Club Indigo...

Chapter 37 - Club Indigo...

When Ash left the Indigo Hotel on his Charizard after hearing Leaf's confession, he was lost in thought while his loyal dragon just flew aimlessly for a long time while Pikachu stood on his shoulders. The two pokémon kept silent the whole time as they could sense his unease and decided allowing him some peace and quiet for now would be the best thing for him.

Why would she do that to me again? She betrayed me again by taking advantage of me and going behind the girls' backs. Why? How could she do this to me? To the girls? Why do that Leaf? What have I done to you? What have the girls done to you? I thought you had changed...

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" yelled out Ash to the heavens above in frustration and his Charizard roared in surprise and Pikachu cried out. Seeing his two pokémon looking at him with concern made him feel bad for making them worry. "I'm sorry guys. I'm just so frustrated and angry. I need to go somewhere or do something to relax and think this through. Somewhere that no one would think to go look for me."

"Pikapi, pi pika pi chu pikachu pi kachu," suggested the electric mouse.

"You know, that might be a good idea," replied Ash. "Charizard, head back towards Indigo Plateau but we're going to Club Indigo. No one would think to find me there."

While Ash checked on the exact location of the club on his Poketch map application, Charizard made a u-turn to head back. Once Ash found the location, he told the details to his dragon who grunted in understanding. The sun was setting when they finally arrived at their destination. Charizard landed in front of the fairly sized building that had the words 'CLUB INDIGO' in large, bold red letters in the middle of the building. A buff and tall man was standing in front of the entrance to the club wearing black pants, black shirt, black jacket and had an ear piece in his ear. Ash dropped down from his dragon and walked up to the bouncer with Pikachu on his shoulder and his Charizard following him from behind.

"Excuse me sir, but I would have to ask for your ID," informed the bouncer, seeing that the guest looked young.

"Here you go," said Ash as he handed the bouncer his Poke Dex that functioned as his ID as well. The bouncer took it and pushed a few buttons before it told him his age.

"I'm sorry sir but you're under twenty one and I cannot let you in," informed the bouncer as he handed the red device back to Ash who took it.

"Let's just say you saw it say twenty one when you checked my Poke Dex and I'll handle what people say about what I'm doing inside a club," replied Ash as he held his hand out for the bouncer to shake. The bouncer glanced at Ash, then at the grinning Pikachu, then at the large Charizard behind them before looking at the raven haired young man in front of him again. He stretched out his hand and shook hands with the young man and moved to the side as he opened the door for him to enter. "Thank you sir," said Ash. He returned Charizard and walked inside with Pikachu.

The bouncer closed the door behind him and stood in front of the doors again as he put the money he received from Ash during the handshake into his pocket. The bouncer wasn't getting paid enough and thought what the hell could he cause to happen; he knew who the young man was. When the two stepped inside, both Ash and Pikachu were impressed at what they saw. The club was very modern, and had a large central dance floor with a few other dance spots around the sides. There were sitting areas up against the walls consisting of couches and chairs with a small round tables in front of them and larger round tables in the middle of larger sitting areas in the corners. There was a long bar against the left wall that had two stunning female bartenders working on getting some drinks ready for some customers who were waiting on their orders. There was a good amount of people on the dance floor and several others seated around the area. The music wasn't too loud yet, the lights were modest and were normal colored for the time being. It was barely evening and even though he's not much of a club person, Ash knew that things were just starting to pick up.

Ash moved towards the bar and took a seat on one of the empty stools and both he and Pikachu looked around and took in their surroundings. Ash used his aura senses to check on some of the people near him just for kicks and found that a handful of them were letting off tired auras, guessing that they must have just gotten off of work. He was about to expand his senses to check on the others who were seated against the walls of the club but stopped when one of the bartenders came up to him.

"What can I get ya handsome?" asked the blue haired girl with obvious ease since she had said it so many times, not really meaning it. She was barely looking at him as she got a glass ready and Ash looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"A shot of vodka, a cup of cola and a bowl of ketchup," answered Ash as he fully faced the bartender, tilting his head a bit when he looked at her. She looked familiar and he felt that he knew her...

"Ketchup?" asked the bartender. She looked up and was now observing him more carefully since he said something weird. Both of them looked at one another more carefully.

"Is something wrong with...wait...Shauna? Is that you?" asked a bewildered Ash, realizing who she is.

"ASH!" cried out Shauna suddenly and she hugged him over the counter, causing several to glance at them throughout the club, as they heard her outburst since the music wasn't too loud yet. Three figures shifted in their seats from the opposite wall of where Ash was. They were looking at him and the bartender with curious eyes. "It's good to see you again!"

"Shauna, what's going on? Are you alright? Should I call the bouncer?" asked the second bartender, who was also a blue haired girl. She moved closer to them when they separated.

"No I'm fine. I'm great actually. This is my good friend Ash," introduced Shauna as she pointed at the raven haired man. He waved at the second bartender a bit before stopping as he remembered her, who had a look of surprise form on her face too.

"Lizabeth?" asked Ash as he tilted his head again.

"ASH!" shouted Lizabeth and hugged him over the counter too.

"Good...seeing...you...too…" choked out Ash as he tried to breathe and Pikachu sniggered at him.

"Wait, you know each other?" asked a surprised Shauna.

"Yea and sorry Ash," apologized Lizabeth as she let him go, embarrassed over how she acted, blushing slightly.

"It's alright. It happens so many times, you would think I would be used to it by now," remarked Ash, making Shauna and Lizabeth chuckle. "So what are you two doing here?" he asked the two.

"Well, we both work here now after moving to Kanto," revealed Shauna and Lizabeth nodded.

