not. He was occupied in his mind, allowing Zyan to confess.

When he finally spoke, he looked down, and didn't look up at all. He also spoke slowly, and his words seemed calculated. "Well, you see, my arm has been bothering me more lately. It got so bad today, I had to rip off my glove during the contest. You don't know the looks of disgust on the people's faces. When they saw those things!" He now had a mixture of depression and indignation in him now.

Breeric was getting angry, while Paroning was becoming sad, at the way Zyan talked about his scars. Sure, they don't look pretty, but he could have died that day. He needs to stop being so hard on himself, and leave it in the past. Maybe show a little gratitude for being alive! "Stop blaming yourself for this. You tripped!"

"Let me finish. You should see Bisharp. He still thinks he is to blame for standing there. You don't know what it feels like, to see someone you love, blame them self for something that they couldn't control. I wish there was some way I could change this. I wish I had a Celebi right now."

"What does that have to do with anything! And yes, we do know what it feels like. We love you, and you think you are to blame."

"You know what, I'm going to have to live with that. I'm going now." Zyan then stood up and walked out, without looking back once.

"I guess that means s'mores are off." Paronin quipped, trying to lighten up Breeric. All she got back was a cold stare. "He's just had a hard time dealing with it. You know he normally isn't like this, it's just probably what happened today. He should get over it by tomorrow."

Thinking that it was a good time to retire for the night, Breeric started cleaning up their area. They finished cleaning and headed for their lodging. He was walking down the dimly lit path slowly, he was trying to take a positive perspective on this situation. A daunting task, that seemed impossible given what just happened. I can't get why he is acting the way he is. It was a freaking accident. He's acting like a spoiled brat. Oh I'm the only one who matters. I'm going to act all depressed, because we all know no one loves or cares for me or my welfare. Some people saw my scars, they probably think I'm a monster now. Mocking his best friend finally made him understand what he was feeling. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts, that he didn't notice when he ran into Ash. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to run into you."

"Hey, don't worry about it. You seem a little upset. I know just the thing to make you feel better. What if I said you can join our highly trained, elite team on capture the flag. You can join us, against the menacing girls. It'll take your mind off of whatever is bothering you, unless you're bothered that you're not on the girls team. So what do you say, for old time's sake?"

Ash's tactics worked, both to make him happier, and join the game. I'm not sure if that was intentional, but he seems to really cheer me up right now. I can't let him think he won that easily though. "The only thing I got from that, is the girls are whopping your butts, and you need my help." Breeric's sullen face grew into a huge grin. It was so much easier to let his angers disperse, than keep them bottled up.

"I wouldn't put it exactly that way," Said an embarrassed Ash. "but yes. We could use it." Wanting to do something other than sleep, Breeric joined. Ash yelled at the top of his lungs, for everyone to hear. "Breeric's joined! He's on the guys side!" He repeated that phrase, just to make sure everyone would hear it for sure. "So the teams are you, me, Chuck, Lucas, Damien, Jamie, and Paul." Ash said in a normal voice. He then proceeded to tell the names of the girls. "On the other team, there's May, Isabella, Kathy, Savannah, Rachel, and three other girls, who I don't know their names." A loud shouting voice peirced the still. The voice yelled that Paronin was joining on the girl's side. "And I guess Paronin now. Do you see why we needed help? Outnumbered and in this game, that's everything. We've lost three of four rounds so far. You seem to be quite athletic, you think you can keep up with me?" Ash then proceeded to tell Breeric the plan.


>~•~•~<

So Ash and I are supposed to be bait? This seems like some sort of cruel joke. Two of the fastest people not going after the flag, this better work. Since they had so little people playing, they shortened down the playing area to just the field and forest. Instead of being able to play anywhere, even the upper levels, they were stick on the grass. This both helped and hurt the bait. It was more likely that the girls would chase him, but not for a prolonged period of time. The sound of a rock hitting water sounded. To most it would be just that, but to the guys, it was the signal. I hope this precision works. I'm just glad, this isn't one of those complicated plans that is destined to go wrong.[I/] He tensed up waiting to play his part.

He sprinted into the enemy territory. He saw two girls that he didn't recognize. Just sitting there, scoping the area. Breeric, following his part of the plan laid out by Ash and Damien, started running. He got close to the girls, then pretended to finally notice them. They got up and chased after him in hot pursuit. He managed to always make them stay between twenty and five steps behind him. This was all a part of the plan, the bait was supposed to keep as many people as they could, close enough so they would still follow. They also had to be fast enough to outrun some of the faster people, so they wouldn't get caught.

Breeric was solely occupied checking the distance the girls were from him. Making sure they weren't close enough to get him, but still would chase after him. The constant looking over his shoulder to gauge where his pursuers were meant he wasn't watching where he was going. Causing him to barrel full steam ahead into Paronin, lying in wait to ambush someone.

"Oow... Ouch. That really hurt me." She said after being pancaked onto the grass.

"Are you alright?" He walked closer to her. Feeling awful about the collision. He wasn't sure whether it was his fault or her's, but he still felt bad.

"First of all, I got you earlier, you're out. Second, can you help me up?"

"Sure, sorry for hurting you. I'm just real mad that you canceled s'mores." He helped her up, and instantly, as she put pressure on her right foot, she fell into the boy's arms.

"Aah ow, auh, that hurts a lot." She said grimacing. Her plush white jacket stained green from the fall. "Can you take me to the doctors to make sure nothing is too bad?"

"Yeah, I'd love to, it's the least I can do for you.." He then yelled saying that Paronin and him were out. After supporting her for a little while, Paul ran past them and brought the flag over the line. The two walked along the path, lit by streetlights, towards the northwest corner of the complex. About halfway into the trek, Breeric's inner voice kicked in. I know that this situation is bad, but at least I get to be close to her out of it. I need to stop just paying attention to the small details, and more to the big picture. Wow, I ran over two people within the last half hour. I wonder how that makes me look. He started to blush out of embarrassment, even though no one could have possibly answered his question. Much less heard it.

Paronin could always tell when he was in one of his deep thoughts. As she hobbled, she asked him a simple question. "So, what are you thinking about?" She knew that he would let his body go on autopilot while his mind wandered.

