Taking a Chance...

Chapter 16 - Taking a Chance...

The Spirit Tournament had begun and the opening match was between Ash Ketchum of Kanto versus Sarah Wiseman from Johto. Ash had beaten two of her pokémon with just his Pidgeot and when Sarah saw that she couldn't take out Pidgeot even with her Jolteon, she forfeit, knowing she couldn't win and that she didn't want to injure her last pokémon. Sarah and Ash shook hands after the match and gave the referee their microphones before doing so.

"Good match Sarah. I hope to face you again one day," said Ash as he shook her hand.

"Thanks Ash, but I doubt it will be much different. I trained for a long time yet my pokémon were no match for yours. I'm nowhere near your level," sighed Sarah as they let go of their hands.

"Hey, don't be like that. I learned a lot from my mistakes and losses and that helped me as a trainer and helped out my pokémon too. I'm sure that you'll become stronger and I would love for a rematch." Sarah stared at him.

Wow, he's so humble and modest.

"You know, your something different Ash. Thank you for your kind words. I will train harder and when I'm ready, let's have a rematch. Let's register each other's numbers."

Ash added her number to his Poketch and she did the same with his on her own.

"Take care Ash and good luck. I will watch the rest of the tournament before going into training. You better not lose or I will kick your ass!" she said playfully, slapping his arm.

"You're not the first one to say something like that to me."

"Oh, you mean your girlfriend, the red head?" asked Sarah.

"Well she's not my girlfriend yet," murmured Ash, chuckling.

Sarah tilted her head in confusion and Ash noticed.

"Too long and complicated to explain. Don't worry about it." He waved his hand as he finished. Sarah giggled and nodded.

"Okay Ash. I'll see ya around."

"See ya Sarah. I'll be looking forward to our rematch." Sarah went pink before she smiled and nodded before they both left the field. His friends were waiting for him at the end of tunnel's exit.

"Great match Ash!" shouted Max. His friends all nodded and Ash thanked them for their compliments.

"Yes, that was a very entertaining flavor the way your Pidgeot won with such grace."

"Yea, you should've seen Cilan's jaw drop when you knocked out Tyranitar," said Iris, teasing her boyfriend.

"Hey Ash, what were you talking to Sarah about?" asked Serena, curious.

"Not much, we exchanged numbers because she said she'll call me for a rematch after she trains some," answered Ash with a shrug.

That better be the only reason why, thought May and Dawn.

"Ash…"

"Yea Misty?"

"I'm sorry for shouting at you and insulting you in front of everyone. I should've known better, that you had a plan. You're not the same clueless trainer you were years ago," apologized Misty as she looked at her feet, rubbing her arm with her free hand. Ash started at her for a second, thinking. He got close to her and grasped her chin with his index finger and thumb before gently raising her head to look him in the eyes.

"Mist…don't worry about it. I know it looked bad, that I wasn't thinking about Pidgeot, but you should know, you all should know, that I wouldn't risk my pokémon or friends for anything. I should've told you guys about some of my tricks and plans, but then there would be no more surprises and where's the fun in that right?" Ash finished, giving a wink. Misty smiled back and then gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Ash blushed as the others raised their eyebrows.

"What was that for?"

"For being you and for forgiving me so easily," said Misty, a little pink in the face. Ash smiled but a movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention.

"Hey Richie, when's your match?" asked Ash when he noticed it was his almost twin emerging from a room in the hall.

"Later on today in the afternoon. We have some time to relax."

"Sounds good. How about we go visit Gardevoir and then go eat?" The group rolled their eyes as he mentioned eating. The group headed back to the hotel and saw Joy who was busy with some papers. They said hello and went to Gardevoir's room. Her, Lucario and Pikachu looked up and congratulated Ash on his win once he told them. The group talked for a bit and then Joy came in.

"Hey guys. Ash, can I talk to you for a moment please? It's about your registration." Ash shrugged and went with her, telling his friends he'll be back soon. Joy led him to a room and they both entered it before she closed the door. Ash got the feeling that Joy was just giving a cover and he soon would find out for what.

