Sibling Rivalry

Misty was torn.

Should she go with them? Should she keep traveling alone?

She couldn't decide.

Ace's offer continued ringing in her ears as she debated wether or not to go with him and his two girlfriends, who she admittedly did get along with. Along with it though was the image she got of him the night before, when he had heroically punched away an Arbok to defend her, literally saving her life.

As she recalled that moment Misty also recalled the look of Ace's body as he saved her, his chiseled muscles, broad shoulders, and attractively tanned skin. She then recalled his other features, his amber eyes, windswept hair, 'THAT', and then his scars.

Though she had seen them the night before, Misty hadn't quite registered the scars decorating Ace's arm, leg, and his entire back. She had seen the one on his cheek when she met him, but that could've been anything. Seeing the rest however made her more curious how he'd gotten them.

"Psy?" Her Psyduck uttered from her bed while tilting it's head curiously, shocking Misty out of the dangerous thoughts she had been having as she recalled Ace's body.

"W-well it's not like it'll work anyways! I'm NOT joining a harem, or being just another notch on some jerk's belt! Besides...I'm not even that beautiful..." Quietly uttering the last part, Misty recalled her three older sisters back in Cerulean city.

Not only were they all significantly more beautiful than her, but they had even 'stolen' every boy she thought she liked growing up. Misty did NOT want that to happen yet again...

"Psy?" Psyduck uttered once more, to which Misty was about to reply, but then she heard numerous people rushing through the halls.

Opening her door and poking her head out curiously, Misty called out to one of the people running by, "Hey! What's going on?"

Though she'd thought it might've been Team Rocket again, Misty was surprised when the guy answered, "the guy who fought off Team Rocket is about to battle someone!"

"Supposedly it's his twin brother!" Another guy stated as he passed them, only for Misty to rush by them as she raced down the hall, her Psyduck waddling as fast as it could behind her.

***

Though for some reason quite the crowd had gathered when word spread of mine and Ash's battle, I ignored the spectators while standing readily at my end of the ring. Behind me stood both May and Dawn, their Torchic and Piplup clutched in their arms as they whispered to each other about the upcoming battle, unaware I could hear everything they were saying to one another.

"Do you REALLY think Ash stands a chance against Ace?"

"No way. He's going to get destroyed..."

I just smirked at their whisperings, knowing that they were severely underestimating what Ash and Pikachu were capable of.

My attention was then grabbed by a certain Ginger that I had been waiting on before being challenged by Ash, who quickly looked away when she noticed me looking at her. I smirked at her attitude, and promised myself to at least get her number before leaving if she decided not to join us.

Thankfully it was only a minute or two after I spotted Misty that Ash finally returned, fully dressed and ready to battle as he went to the opposite side of the ring, with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"I hope you're ready Aniki!" Ash declared before the Nurse Joy refereeing the match stepped forward.

"As the challenged, Ace will determine the rules of the match, and Ash will be the first to send his Pokemon out! Are there any problems with that?"

Ash and I both shook our heads, before I stated, "A three round battle with the best of three being the winner, and the same Pokemon can't be used more than once!"

Nurse Joy nodded before turning to Ash, who readily stated, "let's go already!"

Taking that as his agreement to the rules for the battle, Nurse Joy raised her hand and declared, "let the battle between Ace Ketchum and Ash Ketchum begin!"

"Pikachu! I choose you!" Ash declared the second the words left Nurse Joy's mouth.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as it readily leapt off of his shoulder to its side of the arena.

My hand traced over the Pokeballs on my belt, my mind taking a second to decide before I grabbed one, and threw it out while declaring, "I choose you, TREECKO!"

"K-KOOOOO!" Treecko cried out as he appeared, stupefying Ash as he exclaimed,

"Whoa! What kind of Pokemon is that!?!" I ignored his question however since we were currently opponents, and instead channeled my aura to form a connection between myself and Treecko.

Though no connection could match the one I had with Riolu, I had learned with Pidgeot when I eventually gained his trust that I could connect with almost any Pokemon. So, the edge of my mouth curled upwards as I used the connection between myself and Treecko to relay what I wanted from him.

And though I initially felt surprise from him, the green gecko quickly adapted as he leapt into battle.

"Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" Ash ordered his starter when he saw Treecko and I prepare to fight, which would've been evident since both our eyes were probably glowing.

Quick Attack

I ordered through our connection, and Treecko readily responded as he moved fast enough to avoid the Lightning-like attack, and got up close to Pikachu.

"Chu!"

"KO!" Treecko declared as he delivered a powerful Pound attack with the force of the Quick Attack behind it, sending Pikachu flying backs short ways.