Trying to not tell the whole truth, Breeric would tell all details not about the girl. "I was just thinking that I need to pay attention to what's happening around me more, instead of focusing on a few things at a time. Within fifteen minutes, I ran into Ash, and ran over you, probably twisting your ankle or something."

"Oh don't worry about it." She said trying to console him. "You're just special that way. Not many people could ever notice things that you can. Also how you can infer things, you're one of the most intelligent person, I mean people, I knew, know. Blalalalbal! Why can't I say anything correctly right now?"

"Hey thanks, that means a lot." He said woth a huge grin on his face. They then continued their way down the dim path, in silence. Only to stop occasionally to let Paronin's already swelling ankle rest up, for another trudge onwards.



>~•~•~<

"Wow, I sure am glad that it's only sprained, I thought I may have caused some serious injury. When did the doctor say it'd be better?" Said Breeric in relief. The two were sitting on a gray wooden bench near the swimming pool. Breeric could see many things on a night like this. The countless stars on this moonless night beyond the gargantuan dome, four trainers playing in the pool, grass Pokemon tending the field to fix up spots, one of which was from him. He also heard sounds. With nearly one hundred people in the same building, granted it was a large building, there is always some sort of sound to hear. There were the sounds of water lapping in the pool, there was shouting in the field and behind the trees about the capture the flag game, from the sounds, it seemed as without Breeric the guy's team was losing again. There were also sounds of coordinators working on their Pokemon's abilities, the hum of far off machinery, the breathing of the female leaning on his shoulder. He felt the cold of the bench, in contrast to the warmth of her body on his, it felt nice. He was glad that with everything bad going on this evening, he finally was able to just sit down and relax.

Responding to the earlier question Paronin replied. "She told me it should be fine in a week or so, but to try to keep of of it for the next few days. Though you know how doctors can be, it should be okay to walk on late tomorrow." She enjoyed her freedom, and didn't like being confided by a physical injury, she would try her best to push her body.

"I don't want you to push it. You wouldn't want it to get any worse, now would you?" While he said this he took on a motherly tone. Breeric couldn't help it, it was just in his nature to care about, and for his friends.

She rearranged her white jacket on his shoulder to serve as a pillow, it had been arranged inside out so her head would rest against the soft part. "You don't need to mother me." She said with a smile. Her smile helped warm up this slightly chilly night.

The reason why it was chilly, even though they were inside the building, was because of the amount of energy required to regulate the temperature. To solve the problem, the builders cut many holes in the wall, all underlaid with a mesh frame. This allowed the building to be just slightly closer to a regulated temperature than the outside. If it was cold outside, the people's body heat would warm it up a little. If it were hot, the airflow would cool it down. Because of the size of the building, and the mesh frames, a light breeze would flow throughout the building. The nights in Vanguard city were chillier than most places. This was due to cold fronts coming in from the mountain from the west. So the breeze was colder towards the night. This, and the fact that the dome could retract, meant this place seemed more rural than in the middle of the city. To also make it more comfortable, each little building had its own heater or air conditioner.

The two sat peacefully, watching the stars; until they were approached by a guy in a light jacket, with matching yellow gloves. "I've been looking for you two everywhere. I have to apologies about earlier." He said sincerely. "I let my emotions get the better of me, and I overreacted. I realize you were only trying to make sure I was okay." He looked remorseful of his temper from earlier.

"We both said thing we probably shouldn't have." Replied Breeric "Can we just agree to leave that in the past? There might still be time for s'mores." He said this last part in a lighthearted manner.

"Sure, I'd love to. That's also a yes for leaving it in the past." He responded to the lightheartedness with some of his own. Noticing a wrap around the only female in the immediate vicinity's right foot. "What happened with you?"

"Would you believe she punted a Geodude? How about a new fashion statement? Wait I know, she...she...I got nothing else."

"Just like you know me, I know you, what are you trying to hide from me. I will pry all of your secrets out of you sooner or later." He responded in a playful manner.

Paronin wanting the conversation to actually go somewhere retold what happened. "The reason Breeric is avoiding telling you, is because he ran over me and sprained my ankle." As she said this, Breeric's face was turning a shade of pink. "Don't worry, I should be able to walk on it in a few days."

"Okay, I always knew he would try something like that. I mean look at this situation now."

"What do you mean?" She was confused. Why would Zyan say Breeric deliberately hurt me?

"Oh never mind, forget I said anything. Let's go, I'm ready to get warmed up by a fire."


>~•~•~<

The two guys acted as crutches helping their injured friend hobble over to the fire pits. They were about to set one up, closest to where they came from. Until they noticed two figures struggling to light a fire, not too far off in the distance. As they got closer they could make out the details of the people better. Of the two people, one was female, the other male. The female was wearing a jacket and a bandana, they seemed to be a darker color in the darkness, but it was hard to tell. The guy was wearing a blue sweatshirt with the grey hood up. They were bent down with matches, but could not get the fire lit.

"Hey Ash, May, need help?" Asked Breeric as they were approaching the two struggling with fire.

"Yeah I think some help would be welcome." Answered May, because Ash was too proud to admit he couldn't light the fire.

"Have you tried using some fire Pokemon?" Tipped Zyan.

"We are letting all out Pokemon rest back at our rooms, plus it's giving us a chance to get better at something." May responded once again, because Ash was silent, trying to concentrate on the wood pile.

"I used to go camping a lot." Added Breeric. "So I can help you in one of two ways. First, I could show you and help you learn how to start it. I guess there are actually three ways. Second, I could do it myself. Last, we could have Houndoom do it. It's up to you guys."

Ash finally spoke. "Do you think you can tell me what I'm doing wrong? I think it's something I should learn."

"No problem. You start off with some tinder, little tiny pieces of wood or paper, or whatever. Place that in the center. Next take some kindling, slightly larger pieces of wood, and place it around the tinder. Now put some slightly bigger pieces of wood around that." He finished telling him how to build the fire, so it would light easily. Next he taught him how to light it. "What you were doing, was placing the match on the side of a thick piece of wood, it doesn't catch that way. What you want to do is place the match under the tinder." Ash complied to the instructions, and a small amount of the tinder caught. "Good job, now give it a firm, but not hard blow of air." Ash followed the next set of steps. The flames burnt hotter, catching more tinder, and some kindling on fire. "Good job, now all you have to do is let it catch the rest on fire."

