Double Battles...

Chapter 24 - Double Battles...

Dawn and Ash had gone out on a date together at Mount Coronet the previous night. Just like with the red head before, the raven haired trainer had set things up in advance and surprised the blunette with a romantic evening filled with wonder. From being able to see her hometown in the distance with a telescope, to viewing the colored lights of the mountain's sky above them, Dawn had the time of her life. Ash had given her a necklace as well with a white gold star on it and she was very appreciative of it. By the end of the night, when they returned to the hotel and got into bed to sleep, the two revealed their feelings for each other, revealing their love for one another. They reached new levels in their relationship after becoming intimate together for the first time and fell asleep as they cuddled. They were sound asleep even as the sun's rays entered the room from the windows.

"ASH! You're going to be late for your match!"

Misty shouted as she barged into his room, causing Dawn and Ash to fall off the bed and hit the ground hard as they were startled awake. Luckily for Dawn, she fell onto Ash, who cushioned her fall. After clearing their heads, they helped each other get up.

"What do you mean?" asked Ash as he massaged his back.

"Ah, you two might want to put on some clothes first," said Misty, with a broad smile, though her face was slightly red as well.

Ash and Dawn glanced at each other and saw that they were still nude. They both yelped and hurried to put on some clothes as Misty sniggered as she saw them go crazy. Dawn began rapidly putting on her clothes and by the time Ash put on his boxers and sweat pants, she was fully dressed, the fastest she had ever gotten ready.

"Okay so what's going on Mist?" asked Ash again after putting on his sweat pants.

"Your match is at 9am. It's 850am right now!"

"What?! Damn it! Why didn't anyone wake me up?" Ash panicked and Dawn was lost, not knowing what to do. Misty moved forward and grabbed a hold of Ash.

"Hey!" Misty forced Ash's gaze to hers with her hands, taking control. "Relax. The others are already there, along with Gardevoir, Lucario and Pikachu. I don't know why we didn't actually check in on you. I'm sorry about that. But we still have time if we move fast."

Dawn was impressed as to how quickly Misty handled the situation, staring at her in awe. Ash was quiet for a few seconds but then raised his hand against her cheek.

"Thank you my Mermaid for setting me straight and not letting me lose my head." Ash gave her a quick kiss on the lips and the red head smiled. He held her hand and grasped Dawn's as well, who quickly grabbed her necklace to put it on. "C'mon we gotta go!" Ash dragged both girls with him to the balcony and tossed out two poke balls when he dropped their hands and then Pidgeot and Charizard appeared.

"Should we tell him?" whispered Misty with a sly smirk on her face.

"No, I think it'll be funny. Plus it'll be payback for what he did with my clothes back at the lake," answered Dawn, grinning, putting on the necklace she received from him.

"Okay, Misty, Dawn you two go on Charizard while I ride Pidgeot to the stadium," he said, not hearing what the two girls said, too focused on what he needed to do. Ash helped Misty up first and then Dawn, who he gave a quick kiss to before he climbed onto Pidgeot. "Let's go!" His pokémon flew away from the hotel as they headed towards the stadium.

"Where are Misty and Dawn? Why aren't they here yet?" asked Sarah, noticing the two girls not there.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," assured Leaf as she and the others looked around for them..

"GOOD MORNING LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! WE ARE ABOUT TO BEGIN THE FIRST MATCH OF THE DAY FOR THE SPIRIT TOURNAMENT! IT WILL BE BETWEEN DAVID BLAKE AND ASH KETCHUM!"

The crowd cheered as David Blake entered the arena. He was a tall, athletic man who wore black jeans and a blue shirt. He waited for his opponent after reaching the referee but Ash was nowhere to be seen. The people in the stands waited a moment for him to show before the spectators began getting restless.

"Why isn't he here yet?" asked May, becoming inpatient.

"Did something happen to him?" worried Serena.

"Pikapi…" Pikachu's ears dropped as he grew concerned. Lucario and Gardevoir glanced at one another.

"I HATE TO SAY THIS BUT IT LOOKS LIKE ASH KETCHUM ISN'T HERE FOLKS. UNFORTUNATLEY BECAUSE OF THAT IT LOOKS LIKE HE WOULD HAVE TO-"

The announcer was interrupted by a loud roar and screech. Everyone looked up into the air and saw a very large Charizard and Pidgeot descend into the stadium. Charizard hovered near the group of friends before landing, allowing Misty and Dawn to climb down. The red dragon then flew down into the stands landing next to Ash as he climbed down off of Pidgeot.

"SCRATCH THAT! LOOKS LIKE ASH HAS ARRIVED, JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME AND WITH STYLE!"

"Sorry I'm late but I'm here and ready to battle," said Ash as he faced the referee and his opponent, who responded with surprised looks on their faces. "What?" asked Ash, confused as to why he was getting weird looks.

"Is he really still in his pajamas?" asked Sarah, leaning against the railing to get a better look at him. The others glanced at her in amusement though Leaf was eyeing Ash very carefully from her seat.

"Yup! We woke up late and we scrambled to get here. Misty and I decided to not say anything since he didn't noticed and I did say I'll get him back for my clothes," admitted Dawn with a mischievous grin, causing the group to chuckle.

The people in the stands roared at seeing him arrive. Or to be more accurate, all the girls were screaming at the sight of the fit and handsome raven haired trainer arriving with only sweat pants, bare foot and no shirt. Many of the girls started shouting compliments and whistled at him, some even shouting out that they wanted him. Ash scratched his head, not getting the reason why as he looked at the screaming girls in the stands.

"He really is dense sometimes," sighed Leaf, making her friends laugh as she glanced at Misty and Dawn. "So, looks like you joined the necklace club Dawn."

The group glanced at Dawn who went red and when they saw the star necklace on her, they smiled. May started badgering her to tell them details but the blunette shouted at her to shut up and that she'll tell them later. Serena stood up and leaned over the railings.

"ASH! You're still in your pajamas!" shouted Serena. Ash glanced at her and then looked down at himself. His eyes widened as he figured out what he did, or more accurately, forgot to do.

"Oh, shit…eh, I guess I forgot to get dressed fully I was in such a hurry. I don't have time to put on proper clothes do I?" asked Ash, getting red. The referee shook his head, handing him his microphone. "Well, I guess we should get the match started then." David nodded and moved to his trainer's box as Ash moved to his. His Pidgeot and Charizard flew up and landed on the top of the stadium to watch the battle from afar.