"So what's wrong with my registration? Or is there something else you need to tell me?" Ash crossed his arms and made eye contact with Joy.

"That obvious huh?"

"Well I am an Aura Guardian. I've learned to tell when most people are lying since they're auras go all haywire because they're anxious and nervous. Anyway, what's up?"

"Aura Guardian? Oh that's right you said so before. Well, remember when I told you I'd help you out with the girls? Well I found out some stuff but first I want to ask you a few things if that's okay?" Ash nodded and sat down on one of the empty chairs, Joy doing the same. "Okay Ash, do you love them?"

Ash widened his eyes at the blunt question and his face flushed crimson red.

"Yes, I do."

"Equally? You don't like one more than the other?"

"Of course equally! Well, at least I think I do…" Ash said as he hung his head. "I can't seem to be able to pick one over the other." He looked up at her. "Is that bad? Am I a bad person because of that?"

Joy smiled at his innocence and insecurities. Ash scratched the back of his head, confused at her reaction.

"No Ash, that doesn't make you a bad person at all. You're not even in a real relationship and you care this much. I wonder how much you'd care when you are in one or maybe even several," finished Joy with a wink.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I shouldn't be telling you this, but I talked with the girls and found out that they each love you very much."

Ash's jaw dropped as his eyes widened hearing this new bit of information.

"I knew that they had crushes on me and liked me a lot, but they actually love me? How did you find out?"

"Well it took some skill and shred maneuvering but I got what I wanted in the end."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side Joy."

They both laughed.

"Well the four love you and want to be together with you. But they are prepared for what happens, whether it works out for you all or just one of you or even if it doesn't work out for any of you."

"Well what do I do? Do I just go tell them that I like them and care about them and say let's try it?"

"Ash, you really are dense when it comes to girls. You don't just say that nor do you do something like that. Okay, this is what you're going to do. You're going to talk to the four at once and tell them right off the bat that you like them all."

"I can't do that! They'll kill me for being selfish, for being like Brock, going after several girls!"

"Ash, you're not like Brock. And remember what we talked about? My sisters and Bruno? The other stuff?"

Ash thought for a moment.

"Oh right, heh, I forgot. Sorry. I was picturing Misty's mallet in my mind and got scared."

They both laughed again.

"Yea, you should be scared of her and her mallet. Anyway, you will tell them that, but privately. Then just be honest with them. Tell them how you feel, that you like them all and couldn't say anything before and now you know better, but you don't want to string along any of them. Tell them about what your father leaving did to you, like when you told me. Then at the end, tell them that you want to know for sure if you like them each equally or one more than the other. Just be honest with them the way you were with me."

"And how would I figure out if I do like one more than the other or if it's still equally? Spend more time with them?"

"Pretty much. Take each of them out on a date separately. Then go out on a group date."

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" shouted Ash. "Do you know what they'll do to me if I mentioned anything like that? A group date?"

"Don't call the group date a group date. Of course call the individual ones dates, but think up of some group activity for just the five of you and go do it. See how they interact with each other around you, how you feel around all of them at once away from others. Different scenarios bring out different things in people. You must see them in different ways and they must see you in different ways. Who knows, maybe they see something that they don't like about you that they didn't know about, or vice versa, you may see something that you don't like about one of them, or all of them. Get it?"

Ash began understanding what Joy was saying. She was right. He needed to spend more time with each of them alone and as a group. He would have to take the shot.

"You're right Joy. I will take the chance. I will talk with them privately and let them know what I'm feeling and what I want to do. I will keep my eyes and heart open to see if they are what I truly want, and if I'm what they truly want. Hopefully I will find out by the time this tournament is over what I'm looking for and perhaps they do as well."

"That's the spirit Ash. I'm glad that you are stepping up to the challenge."

"Thanks Joy. By the way, I have a question for you."

"Hmm?"

"What do you think of Richie?" Joy flushed with color.

"I think he's a good guy," answered Joy quietly.

"Good, because that's the guy I was thinking about setting you up on a date with. Are you okay with that?"

