Hey, guys. Sorry for the long wait, but we've both been really busy. High school is unbearable, and it seriously sucks with the amount of homework we got. Also, we took a huge chunk of our writing time to play Pokemon X and Y (which is BRILLIANT btw :D).

Time to reply to the reviews! xD

Eeveexme: Yeah, I felt totally sorry for N, too. Paul is just a mean jerk, so I wouldn't worry too much about him. DX

Gemstone Gal: Yes, yes you were. XD Congrats! ^.^ Aww, thank you… :D

MissShane12: We're both really sorry for not always updating quickly, but school has been tough. But I promise to try and update more often! :D Oh, and thank you for all the kind compliments.

jayfeather12345: Yup, they're totally falling for each other. ;) N will definitely make another appearance. He might not make one for this chapter, but he will definitely make another one. XP

emma5678: Thank you so much, girl! I'll be sure to thank you at school, too! XD

XWhiteChanX: You're right, we can't really blame him. He doesn't know better (thanks to Ghetsis DX). But he is right in some cases. I think he should treat his Pokemon better, too. I mean, they don't really trust Paul entirely, so they should step up the quality. Thanks! ^^ I liked writing the Ikari at the beginning. :P

Disclaimer: We both do not own Pokemon.

Chapter 12: Battling Burgh

Dawn's POV

I exhaled in relief as we got to Castelia City. Both Paul and I were exhausted after we had trekked through Pinwheel Forest, admired Skyarrow Bridge (which took us an hour to get from one point to another), and arrive at the Pokemon Center in Castelia.

"No sightseeing," I groaned, placing my hand on Paul's shoulder so I could bend down to calm myself down. "I'm sooo tired."

Paul stared at me, shocked. His eyes were wide, and his mouth formed a perfect 'o'. "What?" I asked frantically, checking behind me to see if someone was there. "Is it scary?" I questioned again, after realizing that it was a lamp post behind me.

"N-no," he forced out. "It's just… That's the first time you've been tired."

"That's not true!" I huffed, pouting as I folded my arms. "Travelling is hard and any normal person would be pooped."

"But you're not normal, Troublesome," Paul pointed out rudely.

I stuck my tongue out at him, before leaving him behind. I stayed on the sidewalk, many people were riding on their bicycles and I preferred not to get injured. After a few minutes, I spied a red roof with the familiar poke ball symbol. I smiled to myself, as I walked through the automatic doors, eager to fall asleep.

"Hello, how may I help you?" chimed the helpful Nurse Joy stationed behind the counter.

"Can we book two rooms please?"

"'We'?" she echoed, searching for Paul.

I sweat dropped. "My…friend…is coming. He should be here soon."

"Oh, a 'he'…" she teased. "And you're just friends, you say?" She winked, and I felt my face heat up. I was about to retort when I noticed a very…sticky substance on her cheek.

"Uhm…you have s-something on your cheek," I told her lamely. Nurse Joy's happy composure faltered, as she started to frown, angrily rubbing off the gloopy liquid.

"Is it gone?" I checked her face, and then nodded. "Oh, thank Arceus…" she drawled out.

"What was it?"

"Honey," she informed me, her eyes twinkling at a memory. "I was called to help a Pokemon in Burgh's Gym, and I had to get messy. He's an artist, you see, and insisted that he incorporated his art into the surroundings of the Gym battles."

"Burgh?" Paul's voice said, making Nurse Joy and I jump out of our skin. "The third Gym Leader?"

"Y-yes." She nodded to herself, before handing me both keys. "He's taking challengers tomorrow, early in the morning only, since he's out the rest of the day."

"Okay!" I chirped, before waving good bye to her. I bounded up the stairs, and handed Paul his key when we were face-to-face with our rooms.

"We're challenging Burgh tomorrow. First thing," Paul murmured before I could walk in the door.

I groaned inwardly. "What time?"

"Six," he said. I whined even louder, stamping my foot a little. "Don't make a fuss, Troublesome," he added. Paul then walked into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Sighing, I stepped into my room, before crashing out on my bed.

