"So, what did happen in your matches?" Clemont looked up at Dawn, whose face instantly dropped. "You lost?" He asked after seeing her face. Dawn inclined her head forward and then looked up at Clemont, the sadness from her face gone.

"It's good to see you and Iris won!" She said, clearly trying to be cheery. 

Dawn's Loss...

"Piplup is unable to battle, the winner is Nathan!" The referee declared the match and just like that, it was over. 

I...lost? Dawn thought to herself, her eyes growing wide. She felt ashamed, embarrassed. Most of her friends had won and advanced to the next round, but her she was, on the centre stage, humiliated by Nathan and his Conkeldurr. I couldn't even beat one of his Pokemon. She continued, tears forming. 

"Hey" She heard Ash's voice and her head turned to the sound.

"A-Ash" Dawn's voice trembled, she felt like collapsing into a pool of tears, but held them back. "I...I really lost?"

Ash nodded, he couldn't reply with words. "We better go check on the others" Ash said, looking past her emotions, he was acting like nothing was happening, but it didn't make Dawn feel angry. She felt normal again. She looked into Ash's eyes and then a smile slowly broke across her face.

"Mhm" Was all she could manage to muster up in reply. Ash smiled at her change in emotion and they headed over to the others. 

Once they all got into the stadium at the opposite end, Iris's match seemed to be almost over. 

Iris's Win...

"Dragonite, you okay?" Iris asked, grinding her teeth together slightly. She looked over at the Mega Lucario that they was fighting, just as hurt as her Dragonite, who grunted in reply and then nodded, determination in his eyes. "Lets go, flamethrower!"

"Lucario, dodge it!" Lucy reacted almost immediately, reading Iris like an open book. But she didn't read the next move.

"Quick, rush Lucario with a thunder punch!" Iris grinned as she said this, realizing they had the opening they needed. While Lucario started to cartwheel over the flames, Dragonite glided over with speed, the electrical energy charged and ready in its clenched fist. Dragonite slammed its fist into the Mega Lucario, mid-cartwheel, square in the face. Lucario barrelled straight into the wall, but managed to kick off it and come charging back. 

"Close combat, now!" Lucy called out to Lucario, who skidded along the floor and then proceeded to attack Dragonite with overwhelming power and speed, punching and kicking all around the dragon Pokemon.

But, Dragonite, being a very adamant and strong willed dragon Pokemon, took each hit without moving. 

"Dragonite, flamethrower!" Iris shouted out to Dragonite, who was still being attacked by Mega Lucario. Dragonite didn't hesitate, he blasted the flames straight out of his mouth, the flames slamming down into the mega-evolved Lucario.

"A super-effective move and from such close range!" Cilan, who hadn't noticed the others, almost jumped out of his seat. 

The smoke from the fire cleared and it revealed the winner.

"Mega Lucario is unable to battle, the winner is Iris!" Everyone cheered for Iris, who had fought hard to beat a mega evolved Pokemon. Once she had finished celebrating with Dragonite, she walked over and the whole group stepped outside. 

"I just got a call from Serena" Dawn turned to everyone, with concern on her face. "It's Clemont and his Luxray..." 

Present Day...

"Oh I see, well, nice going Iris" Clemont looked back down the corridor, where everyone else's eyes followed.

"Is Luxray okay?" Iris asked. Clemont shrugged and then pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. 

"I hope he will be okay. He fought way too hard for me and we pretty much advanced with a flawless win" Clemont sighed and then clutched onto Luxray's pokeball, squeezing it. 

"Erm...Ash?" Dawn came walking up, with a sort of nervous look on her face. She had both of her hands clutched together, brushing the end of her waistcoat. 

"Yeah?" Ash turned to Dawn, the rest of the gang talking amongst themselves. 

"Can I talk to you for a moment. Outside?" Dawn asked, looking away from Ash slightly.

Don't tell me... Ash instantly thought in his head. He wanted to say no and make up an excuse, but another sentence slipped out of his mouth.

"Yeah, sure" Ash mentally facepalmed as he and Dawn stepped outside. 

"Er- I don't really know how to say this..." Dawn's voice dropped in volume and Ash knew what was going on.

"Listen" He said, putting his hands on Dawns shoulders. "I already know what you are going to say"

"You do?" Dawn's face started to go red. She tried to look away, but Ash raised a hand and tilted her head back up to face him.