"AFTER AN UNEXPECTED LATE ARRIVAL FROM ASH, WHO CLEARLY HAS THE GIRLS OF THIS STADIUM GOING CRAZY FOR HIM, WE ARE FINALLY READY FOR THE NEXT BATTLE!"

In the VIP room, the President and the five Champions were having a good laugh at the raven haired trainer's forgetfulness. When they finally relaxed, four Champions and Goodshow glanced at Cynthia, who was staring at Ash. She noticed their staring and quickly turned her body to avoid their lingering gazes on her. Lance shook his head in disappointment while Goodshow chuckled and Steven, Alder and Diantha gave each other knowing grins before laughing out loud. A minute later, Cynthia shouted at them to shut up but it only helped in making them laugh harder.

"The rules are the same as before. Are you two ready?" David and Ash nodded. "Let the match begin!"

The two trainers tossed out poke balls and after flashes of light, two battle ready pokémon appeared.

"AND THE FIRST MATCH OF THE DAY HAS BEGUN! DAVID HAS CHOSEN WEAVILE WHILE ASH HAS CHOSEN A UNIQUE LOPUNNY! COULD THIS ONE OF A KIND RABBIT PROVE TO BE STRONGER THAN MOST?"

"That Weavile is going to have a very bad day," commented Lucario. The group of friends glanced at him and was shocked to find him and Gardevoir grinning while Pikachu sniggered. They quickly turned their attention onto the field. Weavile flexed its claws as it eyed Lopunny, who bowed to her trainer, Ash returning the respect with one of his own before she turned around to take up a battle stance.

"LOOKS LIKE ASH AND HIS LOPUNNY HAVE MUCH RESPECT FOR ONE ANOTHER AND THE RABBIT POKEMON SEEMS PUMPED AND READY TO KICK BUTT!"

The girls of the stadium went crazy over the way Ash showed respect to his cute bunny pokémon, many of them leaning against the rails, shouting at him, requesting to be touched or autograph an item of theirs and in some cases even on their bodies. Some even asked for a night out with him. Ash went red but blocked them out, focusing on the match in front of him.

"I never would have thought it possible that Ash would have girls go crazy over him. And the way these girls are acting…damn… and I thought us guys were bad," remarked Gary with disbelief.

"Yeah, sometimes we're worse," replied Leaf without any trace of embarrassment.

"I believe that as I know for a fact that you are," quipped Gary. He grunted after earning an elbow to his side from Leaf as the others laughed at his pain and her embarrassment.

"Looks like you have the girls going crazy over you Ash, but I hope that's not why you're here! You better not underestimate me as I won't underestimate you!" said David.

"Let's give these people a good show!" answered Ash as he stood up straight and crossed his arms.

"Weavile, Night Slash!" Weavile shot forward, his right claw raised, glowing purple and black. At the last second Ash called out his command.

"Bounce!" Lopunny jumped up high, dodging the attack. Weavile looked up at the bunny as she shot up into the air.

"Pursuit!" Weavile jumped up after Lopunny, who stayed remarkably calm at being chased.

"Hyper Voice!" said Ash. Lopunny screamed with all her might, releasing powerful sound waves that both made her hover in the air a little longer while striking Weavile, who was blasted back but quickly braced himself for the rough landing, receiving less damage than he would have.

"Are you okay?" Weavile nodded at his trainer. "Okay. Good job Weavile. Hone Claws!" Weavile's claws glowed red and he sharpened them by striking against each other as Lopunny landed against the ground and then shot forward towards the dark and ice type.

"Ice Shard!" Weavile hurled a chunk of pointed ice that he summoned out of the air at the bunny, causing her to lose balance when hit at close range and stop in her tracks, so close to her target.

"Follow up with Crush Claw!" Weavile closed the distance and gripped the bunny with his sharp claws, pinning her arms to her sides while squeezing her. The bunny cried out shrilly in pain.

"WEAVILE HAS STOPPED LOPUNNY IN HER TRACKS AND IS NOW CRUSHING THE LIFE OUT OF HER! ASH IS GOING TO HAVE TO THINK QUICKLY TO GET OUT OF THIS!"

The crowd, mostly the girls, started booing, not happy that Ash's cute bunny pokémon was losing. Even his friends were all up, leaning against the rail, not believing what's happening. They looked at Ash, wanting to give advice but kept quiet as they didn't know what to say.

"C'mon Ash, do something!" pleaded Serena, as she looked on.

Ash had a concerned look on his face but kept standing tall. Just a little more, hang in there Lopunny.

Lopunny heard his thoughts so she stopped screaming and gritted her teeth. A few seconds later, she glowed pink and so did Weavile, who instantly let the bunny free, gazing at her as if the bunny was the most beautiful thing in the world. Lopunny took a step back, taking a few breathes.

"Of course! I should've known!" shouted Leaf, smacking herself in the head, making everyone stare at her. "Cute Charm! Lopunny's ability activates when ever somebody physically attacks her and keeps contact for a while!" They nodded as they understood.

"DAVID HAD THE UPPER HAND UNTIL LOPUNNY'S ABILITY ACTIVATED, CAUSING WEAVILE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THE BUNNY! NOW WITH A LOVESTRUCK POKEMON, DAVID IS AT A DISADVANTAGE! WHAT WILL HE DO NOW?"

In the VIP room, the people inside thought that Lopunny was done for but when Lopunny's ability activated they chuckled in amusement.

"Weavile, snap out of it!" yelled David, but it was no use, his pokémon was head over heels for the bunny. Lopunny smirked as Ash smiled, giving his next command.

"Good job! Finish it with Focus Punch!" Before Lopunny could even begin focusing for her attack, David returned Weavile and tossed out another pokémon.

"DAVID HAS SUBSTITUTED HIS WEAVILE WITH GENGAR! NORMAL AND FIGHTING TYPE ATTACKS WON'T DO ASH ANY GOOD! WILL HE SWITCH OUT AS WELL?"

"Good choice, Weavile would've been toast if he stuck with him. Let's see how this will go," commented Max. Lopunny took up a battle stance ready to fight but Ash called out to her.

"Great job Lopunny and I know you can take him but let's have someone else battle ok?" Lopunny relaxed and nodded. Ash returned her and brought out Espeon, causing many girls to squeak at her cuteness. Dawn even shot a fist into air, yelling out encouragement for her friend who heard, faced her and responded back to the blunette with a cry of her name, making Dawn smile.