"Oh that's cool. But what happened between you and Brawly, Shauna? I thought you liked him? And what about protecting the you know what Lizabeth?"

"Things never really went anywhere between me and Brawly as we never went past friends. I figured it was time to move on and start somewhere fresh after training with him a bit. I remembered you saying Kanto was a nice place so I decided to give it a shot. Long story short, I found this job a while ago and love it so here I am," answered Shauna as she casually leaned against the counter. They way she held herself somehow accentuated her looks, making many of the males around stare at her.

"After you took care of Phantom, I've traveled around while protecting 'it' and my parents told me to take a journey myself after making sure no one could find it. I've traveled around some and ended up in Kanto. I wanted to find a place to stay and work in Celadon City but I was staying at the hotel nearby. I went out to eat one night and I ended up meeting Shauna, who invited me to work here for a bit to make some quick cash but ended up loving it as well. We live together as roommates now and we've become best friends," informed Lizabeth with a beautiful smile. That smile made many of the same males who were looking at Shauna start looking at her before alternating back and forth between the two blunettes. Ash however, was unaffected.

"Wow, I'm glad that you guys are doing something you love and are happy. I hope you guys had some good experiences while traveling," said Ash charmingly with a smile, making both girls blush slightly.

"Thanks Ash," said Lizabeth and Shauna smiled before talking again.

"So what brings you here?" she asked, making him sigh.

"I'd rather not say," replied Ash looking down onto the counter.

"That bad huh?" asked Shauna while Lizabeth frowned when Ash nodded. He looked up at them.

"Let's just say I was betrayed by someone I thought I could trust. Let's just leave it at that," revealed Ash sadly and both Lizabeth and Shauna grew angry.

"What an asshole! Tell me who it was so I can kick their ass!" growled Shauna but Ash just shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"Don't even worry about that right now Ash. Just relax and you can stay here for as long as you want. And we'll get you and Pikachu your order in just a sec," added Lizabeth and Ash thanked them, receiving a 'no problem' and 'you're welcome' from the two blunettes.

The two girls went to get what he asked for. That was when he just noticed how they looked. Both Shauna and Lizabeth were stunningly beautiful, with the right amount of curves for their slender bodies. They were wearing their bartender uniforms that consisted of tight black tank tops, showing off some cleavage with black jean short shorts that showed off their toned legs and firm round butts with their long blue hair, flowing down their front and back that went past their shoulders. Their outfits were that way to encourage the people who came to the bar to tip them generously. Pikachu smacked him against the back of his head all of a sudden.

"What?!" grumbled Ash quietly as he massaged his head.

"Pikapi, pi pika pika pi pika cha pikachu!" chastised Pikachu.

"Yea, yea I know. I was just looking. I already have enough problems as is," he sighed and Pikachu gave him an understanding look but gave him a very small electric shock as a warning. Ash rubbed the area he was shocked and glared at his starter who smirked at him. The raven haired guardian shook his head and then he waited patiently for his drinks.

When Shauna brought him his shot of vodka and glass of cola and Lizabeth brought the bowl of ketchup for Pikachu, Ash thanked the two. Pikachu jumped down onto the counter for his bowl of ketchup. He took the shot of vodka at once, feeling the cold yet burning liquid travel down his throat before it reached his stomach. He shuddered ever so slightly since he was barely a social drinker as he only drank on important events but didn't think about that right now. He downed the cup of cola as Shauna immediately poured him another shot and he gulped that one down instantly right after too.

"You should slow down Ash," advised Shauna as she poured his third shot.

"Have you been watching the tournament?" he asked them and the two replied saying they have. "So I guess you two have seen my aura powers and found out about me being an Aura Guardian then?" asked Ash and the blunettes nodded with blushes as they remembered how they saw him fighting courageously against the attackers and saved everyone. "Funny thing about having aura powers; they break down most common poisons and other things such as alcohol pretty quickly and helps you recover faster. If I was a regular person I might have to watch myself when drinking. But my aura breaks it down faster than normal so it takes a lot more alcohol for it to affect me," revealed Ash before he took the third.

"That's both a blessing and a curse huh? How did you find out about this?" asked Shauna.

"You could say that and it was pretty funny how but I'll tell you some other time. It's a rather long story," replied Ash while she poured him his fourth shot.

"Okay but we're going to hold you to that," replied Lizabeth.

"Hey darling, can we get some drinks?" asked a new patron that reached the counter.

"Sure, just a second!" said Shauna. "Ash, we gotta go to the other customers but if you need anything just call us over. We'll leave the bottle here for you but...just take it easy okay?" asked Shauna softly and Ash promised he would. He watched the two blunettes go to the other patrons waiting at the other side of the counter before he became lost in thought while Pikachu slurped the ketchup happily.

Across the club in the corner, the three figures who were sitting away from everyone, were keeping their attention on Ash from the moment he stepped inside the club. They watched the two female bartenders hug him and engage in conversation with the raven haired young man before they brought him his order.

"Looks like they know each other," commented the green haired girl.

"I would assume so Liza. It's a small world after all and Ash has traveled around it. He's bound to know many people from all over," said the blue haired girl.

"He looks sullen though doesn't he Clair?" asked the dark haired girl with concern when they saw him down his third shot like it was nothing.

"You may be right Sabrina," replied Clair. "How did he even get in here? I don't think he's of age yet."

"Ah, who cares? It's not like we're that much older," commented Liza. "Let the guy be. He's not bothering anyone."

"You're right. Let's just keep an eye on him. But I want something to drink and eat too," said Clair as she hit the call button in the middle of their table that summoned a waiter from nowhere. "Okay, we'd like three Blue Lagoons and keep them coming until I say stop. Also, we'd like two baskets of fries with ranch and some chips and salsa."