"Wow! I did it, thanks for teaching me how, I couldn't have done it without you." Ash said, amazed at his own work. The five then sat down in almost complete silence. Not much was said, except for the side comment or request. They all just wanted to wash away the extra stress of competing.

Wow, you can compare this competition to most any competition, in just that it takes a lot of hard work and effort to excel. Take spelling-bees for example. Countless numbers of words memorized. Or a sport, hours of practice and preparation. Or performing in a concert. Memorizing your parts. Even though this may look like fun and games, it's actually a lot of hard work. It's no wonder why we all want to lay back, and forget all of our daily cares. He then let out a large respectable yawn. It was loud enough to scare a banshee. "Pass the marshmallows please." He asked the person in charge of all of the food, who in hindsight wasn't the best pick. Ash tossed Breeric a handful of marshmallows, cramming the same amount down his throat.

They all laid down in silence, warmed by the heat of the dwindling fire, and somehow through all of this, making s'mores, it being late, trying to relax, each drifted off into a slumber.

>~•~•~<

"Wait who's there." Said a nervous Breeric. It was dark, almost to the point of blindness, and it seemed as if he was on a stone floor. The floor was cold and hard, the room smelt musky, and there was a chilly draft. It was completely silent except for his own breathing.

He could see a faint light slowly creeping it's way forward, accompanied by the rhythm of falling footsteps. The footsteps got louder, and the light got brighter. It started becoming so bright that it temporarily blinded Breeric. In this blinded state he heard the screech of unoiled metal, followed by a slam and a click as a key turned.

As his eyes grew accustomed to the light he could make out a tall man on the other side of an iron gate. He was wearing a long, dark, hooded robe. The only thing that was showing was a mask in the shape of the skull on a Houndoom's neck. In his left hand was a lighted torch, the source of the light, and in the right was a single silver key.

The figure spoke in a deep full voice. "So you thought you could do it, you thought you could live up to his memory?" The voice was that of a voice buried deep in ones mind, some long forgotten memory, something that didn't really seem to matter. "You can't!"

Breeric was paralyzed, he couldn't move or say anything. The man turned around and walked off, leaving in his wake a locked up teen, with no source of light. Eventually Breeric lost himself in the darkness.





Also it might seem some of this stuff is real random, but I have a plan. (Some of it might just be random filler that's entertaining serving no purpose other than express feelings.)

So the reason I did this chapter the way I did it, is I want people to get more connection to some of the characters. I also used this as a chance to show how others think of Ash and May, and to set stuff up for future chapters. Some interactions without Ash or May lead heavily into the future, so a story from someone else's viewpoint is essential.

Also I might take longer for next chapter because of the time of year. I'm torn whether to get one out real fast as a New Years gift. A Christmas oneshot or to enjoy my holiday. You tell me what you'd all like. Also if anyone here can guess which generation was and is my favorite, you win brownie points. I might even name a minor character after you.

 

[Clone™]

Nice chapter, it was really well written. It flowed smoothly throughout the entire chapter, which is always important. The pacing seemed a little slow, but it worked. My only concern is that you might make a love triangle, which aren't always guaranteed to work. Looking forward to the next chapter, especially with the cliffhanger at the end.

As for your favorite generation, if this story has any hint it would be Gen III.

 

[Sethern]

Thanks, I think everything's going to work out though. (Or at least I hope it works.)
I'll try to make future chapters a little faster; it feels like I added some useless filler in this, but it all intertwines together. It's all very complicated, but should make sense why I put it in, later on. I probably have done a few chapters worth of backstory, subplots, character creations, plots, random conversations, et cetera. So all I have to do is price together te fragments I already have written down. So what I'm trying to say, is I believe it will all work out.

You'd be correct with favorite generation. Go Gen III remakes!

As always, thanks for commenting.

 

[Sethern]

Ch 7

Sorry it's taken a month, but I've been busy this time of year. (Got too many games, can't complain about family though.) I really hope I will get better though. Also it's things like stuff in this chapter that give this it's rating. I'm eager to hear what you think.



"Coordinators, be ready and at the central field in fifteen minutes for today's part one to start."

"Stupid!" Ash said aloud. Waking in the middle of the field to the sound of Dillian, the MC. Ash awoke the rest of the group in a hurry, knowing to miss a round, is immediate disqualification. "The one day they just have to start early, and we just have to sleep in!" He was starting to freak out, but his friends were there to calm him down.

Wow, that was some strange dream. That voice, it sounds so familiar, why can't I place it? I think I may have seen that mask before. "Since we are closest to her, Zyan and I will carry Paronin to and from her room." Breeric offered, knowing how tight their schedule would be. The previous day, Paronin was ran over by Breeric, so she couldn't walk very well.

"Got it." Zyan replied, wanting to help out all he could. "Let's all just grab whatever we can carry, to clean up this place. Then after this round, we can give whatever belongs to each other back.

They all scuffled around, grabbing whatever they could in a hurry. Paronin found some fire making material, Zyan and Breeric found Paronin, May found some firewood, an Ash found the rest of the food and drinks. Pikachu managed to fill his arms with ketchup. They continued swiftly gathering miscellaneous items off the ground and on logs. They ran around until everything was picked up. Then headed towards their lodging, however fast their circumstances would allow.

>~•~•~<

"Where's my Noctowl!" Yelled a frantic Ash, searching through his bag. He shoved it aside and dug into his clothes pile, it wasn't there. He then looked unsuccessfully under his bed. Why would it be there? Get a grip! Think; where would I have put it?

He looked over towards the alarm clock, noticing his limited time. 7:54 great! Now I only have six minutes to find Noctowl and get over there!

His thought process was interrupted by his yellow Pokemon. "Pi Chu pika ch." Who in turn was cut of by Ash.

"Not now I'm thinking."

"Chu chu pi pikachow."

"Can this wait, I need to find Noctowl." Ash was in an irritable mood, due to his precarious circumstances. This all was far less than ideal.

"Pika CHUUU!" Yelled the electric Pokemon, shocking his trainer. Yellow lightning shot out of the Pokemon's cheeks, arching towards the distraught boy.

