Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered trademark of Nintendo Entertainment LTD. and Pokémon USA Inc. All characters and locations are copyrighted and used without permission or profit. All original characters belong to ShadowPikachuTrainer and should not be used without permission. Key: “Speech” ‘Thoughts’ Chapter 1 – Respite S.S. Starmie, somewhere in the Hoenni Ocean The last reddish rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon as the enormous luxury cruiser made its way slowly but surely toward its destination, the city lights finally visible now that the sun had set. In the massive dining room on one of its decks, a trio of trainers feasted on the buffet provided by their hosts. One was a black-haired young male whose brown eyes were currently closed in contentment as he shoveled food into his mouth. He wore a Pokémon league cap that was a mixture of red and black with a stylized blue outline of the top of a Pokéball on the front which was currently turned backward, likely to allow him to get his face closer to his food. “Ash! Slow down or you’re going to end up choking on your food. This is an all-you-can eat buffet, not an eat-as-fast-as-humanly-possible buffet!” A young, blue haired girl exclaimed as she sat down, re-arranging her pink mini-skirt. The other trainer – a tall, older trainer with brown hair who was easily distinguished by the fact that it was often very hard to tell whether his eyes were open or not – shook his head. “It’s no use, Dawn, I think he is officially in Foodland. You won’t be able to get through to him until he has to get up for his next plateful.” Dawn sighed, rolling her blue eyes as she watched the spectacle that was beginning to attract attention from others in the dining room. “I think you’re right, Brock. I just wish he’d be more discreet – everyone is starting to look at us.” Another of Ash’s best friends – his Pikachu – nodded in agreement with Dawn, rubbing his paw behind his head in embarrassment. Ash finally looked up from his plate when he had finished clearing it off, and was surprised to see Dawn, Brock, and Pikachu staring at him. “What?” He asked in confusion. “Do I have something on my face, Dawn?” “Yes, of course you do, Ash!” the blue haired Coordinator exclaimed. “You’ve been shoveling the entire buffet line down your throat for the past ten minutes, so what would you expect?” She asked, handing him several napkins. “Erm, sorry, I’m just really hungry and it isn’t that often we get to have a buffet with food this good. No offense, Brock.” Ash said to the Pokémon Breeder who had, over the years, become the unofficial cook of the group. Brock smiled. “None taken. This food is really good. Just tone it down a bit – everyone is staring.” Ash suddenly remembered that they were just three trainers among several hundred on the ship, and looked around to see others at other tables giving him strange looks. He started sinking down in his chair in embarrassment, but the attention was quickly drawn off him by an announcement that came over the PA system built into the ship. “Attention guests, we are approaching the port of Ekab, and will be docking within an hour. Those who have arranged for a stay here should remove their belongings from their rooms and exit the ship when we dock.” Brock finished cleaning off his plate and stood up. “Well, that’s us. I’ll head back to the room and start packing up all our stuff.” He said, carrying his tray over to a conveyer belt that took dishes back into the kitchen of the ship. Ash got another plate of food, but ate this one much more slowly after Dawn gave him a warning glare. “So Dawn,” Ash said, swallowing another mouthful, “where are you planning on going after our vacation here? You still wanna travel with us?” “Well…..” Dawn began, “I did sort of want to check out the Contests in Kanto and Hoenn, but I really like traveling with you guys so I’ll probably end up going to whatever region you’re going to next.” Ash smiled. “Well, I’m not sure where to go next. I’ll have to ask Professor Oak what he thinks would be a good region to head to next. But… I’d like it if you came with us.” He said quietly. Dawn blushed and looked down at her plate – she had, over the past year or so of their travels together, developed a crush on the hot-headed trainer, but she was sure he didn’t mean his statement the way she wanted him to. “There’ll be plenty of time to figure out what to do next. Let’s worry about relaxing and taking in the sights for our next three weeks in Kultran.” Ash nodded, and cleaned off the rest of his plate. Dawn pushed her chair back and began to stand. “Last one back to the cabin is a rotten Exeggcute!” She exclaimed, hurrying over to put her tray away before dashing off toward the stairs that led to their room on the third floor of the cruise liner. “Hey, mwait!” Ash exclaimed, swallowing his last mouthful and sprinting quickly after her. “That’s not fair, you got a head start!” Pikachu, still at the table, shook his head in amusement at their antics. He then looked around furtively and when he was sure that none of the staff in the dining hall were watching him, he hopped off the table, scampering away after his master with a half-full bottle of ketchup. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ekab Docks, City of Ekab Ash, Dawn, Brock, Pikachu, and several other trainers filed off the ramp of the S.S. Starmie and onto the docks of Ekab. Others on the ship were headed to other resort towns further to the south. Ekab was one of the most popular, and most visited. Kultran was a large, sparsely populated island region. It came close to rivaling Hoenn in size, and was one of the few regions of the world that did not have a Pokémon League. It was centered on the equator, and much of its interior was covered in lush rainforests filled with hundreds of species of Pokémon. The outer edges of the region were, for the most part, long coastlines of pure-white coral sands. The beaches, rainforests, archeological history, and warm climate made Kultran a prime location for resort cities like Ekab. Ash was very glad that his mother had let him use some of his winnings from the Sinnoh League to treat his two friends to a vacation. It had taken some convincing, but she had finally relented. He had invited her to go as well, but she had claimed to be too busy, and told him to enjoy his time with his friends. Brock looked at a guidebook he had picked up before their trip, and consulted the map to figure out the way to their hotel. “This way you guys,” Brock said, leading them north along the main street of the city. As they walked, they took in the sights of the Ekab nightlife – numerous bars and restaurants were teeming with people, music blaring from every open door and window. To their right, brightly lit, massive hotels were built on the street, each claiming its own section of beachfront property. They finally reached their hotel – The Golden Azumarill – after several minutes of walking. It was a tall structure that consisted of an enormous center area that contained the hotel lobby and an enormous glass-covered atrium, and two wings on either side which contained the hotel rooms. Dawn entered the front doors and was awed by the atrium, which stretched hundreds of feet above her head. The lobby had numerous tall, leafy trees that reached upward for the top of the atrium. They walked to the front desk, and Ash, who had made the reservations, signed in with one of the several friendly desk attendants. One of them handed Ash several keycards, and walked from behind the desk to lead them to their room. They walked along through the trunks of the large trees, and saw that there were several man-made pools of water scattered around the atrium. In the ponds several Magikarp could be seen swimming lazily in the pools – Ash even thought he saw a glimpse of a Feebass as it skimmed through the water, underneath the lily pads floating at the water’s surface. They walked across a small footbridge which took them over one of the ponds, and reached the entrance to the North Wing of the hotel. The attendant led them to an elevator, which they took up to the tenth floor. They soon reached their room, 1015, and the attendant politely took his leave as Ash opened the door. The room was reasonably large, with two king-sized beds taking up much of one half of the room. A large entertainment center was located on the wall across from the beds. The tropical, flower print comforters on the beds matched the theme of the room, which had tropical wallpaper, and even a mural painted on the vaulted ceiling making it look as if they were looking up through a rainforest canopy. “Wow, this is really neat,” Dawn said, taking in the room. She tossed her backpack on the nearest bed. “This one’s mine,” she exclaimed, before walking towards the bathroom. The entire room continued with the jungle theme, with the shower stall, bathtub, and sinks made entirely out of large limestone blocks, and painted to look as if vines of ivy were crawling over them. Ash and Brock came over to investigate the bathroom but, just as they got a glimpse through the doorway, Dawn smiled sweetly at them before closing the door in their faces. “Sorry boys, but I claim the bathroom first!” