A/N For The-Maelstrom-Mephisto: Heh...I'll bet you want me to answer your questions, right? All right then...They're answered in the A/N at the end of this chapter. OK? Good...

Victor stretched his arms over his head as he walked back to the gate to Rainbow Metro. What he saw next was a huge surprise. The Elite 4, lined up in front of the gate, one beside the other, as if they were just about to take off for a race. He cocked his right eyebrow and then his whole head to the right. He trotted over with his hands behind his head and stood next to them, eyeing them over.

"Uh," he said in a completely lost tone, "What are you doing?"

"Getting ready to leave," Jason said as he got ready to run.

"Uh…yeah," Victor blinked and shook his head.

"Where’s your better half?" Lance asked as he too prepared to run.

"Better half," Victor snorted lowly, "Who knows where she went."

"Why don’t you go find her?" Will smirked.

"Why do you always go along with him?" Victor asked as he motioned to Lance, "Do you just enjoy pestering those younger than you?"

"No," Lance laughed, "I just enjoy pestering relatives."

"Then why don’t you pester Vic?" Victor snapped.

"I am. I’m pestering Victor, not Victoria," that comment from Lance sent the rest of the Elite into a roar of laughter.

"That’s not funny," Victor pouted.

"Are you being mean to our brother again?" Victoria trotted down the walk, "And what are you doing?"

"Getting ready to leave," Victor answered.

"OK…right," Victoria shook her head.

"It’s almost seven!" Jason announced.

"So?" Victor cocked his head at his twin sister, "What’s so great about seven o’clock in the morning?"

"That’s when my two sweet, loving, kind, caring, handsome and beautiful younger siblings are going to open the gates for us to leave," Lance smiled wide and begged.

"Do you have permission?" Victoria asked, narrowing one eye before getting a piece of paper jammed in her face.

"Written, asked, reviewed, approved and signed," Luri grinned, "We took care of that yesterday."

"I suppose then," Victor frowned, "Guess we’ve got to let the animals out of their cage."

"Shut up, you little monster, and open the gate!" Will snapped.

"Ah, ah, ah," Victor boasted as he lifted his right wrist and tapped his watch at them, "It’s two to seven. Not quite yet."

"Where are you off to anyway?" Victoria asked.

"We’re going out to the Dart Town Days festival, as if it’s any of your business," Luri said nastily, "Just open the gate!"

"One more minute. Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven-"

"Shut up!" the Elite blared.

"In three, and two, and one…Go!" Victor hit the button on for the door.

"Let’s go!" Jason shouted and ran out the gate before everyone else, "I’m going to Dart Town!"

"I’m going to something!" Lance jumped up and bolted out beside him, "Go, go, go, go!"

"Come on!" Will snatched Luri’s wrist, "Let’s get to Dart Town and rock and roll that festival!"

"AH!" Luri shouted as Will pulled her away, "Bye, Victor! Bye, Victoria! See you guys in a couple of days!"

Victoria and Victor ran to the gate and watched them leave," Man," Victor commented, "Our brother is getting weirder and weirder every day."

"Not to mention how weird his friends are," Victoria nodded, "I think they’re all nuts."

*^~^**^~^*

"I’m going to get there and just-" Jason stopped himself short as he ran, "I don’t know what I’ll do! It hasn’t been that long but I can’t help thinking it’s been forever!"

"The first words out of my mouth are going to be ‘I missed you and I love you!’ I can’t stand the thought that she’s so near to getting to the League!" Lance continued running behind him.

"I’m getting tired," Will panted, "How do you keep going so fast?"

"You can do anything if you set your heart and mind to it!" Luri ran past him.

"But…" Will heaved, "Can’t we use our Pokemon? You know; to fly there?" he raised his hands to his sides and flapped them up and down.

"No way!" Jason called back, "There’ll be too many trainers around! They’d recognize them in a second!"

"Especially Draco and Sapphire!" Lance shouted over his shoulder, "Besides, you could use the exercise, tubby!"