"Uaaeeeeeeggggh!" He yelled as he was being zapped. "What was that for!" He clearly wasn't amused by the shenanigans of his partner.

Glad that he got Ash's attention, Pikachu pointed his tail towards the wooden nightstand. "Chu chu kachu pika pikachu." He then opened the drawer, revealing to the trainer five small Pokeballs. All of which were placed neatly in a pile.

"Thank you so much, sorry I'm just in a huge hurry." He grabbed all the balls, and shoved them in his pockets. He then raced towards the open door. "Come on, we don't want to be late."

>~•~•~<

May was standing at the end of a short single file line, with Zyan on the left side of her, closer to the rest of the remaining coordinators. In the bleachers were all the people who didn't make it past the previous two rounds, and the early morning crowd. What's taking him so long? Why isn't he here yet? I sure hope he makes it. All these thoughts were racing through May's head, anticipating whether or not Ash would make it within the next two minutes.

Two gloved hands grabbed her shoulders from behind, in a quick, forceful motion. The grab was accompanied by a startled yell from May. "Aahhh!" She quickly turned around to see Ash. "Ash what was that for?" She said embarrassed that her yelp attracted unwanted attention. "You know I don't like being startled."

"I just wanted you to realize how good these gloves feel on shoulders. You felt it right? It's almost like a glove was on you're shoulder."

She was utterly confused by what her friend was saying. "You know you aren't making any sense right now?"

"Have you ever thought that it might be you who isn't making sense?" I'm glad she didn't ask why it took me so long. There isn't much worse than misplacing your Pokemon. He then stepped casually next to May, and waited patiently for the MC to start saying whatever important MClike words he had to say.

Dillian did have some very MClike words to say. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen, fans and coordinators, to day three of the biannual Vanguard City contest! As you all know, day three is a special day. This morning round three will happen, and later tonight will be the semi-finals! If you win the early morning section, you move on to the semi finals. Right now, here in this lovely single file line, are our remaining eight coordinators! Let's let them introduce themselves. We'll start here on our far right and work our way up." He then pointed towards the girl on the opposite side of Ash and May. "Now tell us, who are you, what's your name, where are you from, and any other things you'd like to tell us." He phrased this as a question, but he said it in a commanding way.

"Hello everyone, my name is Lexa Tumms, I'm from Vielstone city in the Sinnoh region. I'd like you all to know I'm confident my Pokemon will do their best." She said this with a cheerful smile.

Dillian pointed towards Breeric. "Hello, I'm Breeric Undar. I'm from Dewford town on Dewford Island in Hoenn, though I currently live here in Vanguard city." This part was accompanied by applause from some of the crowd members. "I also know, you're all here to watch some contests, so take it away Charlie!"

Breeric took the job away from the MC and passed the role of speaking to Charlie. Charlie was little younger than a teen, he had dark brown hair, and glasses. "As he said I'm Charlie from Pueltown in Almia. If you want to know my last name, read the bulletin."

The role of speaking got tossed over to Paronin. She didn't realize the spotlight was on her yet. So she was standing still in her spot, waiting for someone to speak. When she finally noticed she was the one supposed to speak, she tried unsuccessfully to cover it up. "How'd you all like that dramatic pause?" Nobody bought it. "Oooohkay... Well I'm Paronin, from the south Jhoto countryside. I live up here now. Something about me, lets see. I started off being a coordinator with my two best friends, Breeric and Zyan."

Before she could pass on to the next person, Dillian cut in to do his job. "Now for our next coordinator. Why don't you introduce yourself."

The tall woman in her thirties spoke up. "Welcome everyone, it's good to see you all here today. Now for me. I was born in a middle-class family in Viridian city. My dad was a shop keeper, while my mom stayed at home. When I was six my family and I moved to the cinnabar Islands. We moved back to Viridian when I was fifteen. Then I started dating, and met my future husband. We dated for a few months before getting married, at the age of twenty two. Oh by the way I'm Carolyn but you can call me Carol or even just Carry. And next I."

"Well Carol, nice story, but we need to move on." He then pointed his index finger towards Zyan, right next to Ash and May. "You look like the kind who likes being awesome.Take it away Mr.Awesome."

"Hey everyone." He said whilst waving his unscarred arm. He didn't seem to energetic, but he still showed some vigor. "Zyan is my name, but you can call me Zyan. Also, if anyone wants to donate a chocolate cake, charity is always welcome." While he spoke, he spoke fluently, and in a way people were drawn in by his voice.

Since he was done speaking, Dillian passed the attention to May. "Now it's time to hear from this stunning young lady."

"Stunning eh? I like that." May whispered silently to Ash. "Let's see. To start I'm May from Peltaburg City. If you don't know where that is. It's around south, west central Hoenn. To go along with Zyan, I like food also. To go even more with him, I'll take any “donations” with a smile. I won't even complain if the food is bad, which I'm sure it won't be. That'd be it."

"So now for our final contestant!" Dillian was getting more and more into this every word he spoke. "He may look like the average Joe. Scratch that! My brother Joe owns that title. But he is anything but. Presenting Ash Ketchum!" The crowd, seeing the MC in such an excited manner, joined in cheering for Ash.

"Hum uughum." As Ash cleared his throat, the audience halted to a complete silence. Ash spoke before things would noise up again. "Hey Dillian, thanks for helping me out. It feels strange for you all to cheer for me. I can get that Dillian is getting into it today. He's doing better now than before. So let's cheer for the others." At first the audience didn't comply, but they slowly started to cheer for everyone.

While the cheering was growing, May tilted in and whispered softly into Ash's ear. "Hey Ash, that was really sweet of you, thank you."

Ash started to slightly blush from the unexpected compliment. "No... problem. What are friends for?"

"Sharing their fan cake?"

"Nice try, you're not getting any of my cake." He paused for half a second and continued. "On second thought, I think I'll share anything with you. Isn't fan cake is a great thing to bring people closer together?" The applause died down and Ash took that as his cue to speak.

"So my name is Ash Ketchum. I'm just a kid from Pallet town, with a brand new world to see. I don't know what's ahead, but it won't get the best of me. Also I want to be the very best, like no one ever was."

