"Cilan, I want chocolate!" Iris rose up on her tiptoes to find Cilan, who was standing in line. He turned and put a thumb up to signal he heard her and Iris sighed, walking back over to her table.

"I can't believe how busy it is in here" Misty commented on the queue that was just to their right, surrounding the shop.

"It's because of the tournament starting tomorrow, many people from all over the place are coming to see it" Brock replied, taking a sip of his already bought strawberry milkshake. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"And we are in the tournament" May said with a nervous tone. Dawn also looked slightly nervous.

"I wonder how far we will get" 

"Only one of us can win and it will be me of course" Gary was also sat with the gang, leaning back into his chair in a way too casual mood.

"Lets just wait and see. I wouldn't get too cocky if you come up against one of us in the first round" Dawn replied back with a frown. 

"Yeah! No one is going to hold back!" May replied with the same amount of energy, also frowning.

"Ok girls, lets not get too feisty. Just wait until the tournament starts" Gary replied, a grin appearing on his face.

"Here you guys are" Cilan came up with a tray, handing out a few milkshakes to the people that arrived late. Then Ash and co walked in.

"Ash! You're okay!" Dawn literally jumped out of her seat, with a big smile on her face. Everyone began murmuring their greetings to Ash, Serena Miette and Clemont. 

"Yeah, I guess I am" Ash laughed, scratching the back of his head. Cilan looked at them like a bus had just hit him in the face.

"Do I need to go back into that line?" He jerked a thumb behind him, but Serena shook her head.

"If we want anything, we'll go, right Ash?" 

"Sure, because I am starving. See you guys in a moment!" Ash dashed into the line, Pikachu taking a ride on his shoulder. 

Everyone else sat down and proceeded to talk about the excitement of the tournament and the prospect of having Team Shadow lurking around every corner during it.

"Don't we have to sleep in the hotel block next to the stadium for the duration of the tournament?" Dawn asked, looking around the table. No one else seemed to know.

"It says here that you have to book a room before tonight" Serena said, making everyone pause for a moment. They all instantly got out their devices and sorted out their hotel rooms before the deadline, to make sure they are ok.

"Aw, all the bottom floor rooms are taken, I like to be close to the door" Dawn groaned. "It makes it so much easier when you get up in the morning"

"Well, everyone else that has made it through probably knew about this before us so they got to pick their rooms first" Clemont explained, with a shrug. "First come first served"

They all continued talking while Ash trudged through the long line, yawning into his open hand.

"When will this line end!" He said, peering round the person in front of him. "I just want a burger and a milkshake"

Ash groaned as his stomach let out a dull roar, The Hunger returning to Ash. 

"Pika pi" Pikachu held his stomach like he desperately needed food, and his face dropped.

The line slowly started to die down, much to Ash's excitement. He ordered his burger and milkshake and it came to him in seconds. Ash rushed over to the table and they told him about the hotel. He had to book the room at the highest point and right at the back, the last room in the large hotel complex that was accommodating for 64 people. 

Ash's eyes flickered to Serena and Miette, who seemed to be having a heated discussion. Both of their faces were red. Ash knew they was talking about him. He scratched his head nervously, until he felt someone just behind him.

"Thinking about who to choose?" Dawn teased, making Ash spin around in surprise.

"Wh-what...No! Of course not" Ash said, hiding his face for a moment. He knew that he felt like he could give Serena a chance, but he didn't want anyone else to know until he was sure.

"Riiiighttt" Dawn stretched out the word, not believing Ash for a second. 

Then, suddenly, Miette burst out of her seat and threw a finger at Serena. 

"Ok, then, you're on! Lets battle!" Miette sounded a little too pumped up. Serena stood up and gave her the same feisty look, before they stormed outside to the small battle arena.

Two minutes earlier.... (Serena POV)

What was bringing this sudden change in Miette? Did I just hear her correctly.

"Erm, can you repeat that?" I asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"I...think I still like Ash" She said again, making me frown.

"Ok, so you said you didn't like him, now suddenly you do again? Make up your mind" I was feeling a little angry now, I had competition once more. "Besides, Ash said that he wasn't ready for any kind of relationship" I spoke quietly then, nothing more than a whisper. 

"Aww, was Serena rejected by Ash?" Miette asked me, using that same teasing tone she always uses to get on my nerves.

I felt my face go bright red. "Yeah, well you would be in the same boat as me if you tried anything" I threw it straight back at her. Try that on for size!

"How about we make a little bet then?" Miette was blushing too now, I frowned at her sudden 'bet' offer. 

"What, why?" I asked, looking at Ash, who was quietly slurping on his milkshake. I turned back to Miette, who flicked her short blue hair.

"If I beat you in a Pokemon battle, then you have to stop trying to get with Ash and vice versa!" Miette smiled, probably thinking she had already won. I felt a frown appear on my face once more.

"No way, I couldn't do that" I shook my head and then grinned. "Because I can't beat you again, like I already did a few weeks back" I teased, making Miette frown in anger.

"Oh, so you don't like Ash as much as I thought. Guess I can take my chance with him" Miette flashed a little smirk, recovering from my words. I felt a little spark of anger inside of me.

"Ok then, if you think you're so good. Lets have this battle, because I will win" I replied, folding my arms. 