"Hey!" Will spat as he caught up to Luri, who was laughing hysterically, "And just what is so funny?"

"You!" Luri shrieked as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped, "Bye-bye!" pulled him over, pushed a kiss on him, then bolted forward, running a good thirty-forty yards ahead, beside Lance and Jason.

"Oh balls!" Will growled, picking up his pace, "Slow doooown!" he yelped as they waved back at him, huge sadistic grins across their faces.

*^~^**^~^*

"Must I wear this stupid kimono?" Yuu-Yuu whined, "Yellow isn’t my color."

"Ah, but purple is mine," Eevy checked herself in the mirror.

"And black and indigo suite me fine," Medira stepped up beside Eevy.

"It’s tradition for the girls to wear kimonos at this festival," Sooney looked at her green kimono, "Besides, Eevy and Medira need them to enter the Awards."

After everyone had successfully changed, they headed out. Morty and Eusine were missing and Mizu and Lisle ran off to find them. Medira had her kimono tied tighter than usual and Eevy’s was tied just tight enough to show off her figure. Various catcalls rang out around them, which didn’t phase them in the slightest. They simply ignored them and walked by.

Lance swung his deep blue coat over his shoulders as he ran, with Jason, Will and Luri following accordingly. They trampled right through the gate to Dart Town and halted at the sight of the festival.

"Wow," Luri said in awe, "It’s great!"

"Uh huh," Will drooled, forgetting the pain of the run completely, "Let’s go get cotton candy."

"Hold on there," Lance said, "There are two more important things to find."

"Uh huh. Uh huh. Uh huh," Jason nodded three time with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

Two familiar figures passed by. To Lance and Jason-excuse me-Dragon and JP, they seemed to freeze. One’s two toned purple kimono showed off her figure perfectly as she smirked and looked to the girl beside her. That one’s black and indigo kimono seemed tied tighter than regular, but that just made it better. Phantom flailed his hand in front of their faces, but they were in a daze. They shook themselves out of it and smirked evilly.

"Hey!" Dragon called, "What’s shakin’, ladies?"

"You two goin’ our way?" JP shouted.

Medira and Eevy turned to smack someone, but instead gasped and smiled wide, "Woah wow!" they said together.

"That’s all we get?" JP cocked his head.

"You made it!" Medira squirmed past Eevy, "You actually made it!"

"I told you I’d try and I did," he said despite the choking pain of her hug.

Eevy catapulted to Dragon’s shoulders, "I missed you! I’m so happy you could get here!"

"I missed you too," he slouched to put her feet back on the ground, "Letters aren’t enough."

Starla and Phantom merely smirked and ran off into the crowd as the loud speaker started sounding, "Will the contestants for the Flower Princess Awards please come to the main stage area."

Eevy looked off towards the speaker, "That’s us," she smiled and backed away, "You’d better be watching!"

She snatched Medira’s arm and pried her from JP, "You’d better come watch! We’re gonna win!"

Jason looked to Lance, "There are three words you didn’t quite say, if I’m correct."

Lance turned his head and scowled at him, "Yeah, I know that."

"Well, well, well," Konohana smirked, "I see you really did come to challenge me."

"You’d better believe it, ya’ little pixie!" Medira shouted, "And we’ve got guys behind us!"

"Woohoo," Konohana yawned, waving her right index finger in a circle in the air, "Guys."

Eevy started growling, "We’ll beat you! You wait and see!"

"Sure," Konohana laughed and walked away.

Seven other girls shoved past. One with bright red hair, one blonde, one with three colored hair, Ran, Jenna, Sunami and the last red head stopped.

"Hi, guys!" Misty said happily, "You made it!"

"Sure did!" Medira smiled, "I see you did too. You look great!"

"Thanks! So do you," she leaned in to whisper, "Did you notice anything familiar about those other girls. Not the Gym Leaders, the other three."

"You too, huh?" Eevy and Medira asked at the same time.

"Come on, girls!" Konohana boasted, "Don’t want to be late!"