"Fuck no," I seethed. "There is no way I'm doing this." I glared at Paul, very angry at him. I didn't want to do it. It didn't feel right…

"It's just honey for crying out loud!" he shouted back, pointing at the honey wall I was supposed to walk through to get to Burgh.

That morning, Paul and I had met downstairs, skipping breakfast, to get to the Gym. I had been full of hope and excitement, skipping when I walked. Paul acted like the complete opposite, but I know that happiness surged through his body as we got closer. When I had first saw a girl, covered in honey, coming out from the Gym, I had screwed my nose up in disgust. I had no idea what was about to befall on us…

To get to Burgh, you had to push through walls… Of honey. I know that honey isn't the most disgusting thing in Unova, but I was convinced that I could die from dirtiness. I wouldn't even think about what would happen to my outfit if I went any further. I shouted out loud that I wasn't going to take another step nearer to that mess.

Unfortunately for me, Paul kept trying to get me through it.

"I'm not doing it." I had made my final decision.

"Oh, yes you are," Paul said. "And I'm going to make you do it, no matter what."

"W-what do you mea-"

Before I could say anything else, Paul picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. "Like I said – I'm going to make you do it no matter what."

"PAUL!" I roared. "PUT ME DOWN! I'M NOT GOING THROUGH HONEY!"

"Yes you are!" he retaliated. "I thought you wanted to take on Gyms."

When I didn't say anything, he shrugged, and charged through the honey. I screamed loudly, punching his back as I felt my back go through the soft and sticky substance.

"Ewww!" I wailed, sobbing as I thought about my outfit. "YOU SUCK, PAUL, THAT HONEY WAS RUTHLESS!"

"Stop complaining," he grunted. "You're making a scene."

"I don't care!" I sobbed, punching him on the back again.

"…Whatever."

We made our way through the disgusting Gym, having Paul battle all the clowns that appeared in our way. I kept on complaining, shouting my abuse and asking Paul if my outfit still looked okay. He just chuckled in response.

When we finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs that took us to the Gym leader, I almost started to cry with tears of happiness. Paul gently put me down, and I slapped him across the face the minute my feet touched the ground.

"What was that for?!" he demanded.

"You suck," was all I said, before walking up the stairs, trying to wipe off the honey that plagued my body (and outfit).

I stared in surprise when I got to the top. I expected the person who had created this…Gym, would look more eccentric. He had poofy brown hair, and was wearing a green top, with a scarlet colored scarf. He also wore red striped pants, and a butterfly belt to top it all off.

"Welcome~!" he chirped, leaping towards me. I sweat dropped. He definitely is eccentric. "My name is Burgh Arti, and I am the third Gym Leader."

"My name is Dawn, and my outfit is ruined," I moaned, still angry about my misfortunes. "But nice to meet you!"

"Hn."

"That's Paul," I informed. Burgh nodded.

"Who's going first?" I whispered to Paul.

"Me," he answered, stepping forward. I shrugged and walked to the side of the battlefield.

The battle commenced, and Paul took out his Tepig, nodding silently to him before watching Burgh take out his Whirlipede. After a few Ember attacks, Whirlipede was out. Next, Burgh took out his Dwebble, ordering her to use Sand Attack. The sand flew into Tepig's face, and Tepig stumbled around blindly. Paul countered by making Tepig use Ember, but this time making the fire surround Tepig, so that it hit Dwebble. After a Tackle, Dwebble fainted, too. Burgh sighed, before taking his last Pokemon out: Levanny. Levanny used Razor Leaf, but Tepig dodged and used Ember, then Tackle. Levanny was out in a matter of seconds.

Paul smirked, and returned Tepig back into its poke ball. I smiled at Paul, happy for his easy win, but he totally ignored me, and walked to the side of the battlefield.

I ambled onto one side of the battlefield, knowing that it would be a hard

battle, since I didn't have any Pokémon that were super effective against Burgh's. He walked through a little room at the back, and came back with his Pokémon fully healed.

"Eevee, c'mon out!" I shouted, throwing out Eevee's poke ball. I was slightly nervous that Eevee wouldn't pull through, I wasn't sure if she was completely recovered from her...injury, but I didn't want to neglect her any longer. If I kept leaving her out of battles, she would grow to hate me, and I couldn't let that happen.