Realizing time was running out, Dillian stopped Ash from speaking more, and started talking rapidly. "So this round will be much like our exciting opening round. There will be four, one on one matches. All here on this main field. All lasting five minutes. All judged by our panel of top judges. All winners will move on into the Semi-finals tonight. Tomorrow will be a day off, and interviewing the finalists. Then they will go out in two days. You got that all? One on one this morning, two on two tonight, day off, finals." He gasped for a breath of air, panting with saying that all in one breath. After regaining his breath he continued. "The matches have all been chosen randomly. To start off, in fifteen minutes, will be Breeric and carry, carol, whatever you want to call her. Followed by Lexa and Ash, the chuckling Charlie, and the Magnificent May, leaving Zyan and Paronin. Who will win? We don't know, it's not like we have a team of psychic Pokemon giving us the answers. Note to self. Get some psychic Pokemon and teach it to play Pokemer. Forget I said anything." He thought over to see if he remembered everything. "Don't forget to by snacks over at our food booth. Remember to keep this place tidy. So be clean and throw away your old trash. Now that's all, we'll get going in just a little bit."

He then walked back and sat down next to the judges. He whispered something to Clemente, which was received with laughter from both Clemente, and Gwilliam.

"So Breeric against Mrs. Care'ey'ol'ine'ina'whatever. I'm not sure who I want to win." May told Ash. "What I mean is, if Breeric wins it'll be harder for one of us to win, but if he loses he'll sure to be upset."

"Let's just hope everyone does their best, and everything will play out just fine. If everyone does their best everyone should be happy with their performance."

"Wow that was very insightful coming from you. I'm impressed." Teased May. Even though she teased him, she was impressed at how much more mature Ash had gotten since they traveled together. She would still catch him acting like his younger self from time to time. Which was something she had grown to appreciate, his ability to still have fun and act like a kid occasionally. Though times like this made others see what May always knew; Ash was a very thoughtful and intelligent person, and he wasn't dense about most things.

"But as always, I'll be cheering for you." May told her friend. She then remembered something she was going to ask him. Her mouth lifted up in a devilish smile. "So tell me Ash, why did you take so long to get here? I mean you showed up way after me, and even Breeric, Zyan, and Paronin, who if you don't remember, has a sprained ankle."

Ash was looking uncomfortable, and nervous. "I'd rather not talk about it. So if you just don't bring it up." He scratched behind his right ear.

"No problem. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry." May answered, dropping the grin. The two walked leisurely over to the bleachers, and settled themselves between and Ian and Zyan. They sat in silence until they started discussing their favorite Pokemon.

"Interesting choice May, but I'd have to choose my first." Ash told the other three. He then whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. "And not just because he's on my shoulder." Pikachu's ears became covered by gloved hands. "But I would choose Pikachu any day. So, how about you Ian,"

Ian reached for his Pokeballs on his belt. "I think if you like a Pokemon you should try to have one. So that's why I have a Machamp." The muscular teen looked at the rest of his Pokeballs. "I guess I like all of my belongings."

"Well I've always been fascinated by a particular Pokemon." Zyan inputed, after a few seconds of silence. "It's a Raikou, my dad and I would talk about trying to see it some day. I just think it's so amazing."

"Strangely enough," Ash mentioned. "Raikou is one of the few Pokemon I haven't had the pleasure of seeing with my own eyes."

"How about a Suicoon or Entei? I like all of the dogs. It's just that Raikou is my favorite." Zyan questioned Ash, who was failing at sounding modest.

"Seen them? I've ridden each of them." This was met by some impressed looks, and a "Woah" from Ian. "We'll tecnicacly the one Entei I rode was an alternate reality created by Unknown to fulfill a little girl's wishes, but I've still been with the real one."

They kept talking back and forth, everyone getting time to talk. Their conversation changed subjects multiple times. It went from favorite Pokemon, to cool stories, to family, to many other things. It seemed almost every person brought a new aspect to the conversation with them. While talking they were oblivious to what was taking place around them. At first everyone else was in their own conversations, but as the MC started up the round everyone slowly became quiet. That is everyone, but the four, still chatting away. For a short while people tried to just ignore it and watch the contest, but eventually some of the people had had enough.

One of the men who was sitting near the four yelled over to them. "Shut up will ya? We're trying to watch the contest!" That got their attention. They started looking around, noticing that everyone around them was looking towards them. They all had annoyed looked on their faces.

A boy a little younger than them, who was sitting near them, asked them to keep it down. "Do you think you all could please not be so loud?" Asked Quintin, he continued to meekly explain why. "You see, it's sort of disrupting, and makes it harder for us, and your friend to focus." The part about the friend made them realize what to do. Ian felt a little resentment towards Quintin and that man, for telling him that he was doing wrong, but the other three seemed to understand why.

Ash turned his head and body to see two people and their Pokemon in the center battling. Breeric's with Aggron, and Carol with a singing Jigglypuff. Wait that Jigglypuff seems awfully familiar. Ash thought to himself, worries popping into his mind like a song sneaking through his ears. Like a spell that will slowly put him under, or greeting arms of sleep. Oh no, not again, why does it have to follow me everywhere? I must fight it, I have to fight... He thought as the foggy embrace washed over him, lulling him, and everyone else, to sleep. Slowly, but surely, everyone in the building collapsed, everyone but the pink devil. They all lay motionless, waiting to have their faces vandalized by a misunderstood Pokemon.

>~•~•~<

"Misty! What are you doing here?" Ash questioned as he sat up, seeing his long time tomboy friend. She wore her usual yellow shirt with suspenders, and shorts. Her hair was down, and not brushed, it seemed like she hadn't gotten completely ready for the day.

She looked startled and gasped. Then Misty started crying uncontrollably as she grabbed his shoulders. "When you fell in that hole I didn't know when you'd get better." She said between heavy sobs of joy. "You've been unconscious for weeks now. I'm so glad you're okay."

"Wait you're telling me that that wasn't real! How can this be? All that's happened must have happened! How can she not be real? How can they not be real?"

"Who's not real? Rest now, you need it."