Misty, Medira and Eevy growled in unison and stomped out onto stage. Separate cries rang out from around them as each was introduced.

"Our first competitor," the loud speaker said with a bright light falling on a podium, "is Ruby Crimson," the girl with the long red hair stepped up to the podium, smiled, bowed and stepped back.

"Our second competitor is Tawny Saffron," the blonde stepped up and back.

"Our third competitor is Trinity Troika," the girl with the three colored hair stepped up and back.

"Our fourth competitor is Ran Snowdrift."

"Our fifth competitor is Jenna Verdant."

"Our sixth competitor is Sunami Nai."

"Our seventh competitor is Misty Waterflower."

"Our eighth competitor is Evangelina Hikoboshi."

"Our ninth competitor is Medira Kurayami."

"And tenth competitor and returning Princess is Konohana Blossom."

"Come on, Eevy! Go, Medira!" Mizu shouted as she yanked Eusine closer, "You can do it!"

"Go for it, Eevy! Get ‘em, Medira!" Lisle shouted, pulling Morty to her side, "Win this thing!"

"Here’s how the contest is played!" the speaker boomed, "We will start with these ten ladies. The first round will take out two of those ten, leaving eight. The next will drop two, leaving six and so on and so forth. When two remain, the winner will be chosen in one final round. The winner will be this year’s Flower Princess! Let’s begin with round one! The Pokemon Care round! Please send out the Pokemon you feel is closest to you!"

"Arbok!"

"Raticate!"

"Weepinbell!"

"Seadra!"

"Tentacruel!"

"Wartortle!"

"Staryu!"

"Vovo!"

"Flamedance!"

"Bellossom!"

"Well," an announcer walked on stage, "We certainly have a wide range of Pokemon. We’ll start with you Ms. Crimson."

"Go, Ruby!" someone shouted from the crowd.

"Now then," the announcer cleared his throat, "Why do you believe this Pokemon to be your closest?"

"Uh," Ruby stammered, "I’ve been with Arbok for about three years now and I feel he’s a good friend."

"Very nice! Now, Ms. Saffron, why do you believe this Pokemon to be your closest?"

"Go, Tawny!" someone yelled.

"Raticate and I have been through a lot together and he’s always taken a lot for and from me, that makes him my pal."

"Great! Now, Ms. Troika, why is this alternate color Weepinbell your closest?"

"Wow, Jason," Luri whispered, "There’s an alternate color Pokemon up there and you’re not flipping out."

"That one’s not quite right. There’s something different about it," Jason replied.

"Come on, Trinity!" somebody called.

"This Weepinbell and I are old buddies. I fought like crazy to capture it and since then we’ve been close."

"Lovely! Ms. Snowdrift, what about you and your Seadra?"

"Go, sis!" Iskur shouted.

"Come on, Ran!" Shurdi added.

"Seadra and I go through tough battles with challengers at my brother’s Gym every day. We take care of each other and work together. I’d say that makes him my best buddy."

"Beautiful! Ms. Verdant, how about you and your Tentacruel here?"

"Tentacruel and I met when he was still a Tentacool. I raised him to be the best he can be and he still gets better! We love each other a lot and we never doubt our friendship."

"Super! Ms. Nai, this Wartortle, why him?"

"Wartortle and I make a great team. We both have a lot in common and even though he’s a Pokemon, I look up to him for his courage. We both share the same interests, which makes us even better friends."

"Great! Ms. Waterflower-"

"Go, Misty!" came about a dozen shouts.

"Ahem," he straightened and went back to the question, "Why have you chosen this Staryu?"

"Staryu and I have been traveling buddies through Kanto, Johto, Nanka and Hokubu. We were together long before that, but we both love to travel. We hold a special bond that I wouldn’t lose for the world."

"Marvelous! Now then, Ms. Hikoboshi-"

"Go, Eevy!" about a dozen and a half that time.

"Well then. Why have you chosen this Eevee as your closest?"