The waiter nodded and left to get their order. Soon enough, the waiter returned with Clair's order and the three of them raised their drinks and clinked them together saying 'cheers' before drinking some. They then returned their attention on Ash but conversed with one another and munched on the fries and chips as they turned their gaze onto him periodically. They were asked to dance a couple times from eager looking males but each time the three denied them as they weren't impressed by the way they asked them, how they acted and weren't really in the mood either. After some time passed, they noticed a dazzling dark haired girl enter the club dressed in a black strapless dress that reached her thighs that highlighted her curves. She looked around a bit since she was looking for her friends who were already there. She walked a bit forward before stopping, her gaze on the raven haired trainer. She tilted her head but then straightened it out as a smile formed on her face. She moved towards the young man. Seeing this occur, Clair took out her Poketch and scrolled through her list of contacts.

"Who you calling?" asked Liza, seeing the frightened look on her friend's face. "Don't tell me you're calling Lance…"

"Of course I'm not!" snapped Clair when both Sabrina and Liza glared at her. "I'm calling Cynthia. She would kill me if I didn't tell her he's at a club and about to be hit on by Giselle again." The Sinnoh Champion had revealed to Clair, Liza and Sabrina of her feelings for Ash and the special situation they were in that morning before they left together to go to the stadium to watch the next matches. To say the three were surprised and shocked was a bit of an understatement but swore to keep quiet about it.

"You're right. She'll probably kill us too for being here with you and not doing anything. You should tell her that we wanted to let her know too," replied Liza, covering her ass so Cynthia wouldn't kick it later for not bothering to tell her. The Sinnoh Champion was one of the few people that Liza was actually afraid of and ditto for Clair. As for Sabrina however…

"You two are good friends but also such wusses," commented Sabrina as she stood up, making both Clair and Liza look at her, before she walked away from them. The two then glanced at each other.

"Who says 'wusses' these days?" asked Liza and Clair shrugged. "Anyway, hurry up and call Cynthia," added Liza as she watched Sabrina walk towards the now conversing Ash and Giselle while Clair called the Sinnoh Champion.

Back at the Indigo Hotel, the Champion of Sinnoh was in the elevator going up to the top floor to visit Ash and the others. She wanted to spend some time with him and also to talk to him about the last match and how he came up with that Blizzard and Tailwind combo move. She got a call on her Poketch and picked it up. "Hey Clair, what's up? Whoa slow down…what do you mean…no there's no way…that can't be Ash. He wouldn't go to a club alone since I don't think he's even the club going type. Are you sure it's him? Okay…wait, what?! He's been drinking heavily and Giselle is talking to him again?! Shit! Alright, I'll be there soon after checking on something," said Cynthia and hung up. Cynthia was furious at what she just found out from Clair but also kind of doubted it. Clair had pulled some pranks on her before with the help of Liza. If this was another one, she was definitely going to kick their asses. The elevator dinged as she reached the top floor and when the doors opened, she hurried out and knocked on the only door for that floor. After a moment, it was opened by Daisy Waterflower.

"Oh, hey Cynthia. Come on in," said the blonde girl as she stepped aside. Cynthia thanked her and asked if she knew where Ash was. Daisy was quiet for a second, wondering why she would want to speak with him before answering. "Sorry but I don't. My sister might. Uh, I think Misty's in her room getting ready to head out. It's over that way," she explained and pointed towards the hallway to the right. Cynthia thanked her and moved to the door she pointed out as quickly as she could, greeting the others who were there. As soon as she reached the door, it opened and the four girls were shocked to see Cynthia there with her hand raised about to knock on the door.

"Cynthia? Hey there. What are you doing here?" asked Dawn.

"Hey Dawn. Um, is Ash here?" she asked them and the four girls sighed and shook their heads.

"No, he's not here. He left a while ago without telling anyone where he went," informed Misty sadly.

"What? Why? What happened?" asked Cynthia.

"Long story short, he was betrayed by someone who he thought he could trust and so he left angrily and we don't know where he went or when he's going to come back," revealed May and that information made Cynthia both angry and sad.

"Who betrayed him?! Did Lance do something again?!" asked Cynthia as her rage grew and began thinking a mile a minute on how she was going to make him pay.

"No…it was…Leaf," clarified Serena and Cynthia's eyes widened before she shook her head.

"Damn it," sighed Cynthia. "No wonder he's drowning himself in alcohol…"

"Wait, what? What do you mean by that? Do you know where he is?" asked Misty suddenly.

"Yea. Clair just called me and said she saw Ash at Club Indigo drinking. She also told me that Giselle was trying to talk to him again." Some growls were let out at that news. "At first I thought she was just trying to mess with me cause…well, you know why," said Cynthia, getting a little embarrassed and the girls understood. "Anyway, I told her I'll come to check it out but I was already in the elevator here to come visit so I decided to check if he's here first to make sure she's really not messing with me."

"Okay. Call her back and tell her to make sure Giselle doesn't try to do anything as we get ready. We can use this to our benefit to show him a good time so he can forget about what Leaf did to him. We'll also tell some of the other couples to join us so it's not like we're trying to gang up on him," advised Dawn and the five of them agreed as Misty, May and Dawn entered their room to get ready, Cynthia went into an empty unused bedroom to call Clair back and Serena went around the penthouse asking some of the others if they wanted to go to the club with them before getting ready herself.