"We laughed, we played, we battled, we did so much together, how could that all be fake?" His eyes started to get moist, and his throat sore."what you're telling me is, she's not real!" He knew Misty didn't deserve his anger, but he needed something to vent it with. For all he knew the past five years of his life were just a dream. Dreams can be forgotten, pushed back into the back of ones mind, locked up until truly needed. He didn't want this to happen to the memory of this one special girl, of all of his memories with so many people he knew. He didn't want it all hidden in the darkest recesses of his consciousness.

"Ash why are you yelling at me?" Misty asked once again sobbing. She let go of him as he lay in the hospital bed.

After calming down, still crying but calming down, Ash explained his situation to her. "While I was out, I lived through five years of my life." He paused to regain his fragile composure. "Throughout it, I met many wonderful people, but a few stand out more than others. There are a few I will miss with all my heart." After a few short seconds, he made a new resolution. "I will find them."

"Of poor Ashy, I think I know something that will make you feel better." A black marker appeared in her right hand, she uncapped it and squealed happily. "Jiggly." Then Misty proceeded to draw all over his face, still damp from his tears. At first he tried to fight it, but it was no use.

>~•~•~<

I love the fact that I can lucid dream sometimes! May's voice echoed through her head as she stuffed her face full of the finest noodles. There was ramen, plain noodles, noodles with sauce, noodles in soup, all sorts of noodles, all tasting perfect. The only thing I wish is, that this was real and I could afford it. Oh how I wish this was real! I do love me some noodles. She then silently laughed to herself. I might have a problem, I can dream about anything, and I'm dreaming about noodles. I know I'll dream about something else yummy.

After she ate to her heart's content, she imagined up a dessert bar. It was filled with the sweetests of cakes, the smoothest of ice creams, the fluffiest of muffins, and the gooiest of cookies. This is Awesome! Too bad not everyone can do this. But hey, at least I can enjoy it.


>~•~•~<

Breeric was back in his prison cell. This time he couldn't see through the door, but he could hear someone, getting ready to interrogate him.

"So do you know why you're here?" Asked the person on the other side of the cell door. The person's voice was clearly masculine, with no discernible accent to tell where he was native to. He had the same familiar voice as the person from his last dream. Wait that must be it! I'm dreaming. I'll just go along with this to try to find out who that person is."

"No, sorry, I don't know why I'm in here again." He decided then and there he was going to keep his words short. He didn't want anyone to know everything, even himself. If Devon corp could finish their Dream Visualiser, whose to say some scientist couldn't upgrade it to allow people to enter other's dreams? I'm probably being paranoid, but for all I know someone else is watching, or is in my dream. It's probably that guy, why would I be having the same dream, with same people, and same area? This must be staged or something.

When Breeric said again, the man tensed up, hoping the boy hadn't already caught on. He would prove more useful oblivious, not knowing what was at stake. Curse those side effects! If people like team Magma can find someone who can make a Groudon, why do we still get side effects! It's fine they said, there's only a slight increase of dream awareness they said! I'll just have to make the best of it. "You're here because you can tell us some useful information. I know you know that we know that you know. So lets just make this easy." The man lit a candle and walked into the dark musty cell. "Here have a seat." He pointed towards the back corner of the cell, and Breeric's eyes followed.

"I'd rather sit here, there's nothing over there."

"Oh isn't there?" Breeric looked over his shoulder again, to his surprise, this time noticing an old wooden table. The table had two chairs, all made of rotting wood. "It'll do you good to cooperate with us instead of resisting, we wouldn't want things to get uncomfortable for you, now would we?" He watched as Breeric slowly lifted himself up, and sat down on the chair. The chair groaned in protest under his weight.

"Here have a seat." Said Breeric in mock kindness. "It looks stuffy in there, why don't you take off that mask?" The cloaked man didn't respond. "Eh, worth a try." He decided to forgo his little to no talking, hoping instead to flood the hooded man with useless talk. The difference between this dream and his last one, other than knowing it was a dream, was he wasn't petrified by the man.

Carrying the lit candle the man sat down on the remaining chair. He placed the candle in the center of the table lighting up Breeric's face, while casting the shadow of his gray cowl over his bone mask. The light from the candle made the shadows on his face dance, shrouding his eyes in darkness, only revealing the mask's mouth and jaw. From what Breeric could tell the man's Houndoom skull mask was made out of actual bone.

"So what should I call you?" He waited a few seconds before deciding the masked man wasn't the type for idle chit chat. "I think I like bone. So bone, got a family? How about pets? Hobbies? Other than locking up teens and not even questioning them during an interrogation. Not talking eh? Well I guess I will wait."

The two waited in silence for what seemed like hours, but was probably less than a minute. Bone broke the silence, speaking with his deep voice.

"Once there was a king who lived in a grand castle, overlooking a small town. The king had three sons, the youngest a brave and strong man. The second son an intelligent honest person. But the eldest, he wasn't noble like the third or honest like the second, he was sly cunning and deceitful."

I know I've heard that somewhere before, but where? Thought Breeric to himself. He hoped this dream thing didn't go past the point where one could hear the other person's thoughts.

"The king was a just and fair leader, who upheld the laws with his befriended Pokemon." Bone continued, he was speaking slowly, so every detail could be picked up with ease. "Under his rule, there were no wars with the neighboring kingdom, or contention among his people. He upheld the peace by befriending and enlisting telepathic Pokemon and true people as his peacekeepers. The way he could befriend so many Pokemon was he wielded the staff of innocence." He then contemplated saying more, but went against it. "Time here is running short, come back with what we want next time. Or else."

Breeric was about to retort with an "Or else what?" But before, he managed, he woke up.

>~•~•~<

The stadium seats were littered with asleep bodies. Breeric and Ash were two of the few lucky enough to be awake. If they were real lucky they would have been like the few luckiest ones, they woke up before the pink menace could scribble on their faces. Ash took a look around at the stadium, overrun with asleep or half asleep bodies. As they got up they could see the pink balloon scribbling different doodles on people's faces. He followed the example of one person in the crowd and started waking up the people next to them. The plan was to start some sort of chain of people waking up everyone. It didn't work as smoothly as they hoped by eventually everyone was awake.