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Golden Azumarill, Main Courtyard Ash wandered down on the main courtyard of the hotel – it was situated behind the lobby and sandwiched between the two wings of rooms – the overall shape of the hotel being that of a “U”. He had looked out one of the massive windows of their room, and saw several Pokémon battles going on in the courtyard. The courtyard was a large, open area that had been set up for Pokémon battles. Beyond it Ash could see the edges of several large swimming pools – he recalled that the brochure for the hotel bragged not only direct beachfront access, but also nine different swimming pools and hot tubs. He approached the makeshift battle fields on which three battles were being held simultaneously. He watched the closest one – a fight between a Pinsir and a Parasect, which seemed to be at a stalemate. As he was thinking of ways that either trainer could pull out of it and get an advantage, he was interrupted by the voice of another trainer who had just walked up to the field as well. “Hey, I know you, you’re that one Ketchup guy. I saw you in the Sinnoh Conference a few weeks ago, you’re pretty good. How would you like a battle?” The boy, not much younger than Ash, asked him. His hair was so blond it appeared to be white, and he held it back in a ponytail to keep it out of his eyes. He wore jeans and a simple shirt which proudly displayed seven badges pinned on the sleeve. Ash scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Er… it’s Ketchum, Ash Ketchum – not Ketchup. But sure, I’d love to battle.” The other trainer smiled and shook Ash’s hand. “I’m Tony Russo. How about a one-on-one? I’ve been battling a lot here, so I’ve only got one rested Pokémon left.” “You’re on!” Ash exclaimed, and both of them faced off in the only open area remaining in the courtyard. Ash grabbed a Pokéball from his belt and tossed it in the air. “Go, Staravia!” The Pokéball popped open, and shot out a beam of light that quickly formed into a tough-looking bird Pokémon whose feathers varied from pure white on its chest and face, gray on its main body and forehead, and black on its tail and on a curled crest of feathers that rose above its head. “Okay, Granbull, let’s do this.” Tony said, his own Pokéball already in the air. It revealed a short, muscle-bound purple canine Pokémon that firmly planted all four paws on the ground. Its most notable feature was its huge lower jaw, from which extruded two long canine teeth that extended up past the creatures’ nose. It rose from its position, standing up on its hind legs, and clenched its fists while letting out a low growl at Staravia. “Let’s start off with a Wing Attack, Staravia,” Ash said. The bird Pokémon nodded his head and spread his wings to take flight. He dove in at the large canine, his wings beginning to glow white. He brought one down to hammer the Granbull in the face. “Let it hit you, Granbull, then use Bite!” Tony shouted just before the attack made contact. Granbull allowed the wing to slam into its face, and then it lunged forward before Staravia flew away and fastened its jaws on Staravia’s wing. He shook the helpless Pokémon in his mouth and slammed it into the ground several times before tossing it away. “Staravia, are you alright?” Ash asked, concerned for his Pokémon. Staravia winced as it rose back onto its talons, and nodded to Ash. “Alright, now we have to keep our distance or this fight won’t last long. Use Whirlwind.” Staravia lifted off once more and soared above Granbull. He began quickly flapping his wings, creating a huge gust of wind that formed a twister that soon lifted up the big-fanged Pokémon and whirled it around before dissipating, letting him drop well over fifteen feet to the ground. The purple canine got up slowly, catching its breath as the fall had knocked the breath out of him. “Payback, Granbull,” Tony ordered. Granbull’s eyes began to glow red, and he suddenly leapt into the air and slammed his head into Staravia. “What?!” Ash gasped, having seen the canine leap over twenty feet into the air, something he knew was normally impossible for the stocky, top-heavy Pokémon. He snapped out of his amazement, realizing that Payback must have boosted his physical abilities to allow him to strike back at Staravia. “Keep back, Staravia, and use Whirlwind again.” Staravia again flapped its wings, creating the same vortex which made its way toward Granbull. The Pokémon tried fleeing but was caught up again. As the vortex released him above the