Unknown to them, Sarah had heard everything that they talked about as she was in the bathroom and was about to leave when she heard them talk. She was glad that Ash was alright and that they found out where he was but sad to hear that he was trying to drink his problems away as well as concerned that this girl named Giselle was trying to get with him. She waited until she could tell they were gone and there were no more noises before cracking open the door. Verifying that they were gone, she hurried to her room where Anabel and Leaf were at to tell them what was going on. Back at the club, after Clair had made her call to Cynthia and hung up, she and Liza kept their attention on Ash.

"Ash?" asked Giselle when she sat next to him, making the raven haired guardian look at her and his starter to look up from his bowl of ketchup.

"Hmm? Oh, hey Giselle," replied Ash, with a small smile before he faced forward again and took another shot before pouring himself another one. Pikachu went back to his bowl of ketchup.

"You okay?" she asked, noticing his sullen demeanor.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about some things," he said before downing the shot he just poured.

"Um, how many of those have you had so far?" Giselle asked, seeing a half empty vodka bottle in front of him.

"I've lost count," answered Ash, making Giselle's eyes widen.

"Damn. Maybe you've had enough," said Giselle as she made to pull the bottle away from him but he snatched it and gave her a death glare that made her cringe and change her mind. "Or maybe not…Are you sure everything's alright Ash? You seemed fine earlier."

"Yeah well things happened alright!" he snapped.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to impose," replied Giselle in a low voice that made Ash glance at her and saw the hurt look on her face, making him sigh heavily.

"I'm sorry Giselle. I didn't mean to snap at you," he said sadly. "And you didn't do anything. I just went through some stuff and I'm just trying to sort it all out," he admitted.

"Oh, I see," replied back Giselle. "It's okay. Maybe I can help you with it? Did it involve your girlfriend?" she asked, making Ash glance at her again before he responded back.

"Yes and no," he replied. "Can I be honest?" he asked and she nodded. "Can we talk about this later? I'm not comfortable talking about it just yet as I'm still trying to figure out the why and how."

"Okay, that's not a problem. What would you like to talk about instead? Or we could do something else? Like we could dance if you want?" she offered, placing her hand on his. Ash glanced down at what she did before looking her in the eyes, making her take in a sharp breath as he thought about it for a bit.

"That sounds like fun but maybe a bit later if that's okay," he replied back with a smile and Giselle blushed heavily before she agreed. She looked around to get an update on what was going on in her surroundings. She happened to spot her friends that she was originally looking for who were some of her class mates back from the Pokémon Academy.

"Let me know when you want to and I'd be more than happy to," she told him. "If you don't mind, I want to go say hi to a couple friends of mine I just saw. I'll come back though I promise."

"No problem and you don't have to promise me anything Giselle. Go do what you want to do," he told her and Giselle smiled at him as she placed her hand on his shoulder before leaving to go catch up with her friends. He took another shot down just as Shauna and Elizabeth came to check on him.

"Hey, everything alright Ash?" asked Lizabeth while Shauna leaned against the counter closer to him.

"Everything is good, thanks Lizabeth," smiled Ash as he looked at the two blunettes. He titled his head a bit as he drank in their looks again but this time it was different. "Did I ever tell you two how beautiful you are?" he asked them, making them go crimson. Pikachu coughed out some ketchup, panting a bit as he almost choked before looking up stunned at what he just heard his best friend say. He was so shocked that he didn't even electrocute him.

"No, you haven't and you don't need to but thank you," replied back a reddened Lizabeth but she had an enormous smile on her face.

"And I think you had enough," chuckled Shauna as took the bottle away from him, making him pout at her but it only caused the two blunettes to giggle.

"Wow, you're mean Shauna," replied Ash. "I'm hurting here and you took away my medicine."

"Maybe because it's not the right type of medicine," said a new person, causing the three of them to turn their heads to look at the speaker. Ash's eyes widened and the two blue haired bartenders were left with their mouths slightly open. It was Sabrina Natsume and she looked stunning dressed simply yet elegantly with white dress pants with a light purple blouse, her long black hair flowing down to reach the middle of her back and some of it was flowing down over her nicely shaped chest.

"Sabrina? Wow, you look great. Not that I'm complaining but what are you doing here?" Ash asked the now blushing new arrival as she took a seat on the stool next to him.

"You're too kind Ash. I was spending some time here with my friends Clair and Liza over there in the corner when I noticed you were here so I wanted to come and say hi," she replied, sticking to the truth. Ash looked in the area she talked about and saw both Clair and Liza looking at him, who were wearing their trademark outfits. He waved at them and the two waved back at him with smiles.

"That's nice of you. Thanks. How's everything with you?" he asked her.

"Things are alright," answered Sabrina but Ash sensed that something is wrong and gave her a look that said he's not buying it. "Well, if you really want to know, I'll only tell you if you go dance with me," said the psychic prodigy, making Ash smirk and the two blunettes to raise their highbrows.

"Only if you can convince my two friends here, Shauna and Lizabeth, to give us another shot without you using your powers and you got yourself a deal," countered Ash, introducing each other while making Sabrina smile slightly at the challenge.

"Alright then." She faced the two blunettes. "I have a proposal; what do you two say to sharing a drink with the famous Aura Guardian here? It'll be quite an honor to drink with the savior of the Spirit Tournament don't you think?" asked Sabrina as she lightly made fun of the young guardian, who reddened slightly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sure, why not? That's something I don't do every day," replied Shauna as she brought back the bottle and Lizabeth took out four new shot glasses. Shauna poured the liquid into the four and placed the bottle on the counter as the others took their shots and she took hers.

"So what are we toasting to Ash?" asked Lizabeth, the three girls giving their attention to him. He thought about it for a bit until he knew what to say.

"To true friends!" toasted Ash as he raised his glass.

"To true friends!" repeated the three girls as they touched their shot glasses against each other before the four gulped down their shot quickly, placing their shots back onto the counter after.

