"Triple Trouble"
Author: Robert Brown

Disclaimer: This story uses characters created and copyrighted by Nintendo,
            Game Freak, and/or 4 Kids Inc. (except where noted, in which case 
            they were created and copyrighted by me or by another and I have
            permission to use them).  The author hereby gives permission for 
            this story to be downloaded and/or printed at 1 copy per user as 
            long as (1) no changes to the story are made without my express 
            written(not e-mailed) permission and (2) no attempt is made to 
            profit from this story.  If either or both rules are violated, it 
            will be considered a violation of copyright law.

#10

Part 3: "Day 2 - Violet"

	It was early the next morning when Ash was awakened by a sharp knocking 
at his door.  A quick check of the alarm clock showed that it wasn't even six
AM.  "Hang on!"  he called, or at least tried to; it was more of a loud moan 
of annoyance than anything.  He tumbled out of bed, stumbled over to the door,
and fumbled with the doorknob for a moment before remembering that he'd locked
it.  Finally unclicking it, he got the door open only to come face-to-face 
with a very annoyed pair of brown eyes.
	Ash blinked sleepily at them before jumping back in surprise as his 
brain finally caught up to events, the door flying wide in his shock.  "Hey, 
you can't be here," he began, conscious of the fact that he still only had on 
a t-shirt and boxers.  He really needed to ask Misty and Penny to get him a 
pair of pajamas or something; this was getting embarrassing.
	Violet, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered by it at all, though
that might have had something to do with the fact that she had on a fluffy 
green bathrobe that covered her from neck to ankle.  "Oh relax Ash," she said
with just a slightly condescending tone.  "I know the rules, but listen, I 
need your help with something."
	She needed his help?  His instincts told him this might be another trap,
but what was the harm in asking?  If he didn't like it, all he had to do was 
say no and close the door.  "What do you need?"  he asked cautiously.
	Violet bent to the side for a moment, picking up a long box wrapped in
deep violet paper that matched her hair.  "This is a present," she explained, 
shoving it into his arms.  "I don't want the recipient, who's in this gym, to 
see what's inside before I'm ready to give it.  Right now, this is the one 
place in this gym that's safe from prying eyes.  So can I count on you to hide
it?"
	Ash looked from the box to her face and then back to the box.  A present
was it?  That did make sense; since no one was allowed in his room without 
permission, it was the one place her sisters couldn't snoop without him being
able to call the whole thing off.  As curious as they might be, especially 
Lily, there was no way they'd risk it.  "All right Violet, you got yourself a
deal," he said, taking the box from her and sliding it under his bed.  "Is 
there anything else you need or can I try to get another hour's sleep?"
	"Don't sleep in too long," Violet cautioned with a smile.  Breakfast 
will be waiting for you when you get there."
	"Yeah yeah," Ash said through a yawn, the promise of food not being able
to cut through the tiredness that his early wakeup had caused.  He muttered a 
few apologies, closed the door as gently as he could manage, and stumbled back
to his bed.  Another hour or two of sleep sounded absolutely heavenly, he 
thought as he his face hit the pillow.
	But as Ash soon discovered, sleeping while you were trying to hide a 
surprise for someone was not the easiest thing in the world.  It was obviously
something important; maybe it was information on a new water pokémon!  Ash had
heard that there was a land out to the west of the Kanto region where new and
exciting pokémon were being discovered all the time.  He knew he had to get 
out there one day, but he still had unfinished business here.  Knowing these 
sisters though, it was probably some kind of expensive clothing that Violet 
had found on sale.  It made more sense given the size and shape of the box, 
but he couldn't be sure.  
	It was the not knowing that bothered him the most; if he only knew what 
was in the box he could get back to sleep with no problem!  But peeking into a
package he'd told her he would protect didn't sit right with him.  Besides, it
was already wrapped and there was no way he could make it look as good as the 
original.  His mother had tried on occasion to teach him the trick of wrapping
a present like this, but he had never gotten the hang of it.  True, that had 
been five years ago, so maybe--
	The alarm clock started buzzing as the time passed seven AM, and Ash 
wearily slapped his hand on it to shut it up.  Ugh, this morning was not going
well for him.  As he prepared himself for the day, he found his thoughts 
drifting back to the box.  Again.  Maybe this was Violet's plan: to keep him
distracted throughout the day to get an advantage on him.  Well it wasn't 
going to work!  Ash knew he was smarter than that; he wasn't going to be 
beaten by some mind game.  More confident now, he dressed and headed out to 
the kitchen, ready to tackle anything that Violet would throw his way.  
	The scent of food reached his nose and made him pause before he reached
the kitchen doorway.  Was that...fish?  No way, he had to be wrong.  Who would
serve fish for breakfast?  It was crazy, it was unheard of!  And as he entered