"Shadow Ball!" The purple cat like pokémon fired a dark purple ball of energy at Gengar who dodged the attack, countering with one of his own, bouncing off the shield Espeon made at the last second.

"ASH HAS SWITCHED FOR ESPEON AND ALREADY THESE TWO ARE GOING AT IT! THIS SHOULD BE AN INTERESTING MATCH!"

Many cheers were made over the entertaining battle. The ghost and psychic pokémon fired Shadow Balls at each other while maneuvering around the field, trying to catch the other off guard.

"Gengar, Hypnosis!" commanded David. Gengar stopped moving and his eyes glowed red as he stared at Espeon, who stood transfixed, staring back at the ghost. What occurred next, nobody was expecting. Instead of Espeon falling asleep, her eyes glowed white and Gengar fell to the floor, sound asleep.

"What the hell just happened?!" screamed David, confused as to what just occurred. Ash chuckled as Espeon meowed playfully, earning herself some awes from the girls in the crowd before he explained.

"My Espeon has the ability Magic Bounce. All status moves and non-attacking moves that target her will be sent back to the user."

"Damn, how lucky can Ash get?" wondered Gary out loud. The others merely shrugged.

"Gengar, wake up!" yelled David but Gengar kept on snoozing. David didn't know what to do as he couldn't call him back otherwise he would have to withdraw the ghost pokémon from the match completely.

"Espeon, Psychic." Espeon's eyes glowed blue but Gengar vanished in a flash of light. David had recalled his pokémon.

"WHAT A TWIST FOLKS! ASH HAD GENGAR GO TO SLEEP USING HIS OWN MOVE AGAINST HIM, MAKING DAVID RECALL HIM, TAKING HIM OUT OF THE MATCH COMPLETELY!"

"He might have woken up, but I'm not going to risk him getting hurt. You win that round Ash." David pulled out his third and final poke ball, tossing it into the air. A large blue and yellow dragon pokémon appeared with a red head and blue jagged wings. Druddigon appeared with a roar into the air. His roar made Charizard eye the dragon carefully from high above, still resting at the top of the stadium. After a few seconds of studying the dragon pokémon, he scoffed and closed his eyes once more.

"You did great Espeon! Return!" Espeon beamed at Ash before being recalled. Ash tossed out another poke ball and a white and light blue ghost and ice pokémon appeared.

"Lass!" Froslass twirled in the air gracefully as she appeared before facing the dragon on the field. Dawn's and May's eyes widened as soon as they saw her and they glanced at each other, both thinking the same thing; a contest contender?

"Not a bad choice Ash, but not good enough! Druddigon, Draco Meteor!" shouted David. The blue and yellow dragon formed a red sphere in front of him and shot it at Froslass. After traveling most of the way towards her, the meteor broke apart into dozens of pieces, blocking any attempt to dodge the attack.

"Wow, he must have trained that Druddigon well to have it control when the Draco Meteor breaks apart like that," said Iris, absolutely astonished over the dragon's skill.

"Blizzard!" shouted Ash. Froslass summoned up an incredible wind filled with ice shards and snow against the burning meteor pieces. The attacks connected, causing many miniature explosions before clouds of steam appeared and covered the field. As they waited for the steam to clear, they heard Ash and David call out their next commands.

"Ominous Wind!" said Ash.

"Sucker Punch!" countered David.

Froslass was going to launch ghostly wind energy through the steam but before she could, Druddigon appeared in front of her and delivered an incredible punch fused with dark glowing energy against her body, sending her flying out of the steam cloud and hitting the arena wall.

"Froslass!" cried out Ash in concern. The ice and ghost pokémon got back up and floated back to the field, the steam gone. She was hurt but also angry. "Are you sure you still want to battle?"

"Lass!" Froslass nodded as she let out a battle cry.

"WHAT A TOUGH POKEMON FOLKS! EVEN AFTER TAKING A SUPER EFFECTIVE HIT TO THE FACE, THIS GRACEFUL FROSLASS ISN'T THROWING IN THE TOWEL YET!"

The crowd roared in approval, hungry for more action and the Champions inside the VIP room were amazed that the ice and ghost pokémon was able to get back up.

"That's one stubborn pokémon," commented Brock.

"Just like Ash," mused Misty with a smile.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised Froslass is still standing. But it doesn't matter as we will soon win! Fire Punch!" Druddigon ran forward, his claw covered in flames.

"Confuse Ray!"

"NO! Dodge it!" screamed David but it was too late, Druddigon was too close and Froslass hit him with the sinister ray, causing the dragon pokémon to stop instantly and start hitting himself. "Snap out of it!" he pleaded but it was no use.

"Ice Beam!" Froslass fired a point blank beam of icy energy into the dragon's face, sending him flying back. The dragon pokémon stood up on wobbly legs, though he was no longer confused. "Good job Froslass. Shadow Ball!"

"Flamethrower!" Druddigon let out a stream of flames from his mouth, colliding against the ball of purple ghost energy but they stalemated.

"Hyper Beam!" Ash's command made David shout in surprise as Froslass fired a beam of white energy at Druddigon, cutting through the Shadow Ball and Flamethrower like they weren't even there and hit the dragon pokémon, sending him flying back into the wall. Druddigon slid down unconscious.

"Druddigon is unable to battle, Froslass is the winner!" Applause and cheers were heard from the crowd as David returned his pokémon. He brought out Weavile again.

"INCREDIBLE! FROSLASS WAS ABLE TO OVERPOWER DRUDDIGON EVEN WHEN HURT! DAVID IS DOWN TO HIS LAST POKEMON! HAS WEAVILE REGAINED HIS SENSES AND READY FOR BATTLE?"

"Thanks Froslass, you did great." Froslass went to Ash and hugged him, her icy body not affecting him, even though he was half dressed. "Take a good rest. You've earned it." He returned Froslass and brought out Lopunny again, who took up a battle stance as she smirked at Weavile, who growled back.

"Weavile, you're my last hope! Are you rested enough?"

"Wea!" Weavile nodded and flexed his claws.

"Let's get this started then. Screech!" Weavile let out an ear-splitting screech at Lopunny who didn't dodge it in time as Weavile was too fast. She held up her hands to her large ears, attempting to cover them as she dropped to one knee. Ash shouted to counter with Hyper Voice, and she heard it but she couldn't move; the sound waves were too strong.