"Well that was easy. Alright, I did my end. Now it's your turn," said Sabrina.

"Yea, yea alright. Shauna, get another round ready for us when we come back and Lizabeth, can you keep an eye on Pikachu for me while he stays here on the counter? I promise he'll behave," requested Ash as he got up, Pikachu giving him a dirty look. He was thinking about how much power to use on him.

"No problem," replied Lizabeth, as she scratched Pikachu behind the ears, who cooed in delight. He was just about to electrify Ash but the sudden scratching made him forget about it. Shauna got another round ready for them as Ash stood up and gently grasped Sabrina's delicate hand, making the Saffron gym leader redden slightly.

"Would you do me the honor of dancing with me Ms. Natsume?" asked Ash with a playful bow, obviously having fun with the situation, making the girls giggle.

"You seem like a fine young gentleman Mr. Ketchum. I accept," responded back the psychic girl with a smile as she played along.

Ash led her towards the dance floor and right when they reached it, a slow song began. Ash placed his hands on her slim waist as she placed her hands on his broad shoulders. They kept their gazes on one another as they slow danced. Shauna and Lizabeth were smiling at the two while Clair and Liza had looks of disbelief on their faces. They glanced at one another and both thought the same thing; it has to be the alcohol. Clair then got a call on her Poketch and picked it up. After talking a bit she hung up and told Liza that Cynthia was on her way with some friends and to keep an eye on things. Liza puffed out her cheeks as she realized they were still on 'surveillance' so to speak and turned her attention to Sabrina and Ash on the dance floor. She finished her Blue Lagoon and set it on the table in front of them. Another one was soon placed on the table and the empty glass was taken without them even noticing. The waiter was that good. Back on the dance floor, Sabrina and Ash started talking after quietly dancing for a bit.

"Thank you," whispered Sabrina as they danced. Ash tilted his head. "For agreeing to dance with me. You didn't have to you know. I don't even know what made me ask you to do that."

"I know I didn't have to but I wanted to," replied Ash making Sabrina smile. "Plus, it would help me stay distracted from my thoughts, I was able to get another shot, enjoy a toast with my friends and dance with my friend."

"So there were hidden reasons. Sneaky," quipped Sabrina and he chuckled. "I'm sorry Ash."

"For what?"

"For causing you agony when I helped bring out your memories for everyone to see. I didn't mean to cause you any pain or suffering. I hope you can forgive me," pleaded Sabrina with saddened eyes.

"So that's why I sensed you being sad. It wasn't your fault Sabrina. Things just happen and sometimes it's not what you expect it to be but you just have to let it go and not let it control you. Sometimes that's the best thing to do. But don't worry, it wasn't your fault and I'm fine," reassured Ash.

"Are you sure? Because I really am sorry," apologized Sabrina again and Ash nodded with a smile. Sabrina smiled a bit in return. "Thanks Ash. You don't know how badly I've been feeling about that and how it's kept me up at nights. It even gave me nightmares when I was able to sleep."

"You felt that badly about it?" asked Ash surprised and Sabrina nodded. "I see. Well, no need to worry. I'm good so you can relax okay? But why would you feel that badly about it?"

"I don't know," replied the psychic, looking down. "I guess because you were the only person who helped me out when I was a monster and I couldn't believe that I had caused you agony."

"You were never a monster Sabrina. You had only lost your way," he replied back, making Sabrina raise her head and look into his eyes, not believing what he said. "And I have to admit, even though I helped you, I was mostly just a kid hell bent on winning his Marsh Badge." Both of them chuckled a bit that. "I'm just glad that everything worked out in the end."

"Well, even so, because of your refusal to back down when others wouldn't even walk within a hundred feet of me, you saved me from a horrible future. For that, I thank you Ash," said Sabrina before she rested her head against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her back. Sabrina felt great comfort in his arms. For some reason Ash felt the same thing too. Though it could've been the alcohol in their bodies making them feel that way…

"Sabrina?" asked Ash and she hummed in response, indicating that she was listening. "If somebody betrayed your trust, would you forgive them?"

"So that's what's bothering you. Depends on what they did," replied Sabrina, staying in her position. "I was betrayed once before. It was pretty bad. I can never forget it. I did forgive but it took a while."

"I see. Sorry to hear that. Can you tell me about it? That is if you want to and if you're comfortable talking about it," he said and Sabrina raised her head to look him in the face.

"Well, I haven't told anyone of the full details except for my parents…but okay then. I feel like I can trust you. I believe you know Gary Oak?" Ash nodded. "Well, he asked me out about a year ago. I was never asked out on a date before. Maybe because people thought I was still the same psychotic gym leader but I changed after you helped me out so long ago. Again, thank you for that." Ash smiled and told her it was no problem before she continued. "Anyway, I accepted and we went out for about a month. He was very sincere and charming and soon we were making out here and there." Ash nodded to show he was following still, keeping eye contact with her while continuing their slow dance. "But one day he tried to make a move but I stopped him. I told him that I wasn't ready. After that, he became increasingly distant."

"That's Gary's play," said Ash and Sabrina gave him a confused look. "When he doesn't get what he wants, he pretends he doesn't want it or care about it so whoever it is runs after him. Did it work?"

"I see. I'm ashamed to say that it did. I wanted to know why he was being like that after a few days. I went to his house unannounced. Most of the lights were off but I knew he and someone else was home as I could sense them. I was about to ring the door bell when I heard some noises coming from inside the house."

"Don't tell me..." started Ash but Sabrina nodded sadly.