The electric mouse quickly recovered in mid air though, landing on its feet as Ash cried out, "Pikachu! Use Quick Attack with Iron Tail!"

"PIKA!" Pikachu cried out as it moved too fast to follow, only appearing when it was right in front of Treecko with its tail glowing.

"CHU!" Pikachu cried out as it swung its tail, only for Treecko to just barely dodge it as he made eye contact with Pikachu.

"..."

The electric mouse shuddered as it bore the brunt of Treecko's Leer attack, lowering its defense right as Treecko followed up with a point blank Leafage attack.

"KO!"

"CHU!"

Treecko and Pikachu cried out as the little mouse-like Pokemon took a lot of damage, but not without a price as Treecko began to breathe harder.

'I'll definitely need to increase his stamina...' I thought to myself as I studied my Pokemon's state through his aura. It wasn't too surprising though, as Treecko WAS a starter Pokemon that fresh out of his baby stage, had more than likely never seen battle before after all.

But I had to think about such things later, as Pikachu quickly recovered while Ash ordered it, "Pikachu, another Thunder Shock!"

"PikaCHU!"

Dodge!

I ordered Treecko through our aura connection, but because of how tired he was the little gecko couldn't move fast enough.

"KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Treecko cried out as he was assaulted by the powerful Thunder Shock, which practically fried him to a crisp, before he dropped to the ground of the arena.

"Treecko is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!" Nurse Joy declared when it was apparent that Treecko wasn't getting back up, causing a bit of an uproar amongst the spectators who apparently expected my overwhelming victory.

"No way..."

"Ace's Pokemon lost?"

"I didn't think it was possible..."

I ignored the stupid remarks that people were making as I walked out to the unconscious Treecko, and gently picked him up while saying,

"Don't worry about it buddy. Ash's Pikachu is really strong, but next time you'll be stronger. Right?"

"Tree..." Treecko uttered quietly, but I could feel his resolution through his aura.

I returned him to his Pokeball before returning to my place on the arena, at which point one of the Nurse Joys that were spectating walked up to me and said,

"Since you're getting ready to leave after this, would you like me to begin treating your Treecko right now so that he's ready to go afterwards?"

"Thank you." I said while handing her the Pokeball, to which the Nurse Joy bowed slightly before hurrying away. I then turned back to the battle, to which the Nurse Joy who was officiating it said,

"As the winner of the last round, Ash Ketchum will send his Pokemon first once again this time."

Cutting his celebration with Pikachu short, Ash turned back to the battle as he smirked and said,

"Of course! Pikachu, are you up for another round?"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out excitedly, before Nurse Joy stated,

"Mr. Ketchum, the rules for this battle, that you agreed to, state you cannot use the same Pokemon for more than one round. You have to use a different Pokemon." Ash's expression fell when he realize that, while Pikachu appeared dejected when it heard it wasn't able to come out another time.

"Alright then!" Ash exclaimed, bouncing back quickly as he pulled out one of the two Pokeballs on his belt.

"I choose you, Spearow!"

"Spear-row!" The little bird cried out as it appeared.

"Wah! No Spearow!"

"Row! Row! Row! Row!"

The spectators and I began to chuckle slightly as we watched Spearow proceed to deliver a series of Pecks to Ash's head, displaying it's obvious displeasure with it's trainer.

"Spearow! Stop!" Ash cried out pathetically.

"Spear!" Spearow retorted, before using its Peck attack on him once more.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu declared, it's cheeks sparking with electricity as it threatened to shock the Spearow if it didn't listen.

"Row!" Spearow snorted, but reluctantly listened. Though it seemed indifferent, I could feel it's lingering fear of Pikachu's electric attacks after yesterday.

And with that spectacle sorted, though I was still smirking slightly, I picked my next Pokemon as I plucked its ball from my belt, and threw it out while exclaiming,

"Go, Squirtle!"

"Squirtle squirt!" Squirtle cried out as it appeared, making Ash's eyes go wide when he saw it.

"Woah! So you chose Squirtle Aniki?!" I shook my head at him with a smirk, before saying,

"Nope~! I met him along the way, and he decided to tag along."

"Squirtle!"

Ash grumbled when he heard that, making my smirk widen since I knew he wanted a Squirtle too. But with both our Pokemon in the arena, Nurse Joy cried out,

"Battlers ready? Begin!"

Tackle!

"Spearow, Peck!" Ash cried out, only for the bird to look away haughtily as Squirtle approached it, meaning it isn't notice as the blue turtle tackled it with all his might.