"I am, but I want him to come ask me himself, without anyone telling him to."

"Okay I understand. I won't tell him to ask you out, but I will ask him if the feeling is mutual and encourage him since he is kind of like me."

"I noticed that too. But he's different enough," joked Joy.

"Ha ha, very funny." Ash rolled his eyes as Joy giggled.

"C'mon let's go back."

They got up and left the private room, returning to Gardevoir's room and joining the others. They talked amongst the group and told some jokes, Joy hanging out with them for a bit before going back to work. They all became hungry and decided to go have some food when Joy brought Gardevoir her lunch. They went back up to the thirty fifth floor and Brock and Cilan went to work preparing their meal.

Ash sat down in the middle of the largest couch facing the TV, put his feet on the coffee table, crossed his arms, closed his eyes and relaxed. Pikachu curled up next to him on the couch. The four girls saw this and wanted to take a photo, so Misty took a picture with her Poketch and sent it to the others. Gary however, was thinking about a different approach. Gary took one of the pies Cilan and Brock made and slowly tiptoed behind the couch of where Ash was resting. Everyone noticed and even though the girls were annoyed at what he was trying to do, they kept quiet, wanting to see the outcome. Gary reached Ash and right before he was about to swing his hand with the pie, Ash spoke.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Gary." Gary froze in his tracks.

"How'd you know?"

"Aura Guardian remember? Even though my eyes are closed, if I'm not sleeping, I can still sense what all of you are doing."

Iris and Cilan glanced at each other, a little fear in their eyes but nobody noticed.

"Wait, does that mean you can sense what we do at all times? Even when we're in the bathroom or in our rooms?" asked Iris.

The other girls widened their eyes a bit in realization and glared at Ash. He instantly shot up, taking his legs off the table to plant them on the floor before standing up to face them all, insulted.

"I would never do such a thing! What kind of person do you take me for?!" yelled Ash. "I only allow myself to check my immediate surroundings. I don't let my senses travel farther than the room I'm currently in."

Ash glared daggers at them all before sitting back down on the couch and taking up his previous position, fuming.

How could they believe I would do such a thing?

"I'm sorry Ash. I should've known better that you wouldn't do such a thing."

Ash glanced at Iris when she apologized. He let out a sigh, calming down before shaking his head.

"It's alright Iris. I should've explained some things about my aura powers but you should all know right here and now that I would never take advantage of my powers like that."

Before anyone could say anything else, Gary decided to conclude his prank.

"Is that so? Well if that's all you got, then it's pie in the face time!" sneered Gary.

"You do that, and I'll have Gardevoir make you tell your most embarrassing stories to us."

Gary sweat dropped and his face paled. The others glanced at each other, evil smirks on their faces. They hoped that Gary would do it and Ash wasn't bluffing.

"You wouldn't Ashy-boy…"

"Want to find out?" Ash turned around to glance at his childhood rival.

"Fine. You win this round. Way to go on ending all fun," sighed Gary.

"Hey, you know I'm all up for pranks and jokes, just not right now. I have a lot on my mind."

"Alright. I'll leave ya alone this time. Starting tomorrow though, no mercy. And no cheap shots like what you just said got it?"

"Sure thing." Ash closed his eyes again and relaxed. "Be prepared Gary."

Gary snorted as he put the pie back down on the table and went to relax on the other couch until food was ready. The group sighed, a little put down that they didn't see Ash get pied in the face and Gary not spilling his secrets but also happy that Ash wasn't mad at them for thinking he'd take advantage of his aura powers. After fifteen minutes though, when Brock and Cilan announced lunch was ready, and they all gathered around, they forgot about it as they dug into their food. After lunch, they decided to clean up and watch TV for a bit before heading back to the stadium to cheer on Richie for his match.

When they reached the stadium, Richie and the group split up to go through their respective entrances. However, when Ash tried to go through the public entrance, the security guard didn't let him through.

"Sorry kid, but trainers who are still in the tournament can't watch other trainers compete. It will be unfair should they ever be matched up."

"How would you know which trainers are still in this thing?" asked Max.