"Yes. There was no mistaking the sounds. They were so loud. I levitated to his bedroom window and peeked through it. I saw him having sex with a pink haired girl on his bed. I found out later she was one of his grandpa's lab assistants. I screamed and they both saw me. I fell to the ground in shock and he came running out of the house wearing his boxers telling me to come inside but I didn't."

"Fucking Gary…then what happened?" he asked her, trying to control his anger.

"When I refused that's when he went off at me. He said that no man would wait around for me if I continued being such a prude. He said that he had needs and couldn't wait around for me. He said that he doesn't see us going anywhere since I'm so old fashioned and that I'm older than him anyways so we should just end it and move on. I didn't say anything back and just teleported out of there."

"I'm gonna kick the ever living shit out of him," growled Ash but Sabrina shook her head.

"It's alright," said Sabrina and Ash looked at her like she was crazy. "I moved on and forgave him for being such an immature jackass. Plus, I gave him nightmares for about a month with my psychic powers." Ash had his eyes widened after hearing that and seeing Sabrina give a wild grin.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side," muttered Ash and Sabrina giggled.

"He also taught me something," she continued while Ash tilted his head. "He taught me that not all things that look good are. I've learned to be more careful, to not fall for stuff like that again. And..."

"And?" asked Ash, wanting her to continue.

"And...It was a sign for me to wait, to not rush into things and to wait for the right man who would respect my wishes," finished Sabrina.

"That's good at least. I know you'll find the right guy Sabrina. You're a great girl and you deserve someone who would do anything for you. But even so, if you ever need anything, just let me know," he said before showing a charming smile, making Sabrina blush.

"Thank you Ash," replied Sabrina. "Did you want to talk about what happened to you?" she asked him.

"It's not as bad as yours and maybe I'm overreacting a bit but here's what happened," he said and he explained everything to her, about what he went through with a girl in the past when they were kids to what happened with her again recently.

"Hmmm...No, I don't think you're overreacting Ash as this is the second time she's broken your trust and the second time she's betrayed you. But you should talk to her Ash and find out why. If you bottle it up or try to ignore it, it may backfire on you. And it'll let you move on quicker. Trust me, you don't want to do that to yourself," she advised him.

"I see. Thanks, I appreciate your advice. I guess your right but I just need some time to get over the shock first. That's okay isn't it?" he asked her and she agreed, saying that's okay. "Thanks Sabrina. You're the best." He tightened his hug around her and she did the same as she rested her head back against his chest. She felt her heart beat a little quicker and she didn't want to get out of the embrace. He gently massaged her back a bit before resting his hands on her lower back. He felt oddly comfortable with her but he didn't think about it too much. They continued dancing in silence as another slow song started that was requested by a few newly arrived club goers.

"They look cute together," commented Liza. "You think Cynthia would get pissed seeing this?" Not hearing a response, she looked at Clair and smiled who was staring at Ash silently. "Well, well. Jealous, envious or both?" asked Liza as she nudged her side, making Clair snap out it.

"What are you talking about?!" shot the gym leader immediately, elbowing Liza in the stomach.

"Hey! I didn't hit you that hard!" exclaimed Liza as she doubled over, clutching her stomach but Clair just laughed at her. "I'm going to get you back for that Clair and that just proves it," wheezed Liza while Clair just scoffed back before calling her crazy.

Lizabeth and Shauna were taking a break as they had served all the patrons who came up to the bar. The club had filled up a bit but most of the people were sitting around the walls or on the dance floor. "Looks like Ash is having a good time," commented Lizabeth. Shauna looked at the dance floor and saw Ash and Sabrina holding each other closely while slow dancing. She smiled, glad that Ash was having a good time. "I get the feeling you want to be in her shoes don't you?" asked Lizabeth, making Shauna look at her like a Deerling caught in headlights. "It's alright. I know how you feel."

"You do?!" asked Shauna, stunned at what she just heard.

"Yea. I'm in the same boat as you," revealed Lizabeth as she gazed at Ash, making Shauna's jaw drop. "I saw him do courageous things and he even risked his life for others right in front of me. Remember how I told you about the you know what I was guarding and how it picked him? It doesn't make mistakes; only pure hearted persons can be chosen and they also must be willing to sacrifice for others. How often do you see someone like that? It affected me but when he continued on his journey, I moved on with my life. Seeing him in the tournament, risking it all again at the attack and being here now has brought some old feelings back but I'm not sure. I don't know what to do but right now, I'm happy with just being his friend until I work out what I'm feeling. Hell, it might just be nostalgic feelings or something." Lizabeth's confession made Shauna think for a moment before she nodded. She had witnessed Ash do amazing things in the past too. Even though they didn't spend too much time together and she had a crush on another guy when they met, she did remember him more often than other people. What they saw during the tournament was just further proof that he was truly unique as he risked it all to save everyone. Then again, it may just be nostalgia like Lizabeth said. Maybe she was just happy to see her friend again and she's just confusing it for something else. She turned her attention back to the dancing duo as the slow song finally ended, thinking she'll worry about that later. Ash and Sabrina looked at one another with a smile.

"Thank you for the dance Ash. I really do appreciate it," said Sabrina as she gave him a friendly kiss on his cheek, making the jaws drop of the four girls who had their eyes on them.

"You're welcome and thank you for suggesting it Sabrina," replied back Ash. He smiled at her that Sabrina returned before grasping her hand and leading her back to the bar. The two of them sat down in their original seats and called Shauna and Lizabeth over so they could drink another round together. The two blunettes came over immediately since they weren't busy and enjoyed their company so they joined them in picking up their shot glasses again. "Wait, we should do this right," said Ash and the three girls gave him slightly confused looks. He turned around and faced Clair and Liza who were looking at them but didn't turn away. He waved them over to come join them. He told the blunettes to add three more shot glasses and to fill them up.