ground, Tony gave another order. “Ice Fang!” Granbull managed to twist itself in the air, and its canines began to glow a blue-ish white, and two icy bolts launched from its jaws, striking Staravia in the wing. Granbull, having twisted to aim the attack landed flat on its back, had the breath knocked from its lungs once more. Staravia flapped unsteadily, breaking fragments of ice from its wing. ‘I’ve got to end this right now before Staravia takes any more hits like that,’ Ash thought to himself. “Alright Staravia, let’s end this with Brave Bird!” Staravia nodded and flew higher until it became no more than a speck to their vision. Then he dove. Granbull squinted up into the dark skies, and then his eyes widened comically when he spotted the blur of Staravia nearly on top of him. “Try to dodge it!” Tony shouted, but he was too late. Staravia slammed bodily into the canine, sending it tumbling backwards. He landed wearily, the blow having caused nearly as much damage to him as it did to Granbull. Fortunately the purple canine tried lifting his heavy head, but did not have enough energy to move his massive jaws, and his head fell back to the ground as he passed out. Tony held out his Pokéball, “Granbull return. You did a great job.” He walked over to Ash and shook his hand. “That was a great battle. Thanks. I guess I still have a lot more training to do before I get into your league.” Ash laughed, shrugging in embarrassment. “Well, you almost won – if Staravia had been hurt any more he wouldn’t have been able to use Brave Bird on Granbull. Your Pokémon was really well trained.” “Thanks Ash. Well, I’m going to head off to the clinic and get my Pokémon healed, so I guess I’ll see you around. Maybe we can battle again sometime.” Tony said. “That’d be great, Tony. Hey, where is the closest clinic here? I’m going to battle some more, so I’ll probably have to take some of my Pokémon in later.” “Well, there’s actually a small clinic right here at the hotel – you just take the stairs behind the main desk down into the lower level, and they’ve got a clinic there that can handle pretty much anything but the most serious injuries.” Tony replied. “Thanks.” Ash said, and gave a quick wave as Tony walked away. He turned around and knelt down next to Staravia. “You did great there, buddy. Why don’t you take a rest in your Pokéball now?” Ash returned the bird Pokémon to its Pokéball and put it back on his belt. He stood, and began to wander through the crowds watching the battles, and looked for his next opponent. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Golden Azumarill, Room 1015 Dawn hummed to herself as she finished blow-drying her wet hair. She took out two barrettes and used them to pin her long blue hair back out of her face. She turned from the mirror, and nearly tripped on her Piplup. Piplup was a small penguin-like Pokémon, with an orange beak, white face, dark blue down on the top of its head and around its neck, and light blue down covering much of the rest of its body. He had been her very first Pokémon and was one of her favorites to use in Contests. Dawn had kept the little penguin in his Pokéball during much of the cruise to keep him out of trouble. She typically left him out of his Pokéball, much like Ash did with Pikachu, so she had let him out once inside the bathroom, and filled up the tub for him to play in while she took a shower. She reached down and scooped up her friend, giving him a hug. “Hey, Piplup, did you have fun taking your bath?” Piplup chirruped happily and its head on her cheek affectionately. Dawn giggled, giving Piplup a kiss on the top of his head, and shuffled barefoot to the door. When she opened the door, she felt the cool air of the hotel room clash with the warm, steamy air that her shower had created, and shivered slightly at the temperature change. She looked around the room and saw Brock lying on his bed, engrossed in the latest issue of Breeder Weekly, a magazine he made sure he picked up every time they reached a town during their journeys. What was noticeable was the absence of Ash from the room. Neither he nor Pikachu were in the room. “Hey Brock, where did Ash go?” She asked. Brock jumped – he hadn’t heard her exit the bathroom. “Oh, hey Dawn. Ash said that he saw some battles going on down in the courtyard of the hotel and he said he was going to head down there and check them out.” Brock stood, closing his magazine and placing it on the bed. “So, are you finished with the bathroom now?” Brock asked her. Dawn nodded. “Yeah, you can go ahead and use it now. I think I’m gonna just head off to bed