"That's classified information. Sorry, but can't tell you and you can't go in."

Ash sighed and told the rest to go on without him and that he'll just go training for a while. Pikachu dropped his ears, sad he couldn't watch the battle.

"It's okay buddy. Let's go train a bit and then I'll get you some ketchup."

Pikachu perked up instantly and they headed out to the forest to train. They didn't see Richie's match but knew he would win at least a few, hopefully getting into the higher rounds at least. Ash wanted a rematch with his friend and rival. Lost in thought and busy training with some pokémon, Ash didn't notice that a few hours passed. When he decided to finally take a break, he looked at his Poketch and saw that it was around 5pm. Surprised that time flew so fast and he didn't notice, he congratulated his pokémon on their hard work and told them to take a nice rest and returned them. He was glad that he didn't have to carry all of his pokémon with him, yet he was able to call them out anytime he wanted. He made a mental note to thank Mew next time he saw her.

Ash returned to the hotel and visited Gardevoir. He saw that she was almost as good as new but still had to wait till morning. She was anxious to leave and to start training again. Ash promised her that they would train again after she got her strength back. She agreed and mentioned that the group came to visit her and went upstairs. Pikachu wanted to stay by her side for the night and Ash let him. He talked to Lucario for a bit, wanting to get an update on things. He promised Lucario that they would train tomorrow after Gardevoir was released. Ash bade his three pokémon goodnight and went upstairs after asking Joy to give Pikachu some ketchup in a small bowl. Joy laughed at that and reminded Ash of what they talked about, which he responded to with a smile and a nod.

When he opened the door to the penthouse suite, he saw that Max, Iris, Cilan, Brock, Serena, May and Richie were watching TV. Misty and Dawn were relaxing in the balcony, with the door opened halfway, looking at the view. Richie told him that he won his match and Ash congratulated him, saying he was sorry he couldn't cheer him on and the reason why, to which Richie said that he knew, since that's what the officials said to all the other trainers who had to wait for their scheduled matches in the locker rooms while he and Sarah were busy getting ready. Ash nodded and commented that he was going to take a shower since he had trained hard and all sweaty now. The girls faces flashed pink for a second, hoping nobody noticed but someone did. After Ash went to his room that person spoke out.

"Good think Ashy-boy didn't come back up half naked like last time. Otherwise we would've gone through the same thing yesterday. Isn't that right girls?" smirked Gary, raising his eyebrows a couple times.

The girls blushed madly and May and Serena smacked Gary upside the head, causing him to yelp in pain as he held his head.

"Gary, sometimes I wonder how in the hell you had a group of cheerleaders following you?" wondered Misty from the balcony as she shook her head in disbelief.

Everyone laughed while Gary grimaced. Sometime later, Ash re-joined the group after showering and they decided to have dinner. Brock and Cilan once again made a delicious meal and everyone ate while joking around. After they finished eating and cleaned up, they decided to play some Texas Holdem poker while they relaxed after eating. They decided the winner would get twenty poke dollars from each person and that there would be no buy back in, which would make the game a little serious and keep them from messing around. After about two hours, the winner was surprisingly Dawn.

"How in the hell did you win Dawn?" asked an astonished Brock.

"Never judge a book by their cover," responded Dawn with an evil smile.

The rest laughed at her expression and decided that they would be extra careful around Dawn now. Ash stood up, stretching. When he finished, he decided it was the right time to do what he needed to do.

"Misty, May, Dawn, Serena; could you come with me please?" The girls nodded and followed him into his room. Gary raised his eyebrows and turned to look at the rest of the group.

"Okay, so any one want to make some bets?"

"Like?" asked Cilan. Iris elbowed him in the stomach. "Oh c'mon Iris, it's just a little fun. You can get in on it too. All of you can." Cilan gestured to others. Each person slowly had grins form on their faces.

"Okay, so what's the first bet?" asked Gary and they started discussing in hushed voices what bets they were willing to make on the five.