"I saved Vovo when he was still a little baby. He’s still not that old, but we’ve been through a lot. Since then, we’ve won quite a few Badges and battles together. He’s even saved me once or twice. I wouldn’t lose my buddy if my life depended on it."

"Stupendous! Next, Ms. Kurayami-" there go those dozen and a half people again, "Why have you chosen this handsome Rapidash?"

"Flamedance and I are really good buddies. We do a lot together which draws our tie tighter. Flamedance has a big heart and I’d trust him before I’d trust myself. I wouldn’t give him up, even if it meant I’d never see the light of day again."

"Bravo! Now, Ms. Blossom, why are you closest to your Bellossom?"

"Bellossom and I aren’t just a team, we’re best friends. I love my Bellossom with all my heart and more. It was, at first, hard to train her as an Oddish because she wasn’t quite sure of herself, but I helped her through it just like she helped me become a Gym Leader."

"Spectacular! Now that we’ve heard from all ten of our contestants, we’ll see which two will be leaving this round. Judges?" he took a piece of paper from the one judge, "I’m sorry to say that Ms. Ruby Crimson and Ms. Trinity Troika have been voted off. Thanks for competing."

Ruby huffed off the stage, "I don’t believe it!" she shouted, "Cassidy is actually still up there!" Jessie shook out her hair.

"And that purple pinhead is still there too!" Jen pouted, "What a rip off!"

"Let’s go get something to eat before I blow up in aggravation."

"The next round is the Gown round. Please go and don your fancy dresses, ladies!"

"I know just the one!" Misty, Eevy and Medira said in unison.

That ‘Tawny Saffron’ character wore a somewhat short gold dress with her hair in a bun. The rest of the girls yawned at that. Ran went out in a beautiful three toned blue dress that reached just below her ankles. A few judges clapped. Jenna got about the same reaction ‘Tawny’ did, as her dress was really only a green version of hers. Sunami was in a two-layered blue dress. Each layer was a different shade of blue. She got a good amount of applause. Misty was in a light blue dress with, what most supposed to be, bubbles done it white glitter. She got about twice the applause of Sunami. Eevy wore the dress she bought in Sickle City. A sleeveless dress with violet that slowly and steadily faded to white. She got a little more than Misty, but not much. Medira was also in the dress she bought in Sickle City. A spaghetti-strap black dress with the bottom done out to look like flames. She acquired the same applause as Eevy. Much to Konohana’s dismay, she got the amount of applause for Ran when she came out in a long orange dress with a rose on the bottom left.

"Come on, Eevy!" Dragon shouted, attracting Morty’s attention.

"You," he growled, "What are you doing here?"

"I can be where I please. And right now, I please to be here."

Morty snorted and went back to watching the stage, "Come on, sis!"

"Now then, let’s get the judges votes," the announcer got another sheet of paper, "Sorry Ms. Trinity Troika and Ms. Jenna Verdant, but you’ve been voted off. Thanks for coming."

Cassidy pouted off the stage, "That stinks," she mumbled, "I thought for sure I’d win," she sat down next to Jessie and Jen who were sitting at a bench sipping on sodas.

"Hey, you got farther than us," Jessie said in an overly depressed and tired tone.

"I think you did OK," Mondo commented.

"Thanks, kid," Jen groaned.

"Round three is the one most guys have been waiting for. You know what that means, ladies!"

"Yes, sir," the remaining six bellowed together.

"Swimsuit time!"

"Yes!" JP jumped.

Ran’s bathing suit was an ice blue color with a pattern of darker blue stars. She got a good amount of applause again. Sunami’s was the same one she wore to battle Eevy; a dark blue suit with one light blue waving line across the stomach. She too got a nice amount of clapping. Misty’s was a bright blue bikini with dark blue trim. She got about twice the applause of Ran and Sunami. Eevy’s was a different Eevee tail suit. This one had a diamond shape cut out to show her stomach. It was still colored in the creme and brown Eevee tail fashion, however. She got a little more applause than Misty. Medira’s was a black bikini with a flame on the center of the top. She and Eevy stood beside each other waving while Misty kept glancing at the drooling Ash. Konohana’s was a plain orange suit and once again, to her displeasure, she didn’t get that much applause. Eevy and Medira spotted JP and Dragon tipping back and forth in a daze in the crowd.