"Whirlipede!"

I ordered for Eevee to use Tackle, and she bashed into Whirlipede, making Whirlipede go on its side. I then got an idea, and told Eevee to use Tackle again on Whirlipede. Whirlipede started to spin, and roll around on the battlefield, and then screamed in pain and fainted. Burgh's face looked puzzled, but then noticed that there was still some flames left over from Tepig's Ember, and that I had used it to my advantage.

"Very smart," he commented. "Dwebble, out, now!"

Dwebble appeared again, and I ordered Eevee to use Tackle again. Eevee nodded, and was about to hit Dwebble, when Dwebble used Sand Attack, and Eevee stumbled, falling over. Dwebble then used Faint Attack, and hit Eevee out of nowhere. She moaned in pain, and tried to use Headbutt, but missed and fell on her head.

"Eevee, no!" I gasped, fumbling for her poke ball. I then held the ball in front of me, and only dared to breathe when she was back into her poke ball, away from danger. "Piplup, spotlight," I breathed out, trying to be more optimistic.

Dwebble didn't look the least intimidated, and used Struggle Bug, hitting Piplup many times. My trusted partner just shook off the attack, though, and used a Water Gun. Dwebble then fell on his shell. The gears in my mind started working, and I told Piplup to use Pound on Dwebble's body (not his shell), since that was his weak point. Piplup nodded, and slashed Dwebble with her flipper. Dwebble fainted, and I felt a little better.

"You keep defeating my Pokémon when they're out of their comfort zone, I like that," Burgh complimented, returning Dwebble. "But that's not going to happen anymore! Levanny, please defeat this challenger!"

Levanny came out, and immediately used Razor Leaf, which was super effective against my aquatic penguin. Piplup let out a yelp, and I gritted my teeth.

"Piplup, use Pound!" I shouted, frowning at my opponent.

Piplup ran forward, and was about to hit Levanny when Burgh ordered him to use Protect. A shiny blue barrier suddenly appeared, leaving Piplup to bash into it, falling on his flipper. I growled under my breath.

"Levanny, use String Shot!"

Levanny opened his arms, and let a white, sticky, gooey substance shoot out from his arms, and onto my Piplup. I looked confused, and the goo wrapped around Piplup, constricting my Pokémon until he was wailing in pain. I almost punched the wall in frustration, and I was running out of ideas.

"No need to worry."

"H-huh?!" My voice sounded befuddled, as I tried to process that Paul had just used my catchphrase to comfort me.

He was trying to make me feel better, and practically telling me not to…worry. I winked at him, to which he turned away with a huff, and concentrated on getting Piplup out of Levanny's clutches. I then clicked my fingers in astonishment.

"Piplup, use Peck on Levanny's arm!"

At that point, Levanny had walked over to Piplup while he was tied up, just to mock him, so that meant Piplup could attack from there!

Piplup's beak grew bigger, and hit Levanny with such force, that the string was cut, and Levanny…had fainted.

I kneeled down in relief, and cheered for Piplup, hugging him tight. I then took out Eevee, and congratulated her, too. Paul walked over to me, and muttered something that sounded like a "Congratulations" but I couldn't hear properly.

"Bravo, Dawn and Paul!" Burgh exclaimed. "You both have won against me, so I think you deserve to have the Insect Badge."

He handed us a small metallic badge, which looked like a fancy leaf.

"I suggest that you two should head to Nimbasa City, since that's where the fourth Gym Leader is," he helpfully supplied.

"That's actually a good suggestion," Paul said, nodding. I rolled my eyes, is that the only thing he ever thinks about?

"We should go there-"

Suddenly, a massive gun shot was heard and then a clang came after. The lights in the Gym, flickered, eventually turning off. I felt petrified, and my hands became clammy (and it certainly wasn't the honey). My heart started to hammer in my chest when I heard the words shrill loudly through the city:

"Team Rocket declares a war against Team Plasma."

Dun dun dun! WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT?!

Oh, and I'm sorry for the crappy battles, I seriously couldn't be bothered to type it all out… I'm really tired, and I just finished writing a battle scene for my English class, anyway… It really takes the writing creativity out of you. DX

Please: Review, review and review!