Meanwhile, Ash led the four girls into his master bedroom and closed the door. Misty, May, Dawn and Serena sat on the edge of the king sized bed. All four of them lifted their right leg and crossed it over their left, and crossed their arms at Ash. Their actions stunned him for a second, as he saw the four taking up the same positions.

Damn, they look so beautiful and intimidating at the same time. Shit, can I do this?

He could feel himself heating up and starting to sweat as the four girls eyed him, no expression or emotion visible on their faces.

You are so dead man. Just run! No! I can do this. Just have to do it fast, like ripping off a band aid.

He took a breath to calm himself before speaking.

"Okay, so you're probably wondering why I asked you four here. Well here's the reason why. I know how each of you feel about me."

The girls fidgeted a bit. They weren't expecting him to be so blunt about it.

"I know the real feelings you four feel for me. And I have to admit something myself. I have feelings for each of you as well." The four girls blushed at his revelation.

"I really like each of you. A lot. And I wanted to apologize for taking so long to tell you and for not responding to your hints, acting dense sometimes…"

"Wait, what do you mean acting dense sometimes?" interrupted Misty, her eyes narrowed. The other girls glared at him, Ash scratched the back of his head nervously. He knew they would get angry at that.

"When we traveled around the world together, I didn't always miss what you four were trying to tell me. When I didn't notice it for real sometimes, you thought that I was dense and wouldn't ever understand. Well you're partly right because I didn't notice sometimes but other times I did and just acted dense because I thought it would let you be relaxed and be yourself around me. Plus it helped me out so I wouldn't have to deal with that at the time…"

Ash took a breather. For some reason, telling the truth to them was taking a lot more energy than he thought.

"But why would you do that?" asked May.

"Honestly? Because I was afraid."

"Afraid?" repeated Serena, tilting her head.

"Of what? And why?" asked Dawn.

"I was afraid of many things. I was afraid of rejection. I was afraid of messing up our friendship. I was afraid that I wasn't good enough for any of you. I was afraid that maybe I had imagined your hints or actions…" Ash hung his head, unable to continue.

"Ash…"

Ash looked up at Misty. She no longer had her arms and legs crossed, but she was still sitting, her legs closed and her hands resting on her lap, clasped together.

"Why would you feel so afraid to take a chance?"

"Because…"

Ash started to choke. He took two long breathes to calm himself and continued.

"Because ever since my father left me when I was kid, that hit me hard; it made me feel worthless."

The girls gasped at what he mentioned. He never talked about his father before. They stayed silent, waiting to hear more from the raven haired trainer.

"I loved my father so much. He's what I wanted to be when I grew up; a pokémon master, a great trainer, friend to pokémon, a good husband and father. But one day he just left without a word. I woke up one morning to find my mom crying in the kitchen and my father gone. My mom never told me why he left. She just would tear up every time he was mentioned so I stopped talking about him."

The girls started to tear up. They knew that it was just him and his mom but they never knew about his father until now.

"Ash…I'm so sorry about that," cried Dawn, she got up to hug him but he held a hand up.

"Please Dawn, let me finish. Otherwise, I don't think I'll be able to."

Dawn nodded and sat back down, tears flowing down her cheeks. Ash's eyes were watering as well but fought them. He couldn't break down. Not yet.

"Anyway, because he left, I blamed myself, as any kid would. My mom told me it wasn't my fault and slowly I started realizing that she was right. But him leaving me affected me more than I knew at the time. Later on as I got older and met each of you, after each of our journeys, when we were about to go our different ways, I wanted to say not to go, that I liked you, but something always kept me from saying so."

The girls glanced at each other when Ash took another breather. They had always felt that Ash wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Misty, you were the first to go. Then it was May. Then you Dawn. Finally it was you Serena." Dawn opened her mouth to say something but Ash interrupted her. "No Dawn, I never felt anything for Iris and I felt the spark between her and Cilan so I did everything I could to help them notice it, such as being extremely annoying to Iris and teasing Cilan about him and her." The girls laughed weakly. "Back to the story; I wanted to tell each of you, but every time I felt this huge fear engulf me. I was too afraid. I didn't think I was good enough and I guess if you were to call me a coward at those moments you would be right. I would throw myself in front of legendaries and evil organizations without a second's thought, but I was too afraid to say 'I like you'…"

Ash gave a pause, thinking they might want to ask a question but they stayed silent. He continued on.