"Ah okay but why?" asked Lizabeth as she brought three more shot glasses and Shauna poured the vodka into the three.

"We have three more joining us," explained Ash. Before they could ask who, Ash pointed behind him and to his right. As the three checked, they saw Giselle, Clair and Liza moving towards them.

"How did you know?" asked Sabrina and Ash explained he sensed Giselle coming towards them with his aura and also sensed Clair and Liza were feeling left out so he invited them over. The three girls were impressed by his acute senses and that he was so thoughtful. Soon enough, Clair, Liza and Giselle joined them and Ash handed each of them their shot.

"Thanks Ash. So what are we toasting this to?" asked Giselle, hiding her annoyance at the other girls who were there as she held her shot and Ash took his.

"I'll let you girls decide on that this time since I made the last toast," replied Ash and the girls thought for a moment before Liza made the toast.

"To a wonderful night for us all!"

"To a wonderful night for us all!" repeated the rest and clinked their shot glasses together before they each gulped down their shots and placed them back down onto the counter.

"So where's our shots Ash?"

Ash whirled around at that and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Misty, May, Dawn, Serena and Cynthia were standing there all dressed up. Misty was wearing her sparkling yellow dress from their date, Dawn was wearing her sparkling blue dress and Serena was wearing her hot pink dress. May was wearing a red dress with straps that went over her shoulders and a diagonal cut on the bottom that went from her left knee to her right thigh. Cynthia was wearing a long silver dress that reached down to her ankles but was cut from the bottom all the way up to her thighs on the sides along with it being held up by a single thick diagonal strap that went over her left shoulder. They looked absolutely amazing and completely stunned Ash so much that his jaw dropped as he continued staring at them, making the five blush deeply. He didn't even notice the others beside them who were Gary, Ilene, Richie, Joy, Brock, Lucy, Chili, Violet, Cress, Lily, Cilan, Iris, Riley and Daisy Oak who were also all dressed up.

"You might want to close your mouth Ashy-boy before you swallow a bug," quipped Gary before laughing out loud as some of the others chuckled. Sabrina frowned at seeing her ex but then quickly changed her expression to be neutral before anyone noticed. Even though she forgave him and moved on, she could never forget what he did to her. Ash locked eyes with his rival and was about to explode at Gary since he found out he what he did to Sabrina.

Now is not the time.

The voice that he hadn't heard in a long time spoke up in his mind that made him freeze for a second. He heeded the words. "Don't be jealous Gare-Bear!" shot Ash instead as he snapped out of his trance, making them all laugh at Gary who scowled and was embarrassed as Ilene couldn't stop laughing at his hated nick-name. Sabrina chuckled at that and when she happened to glance at Gary, he flinched when he caught her gaze. Sabrina looked away with a smile as Ilene asked Gary what happened but he just shook his head. That was another reason why Gary wasn't for her; she easily intimidated him. Misty, Dawn, Serena and May moved forward as Ash got up and the five of them were in a group hug that drew many people's attention from the club, including the newer members in their group of friends.

"I'm sorry I just left like that. I just needed to get away and clear my head," apologized Ash as he held onto the four tightly. "Please forgive me. But how did you find me?" he asked them.

"It's alright Ash. We understand," replied Misty.

"Cynthia let us know where you are," revealed Serena and Ash asked her how but all she said was that she had her ways. Ash glanced at Clair and Liza who looked away towards the walls. He shook his head while chuckling since he figured out how.

"So did you do anything without us? Blow up a mountain? Catch a pokémon? Do anything naughty with any of these girls?" asked Dawn with a mischievous smirk and slight nudging. The new girls flushed heavily at that but Ash just chuckled and smiled in response while everyone looked at him.

"No nothing really. I flew around on Charizard for a while before coming here not too long ago. Had some shots with our friends here before dancing a bit with Sabrina while talking a bit and she thanked me for dancing with her with a kiss on the cheek," explained Ash as he pointed out Giselle, Shauna, Lizabeth, Clair, Liza and Sabrina who grew red as he told them that. Gary raised his eyebrows at that, surprised that Sabrina was so comfortable around him. The four girls didn't mind and neither did Cynthia as it was just a friendly interaction, they knew Sabrina and he was being upfront and truthful about it. Ash then introduced everyone to each other, though some of them knew each other already.

"So what are we drinking?" asked Cynthia as she drew gracefully closer to the bar in her silver dress, catching Ash's attention before he answered her.

"Whatever you'd like Cynthia," replied Ash. "We were drinking some vodka but you can have whatever you want. All of you can get whatever you want and however much you want," he added as he glanced at everyone who gave him confused looks. "It's on me so don't worry about it." He turned around while taking out his Poke Dex that also was linked with his bank account. "Shauna, open up a tab for me and put everything on the bank account linked to this," he told her as he handed it to her.

"Ash, we can't let you do that," said Brock as he grasped his shoulder.

"Already done Brocko and don't worry. I don't splurge often and have more than enough," reasoned Ash and Brock sighed before Ash suddenly hugged his pseudo brother. "Thanks man for being there for me, not only as a friend but as a brother."

"No problem Ash," replied back Brock before they separated. "But what was that all about?"

"Eh, don't get too into it. I'm a little buzzed right now," admitted Ash causing everyone to laugh. "Hey, Lizabeth, is there a reserved area that all of us can fit?" he asked her as he turned to face her.

"Ah yea. It's at the far corner over there and big enough for a bunch of people to sit around comfortably around a circle table. It comes with its own personal bartenders or waiter of your choice along with your own VIP security," explained the blunette.

"Great! We'll take it!" said Ash without hesitation.