"Night Slash!" Weavile shot forward and slashed with dark glowing claws at the downed bunny who stumbled back, dazed. "Finish with Dark Pulse!" Weavile fired a dark beam of energy at the nearby bunny, sending her flying backwards.

"Lopunny!" shouted Ash, worried. The bunny landed hard on the floor in front of a worried Ash.

"No way…" whispered Lucario as he moved against the railing, his face in complete shock. Gardevoir was next to him, her hands covering her mouth. Pikachu had dropped his ears, standing on Misty's shoulder.

"Lopunny!" shouted Ash again. A couple seconds went by before Lopunny pushed up onto her hands and knees and shook her head. She then stood up after a few more seconds. "Are you alright? Are you sure you want to continue?" asked Ash. Lopunny nodded and turned around. She took up a fighting stance, raising her fists and starting hopping from one foot to the other while on her tip toes, like a boxer, showing she was ready for more. David and Weavile were stunned at the pokémon's resilience and the crowd was going crazy over seeing such a hard willed pokémon.

"I should've known it would take more than that to take her out," chuckled Lucario, relaxing. The group of friends glanced at him and then back at the amazing pokémon.

"WHAT A FIGHTING SPIRIT! THIS BUNNY ISN'T DONE YET!"

"That bunny might give my Hitmonchan a run for its money," thought a large man in a karate uniform.

"I'm pretty sure that bunny could give all your pokémon a run for its money Bruno," replied Cynthia with a laugh, making Bruno growl and Lance to shoot the blonde Champion an annoyed look.

"Incredible," muttered David under his breath. "Weavile, Focus Blast!" Weavile shot a concentrated ball of energy at his opponent.

"Double Team!" Lopunny made a dozen copies of herself as she surrounded Weavile. The ball of energy shot through one of the copies. "Drain Punch!" The Lopunny behind Weavile shot forward and struck Weavile in the back with a power draining strike, siphoning energy from him and restoring hers.

"Ice Punch!" yelled David.

"Counter with Fire Punch!"

Weavile turned around to hit the bunny with a fist covered in ice but was met with an enflamed fist instead. Both struggled to overpower the other.

"Poison Jab!" shouted David. Weavile threw his free fist covered in poison at the bunny who evaded the attack at the last second by ducking.

"Sky Uppercut!" snapped Ash, seeing their opening. Lopunny jumped upwards, her fist glowing white, striking against Weavile's jaw. She sent the ice and dark type pokémon into the air a few feet before dropping down onto the ground. Lopunny landed on her feet near her opponent, but then back flipped towards Ash and stood in front of him, taking up her fighting stance.

"Weavile get up!" yelled David. Weavile slowly got up and stood in front of Lopunny. The two eyed each other before Weavile smirked and fell face first.

"Weavile is unable to battle. The winner of this round is Lopunny and the winner of this match is Ash Ketchum!" said the referee.

"AMAZING! ASH KETCHUM HAS WON HIS MATCH WITHOUT LOSING A SINGLE POKEMON AGAIN AND HIS POKEMON HAVE SHOWN THAT THEY CAN GO THE DISTANCE!"

Loud cheers were heard from the spectators in the stands. Lopunny turned and flew to Ash, hugging him who returned the hug and complimented the fighting bunny on doing a job well done, happy at their victory. The girls in the crowd went crazy at their affectionate display as the girls in his group swooned at the sight of it. Charizard and Pidgeot landed beside them, giving the pair happy looks. Ash thanked all of his pokémon and returned them. He moved towards David and the referee.

"Good match Ash. I'm very impressed. Good luck in the tournament."

"Thanks David. You were pretty strong too."

They shook hands and then returned their microphones. Ash and David walked away to their respective exits and right when he entered the tunnel, he received a message on his Poketch which he replied back to it. He met his friends at the end of the tunnel exit who congratulated him on his victory. As they began heading back to the hotel, Richie met up with them after exiting the woods where he was training, having just recently finished. He and Leaf told Ash that their matches were later on in the day. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder, while Lucario and Gardevoir smiled and praised his victory.

"Why didn't you wake up like you usually do Ash?" asked May after a while.

"I honestly have no clue why. I usually wake up early, or have an alarm set or Leaf screams at me to get up….Hey, Leaf, why didn't you wake us up in the morning?"

"What am I, your alarm clock? Anyways, because Gary told us that you and Dawn had snuck out," answered Leaf, glaring at the pokémon researcher who gulped as they all stopped moving.

"Really?" Ash frowned at Gary who grew nervous but started defending himself.

"Hey man it was just a harmless prank! I didn't mean for you to keep sleeping until you almost missed your match, and why do we have to wake you up? Use an alarm clock or can't you be responsible by yourself?" finished Gary.

"You know, even though his prank was not a good one, he is right. You shouldn't count on others for that type of thing all the time," said Cilan.

"Yea I know, I just haven't set my alarm lately before getting ready for bed, thinking Leaf would shout at us in the morning again and I didn't want to wake Dawn up. I'm gonna get you back for that Gary. Lucky for you Misty woke us up….speaking of which, how did you know that we were still there if everyone was outside and said we were gone?" asked Ash, turning to face the red head next to him.

"Well we had all left the hotel earlier and were training in the woods together. We decided to head to the stadium once we finished since your match was about to start, but I kept getting this feeling that I forgot something so I told the others I'll meet them at the stadium. When I got back to our suite, something else also told me to check your room and that's when I saw you two still sleeping and shouted for you to get up," finished Misty, a little red in the face for telling the truth. Ash smiled.

"Thank you my Mystic Mermaid. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have won today and would've broken my promise to Gardevoir. I owe you big time." Ash gave her a kiss on the lips before hugging her tightly. She enjoyed being in his arms, feeling his body against hers as she felt complete when in his arms. She saw random girls passing them by and had saddened looks on their faces, seeing the handsome raven haired trainer with a girl already and thinking the red head was lucky for being with him. Misty smiled and grew happier, knowing that she has what others hoped to have one day.

"ASH!"

Ash let go of Misty and turned his head around to see who had shouted out his name. It was the elder girl from the lake and her posse. Her boyfriend was right behind her as always while the others were behind the two.

"Yes?"Ash turned his body to fully face them and his friends gathered around him.

"That was an amazing match! You have some very powerful pokémon. And looks like you're not afraid to show off what you got huh?" said the girl with a wink. Ash scratched the back of his head and blushed slightly while his friends laughed, though the four girls, Leaf and Sarah slightly frowned.