"I finally figured out why I was so afraid." The girls listened intently, not daring to make a sound. "I was afraid that the same thing would happen to me and each of you as what happened between me and my father. I loved my father very much and he just left me. I was afraid that if I told you how I felt about you, let you get that close to me, that you would disappear one day on me too, just like him. I figured out that, at those times, I subconsciously believed that it would be better to let a friend go than to put the pieces of my heart back together again."

Ash finished with what he remembered telling Joy and decided that was the best way to let them know what he was feeling. The girls started sobbing, but silently. Heavy and fast tears were pouring down their faces, landing on their clothes and bed covers.

"I want to apologize for that. Before I went away for three years, when I made that group phone call with you and the others, the way you reacted to me saying good bye was when it hit me. I knew then that I had made big mistakes and I believed it was too late. I had to go away and by the time I could come back and make an appearance it wouldn't matter anymore for I feared you all would have moved on. My heart broke when I thought of that, believing that's what would come to be. That's why I disguised myself at first, for I feared running into you and having those feelings I felt for you come back if any of you four were with someone else and if you weren't, I feared that you would kill me." Ash laughed weakly at the dark joke, the girls chuckling slightly too.

"But now I have another chance, now knowing full well that I was an idiot, that what I feel for each of you and what you each feel for me is true and pure. You have touched my life and I believe I have touched each of yours as well. I care so much for each of you that I would go insane if anything happened to any of you. But I don't want to be an asshole. I know it would be a selfish and evil thing to string along even one beautiful and great girl, but to do that to four beautiful and great girls, who are also my close friends, would definitely earn me a place in hell, Aura Guardian or not. So I must confess and come clean. At this moment, I cannot pick over any of you. I cannot choose. I care for each of you deeply and in the same amount. It's not fair I know. Perhaps if I had the balls to say something before, then maybe we wouldn't be in this position right now or maybe we still would have, or in a different way. Honestly, I don't even know and who would?"

Ash looked at the girls with such passion in his eyes that each of the girls melted.

"Let me put out something right now that I have to bring up and maybe say another idea depending on your response and then I will let you four decide what we will do."

The girls glanced at each other, with teary red eyes, even though they stopped crying for the moment. They nodded at each other and then nodded at Ash.

"Okay. One of the things we could do to fix this between the five of so none of us gets possibly hurt further is to just bury everything right here and now and move on with our lives. Is that something you would like to do?" The girls immediately cried out against it. Ash was stunned; he didn't think they would respond with that much emotion against it.

"Okay, I'm sorry but I had to say it. Since that's the case, the other idea I had was for each of us to spend some more time together alone, get to know each other better, a little more personally. Like go on a real date with each of you. I would be honored if each of you gave me that chance. We may find out some things about each other that may make or break us, either making it easier to be together or to just be friends. Other than that, I have nothing else to offer, since I cannot choose between any of you right now. I only ask for a chance to see how each of us would function together, relationship wise. If you feel that is not fair, I will understand completely and not even hold it against you."

The girls looked at each other for a moment then asked Ash to give them a minute. He agreed and went into the bathroom attached to the master bedroom. After a few minutes, which felt like an eternity to Ash, they called him back inside. The four girls were standing with their hands on their hips. Ash consciously massaged his right cheek. The girls picked up on this and giggled.

"Don't worry, we're not going to slap you again," smiled Dawn.

"Yea, not this time," said Serena cheekily. Ash gave a small smile.

"Okay. This is what we decided we're going to do Ketchum," started May.

"We want you to take each of us out on a date, a real date, on different days. And on those different days, whoever's turn it is that day, you will treat her as your girlfriend and we will treat you as our boyfriend, as if we've been together for a while, from when we wake up to when we go to sleep," said Misty.