"Squirtle!" He cried out victoriously after the attack, but I communicated to him not to get overconfident since Spearow was no pushover. And as if to prove my point, Spearow suddenly got up before directing a intense Scary Face in Squirtle's direction.

"!!!"

Squirtle jolted from the intimidating look Spearow gave him, something Ash didn't miss as he eagerly shouted,

"Spearow, use Growl!" The bird continued to ignore him however as it vanished from its place with a Quick Attack, reappearing in front of Squirtle before he could react.

"Spear!"

"Squirt!"

Both Pokemon exclaimed as Spearow delivered a powerful peck onto Squirtle's head, before following it up with a double Wing Attack that sent him skittering back on his shell.

Withdraw!

"Squirtle!"

Immediately Squirtle sucked his head, arms, legs,and tail back into his shell, right in time to receive another double Wing Attack from Spearow that sent the shell skating across the arena floor. Thankfully though the damage was minimized since Squirtle withdrew into his shell, and from there he could begin his counter attack.

I communicated my intent to Squirtle, who waited until Spearow was right in front of him yet again, before a powerful stream of bubbles was shot out from his shell.

Surprised, Spearow staggered back before looking back at Squirtle with growing anger, but he was protected within his tough shell. Then however, I noticed Spearow smirk victoriously.

I was confused at its sudden confidence when Spearow suddenly pointed its beak upwards, and began gathering energy for a powerful attack.

And when the mass of energy separated into three segments I realized exactly what type of attack that was, so I gave Squirtle an order that made me smirk, knowing this round was ours.

"SpeeeeeeeaROOOOOOOOOOOOW!" Spearow cried out as it unleashed the three masses of energy right at Squirtle, one shifting into a ball of flames, another into a wave of lightning, and the last into a cloud of freezing mist.

Squirtle however was ready for them as a mysterious light covered his body, and his Mirror Coat redirected the attacks back at the one who unleashed them with double its original power.

"Spear!?" Spearow cried out when it saw its own attack being redirected at it, but I knew it was too tired to avoid them after using so much energy to use the Tri Attack to begin with.

It was then, in rapid succession, engulfed in flames, electrocuted, and coated in a layer of frost that made it unable to mode.

"Roooow..." Spearow uttered while shivering slightly, before it fell over unconscious and exhausted.

"Spearow is unable to battle, Squirtle wins!" Nurse Joy declared after a moment to make sure Spearow wasn't getting up, to which Squirtle leapt up in the air with joy as he raced back to me.

"Congratulations bud! You did it!" I happily told him while picking him up in my arms, taking a moment to hug him tightly in celebration of his first win, before putting him back down on the ground. Squirtle then began to do his Bully Maguire dance for everyone to watch, earning him numerous bemused looks since it was an amusing dance for a turtle to do.

On the other side though, Ash solemnly returned Spearow, and I could hear him utter with my aura enhanced hearing,

"Let's learn to work together, and we'll win next time..."

As Ash returned the Pokeball to his belt, Nurse Joy then declared, "Currently it is one win apiece, and the next match will decide who the winner is. As the winner of the last round, Ace will send his Pokemon out first!"

The words weren't even out of Nurse Joy's mouth when I glance down at my partner, who already knew my intention as he stepped forward. I was pretty sure I knew what Ash's next, and last Pokemon was, so there was no way I was going to use Miltank or even Sharpedo for this one.

And as expected, Ash gulped nervously as he grabbed the last ball on his belt, before throwing it out while stating,

"I choose you, Riolu!"

There was a collective gasp as a second Riolu appeared in the arena, one that was significantly shorter than mine, but a second one nonetheless. Their reactions weren't too surprising though, since Riolu were supposed to be extremely rare.

It made sense though, as Ash and I were both gifted with aura, and he was a full-blown protagonist. It would've made less sense if he didn't get a Riolu at some point.

"The final round will be Riolu versus Riolu! Begin!" Nurse Joy declared, announcing the start of the second round.

Vacuum Wave.

"Ri!"

Riolu declared as his arms blurred, before the smaller Riolu, that I was sure was born just last night, was suddenly assaulted by a barrage of pressurized air waves that literally sent it flying backwards.

"!!!"

Fire Punch.

"..."

Riolu was silent as flames engulfed his paw, and he rushed forward to deliver a powerful punch that dealt serious damage to the newborn Riolu, sending it flying while numerous burn marks appeared on its fur.

Despite the heavy damage it had taken though, when the little Riolu stopped rolling it still persisted by tying to put itself up stubbornly.

"Riolu! Quick Attack!" Ash cried out desperately.

Bullet Punch.