"Well, I woke up late honestly. Anyway, I never got your name and what can I do for you?"

"Oh of course, how rude of me. My name is Emily and this is Taylor, my boyfriend and these are our friends." The two groups shook hands with one another and told each other their names. "Anyway, I wanted to ask if you would have a battle with me?" asked Emily.

"A battle? Are you in the tournament?" asked Ash.

"Yes and no. I'm not in the tournament but I love to watch battles and only want to battle people that really get my heart pumping. So would you have a battle with me? A double battle to be exact?"

"Sure why not? Sounds like fun."

"Great! I know of a large clearing in the woods this way. We can battle now if you're not busy."

Ash asked his friends if they wanted to join and watch since Richie's wasn't for another three hours and Leaf's was at the end of the day. They decided to join them and watch. The two groups headed into the woods, Emily leading the way. They soon found the large clearing and Ash went to one side as Emily and Taylor went to the other side. Their friends stayed near the edge of the clearing next to the trees in one large group. Pikachu jumped onto Serena's shoulder as Ash moved to his side of the clearing.

"Pikapi, pi pika pi chu!"

"Thanks for the luck buddy!" said Ash, giving a thumbs up to his starter.

"Oh I forgot to mention, Taylor and I are going to battle together for the double battle. That's not a problem is it?" asked Emily.

"No not a problem, I just didn't know you meant it like that…" answered Ash.

"I'll battle with you if you don't mind," said Serena, stepping forward. Ash smiled and nodded. Pikachu jumped back onto Misty's shoulders.

"I'll referee the match," said Brock, as he took up a position on the other side of the field away from the group so he wouldn't be bothered. "This will be a simple two on two double match, no mega evolutions and no time limit. Are you ready?" Brock glanced at Emily and Taylor who nodded, then at Ash and Serena who nodded as well. "Let the battle begin!"

"Come on out!" said Serena who brought forth her Delphox, who appeared in a ball of flames before they died down, revealing the fire and psychic fox.

"Cool appearance!" complimented Ash, with Serena and Delphox thanking him. "Gardevoir, you're up!" Gardevoir teleported from the group and then reappeared next to Delphox.

"Not bad choices! I think this will be a good match!" shouted Emily, as she and Taylor tossed out their poke balls. A black dog with ribbed bones on its back and two horns on its head appeared and a two legged rock shellfish fossil pokémon appeared that had a large flat head and two sharp scythes for arms. Houndoom and Kabutops roared as they took up fighting stances.

"Wow, what cool pokémon! This is going to be an awesome battle!" said Max, ecstatic that he was seeing Ash battle again so soon and seeing two new pokémon he'd never seen before, eyeing Delphox and Kabutops.

"This should be interesting," said Gary, after he quickly looked over each pokémon, his researcher side kicking in.

"You ready Serena?" asked Ash.

"You bet!" replied Serena with a smile as their opponents said their first commands.

"Houndoom, Flamethrower!" shouted Emily.

"Kabutops, Agua Jet!" commanded Taylor.

Houndoom let out a stream of flames against Gardevoir and Kabutops shot forward, covered in water towards Delphox.

"Gardevoir, Thunderbolt on Kabutops, keep him away from Delphox!"

"Delphox, use your Flamethrower to stop Houndoom's!"

Gardevoir and Delphox fired their attacks. The two flame attacks connected and canceled each other out as Kabutops was stopped in his tracks by the powerful Thunderbolt.

"Houndoom, Smog!" The black dog let out filthy gases onto the field, hiding the two pokémon.

"Kabutops, Mud Shot!" The fossil pokémon hurled blobs of mud at the two psychic pokémon through the gas but Delphox and Gardevoir dodged the attacks at the last second.

"Delphox, get rid of the gas! Mystical Fire!" The fire fox let out a vortex of multi-colored flames towards the gas, igniting it and causing an explosion. Two cries were heard as Houndoom and Kabutops were hurt from the resulting explosion.

"Don't give up! Continuous Dark Pulses!" shouted Emily.

"Ancient Power!" yelled Taylor.

Kabutops used his prehistoric power to materialize large boulders made of energy and threw them at the two psychic pokémon as beams of dark energy were sent by Houndoom.

"Dodge them and then counter with Magical Leaf!" countered Ash.

"Rapid fire Shadow Ball against the attacks!" shouted Serena.

Gardevoir teleported away from each attack and retaliated with sharp bladed leaves each time she reappeared and Delphox sent dark purple balls of energy at each incoming boulder until she was struck by one she hadn't seen and stumbled. Houndoom let out a quick Dark Pulse at her, hoping to take advantage but Gardevoir teleported in front of her and summoned a shield that the attack hit instead.

"Thanks Ash!" said Serena, relieved.

"No problem," replied Ash, smiling. Gardevoir nodded at Delphox who nodded back, appreciating it.

"Wow, what team work! Both sides are doing really well!" said Sarah, impressed by the battle so far.

"Yea, I'm surprised these two are giving Ash and Serena a hard time," replied Leaf, shocked that Ash was getting a run for his money.

"Don't be too sure Lady Leaf," interjected Lucario. The second group of Emily and Taylor's friends gasped, hearing him speak. "Master is merely testing them. He wants to see what they are capable of."

"You can't be serious," said one of the guys from Emily's group. "He may be good, but not that good."

"He is," snapped Dawn.

"Is that so?" asked one of the girls from the second group, her interest rising.

"Yes it is but don't even think about it," warned Misty quickly, making the girl step away in fear.

"Watch and see," finished May. The second group went silent to watch the battle. Ash's friends were a little ticked off but understood why they would behave that way but they still didn't like it. Kabutops glowed white for a couple seconds. His Ancient Power had boosted his abilities.

"It's time we let out our full strength!" said Emily suddenly with Taylor smirking.

Serena grew worried when Emily said that but when she glanced at Ash to see his reaction, she saw him not concerned at all. He was actually grinning.

He's so calm. He's actually happy they're going to use their full power. If he's not worried, then I shouldn't be either. Thank you Ash for inspiring me to control my fear as always, thought Serena, smiling inwardly as she refocused on the battle.

"About time!" said Ash as he crossed his arms, grinning widely. "I knew you were holding back!" Emily and Taylor had shocked expressions on their faces for a second before it went away and they laughed.

"Well then, here we go! Fire Blast!"