"We will be ourselves, no gimmicks, no plays or tricks. Do what you feel right doing and natural to you and we will do the same. We also came up with a couple rules to keep things fair," continued Serena. Ash nodded to let them know that he was on the same page so far.

"Rule number one would be that on the days where one of us is your 'girlfriend', the other three girls are not allowed to jeopardize, insult, bother, get angry or jealous for any reason, if there is flirting, kissing, teasing or anything else that happens between us," said Dawn, as she surprisingly held a serious expression on her face while she said it.

"Rule number two is that the only people who can find out about this agreement for the time being is our friends so it doesn't weird them out and so they won't get involved and mess things up, thinking that something is wrong," finished May.

Ash nodded. He fully understood what the girls wanted and he intended to make it happen so with every fiber of his being.

"Ash," Misty said. Ash looked at her. "Also, the date and girlfriend days would be every other day, so one day you would be with one of us, the next day rest and relax so we can become neutral, then the day after resting would continue the process and on and on. And one more thing; after the fourth date, we will give you one more day to think of whom you want to choose and the day after, we expect an answer by the end of the day."

"Okay. Misty, May, Dawn, Serena…thank you for understanding and for giving me a chance. I will not let you down. I promise to be the best boyfriend I can be on those days and to give you the best dates possible. Hopefully each of us will find an answer that allows us all to be happy and find what we're looking for."

Ash finished by smiling his trademark goofy grin, causing the four girls' hearts to melt since they haven't seen it for so long. Before Ash knew what was going on, they four girls tackled him, the five of them landing on the king sized bed. Two of the girls were on top of him while the other two were on his sides; Serena was on his left, Misty and May in the middle, with Dawn on his right.

"We'll let the guys know what we're doing tomorrow. Tonight let's just not think about it anymore and just enjoy this moment for a bit," said Serena quietly as she snuggled into Ash's left side, Dawn copying her on the right. Misty and May repositioning themselves into comfier positions on his chest.

Ash couldn't speak and he didn't know what to do. Finally, he decided to just leave them be, figuring they would get up on their own soon enough. He relaxed and noticed that his head was on the pillow.

Their group tackle had launched them to the top of the bed, enabling them to lie down perfectly and comfortably. Ash shook his head slightly in disbelief, being careful not to bother the girls. He raised his arms and hugged the four girls as best he could. They hummed lightly for a second and Ash gave a content hum in response. The five of them realized at that moment that they were going to spend the night sleeping like that; fully dressed still and lying together on one king sized bed and they weren't just fine with it; they were happy about it and it felt right.

"Goodnight girls."

"Goodnight Ash."

After about fifteen minutes, Brock opened the door slightly to check on them.

"Guys?" whispered Brock. After not hearing a response, Brock opened the door a little more and what he saw stunned him for a couple seconds. Finally he came to his senses, shaking his head and smiling at the same time.

"I knew it."

There was a flash of light. He took a picture of them sleeping like that. He sent a copy to Ash's Poketch. It beeped immediately after and Brock jumped, not expecting it. He didn't move and stared at them, making sure they didn't get up. After a few minutes of nothing happening, he sighed a breath of relief. He walked into the room quietly, grabbed a blanket and covered the five with it. As he left the room and closed the door he bade them goodnight and went back to join the others with a big smile on his face.

"Cough up losers. I win."

Brock's smug and happy face, along with the photo evidence, answered the groups' question of what happened to the five. Gary, Iris, Cilan, Richie and Max took out twenty poke dollars each and handed it to Brock. Iris and Cilan went to their room, Cilan a little annoyed that he actually lost a bet, but Iris mentioned making him feel better soon, which Gary caught her say before they closed their door.

Gary raised his eyebrows a few times and pointed at their room whispering "You think they're going to play hide the zucchini?"

Max tilted his head in confusion, not catching the reference but Richie face palmed but then laughed, while Brock went red in the face. They soon called it a night and went to bed, Gary smirking as he did so.

I have a lot of material to use, he thought as he fell asleep, thinking of ways to joke and prank on Ash, the four girls and Iris and Cilan. He fell asleep with a big smirk on his face.