"Can you two join us then?" asked May. "You could be our acting personal bartenders in a way so you don't get into trouble."

"That sounds like a good idea. What do you think Lizabeth?" asked Shauna and Lizabeth nodded.

"Sure, why not? Let me finish setting you up Ash and….done! Here's your Poke Dex and take this paper to the security guy there and we'll come join you as soon as we get someone to cover us. We'll also make sure to bring in several bottles along with lots of snacks like chips and salsa and fries. Sound good?" asked Lizabeth.

"Sounds perfect!" exclaimed Ash as he took back his Poke Dex, the paper and Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder. "Thanks a lot you two. Come join us as soon as you can."

The blunette bartenders nodded with smiles on their faces as Ash and his large group of friends moved towards the VIP area that they were told about and handed the security guard the piece of paper. He looked over it and took out a stamp as he stepped aside. He placed a stamp that said 'Club Indigo VIP' onto each person's right hand as they went past him so he could tell who they are and could just show their hand for them to go back in whenever they went to the dance floor and came back. Ash, Misty, May, Dawn, Serena, Cynthia, Sabrina, Clair, Liza, Giselle, Brock, Lucy, Gary, Ilene, Riley, Daisy Oak, Richie, Joy, Cilan, Iris, Cress, Lily, Chili and Violet sat around the spacious, soft and comfy couches around the large circular VIP area. Even though they were a large group of people, there was still a good amount of room in the VIP area for more to join them. Pikachu hopped onto the top of the couch and sat down as he looked at everything from his position, enjoying the view.

"Man, this is awesome! I've never been in a club before, let alone in the VIP area!" said Chili with enthusiasm as he sunk into the comfy couch, making the others smile. "Thanks Ash!"

"No problem Chili. This is a first for me too," revealed Ash. "Hey, I'm curious. How did you guys get in here?" The ones who just joined them all pointed at Cynthia who smirked, saying she intimidated the bouncer into letting them all in since some were underage and they all laughed. They then asked how he got in. "I bribed the bouncer." His friends gave him surprised looks that he did that and more so that he was able to pull it off. "Anyways, who else has never been to a club before?" he asked and many raised their hands besides Cynthia, Clair, Liza, Giselle, Sabrina, Lily, Violet, Lucy, Riley, Brock, Gary and Daisy Oak. "Huh, well what do you know?" he asked rhetorically with a chuckle.

"Alright, so are we going to just sit here and wait for drinks or are we gonna go dance for a bit?" asked Dawn as she stood up.

"Dance," replied Ash without any hesitation as he stood up too, making the others give him stunned looks that he caught as they weren't expecting him to be so up for it. "Blame the vodka. I had a bunch of shots before you guys got here," he admitted and they chuckled. He made Misty, May and Serena get up as well before grasping their and Dawn's hands within his two hands and led the four girls to the dance floor. This act got some interested looks from the other members of the group and several others from the club as they went past them. He did not make Cynthia get up for several reasons and Cynthia knew and so she wasn't hurt or mad.

"Man, I don't think I'll ever get over the fact that Ashy-boy is smooth with the ladies now and has not one but four girlfriends," chuckled Gary, not realizing what he let slip and in front of who.

"What?!" exclaimed Giselle. Clair, Liza and Sabrina also let out shocked cries as well but only because Cynthia told them not to let on that they know about the situation between her, Ash and the girls for the time being.

"Nice going Gare-Bear," said Iris sarcastically as she shook her head.

"Stop calling me that short stuff! And it's not like they're hiding it anymore! Look at them damn it!" shot Gary as he pointed at the five and they all looked at them on the dance floor.

Gary was right. Ash was dancing with Misty, Dawn, Serena and May and the five were having a lot of fun together as they laughed and smiled as the four girls took turns dancing with Ash alone. They then sandwiched him between two of them and then between all four of them before returning back to dancing with him alone while the other three danced together. The five of them were catching a lot of attention from everyone else. Many girls were eyeing Ash with very interested looks while giving jealous looks at the girls and many guys were giving the girls lustful stares while shooting dirty looks at Ash.

"Looks like you're right bro," remarked Daisy.

"Is someone jealous that Ash has more girlfriends than him?" asked Ilene with a dangerous tone of voice as she glared at Gary.

"No, no of course not!" replied back Gary instantly as he sweat dropped. "I'm just saying that I'll never not be surprised seeing that, that's all!" Ilene narrowed her eyes at him before she let it go and commented that better be the only reason.

"Someone's whipped," remarked Daisy, teasing her little brother who scowled at her while everyone else laughed.

"We should go join them. C'mon Chili!" said Violet as she got up and Chili got up after her.

"Hell yea! Let's go!" remarked Chili. He turned to the others. "C'mon guys and gals!"

Chili's enthusiasm rubbed off on them all and they all got up to go to the dance floor. As the large group of friends moved towards the five, they saw them and waved them over. Pretty soon the five and the large group combined and they all started dancing together while laughing and smiling. The ones in relationships alternated between dancing between their loved one and dancing with their friends. The music picked up with a popular hip-hop song and soon everyone was jumping up and down with their hands in the air. Laugher and song words were heard throughout the dance floor as some laughed, some sang along and others just enjoyed the atmosphere and good vibes while they all danced. The fast hip-hop song ended while a medium beat song picked up after it and they continued dancing. Ash made sure to dance with Cynthia as well since it was a good cover and the four girls were happy that he was thoughtful and didn't become jealous or angry one bit. Cynthia had a lot of fun dancing with him and they got pretty close but made sure it didn't go too far to raise suspicion from the others as none except for the five girls, Ash, Clair, Sabrina and Liza knew the story. But Ash and the four girls didn't know about the other three.