"Hydro Pump!"

Houndoom let out a large five pointed flame star that raced across the field at Gardevoir and a powerful water blast erupted from Kabutops at Delphox.

"Psychic!" snapped Ash and Serena together. Both of their pokémon's eyes glowed blue and the two elemental attacks were outlined blue as well before stopping in their tracks. They were sent back to their user's ally, the returned Hydro Pump hitting Houndoom and the Fire Blast hitting Kabutops. Both pokémon were thrown from their feet, landing hard onto the ground, grunting in pain.

"Houndoom please get up!"

"You too Kabutops! I know you can do it!"

Houndoom and Kabutops got onto their feet again but took them a bit of time. Ash sensed their energies were low and thought they should end the match before getting truly hurt.

"Are you guys sure you want to continue? We can call this a draw if you want," suggested Ash. Everyone stared at him, surprised, except for his pokémon, who knew what he was thinking and feeling.

"No thanks! We either win or lose. We don't like ties as there is no such thing in life," said Emily. Taylor and their pokémon nodded in agreement. Ash shrugged and refocused on the battle.

"Emily and Taylor are true trainers, not giving up till the end. Not someone who has mercy or says to call something a draw. Only weak people do that," said another guy from Emily's group. Ash's friends grew angered but before any of them could speak, Leaf lashed out.

"For your information, it takes more strength to show some one mercy and to allow them to walk away with their integrity than to finish off a weakened opponent when there's no point!" snapped a fuming Leaf.

The others stared at her. Even Lucario raised his eyebrows at her. He wasn't expecting her to say something like that and he was impressed.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter what you believe," dismissed the guy and Leaf fumed as Sarah tried to calm her down.

"It's time we finish this!" said Emily, as she glanced at Taylor who nodded.

"Houndoom, keep them busy with Flamethrowers and Dark Pulses!"The dark and fire dog alternated between shooting flames and dark beams of energy at the two psychic pokémon.

"Dig!" yelled Taylor. Kabutops disappeared under the ground.

"Gardevoir, stop Houndoom from distracting you guys! Moon Blast!"

"Delphox, protect Gardevoir as she readies her attack!"

Gardevoir focused her energy to fire the powerful Fairy type attack as Delphox repelled the attacks Houndoom sent at them, keeping an eye out for Kabutops. Gardevoir finished charging the attack and had a great big ball of white energy appear above them that then fired a large beam of white energy at Houndoom who was hit and sent flying back unconscious.

"Night Slash!" Kabutops broke through the ground near Delphox and Gardevoir and charged at them both, his powerful dual scythes covered with dark energy.

"Dodge it!" snapped Ash and Serena. Both pokémon evaded the attack as they jumped to the side but Kabutops, not used to the extra speed boost given to him by using Ancient Power, kept moving forwards, right at Serena who stood still as a statue in fright. In the next couple of seconds, many things happened at once.

The two groups shouted and screamed warnings. Pikachu and Lucario dashed forward but they were far away. Emily and Taylor screamed for Kabutops to stop. Delphox and Gardevoir attempted to refocus to teleport to her. Ash didn't think at all and just jumped to her as he yelled out her name. Even though he was right next to her, it seemed like it took him forever to get to her. Kabutops tried to stop himself but he was going too fast and was in the air. Before anyone could even say anything, Ash barely reached Serena in time to shield her with his body when the fossil pokémon rammed into them. Kabutops had lowered his scythes and extended his head out so as to not cut them but the fast and heavy tackle sent them flying backwards. Ash flipped Serena around in the air so that he was the one who would crash first into whatever they were going to hit and cushion the blow for her.

"UUGGGHHHHH!" grunted Ash as they flew through several bushes, scratching and cutting him much more than her, before slamming into a large tree with his back. The two slid down to the floor a couple feet before landing on the ground. It took a while for Ash to recover from the collision and Serena was just breathing hard.

"Are you…okay…Serena?" asked Ash, winded.

"I think so. Thank you Ash," replied Serena as she turned to look back at him but gasped at what she saw. He had saved her from most of the damage, as she only suffered light scratches but when she saw Ash though, she let out a whimper, yelling out for help.

The raven haired trainer had suffered countless cuts and scratches all over his body as they had sped through the bushes with sharp thorns and he was bleeding from all the cuts. Serena knelt down and raised her trembling hands to check him over for other serious wounds. She heard many footsteps coming towards her and soon their friends were around them.

"Oh no…" whimpered Dawn, as she stumbled a bit before May helped her balance, though barely as she too lost her footing for a second. Leaf and Sarah were oddly quiet seeing him so messed up. Pikachu jumped down from Misty's shoulder as she neared Serena.

"Pikapi?" The yellow mouse slowly approached Ash, with his ears dropped and patted his side.

"Any serious injuries?" whispered Misty as she knelt down next to her.

"I don't know…" answered Serena.

"I'm…fine…" said Ash as he tried to get up but fell back down instantly against the tree.

Serena and Misty gently turned him around and they found he had a large bruise on his back as well as a long, narrow, deep gash, running diagonally from his right shoulder blade all the way to his spine. It was bleeding badly. The group of friends gathered round cried out as they saw the grievous injury. Serena nearly lost it right there but knew she had to do something. She tore off some cloth from her long skirt and pressed it against his gash, trying to stop the bleeding. She glanced at the tree and found the reason for the cut; the tree's trunk had a long narrow bulge growing outwards and blood was covering it. Delphox appeared by Serena's side and placed a hand on her shoulder, attempting to calm her down as Serena let tears fall down her cheeks.

"Where's Lucario?" asked Misty and before they knew it, Lucario appeared, kneeling next to his Master. He placed his paw on Ash's back and pulsed healing aura onto him. Most of his cuts and scratches vanished, healed instantly but the large gash stayed, still bleeding, though not as profusely as before. Lucario stopped soon after.

"We must take him to a hospital immediately. I've done all that I can for now," said Lucario, who then called for Gardevoir. When she appeared, he told her to teleport them to the pokémon center so Joy could help. Serena asked if she could come as well and Gardevoir nodded. Serena returned Delphox and Gardevoir's eyes glowed blue and then Ash, Serena, Lucario, Gardevoir and Pikachu vanished from sight.

"C'mon we gotta go to them!" yelled May as she started to run towards the hotel, their friends right behind her. Emily, Taylor and their friends followed after them.