Now...(T-P POV)

"Why do they both seem so fired up all of a sudden?" Ash wondered, looking on from the sidelines. 

"You're so dense Ash, it must be impenetrable. Do we need to spoon feed you?" Dawn turned to Ash with a shake of her head. "This is clearly about you"

Ash laughed nervously and scratched his cheek. "I thought that might be it" Then, his expression became serious as he stared at the two, Braixen and Slurpuff already ready to battle. Why... He wondered to himself. Pikachu looked on with the same expression.

"Braixen, FIRE BLAST!" Serena all but shouted down the building, everyone could feel the fight that Serena and Miette were aiming for, because of what it was all for. 

Strangely, Miette didn't tell Slurpuff to do anything. The fire blast exploded around Slurpuff, causing a strong fireball, ever increasing in temperature, to expand and then fade. The smoke that came with it started to trail of Slurpuff, who stood in a defensive position. There was some damage, but Miette had confidence that Slurpuff could defend it.

"Defence is the best offence" Miette spoke calmly at Serena, who noticeably clenched her fist in anger.

"Braixen, flamethrower!" Serena yelled out. Braixen could feel her trainers anger and responded, using her stick to send a powerful blast of fire straight at Slurpuff.

"Dodge it!" Miette tactfully decided not to defend the attack and Slurpuff jumped up just in time, landing as the line of fire slowly cleared. "Now, energy ball!" Slurpuff landed and then the green ball of energy formed right before Slurpuff, who immediately launched the counter attack at Braixen, who was still steadying herself back into a suitable position prior to the flamethrower.

"Braixen, use scratch!" Serena cried out in desperation, as the energy ball wheeled towards Braixen at a great speed. There was a flash as Braixen dashed forward. No one had saw what had happened, but there was a momentary explosion behind Braixen.

"One more time!" Miette said to Slurpuff, who began repeating the same move.

"Shut it down with flamethrower" Serena shouted to Braixen, who span her stick around to her conjure up the flames. The flamethrower hit Slurpuff with lots of speed, giving her no time to even produce a ball of energy in her hands. Slurpuff dropped onto the floor for a moment, making Miette worry. Then she saw Slurpuff twitch.

"Slurpuff, psychic" Miette made it sound like they had planned it. There was a strange blue aura surrounding Braixen, who slowly began to rise into the air.

"Do you give up, Serena?" Miette asked Serena, looking smug. 

"Of course not!" Serena shouted back, watching as Slurpuff slammed Braixen down into the ground. Then again, and again. Continuously using psychic on Braixen and damaging her. 

"Come on Serena, it's over" Miette said with a boat full of confidence. 

"No...No it isn't! Braixen, fire blast!" Serena shouted at to Braixen, who had just been buried into the floor 10 times. Braixen shot a blast of fire at Slurpuff, perfectly timing it as she fell down during the psychic. The fire broke off in 5 directions, surrounding Slurpuff. Just before the explosion occured, Slurpuff managed to get one last psychic move, hitting braixen against the floor one last time. The explosion was huge, causing a great deal of disturbance in the arena. The whole gang, who were eagerly watching had to cover their eyes to keep the dust out. The smoke only lasted one second and the match was called.

"Both Braixen and Slurpuff are unable to battle!" Clemont declared the final result. "The result is a draw!"

"No..." Miette whispered to herself. Serena had a look of confusion, as if saying 'what next?'

"Did you say something?" Clemont asked Miette, who turned around and leaned up close to Clemont with eyes as sharp as daggers. 

"This isn't fair! A DRAW? I don't WANT to be STUCK in the same god damn predicament as this morning. URGH!" Miette stomped her foot down and then walked off, pushing the door open. It swung atleast four times before settling. 

Ash felt tense for a moment and knew what he had to do. He jogged outside and followed Miette.

"Miette!" Ash's voice rang out in her ears. She turned around to face him as the dark clouds rolled in.

"Ash..." Miette almost whispered, just as the rain began to pour. 

"What was all that for?" Ash let his question float in the air for a minute then shook his head. "No, WHY did you guys just do that?" Ash changed his question, making Miette tense.

"I...I don't know" She replied quietly, before looking up. Ash couldn't tell if she was crying because of the rain. "I realized that I liked you a few weeks ago, I mean properly like. I told Serena and then we had a little argument. It became way too heated"

"I kind of understand" Ash made Miette jump up. She listened in closely. "You both want something just as much as the person you face. I don't really know if I am ready for a relationship of any sort. You should be glad you drew. I don't want our friends separating before the tournament, especially since Team Shadow will be looking to cause trouble, no doubt"

"Ash is right" Serena said quietly behind Miette, awkwardly rubbing her arm. "I am sorry, for being so reactive and angry. We don't need to fight"

"I am sorry too" Miette nodded, accepting Serena's words. "I shouldn't have made a random bet out of nowhere, like that. It was uncalled for. 

"Good, I am glad to see we can all ride on the same wavelength" Ash began to walk off, Pikachu turning to face Serena as her and Miette shared a look of anger at each other, their eyes narrowing. Everyone but Ash could feel the tension and realized that soon, Ash would have to choose one of them and two, another match was waiting for Serena and Miette in the not to distant future.