"Ri!"

Riolu cried out as his paw was encased in steel type energy, before he dealt one last attack to the newborn before it could do as Ash instructed, knocking it out completely and leaving everyone stunned.

"Ace's Riolu wins this round! Ace and his team wins!" Nurse Joy declared when it was apparent Riolu wasn't getting back up.

"Let's go!" I declared while giving both Riolu and Squirtle high fives, which they both happily returned as we celebrated our first official victory.

"Good job Aniki!" Ash said as he approached with his own Riolu in his arms after picking it up.

Now that the battle was over my Riolu was looking at it curiously, never once having come across another of his kind before.

"I take it your egg hatched?" I asked with a smile, to which Ash eagerly nodded as he said,

"Yep! I couldn't believe it when I woke up with Riolu next to me this morning! I'm gonna train this little guy until he's stronger than your Riolu Aniki!" Even as Ash said that I noticed his Riolu frowning slightly, to which I remarked with a smirk,

"I think you mean little GIRL, not little guy." Ash looked at me confusedly at that, before I pointed to his Riolu and said, "your Riolu is a girl, not a boy."

"EHHHHH!?!" Ash exclaimed as he looked at his Riolu in surprise, making me bust out laughing alongside May and Dawn, while the two Riolu continued looking at each other curiously.

After another minute or two of chatting Ash left to go get his Pokemon healed, at which time the Nurse Joy I'd given Treecko to returned with his Pokeball in hand.

"We've given him some first aid, and he should be fine after resting for a few hours." She said while handing him over to me.

"Thank you. Now then, I think it's time we were finally on our way!" I said to the two girls, but as we started walking away another girl hurrying towards us with a Psyduck at her side.

"Ace!" Misty called out to me, even as she tried to catch her breath. "I....decided....to go with you!" She stated resolutely, making both May and Dawn raise their brows, but I smiled as I said to her,

"Welcome to the group Misty. I can promise you, this will be a trip you'll never forget!" Misty nodded as he stated,

"It better be buster! I intend to become the best water specialist in the world, so you better not get in my way of that!" I laughed at Misty's declaration, momentarily confusing her before saying firmly,

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Now, let's get going, before something else holds us up!" Turning about to leave yet again, I could hear the three girls chatting behind me regarding Misty joining us, in which she explained to May and Dawn that I had invited her the night before.

Though I could feel two pointed looks being directed at the back of my head, I ignored them as we made our way to the front doors of the Pokemon Center. Waiting for us there however was a group of Nurses Joy and their Chanseys, with one standing before them that had a few strands of grey in her otherwise pink hair.

As we approached they all bowed their heads respectfully, before the oldest one said to me, "On behalf of all the Nurse Joys here, I wanted to say thank you Misty and Ace Ketchum for your actions last night."

Though Misty awkwardly scratched the back of her head, as I had to save her after she intervened, I waved away their thanks while saying,

"Don't think anything about it. I acted more out of anger than heroism anyways, since they interrupted our sexy time."

"!!!"

The sound of Misty choking could be heard behind me when I said that, while Dawn and any both tried to hep her despite their own embarrassment. The Nurses Joy however didn't even flinch, perhaps because of my reputation as a playboy in Viridian over the last three years.

Instead, the Blissey partnered with the elder Nurse Joy stepped forward with something in her arms, as Nurse Joy said,

"Regardless, all of us here would like to gift you this, especially since you have joined the Breeders Association."

I slowly and carefully accepted the offered object from the Blissey, which was a pink oval object that was slightly warm to the touch. A Happiny egg that would one day evolve into a Chansey, and then a Blissey.

"Thank you....." I uttered I awe, making Nurse Joy smile warmly as they all bowed their heads respectfully once more, and said,

"No, thank YOU. The women in our line are uniquely bonded with the Pokemon of the Chansey line, in a way not unlike your bond with Riolu. I shudder to think what would've happened if a single one had been stolen by those thieves."

The rest of the Nurses Joy as well uttered their thanks, before they began stepped to the side to get out of ur way.

"Now then, I think we've held you up long enough, otherwise you might as well spend another night." I smiled wryly at that, and said while stepping forward,

"Thanks for the offer, but we really do have to be going. Thank you all for you amazing work." As I said that I gently placed the egg into my bag beside the Charmander egg, which I noted as my hand bumped it that it felt even hotter than it had earlier, making me curious.

I put my curiosity aside for now though, and with the three girls and our Pokemon beside me, we headed out as I declared,

"Now then, onwards to Viridian Forest!"

"Wait, what!?!" Misty declared, even as she followed us.