Hoping to make up for lost time, Dillian went right into business. "According to our rule book, any attack that harms, or effects the audience, intentional or not merits an immediate disqualification. Sorry Cary, but you are out of the contest, like so many others. Now I guess that means Breeric wins!" The people in the audience gave some groggy cheers and claps.

Since we need to catch up on lost time, we will start the next round immediately. Lexa and Ash come up now. This shall be a true test, fighting while still sleepy, ooh I can feel the chills running down my spine."

The two contestants walked up onto the field and prepared to let out their Pokemon. "Ready set go!" Dillian called out igniting the competitive spirit in the two trainers.

"Go Noctowl!" Yelled Lexa releasing her bird Pokemon from its container.

"Nice choice." Ash told her. "Let's see how it compares compared to mine."

The battle started. There were nonstop attacks zooming through the air, but for each attack, there was another equally powerful evasion. The battle kept on going like this for four minutes. The scores were even, a hit for a hit, a doge for a doge. Ash realizing that he would have to so something or he wouldn't win, sent his owl Pokemon in a mad dive towards the other one. It was a move they had practiced before. They were going in looking like a drill peck attack. Spiraling while speeding towards the opponent. A common frequently preformed move. The only difference is this time Noctowl outstretched its wing to make a wing attack. The other Noctowl anticipating the drill peck attack moved just out of pecking distance. Since she wasn't expecting the wing attack, it landed a solid blow. Thus winning Ash the match.

The time ran out, the buzzer buzzed. The judges gave a final score on the last attack. "Brilliant move, that was an excellent way to win." Commented Clemente.

The next person to speak was Gwilliam. "That was an amazing battle. It was so close and neck and neck. Both of you should be proud, and you both did a great job." He then gave both contestants a thumbs up sign.

After waiting his turn, the third and final judge, Mr. Gonzales, offered his criticism. "I've seen better, but you win, so that's all that matters."

>~•~•~<

"But you win, so that's all that matters." May headed to the stands, thinking of the originality of Mr. Gonzales. She walked and sat down next to Ash, on the far side away from Ian. They then began to watch the beginning of Paronin and Zyan's match.

"Just because you're one of my best friends, doesn't mean I don't want to win this. And just because you're crippled doesn't mean I won't go hard on you." Zyan said to his opponent on the opposite side of the field.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"So I take it you both are ready." The MC spoke to both of them. This was received with two slight nods in the faces of two competitive people. "On three send out your Pokemon. One. Two. Three!"

The two tossed their capsules containing their Pokemon onto the field. Beams of red light shot out of the center, zigzagging to form shapes. The beams pulsed a few times before the red shapes materialized into living organisms.

On Paronin's side was a majestic Milotic, while on the other side standing menacingly, was Zyan's Bisharp. Milotic looked like any other one you would find, but Bisharp was different. His body was completely black with the only bodily color on the top of his head, which was a dark red. All of his limbs were a dark shade of grey or black. The top of his head, the axe part, was a dark blood red shade. His various blades were all shining almost white in comparison, completing the look of a dark killer.

Preparing for the battle, Milotic was swaying rhythmically, trying to soothe her opponent, in contrast to Bisharp's aggressive stance and look. Both opposites on the outside, both powerful and effective on the inside.

They both waited for the other to make the first move. After a few seconds of waiting Zyan shouted a command.

"Sequence 3A. Then transfer that to a 2B." Zyan had a special code for all of the attacks done by his Bisharp, that way the opponent would have a harder time countering.

Bisharp rushed in head first, blade gleaming. He was closing the distance fast before Paronin could take stock of the situation.

"Evade it Milotic! Jump up!" She resorted to having her Pokemon dodge in order to not get hit.

Milotic curled up like a spring, and use its strong serpentine muscles to launch itself into the air. Bisharp, after he closed the distance, transitioned into his 2B. As he got right before Milotic, Bisharp launched himself as if in a partial front flip. Slamming his back blades into the airborne serpents body.

They continued on Bisharp's trajectory. Still in control of the situation, Bisharp positioned himself so he would land on his feet, with the giant snake on his back. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he violently gyrated forward in one powerful move, slamming the caught Pokemon onto the ground with his blades.

"Ooh that's gotta hurt." Stated Gwilliam. "What a wonderful move combo done by Zyan and Bisharp. That will sure put a damper in Milotic's points."

"Yeah it seems as if Zyan is going more on the pure raw power route, but he is working it so he doesn't lose any of his finesse." Imputed Dillian the MC. "We'll just have to wait to see Paronin's style. Because Zyan hasn't given her much room to work with at all."

Milotic's score dramatically dropped, with that powerful dual attack combo, Milotic lost a third of its points then and there. Partially from the failed dodge, and partially from the brutality of Bisharp's attacks.

"Bisharp 1G.B! Watch out for any counter attacks."

"Milotic Iron tail him! Get him off of you before he can do much more damage.

Bisharp started flailing his arm blades through Milotic, cutting the flesh of the calming Pokemon. He jumped up attempting to dodge the Iron tail attack that swung inwards, towards the center of the serpentine body.

The bladed Pokemon didn't jump high enough and was smashed by the glowing silver tail. The force clobbered him, flinging Bisharp across the field.

Both Pokemon lost some points here, Bisharp considerably more than Milotic, but she still got hit by his slash attacks.

"Now follow it up with Hydro pump."

"S3! Be careful, Milotic is real powerful."

As Milotic started shooting water out of her opened mouth, Bisharp sprinted towards the source of the water. Before the attack was upon him he leaped straightforward, forcing himself flat. Head first, he cut through the water; only taking minimal damage.

Bisharp continued charging forward, as Milotic lost some more points due to an ineffective attack, Bisharp only losing a small portion. Once he reached Milotic, Bisharp climbed to the serpents neck. He thrust his torso forward, inserting his chest blades in between the scales, sawing away at the flesh with his arms, bloodlust in the Pokemon's eyes.

Completely in selfdefense mode, water started forming around the Pokemon's neck. It steadily grew larger, more compact, denser, until in one violent shockwave Milotic let out her Water pulse attack. The blow was so strong that it managed to unhook Bisharp from the water Pokemon's neck.

At this point Milotic had around one fifth of her original points, while Bisharp still had half of his points.

"Milotic use attract."