Ash, Serena, Lucario, Gardevoir and Pikachu appeared in the main lobby of the ground floor of the hotel. Joy looked up from her desk at them as they appeared and let out a small shriek as she saw the raven haired trainer being supported up by Serena and Lucario, some cuts on him and barely able to stand.

"What happened?" asked Joy as she quickly moved to them.

"We were having a battle against two other trainers and Ash saved me from getting hit by a stray attack," explained Serena with tears in her eyes.

"Well he seems okay, why isn't he…" started Joy but was caught off by Lucario.

"Lady Joy, Master has a deep gash on his back. I healed most of the cuts and scratches but I couldn't do more since healing with Aura requires much energy. We need your assistance," said Lucario. Joy looked at Ash's back.

"Oh my Mew…Follow me quickly!" Joy led them through the back door to the hospital. She opened a door to one of the emergency rooms and told them to lay Ash on the empty bed, face down. He wasn't fully aware of what was going on as he had lost a lot of blood. She attached a heart rate monitor as well as an IV bag on him. "I'll be right back. I need to get some things. Make sure he doesn't move." Joy left the room, leaving Serena and the pokémon behind.

"This is all my fault!" cried Serena after a moment of silence. "If only I had moved and not stood there like an idiot!" Serena started to cry and hid her face in her hands.

"Pi pika pi pi kachu pi pika."

"Pikachu is right; it's not your fault. It's nobody's fault. Accidents happen," said Gardevoir as she hugged Serena and tried to reassure the girl everything will be alright. Joy walked back into the room, her arms loaded with different medical items and tools. She placed them on the table and picked up a bottle of antiseptic. She moved towards Ash and opened the bottle.

"You should hold him down just in case," suggested Joy.

"I got it covered." Lucario's eyes glowed blue as he used Psychic. Ash's body was outlined in a slight blue glow while the aura pokémon kept him still. Joy tilted the bottle slowly to pour small amounts of the antibacterial solution onto the deep cut.

"AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

Ash let out a garbled loud yell as soon as the liquid made contact with his wound and would've thrashed around had Lucario not held him still with Psychic. Serena felt even worse after he shouted. Unable to bear it, she left the room and stood in the hallway in front of the closed door and started crying loudly with her hands covering her face.

"Why was Ash screaming?"

Serena looked up and saw their friends standing next to her, panting. Dawn had asked the question as Brock entered the room and asked Joy if she needed help.

"Joy's tending to his wound and when she applied some antibacterial stuff onto his gash, he screamed," replied Serena, her lips quivering as she was about to start crying again. Misty, May and Dawn hugged their friend and said comforting words to her to help her relax. The four sat down on a nearby bench as Emily, Taylor and their friends moved in closer.

"Will Ash be alright?" asked Emily as she stepped forward.

"He should be. Brock and Joy are with him now, treating him," explained Gary. Max took a seat on the other bench and rested his head against his hands. Leaf and Sarah leaned against the wall, concern on their faces, as Iris and Cilan stood beside Gary.

"Hopefully everything will be alright," said Taylor quietly, speaking for the first time.

"I'm sure it will be. Joy and Brock are our most capable when it comes to treating wounds. Lucario's recovery technique of Heal Pulse also no doubt aided him," said Cilan. Emily, Taylor and most of her group nodded. Then one of the guys spoke from her group.

"Why didn't that idiot girl move from her spot? If it wasn't for her being such a burden, he wouldn't be injured right now and the battle would have continued."

It was the same guy who was rude before. Ash's friends grew angry and even the rude guy's group of friends glared at him for his thoughtless words. Before anyone could scold him for what he said, Serena cried harder as she got up and ran down the hall.

"Serena, wait!" Misty, May and Dawn chased after her. Leaf and Sarah were about to say something but what happened next made everyone widen their eyes. Gary had stepped towards the guy, giving him a look of fury as he spoke.

"You will shut your mouth right now and not speak another word. When Serena comes back you will apologize to her and then you will leave."

"Who the hell do you think you are? I can speak my mind, it's a free country."

"Shut up!" yelled Emily and Taylor together. The guy instantly went quiet, shocked that his two friends yelled at him. Gary took the opportunity of his silence to talk.

"I am Gary Oak, Pokémon Researcher and Trainer just for your information and I really don't give a shit who you are. But you will apologize to Serena when she comes back and you will keep quiet until then and you will leave after. We don't need someone like you among us. If you speak one more word until then, I will knock you the fuck out! Understand?"

The rude guy glared at Gary but didn't say a word. A couple seconds later, Gary headed back towards his friends and sat down on the bench, next to Max. The pokémon researcher was fuming and tried his best to calm down as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

"That was a cool speech," complimented Leaf as she went to him and patted his back. Gary just grunted in response.

"I'm sorry about my friend," apologized Emily, turning to Iris, Cilan and Sarah after glaring at the rude guy in her group. "I don't know what to do with him sometimes."

"He's still a kid, nothing you can do about it," said Iris.

"Maybe. Anyway, Taylor and I are very sorry for what we caused to happen. If there's anything we can do, please let us know."

"Thank you Emily but I believe everything should be fine," replied Sarah.

"Yea, Ash has been through worse," added Max as he had gotten up and joined their group, wanting to give some space to the angered Gary.

"What do you mean?" asked Emily curiously.

"He's always helping people out and received more than his fair share of injuries," explained Cilan.

"I didn't know he had gone through a lot of injuries," remarked Sarah with a frown as a thought went through her head; just how many times has he gotten injured?

"There's a lot you don't know yet. Stick around and you'll find out sooner or later," said Brock with a slight smile as he closed the door.

"Brock! How's he doing?" asked Leaf, walking up to him.

"He'll be fine. Joy and I stitched up his nasty cut. It'll heal no problem but will most likely leave a scar." The group of friends nodded as they sighed and Brock looked around. "Where's Serena? Ash wanted to see her before Joy gives him a sleeping pill so he can rest."

"She ran down the hall crying because of Mr. Douche Bag's big mouth over here insulted her and said it was her fault. Misty, May and Dawn went after her," informed Gary.

Brock, the normally cool and collected one, was angered at what he heard and swiftly acted. He grabbed the rude guy and slammed him against the wall. Everyone gasped, even his own friends as they've never seen him so angry. Well, almost never since he had knocked out Russell before.