"OK!" the announcer kept glancing over at the girls, "Let’s see who will be leaving this round, "Sorry to Ms. Ran Snowdrift and Sunami Nai, but you’ve been voted off. Thanks for being here."

Ran and Sunami pouted away leaving Misty, Eevy, Medira and Konohana on stage. The remaining four shot competitive looks to each other, three of which were aimed for Konohana and not even remotely meant for the others. The next round would narrow the field to two contestants and none were giving up.

"This next round is the true test for the Flower Princess. The Flower Arrangement round!"

Two smiled wide and two gagged, "I don’t know a thing about flowers!" Medira and Misty choked.

Eevy was elated, "I can make flowers grow, so maybe I can beat her. Raikou, I trust in you. I’m going to win this even if I fall over trying."

"She thinks she can beat me," Konohana mused, "I can arrange flowers better than anyone. Besides, it’s not like she can make ‘em grow or something."

The four remaining girls were pushed back stage and directed to randomly choose one of four curtained rooms. They lined up from left to right with Misty, Eevy, Medira and Konohana. Misty’s had mostly water lilies, to her pleasure. Eevy’s was a mixture of mostly roses and gardenias. Medira’s was mostly black-eyed susans and daisies and Konohana’s was almost completely mums. Three smiled and one frowned. Konohana hated working with mums but she was going to win this. Each girl started by picking something to arrange their flowers on or in. Misty took a basket, Eevy took a heart-shaped trellis, Medira got a ceramic vase and Konohana took a fan trellis. Each girl set to work.

"Psst!" Eevy looked around but saw nothing, "Psst psst!"

"Oh!" she said softly as she saw Medira looking under the curtain, "We can get in trouble."

"I don’t care! You’d better win this!"

"What about you?"

"What do you mean what about us?" Misty asked from behind her, "We know nothing about this! Yours is growing just because you’re standing there!"

Medira and Misty left and went back to their flowers. After a while, Misty was finished and Medira was almost done. Eevy worked away, getting some things to grow and bloom to her specifications. She had one vine of a morning glory stretch and twine down inside the heart of the trellis to make almost a Victorian pattern. Konohana was starting to sweat. That girl was taking a long time. What could she possibly be doing that took her as long as she did? She kept working away on her many colored mums.

"Ladies! Your time is up!" the announcer called in as Eevy threw her hands at the trellis in one swift motion to make it grow and cover any missed spots.

"Coming!" the four girls called together, leaving their flowers behind.

"Eevy," Medira whispered, "You look worn out. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Eevy ran her wrist across her forehead, "It just took a lot to make those flowers grow. I’m fine."

Misty’s was brought out first. It was actually quite good for a first try. The lilies came naturally to her. She had intertwined them with the handle and brim of the basket then done a symmetrical layout of flowers in the basket itself.

"Go, Misty!" Ash called.

"Come on, Misty!" Brock shouted.

"That’s great, Misty!" Tracey sketched away with Sooney leaning over his shoulder.

Medira was next. Her black-eyed susans ran around the rim of the vase with a layer of daisies above that. There was layer after layer of different flowers and dead in the center was a huge sunflower. She was quite proud of herself.

"Yeah, Medira!" JP waved.

"That’s great, girl!" Mizu cried.

"Go get ‘em, Medira!" Sooney shouted as she leaned over Tracey’s shoulder.

Konohana pushed in front of Eevy, much to Eevy’s annoyance. Hers was the fan trellis done in a rainbow pattern of mostly color-died mums. It started with red and followed the Roy G. Biv pattern and ended in white. Misty and Medira felt out of place.

Various cheers came from the crowd as Eevy and the girls yawned. Team Rocket had left for other business and vowed to beat them yet.