now.” Brock nodded. “Okay, good night, Dawn,” Brock said before entering the bathroom and closing the door behind him. Dawn set Piplup down on her bed and he quickly burrowed down underneath the covers. She walked over to the window and looked out. It was dark out, but from the lights of the hotel she could just make out the waves crashing onto the beach. Directly beneath her, she could see several Pokémon battles going on. The closest one was between a Monferno and a Bibarel. The goofy, beaver-like Pokémon seemed to be taking a beating. Monferno, an ape-like Pokémon with bright orange fur and blue and red markings on its face swung its tail at its opponent, the bright flames on its tip scorching the Bibarel. Its tail swung around again, illuminating its trainer in the light of its flame. Dawn smiled as she recognized Ash’s backward-facing hat. She watched the battle a little longer until it was ended by Monferno’s Flame Wheel, and then watched as Ash ran over and hugged the ape Pokémon, congratulating him. Dawn sighed and slowly turned away from the window. Ash’s very close bond with his Pokémon was one of the many things that she admired about him. She flopped down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. ‘Who am I kidding,’ she thought to herself, ‘I have a huge crush on him and he probably doesn’t even have a clue. Even if he did, why would he ever like a loser like me?’ Tears came to her eyes as she remembered her crushing defeat in the Sinnoh Grand Festival. She hadn’t even been able to make it to the top 16, and despite the happy, “no need to worry” face she put on for everyone else, it still hurt her – it was even worse than the painful time she had when she lost both the Hearthome City and the Solaceon Contests in the appeal round. She’d been so proud of Ash for making it as far as he did in the Sinnoh League, and then she hadn’t even made it past the preliminary appeals. Ash had been there for her as always, trying his hardest to cheer her up after her loss, but she knew he must have been thinking about how weak she was – she herself couldn’t stop thinking about it. Piplup chirruped in concern when he peeked out of his little nest of blankets and saw his trainer crying. His face drooped, knowing she was thinking about the Grand Festival – he had seen her upset over it several times already. He got out of his “nest” and waddled closer to her, jumping on her chest to rub his head against her cheek. “Lup Pipip,” he said, looking up at her and using his rough pink tongue to lap the tears off her face. Dawn let out a giggle and managed a watery smile. She wrapped her arms around her best friend and squeezed him tightly. “Thanks Piplup,” she whispered to him. “You always know how to cheer me up. I’m just thinking about what happened back at the Festival.” Piplup patted her face with one of his stubby fins and cuddled closer to her. Dawn sighed and closed her eyes. “Sorry if I’m worrying you, Piplup. I’ve just not been able to stop thinking about Ash and whether or not he would ever feel the same way as I feel, especially since the Festival. Do you think he would like me, you know, like like me?” Piplup looked up at her and nodded its head when she opened her eyes once more. “Lup, pippip!” He said. He had seen Dawn staring at Ash when he wasn’t looking, blushing around him, sometimes being unable to talk to him without stuttering. At first he had thought that there was something wrong with her – that she was sick or something. But he soon realized that she had a crush on the ebony-haired trainer, and now Dawn had finally confirmed his suspicions. He didn’t know if Ash felt the same way about his trainer, but he knew that nodding and encouraging her would make her feel better. Dawn smiled – a real smile – at her Pokémon and closed her eyes. “I hope you’re right, Piplup.” She whispered before slowly drifting off to sleep to the rhythmic sound of the shower running in the next room. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Golden Azumarill, Main Courtyard “Thanks, Grotle, you did a great job,” Ash said to the Pokémon that currently had its jaws clamped onto his arm in its unique way of showing affection for its trainer. Grotle was a large snapping-turtle Pokémon. Its main body was a light green and the entire top of its body, from head to tail, was covered in a protective yellowish shell that had several dark green bushes growing on it. After finally prying the hard-shelled Pokémon from his arm, he returned him to his Pokéball. He looked to Pikachu, the only Pokémon he had not used yet that night in a battle, on his shoulder. “I think we should head back to the room. It’s getting really late.” Ash said to his best friend. It was already nearly midnight; he saw only one other battle going on, and most of the crowds had already gone to bed. Ash retraced his steps to the main lobby. He made his way down a small staircase which was exactly where Tony had said it would be. The stairs led to another lobby, this one very similar to most Pokémon Centers. A pretty blond-haired young woman sat at the chair behind the main desk. Ash walked up to the desk, noting that her nametag said “Amanda”. She looked up from the magazine she was browsing through and gave him a bright smile. “Hi there! Do you have some Pokémon that you want us to treat?” She asked in a friendly voice. “Er, yeah,” Ash said, pulling all five of the Pokéballs from his belt and placing them on the counter. “Okay, all I need is your Trainer’s License, and your hotel keycard.” Amanda said. Ash pulled his keycard from his pocket, and gave her his Pokédex which contained an electronic version of his Trainer’s License. As she scanned his license and swiped his keycard in a reader, Ash spoke to her. “Kinda weird not seeing a Nurse Joy behind the counter.” She smiled and looked up at him after typing briefly on her keyboard. “I’m sure it is. We aren’t an official Pokémon Center – we’re more of an accredited Pokémon Health Care facility. Since we’re privately funded through guest fees at the hotel and not funded by the Pokémon League we aren’t able to get any contracts with a member of the Joy family.” She handed him back his License and Pokédex. “But, we’ve got some of the top doctors outside of the Joy family here at this facility. Alright, now I’ll take these,” she said, picking up the Pokéballs on the desk before pausing a moment. “Do you want that cutie there to get treated to?” She asked him, pointing to Pikachu on his shoulder whose already naturally red cheeks darkened in a blush. Ash shook his head. “No, just those five. Pikachu didn’t battle today.” “Alright,” Amanda said as she placed the Pokéballs onto a conveyor belt that took them through a small opening in the wall to a back room. “They all should be refreshed and healthy by tomorrow morning. All you have to do is bring your keycard and License again to verify your identity. But you know, you probably won’t need them; I don’t think I’ll be able to forget such a cute face.” She said with a wink. Ash looked at Pikachu again, but quickly realized she had been talking about him this time, and it was his turn to blush. “Er, o-okay, thanks! I’ll come back first thing in the morning.” He said quickly before turning to head up the stairs before he embarrassed himself. Pikachu laughed at his trainer’s expression. Ash turned his head and gave him a look. “Oh, and you’re one to talk, Mr. Cutie.” Ash said, laughing when Pikachu’s smug expression disappeared. Ash entered the elevator and punched the “10” button before he leaned back against the back wall of the elevator as it jerked into motion. He thought back to the incident with the receptionist, Amanda. He realized how much had changed – how much he had grown up – in the past few years. ‘Just a year ago, I probably wouldn’t have had a clue that she was flirting with me,’ Ash thought to himself with a grin. The elevator dinged and the doors opened, allowing him to step out on the 10th floor. He walked slowly to the door to their room and slid his keycard in. The lock mechanism whirred and the light above the lock flashed from red to green, allowing him to turn the knob. He moved in slowly, making sure to shut the door as quietly as possible when he saw the lights were turned off, leaving only the dim light of the moon coming in through the window to illuminate the room. He crept into the room and set his backpack down next to his bed. He took off his vest and folded it, and then removed his hat with a yawn, placing both of them on the nightstand. He heard the loud snores of Brock, whistling breaths of Piplup, and the steady, soft breathing of Dawn, telling him that all of them were already asleep. He laid back on the bed next to Brock, and Pikachu jumped from his shoulder to claim his sleeping place, taking up nearly half of Ash’s pillow. Ash turned on his side, resting his head on the other half to allow his friend more room. The moon came fully from behind a cloud, increasing the lighting of the room. Ash could see Dawn turned on her side, holding tightly to her Piplup, her long blue hair escaping from its barrette on one side of her head to drape over her neck. He smiled, closing his eyes. ‘She