"How dare you," snarled Brock. "You'd be bloody and bruised on the floor right now if I didn't have bigger worries right now. Whether or not it was her fault, you have no right to make her feel bad. Everyone makes mistakes and accidents happen. Maybe next time it might happen to you. Just be glad there are people like Ash around who care more about others than themselves." Brock slammed the rude guy against the wall again and let him go when a voice was heard from the end of the hallway.

"Damn, I've never seen you so aggressive Brock. It kind of turned me on."

Brock turned his head to face the end of the hallway and when he saw who it was, his jaw dropped. An attractive woman, the same age as Brock, stood there. She had a purple tank top, purple gloves that extended to reach her elbows, black pants with yellow diamonds designed at the top of them, purple shoes, with red eyes and long black hair with streaks of red in them.

"Lucy? Is that you?" asked Brock, not believing what he was seeing. Lucy giggled before she responded.

"The one and only!" Brock ran to her and gave her a hug as he spun her around, Lucy laughing as he did so. Brock stopped soon after and the two shared a kiss.

"Awww!" cooed Iris, Sarah and Leaf while Emily and her girlfriends simply stared at them.

"Not that I'm not happy that you're here, but what are you doing here Lucy?" asked Brock.

"Well I did say I'll visit if able. Plus, I was told by a close mutual friend that you were miserable without me and it looks like it's true. So how many people have you been beating up since last we saw each other huh Brock?" asked Lucy, teasing her boyfriend as she slipped her arm through his. Brock chuckled while the two walked towards the group of friends as they talked.

"Not what it looks like Lucy. When did he talk to you?"

"Yesterday. He sent me a message via Poketch. Imagine my surprise hearing from him after so long," explained Lucy and Brock raised his eyebrows.

"How did you get here so fast?"

"Ask Ash how. He told me when I was ready to let him know and he would have his friend teleport me near the end of Victory Road so I could travel the rest of the way here and surprise you. By the way, where is he? I want to thank him for helping me get here so quickly."

"Ash is seriously hurt and it's because of me."

Lucy and Brock glanced at Serena, who had just returned with Misty, May and Dawn behind her.

"Sorry, but who are you and what do you mean?" asked Lucy, her eyes narrowing.

Lucy didn't know some of the newer people in the group as her and Brock had just got together recently and some of them hadn't traveled with Ash to the Battle Frontier with him. She only knew Ash, Brock, May, Max and Misty, since they were the ones who she met when they first got there. Brock hurriedly introduced Lucy to everyone and vice versa. He then quickly explained what had happened.

"Oh that's horrible. Serena was it? Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault at all. Things like this happen." Serena didn't say anything as she looked down at her feet. Gary glared at the rude guy.

"Ahem…excuse me." Serena barely raised her head at the rude guy who cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for what I said." Serena nodded slightly then continued looking down at her feet. The rude guy then left.

"Serena?" She looked at Brock. "Ash wanted to see you."

Serena nodded and she slowly entered the room, closing the door behind her before moving next to the raven haired trainer. She let out a gasp when she saw it. The back of Ash had a large white bandage, covering a good deal of his back. It had a line of red on it, no doubt his blood.

"He should be alright and good as new soon. You guys did a good job getting him quickly. I just gave him a sleeping pill so it'll take effect pretty soon," said Joy as she cleaned up the supplies she used.

"You may relax Lady Serena. Master will make a full recovery except for maybe a scar. Do not even think for a moment that you are at fault," said Lucario as he and Gardevoir smiled at her.

"Pika!" agreed Pikachu as he jumped into Serena's arms. She smiled a little bit and thanked the pokémon for their words.

"Serena?" Ash's tired voice called out to her.

"I'm here Ash." She knelt beside him, her face lining up with his, as he couldn't move and was lying on his stomach. Pikachu jumped down onto the ground to let her speak with him easily.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" asked Ash. Serena was flabbergasted.

"How could you even think about how I am when you're the one worse off? I barely got some scratches."

"I'm sorry about that. I hope those scratches don't hurt." Serena couldn't believe it. He was more worried about her scratches than his nasty cut on his back.

"It's nothing and you have nothing to be sorry about. If anyone should be sorry it should be me for not moving out of the way." Serena's eyes started to water.

"No, it's not your fault so don't be sorry. I'm just glad you're okay." Serena smiled a little. "If you don't mind, I'm going to sleep now. Joy gave me some sleeping pills and I think they're starting to work."

"Okay Ash. Sleep well and I will be here when you wake up. I promise."

Ash smiled as Serena gave him a quick but loving kiss on the lips but didn't say anything else after as he soon fell asleep. Serena left the room to give him some space after watching him for a few minutes, the three pokémon promising to keep watch over him. As she entered the hallway, she saw the two groups were talking. Soon Emily and her group left after giving her number to Sarah, saying if they needed anything to contact her.

"I don't like them at all," said Gary with a glare at Emily's group as they left. His friends glanced at him but didn't say anything, as they agreed with him.

"I'd rather not deal with them either except for Emily and maybe Taylor. At least those two seemed to have their heads on right," said Sarah. Cilan and Brock nodded while the others shrugged. "How's he doing Serena?" asked Sarah after noticing Serena was there.

"He's doing alright. He's sleeping now," replied Serena with a tone in her voice that suggested she was still a little sullen. The others felt bad and wanted to cheer her up but nobody knew what to do. That is until Leaf came up with a bright idea.

"Hey I know what will cheer you up Serena," said Leaf with a devious smile on her face. Everyone looked at her and her smile grew larger. "Dawn still hasn't told us girls what happened during her date with Ash!"

"Hey! That's right! I told you now it's your turn!" shouted Misty at the blunette who turned crimson.

"Curse you Leaf!" shot Dawn and the others laughed while Leaf smirked at her. With that, all of the girls, including Joy, grabbed the blunette and ushered her towards an empty room for her to spill the beans about their night together as the guys laughed. They invited Lucy to come as well but she declined the offer, saying she has a lot to catch up on and wants to hear that from Brock first before gossiping with them. The girls nodded in understanding when they left and Lucy turned towards Brock and the others.

"So, Brock…Are you going to tell me what's happened and what's been going on?" asked Lucy with a hand on her hip.

"Well, it's a long story Lucy, but I'll tell you everything." He held her hand and they walked away from the guys who were left behind who started thinking of things to do so they wouldn't be bored.

Brock and Lucy headed outside to take a walk as he explained. "Remember when I told you about Ash telling us he had to go away for a while and how we couldn't find him? Well, when we arrived here…"