The Pokemon swayed back and forth, gathering its charm. In one fluid move, she sent out seven red hearts that landed onto Bisharp. In its frenzied state, the attack had no effect on the walking deathtrap.

Knowing that once it entered its bloodlust mode, it took some time to exit; Zyan gave his Pokemon one last command. "Bisharp X86, just try not to hurt Milotic too badly." In the code that he had been practicing with Bisharp, X86 meant have at it, do whatever you feel is necessary.

This to the almost feral Pokemon, meant charging up to the serpent and using every part of his body to mutilate her tail.

He used his well built legs to launch himself towards the water Pokemon. He attempted to latch his chest onto her tail, unsuccessfully. The attack glanced off of the Pokemon's scales. While he was sliding down he dug his arm blades into Milotic, getting past the scales flaying the flesh underneath. Once he hit the ground he rammed his head into the scales, denting a few of them. Next he punched forward into the cut, open part of the tail, hooking his left arm in the flesh; he then rotated his arm for more damage. With his free arm he punched forward violently, and with all of his strength elbowed down slicing open the serpents tail. The opened tail gushed out a glistening clear liquid. Bisharp started lapping up the wounded creatures blood. He began to shine from all the liquid that was being shot onto him.

That whole time Milotic was struggling trying to break free, but to no avail.

"Oh no Milotic!" Paronin yelled for her Pokemon. "Use recover!"

The serpentine Pokemon cast a golden aura around her body, slowly healing itself of its wounds. The various cut marks on its side and tail sealed and healed up. Its tail that was laying perpendicular to its body slowly formed together and the wound slowly disappeared. While she was doing this, Bisharp continued attacking and consuming the Pokemon's clear blood.

This went on for a short while until all of the constant attacks drained the rest of Milotic's points. The scoring system for these contests were set up so a Pokemon wouldn't suffer too much damage. It wasn't just set up as a scoring tool, but also as a safety measure for the Pokemon. The round was over and Zyan and Bisharp won.

"You did great out there, we better let you heal up for a good while." Paronin withdrew Milotic the instant the battle was over; hoping to spare her of any further damage, because even though the match was over, Bisharp was still attacking the water Pokemon.

Seeing his prey disappear Bisharp looked around in a confused daze. The blood lust had finally worn off after the frenzy he was in. He then was absorbed in a red beam of light, being sucked into its Pokeball. "You did a great job, I'm so proud of you." Whispered Zyan as he put his Pokeball away.


>~•~•~<

Since everyone decided to take a little nap, the lunch got pushed back. Now all of the coordinators sat down eating.

"So Zyan,"Ash started to ask his fellow victor. "how'd you come up with that strategy anyway?"

"Well when my arm was accidentally sliced by Bisharp," He winced as he said this last part. "I realized what a powerful weapon his body is." He thought of something else to add. "Plus I think it looks awesome! And the opponents expect traditional attacks, which gives the two of us an element of surprise."

"I also noticed you used a similar tactic to what we saw Breeric do in his first battle we saw." May put in.

"What would that strategy be?"

"It's when he used Iron tail to deflect a watergun attack. I saw you use Bisharp's head in a similar fashion against the hydro pump."

"Oh I taught him that tactic. All you have to do is get something thin, to split apart and dampen the blow of the water. Pun intended. It also works with some other types of attacks, but it's most effective against water attacks."

"So you weren't afraid that Milotic would suffer any permanent damage?"

"I wouldn't have let that gotten as far as it did if I didn't already know that Milotic could recover itself of its wounds. I'll admit the tail slicing was a little too far though." He secretly wished what he was about I say would have also been true for him. "Also since my father is a PokeDoctor, I've learned plenty in the field of Pokemon and their injuries. You see, they all have an ingrained ability to recover from a battle more quickly, and fully, than if it were an everyday injury. If a Pokemon was caught in a house fire it could very well die, but give it a flamethrower and smokescreen attack, it will be good enough to fight back. They just have this natural ingrained ability to heal battle wounds. Do you kind of get what I'm saying?"

The two nodded their heads. "So that's why these seemingly deadly attacks just render them unconscious instead of dead." Ash said, sharing some of his intelligence.

"Exactly! You see if Milotic fell on some jagged rocks, and cut herself open that way, without recovering she could die. That's why Pokemon were such good war weapons, they can survive many battle wounds that would be fatal to a human. Have you ever thought why Pokemon were used in wars? It's because of their great ability to fight, and to destroy. We still don't know how or why it is done that way, but it's just another one of the great mysteries of Pokemon.

>~•~•~<

"So May, who do you choose to be your partner during the semi-finals?" Asked Dillian. May had been randomly chosen out of the four to choose the teams.

The remaining winners gathered together an hour before the Semi-finals began, to determine the teams for the upcoming round.

For May to decide she had to factor out some factors. If she picked the best person she would have an easy win here but harder in the finals, but if she went for the worst one, she might not beat this round. May ran through all of the options before giving her answer to the MC."I think I'll have to go with Zyan."

He questioned her further. "And why would that be?"

"Well I saw the ferocity of his battle techniques, and I thought using raw power to win would be a good strategy."

"So that's it then. There you have it ladies and gentlemen! In the semi-finals Ash and Breeric will be facing off against Zyan and May, to determine who will be going on to the finals. Only the future knows what's in store.




Authors note.

Let me tell you, I loved writing that Bisharp, Milotic battle. Just with the awesomeness of Bisharp and the raw violent power of his body. I kept adding adding and thinking of alternate attacks using his body. Since he is a walking weapon, I added that Pokemon have the ingrained ability to heal afterwards, otherwise poor Milotic. I also find it clears up some things in the Anime, Games, and Manga. But come on, I have a walking deathtrap, I'm going to use it to the best of it's abilities. (Realizing how fun it is, I might change up some minor plot line.) Tell me what you thought of the battle. (Side note, if that is similar to something that's been done in any of the extended Pokemon universe, [other fanfics included] it was merely coincidental, and awesome.)

Also if you don't like all of these contest battles, don't worry! The contest is almost done. But if you do like them, you're in luck there are two more big battles. I have a plan/plotline but I did that a while ago, there are so many things that have popped up, I don't know which way to follow. I think I'll just write and see what fits best.