"You like me, don't you?" He asked, causing Dawn to blush harder. She whacked him on the head.

"Hey! No need to be so blunt!" She huffed out loud, folding her arms. 

"I knew it. I have already had this happen to me more than once" Ash crouched down and fell onto the grass in a sitting position. 

"Yeah, with Miette and Serena, I assume?" Dawn asked, sitting next to Ash. Suddenly, everything she just said was forgotten momentarily as they talked.

"Not just that" Ash replied, not wanting to tell the whole truth.

"Who else?" Dawn leaned right into Ash's face. "I won't let you go until you answer me"

Ash huffed out a large sigh. "It's May"

"May?!" Dawn almost jumped off the grass. "She likes you?"

"Well at this point, I don't even know. She...kissed me before we came to watch your match" Ash then began to explain the whole story with May. "I think she is slowly being brain washed"

"Well, she seems fine right now, her feelings must be true" Dawn looked around for a moment and then her eyes fell right onto Ash's. They stared at eachother for a brief moment before Dawn began to speak again. "Have you decided?" 

"Huh?" Ash asked.

"I swear you are dense in some ways still" Dawn sighed. "Do you have any feelings for the three of them?" 

"To be honest, I don't know. Sometimes I feel different. Sometimes, when I am around Miette, I can feel that connection, but it is the same with Serena. May only just revealed her feelings to me an hour ago, so that is still something to consider"

"And then you have me" Dawn replied lightly, her voice softening as she leaned forward. Ash didn't have any time to react as she pressed her lips against his, only for a second. He just sat there as she moved back again and hopped to her feet. "Well, good luck, Ash" She said, before walking off and back into the hospital.

Ash instantly led down onto the grass, a forearm across his face to block the sun.

"What do I do now?" Ash asked himself. "I have a serious decision to make, but my mind and heart have been giving me mixed signals...What should I do?" 

"Pika?" Pikachu, who had left Ash and Dawn alone, grabbed Ash's attention. He raised his forearm up and squinted to get a good view of the figure towering over him.

"I think me and you need a little talk, don't you?" Misty, who had her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face, waited for Ash to stand up before thumping his arm.

"What was that for?!" Ash rubbed his arm as he watched Misty thump him again. She was clearly seething with anger.

"Do you think you can just fool our friends?" Misty almost shouted, hitting Ash again. 

"Fool our-what?!" Ash asked, dumbfounded by the question.

"Stop playing games with the four of them, it's not right!" Misty looked like a kettle ready to burst.

"Wha-. No! You have the wrong idea" Ash waved his hands infront of him, hiccuping nervously. He fell straight back down onto the grass, looking up at Misty, who was still scowling.

"I have the wrong idea? Do you even know what a proper relationship is?!" Misty asked Ash. Her face began to soften when she saw Ash look down on the ground.

"I need help" Ash said, shocking Misty. Ash had never been this sad at a random time, he was always lively, besides special occasions. He explained everything to Misty. Miette liking him, Serena liking him, then May and now Dawn.

"The thing is" Misty replied, now sitting next to Ash. She had stopped hitting him and was now wearing a sort of straight face. "When I saw May kiss you, I thought that you was fooling Miette and Serena. But, when I just saw Dawn then, I assumed you was just doing it to all four of them. I guess I was wrong, I am sorry"

"No, it's okay. To be honest, I have no idea what is going on anymore. I promised Miette and Serena I would make a decision before the tournament had ended, but now I have an even bigger decision. My heart and mind give me mixed signals. What do I do, Misty?" Ash looked at Misty, who knew in this moment, that he was actually struggling.

Ha. Misty laughed in her head. Ash, in all the time I have known him, has never had a girlfriend, nor has he shown feelings towards a girl. Could he be changing? She tapped her chin for a moment and then stood up.

"Go with whatever feels best to you" Misty put her hand out and Ash took it, supporting himself with her hand to stand up. "If your heart feels heavier than your head, go for it and vice versa. Don't let both control you, have some control over your own body"

Ash thought for a moment as they walked inside. Just as the door opened, Misty turned to him again.

"After all, you said you was making the decision, don't let your heart and mind play a tug of war, you have to be in control to make the right choice" She said, before entering. 

Ash followed in, her words repeating in his head like an echo. 

Ash knew she was right.