looks so cute when she sleeps - WAIT!” Ash slapped himself on the forehead, trying to clear those thoughts from his mind. He’d noticed himself having them more frequently and, despite what others thought about his mental prowess, he knew what they might mean – he was developing feelings for Dawn. He sighed to himself. Along with the changes he had been thinking of before had come a “curse” – he had begun thinking of other girls in ways involving more than just simple friendship, especially Dawn who he spent every day with. He’d come to realize that it had started before he had come to Sinnoh, in the last few weeks he had spent with May Maple, another of his best friends. He hadn’t been able to figure out what the flutters in his stomach and leaps in his heartbeat meant at the time, but now he knew that he had unknowingly developed a crush on May. He groaned silently - now the same thing was happening with Dawn, only this time he knew what was happening. He had no clue whether Dawn might feel the same way. ‘Heck, I don’t even know if May liked me in that way, let alone which of the two I’d like to…’ He trailed off, shaking images of him kissing both May and Dawn out of his head. ‘Gah! I’m starting to turn into Brock!’ He thought to himself. He finally managed to turn his mind to thinking about what battles, Trainers, and new Pokémon he might encounter the next day before he finally drifted off to sleep. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Golden Azumarill, Main Courtyard The morning sun had just risen fully above the horizon, shining through the clear glass of the atrium and onto the courtyard and beach when Ash, Dawn, Brock, Pikachu, and Piplup exited the lobby to the courtyard. They had just eaten breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, and were now on their way to spend the day on the beach. Brock was wearing blue and green swimming trunks, Ash was wearing a pair of dark blue trunks, and Dawn was wearing her favorite orange and yellow two-piece swimming suit. All of them carried towels, and Piplup had a small shovel slung over its shoulder, looking excited to play on the beach. They made their way past several of the enormous pools offered by the hotel, and Dawn decided to talk the others into swimming in some of them later on in the day. They walked down the steps from the raised pool area, and stepped onto the pure white sands of the Ekab beach. The sands were surprisingly cool, but Dawn realized that was due to both how early in the day it was, and also their reflective nature. Ash turned to Dawn and Brock. “Okay guys, I know today we’re going to hang out around the beach, but I think we should check out some of the hotel brochures on activities we can do.” Dawn nodded. “You’re right Ash. As much fun as it would be, we shouldn’t just lay around on the beach for our whole three weeks. I’ve heard there’s all sorts of things to do, like snorkeling and taking a trip into the Kultran jungle. I heard they have several Pokémon Breeders that monitor the health of the local Pokémon. It would be fun to meet them, don’t you think Brock? Brock? Brock!” Brock looked at the expansive beach, and the many scantily clad young women sunbathing and playing in the surf, and his eyes began to glaze over. He began walking down the beach in a daze, the cries from his friends who he had just walked out of the conversation from not registering in his head. Ash shook his head. “I think breeding is the last thing on Brock’s mind right now, Dawn.” Ash paused, and grinned. “Or at least Pokémon breeding.” Dawn gasped and slapped Ash on the back of the head before starting to giggle. “Ash, you’re such a pervert!” She exclaimed. “You’re probably right though.” Ash blushed, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. His eyes fell on Pikachu, and he straightened up. “Hey Pikachu, race you to the ocean!” Ash said, sending sand flying in the air as he sprinted along the beach. Once Dawn cleared the sand from her eyes she glared at the ebony haired trainer running down the beach. “Oh, you’ll pay for that, Ketchum,” she said aloud. “Come on Piplup, let’s head down to the ocean too.” She stalked off toward Ash, intent giving him quite a dunking once he got in the water. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ekab Beach, Late Morning Ash looked up from where he laid on his beach towel, watching Dawn and Pikachu playing in the ocean. Further down the beach he could see Brock hitting on several young women clad in bikinis, and his frog Pokémon reaching out to jab him and drag him away. Ash smiled to himself and laid back, soaking up the hot summer sun of Kultran. ‘Now this is what I call a great vacation!’ He thought to himself. The temperature was perfect – it was just right to sunbathe in, and just warm enough to merit a few traverses into the somewhat cooler ocean water. The waters of the Ekab area were a beautiful clear blue, not clouded with sediment, clear enough to see the sands of the ocean bottom hundreds of feet out. He heard shuffling footsteps and turned his head to see a sand-covered Piplup waddle over to him. He and Dawn, with the help of Pikachu, had been building sand castles and shaping sculptures of different Pokémon out of the sand most of the day, and he had yet to rinse himself off. “Hey Piplup, are you having fun?” He asked the penguin Pokémon. Piplup nodded but then patted Ash’s shoulder and gestured to his stomach. “Lup-luppip!” It exclaimed. Ash looked at the tiny Pokémon in confusion. “Er, what’s wrong, Piplup? What are you trying to tell….” He trailed off when he heard the blue Pokémon’s stomach gurgle noisily. Ash laughed. “Oh, you’re hungry! Well I guess it’s around time that we should go eat some lunch. Now that you mention it I’m getting kinda hungry too. You go rinse yourself off and I’ll get Dawn and Brock.” Ash got up, tilting his head when he felt the water in his ears that had gotten there earlier in the day when Dawn had leapt at him, shoving him under the water numerous times for accidentally kicking sand in her face. He walked over to where Brock was currently recovering from his latest rejection. “Hey Brock, let’s go get some lunch. Maybe if you get some food in you, you’ll have some better luck with the ladies,” he said. Brock smiled and stood up, picking up his towel. “You’re right Ash, I think I’m starting to lose my edge due to starvation. I’m sure once I get some nutrition into me I’ll be back and as irresistible as ever!” Brock exclaimed. Ash raised an eyebrow before turning to get Dawn and Pikachu. “Er, yeah, whatever keeps you going, Brocko.” Ash muttered. “Hey Dawn, Piplup reminded me that we should all eat some lunch, so me and Brock are headed to the hotel room to change and then we’re going down to the restaurant. Wanna come with us?” Ash asked. “Sure!” Dawn said, and picked up the now clean Piplup before she walked out of the gentle surf. Pikachu sprang from the water as well, leaping onto his usual place on Ash’s shoulder as the trainer walked back toward the hotel. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Golden Azumarill, Elevator It had only taken ten minutes to change, and for Dawn to fix her hair to her satisfaction, and Ash was already beginning to feel his stomach rumble at the thought of food. The elevator ended its descent at the main floor, and they made their way through the atrium toward the restaurant which occupied the first floor of the South Wing of the hotel. As they passed near the main desk, Ash, who was in the lead, paused when he heard a voice that sounded very familiar to him. He glanced over at the person and nearly fell over in shock. He saw the back of a young woman who was talking with one of the attendants who was handing her several brochures on local activities. The brown-haired girl was wearing a long, orange and white sleeveless shirt, which extended partway down over short black biking shorts. Around her waist was a light green fanny pack, and most of her brown hair was covered with a green and white bandanna. Ash walked over toward the main desk, and the others then noticed the person he was looking at. The girl thanked the attendant and turned around, facing Ash and the others. Her face brightened, and she smiled widely at the four, her smile even carrying through to her expressive blue eyes. “May!” - - - - - A/N: Hey everyone, that’s it for the first chapter. Hope you all liked it. As far as “shipping”/pairings go, I haven’t decided completely yet (whether it’ll be Ash/May or Ash/Dawn as I like both) – we’ll see how the story and the characters write themselves. Either way, there will be some tension between most of the characters regarding it, but in any case nothing will really be acted on until the end of the story (furthered in the sequel), and this story will be primarily action/adventure. Well, got this chapter done early and spent today editing it, but next week is going to be hectic at work, and my family is visiting next weekend, so the next chapter may not be out until next Tuesday (hopefully next Sunday, but I’m not too sure). Well, that’s all I have to say, except again please leave some sort of feedback (thanks to those who did so last chapter).