the kitchen, he knew he'd be proven wrong.
	He wasn't.
	There on the table, in front of where he was eating yesterday, sat a
plate of some kind of split and smoked fish perched on dry toast.  There was a 
bowl of mashed potatoes next to the plate, in which there were some thick 
sausages, the only thing on the table he recognized.  "Fish for breakfast?"
he asked in surprise and a healthy bit of trepidation.
	"Oh don't look so surprised Ash," Violet said, sounding a little annoyed
at his reaction as she jerked off her green apron and tossed it over the back 
of her chair, showing off a tailored business suit that showed off her curves
without being blatant about it as Lily's outfit had done the day before.  Ash 
did take notice of how her body was a bit more mature and curvy than Lily's, 
but seeing as she was a full year older he wasn't that surprised.  
	"This is actually a very popular breakfast in a country halfway around
the world," she informed him, sitting down with her own plate and bowl.  "I 
get bored of the same things, no matter how much I love them, so I try to add 
some variety to my diet when I can."
	"Like you need to diet?"  Ash asked, sitting down in his own chair but
eyeing the food warily.  That was one thing he'd never understand about women.
What was so great about being thin?  If you didn't have any weight on you, 
then you didn't have any strength or endurance, certainly not enough to travel
around and learn all about pokémon like Ash wanted to do.  He might make jokes
about Misty being on the scrawny side, but it was a healthy thinness; not one
brought on by dieting overkill.
	If he'd looked up, he would've seen a slight blush appear on Violet's 
cheeks from the unexpected compliment.  "As pleasing as it is to hear that 
Ash," she said once she'd found her voice, "in this case 'diet' only means the
food that I eat.  Trust me, I eat more than any of my sisters do--"
	"And we hate her for it," Daisy said as she walked in, heading right to
the coffee pot and filling up her mug.  "She's just one of those people who 
can eat a gallon of ice cream and not gain a pound.  Disgusting if you ask 
me."
	"Yeah, I love you too," Violet snarked a bit, blowing her sister a kiss
before turning to her food and cutting off a piece of fish and toast to pop 
into her mouth.  "Come on Ash, eat up!  One thing that upsets me is somebody
wasting food, especially if I took the time to make it."
	Ash poked at the weird fish again and sighed.  "All right, I'll try it,"
he muttered, copying her actions and closing his eyes as he closed his mouth 
around it.  It was....different certainly.  Different, but not bad.  Not bad
at all.  "This is pretty good!"  he said, digging into his food with gusto.  
"Hey Daisy, are you having some?"
	"I'll pass Ash," she said, leaning back against the counter while taking
another sip of her coffee.  "Violet's tastes in food are just a little too odd
for me."
	"And like I keep telling you," Violet countered, though her eyes were 
locked on Ash instead of her sister, "you should always try a taste of what's
offered to you before you just reject it."  Daisy had to fight not to snort 
her coffee up her nose at the rather obvious double entendre that Violet had 
just tossed out there.  But she couldn't hold it back when Ash rather naďvely
agreed with her.  If only the poor kid knew what he had just agreed to.  And
as she saw the predatory look that crossed Violet's face, she almost felt a 
touch sorry for Ash.  Almost.
	Breakfast took a little longer to get through this time, so Ash didn't
have any chance to do as much exploring this time before the gym's doors 
opened up.  And, just like yesterday, Misty and Penny were through them 
almost before Daisy had opened them.  But instead of glomping Ash as soon as
they saw him, they sought out Lily.  To their expectation, and relief, the 
pink-haired Cerulean Sister had to admit that her attempt at turning Ash's 
head had failed.  Vindicated, they turned around and glomped onto a trailing 
Ash, before Daisy forcibly reminded them that there were still two days left
and still rules to follow.
	As they returned to the couch they had occupied yesterday, Violet joined
them as Lily had.  But that was where the similarities ended.  Instead of 
asking Ash about himself, she decided to share some things about herself.  Her
own likes, dislikes, but most importantly her dreams.  "That's one thing that 
Misty and I share," she said, closing her eyes and letting a small smile fall
onto her lips.  "We both want to travel and see the world.  But where she
wants to go to all the romantic spots like Paris, I want to see all the old 
places, the ones where there is more history to it than people in it."
	"That's a nice dream," Ash said, though he was obviously thinking about
all the pokémon the world had to offer.  Such wonders awaited outside the 
borders of Kanto, but he knew he had business to attend to here, first.  His
eighth badge called to him, and then onto the Elite Four to finally become 
Pokémon Master.  "I have my own dreams here though, and I'm going to see them
through no matter what.  I'd love to hear all about your travels though if 
you ever get to go!"
	"That would be no trouble at all Ash," Violet said with a smirk that 
sent shivers of warning down the spines of Ash's girlfriends.  "I'm sure I 
could teach you so many things, both before and after my journeys."
	Penny and Misty tensed up as they caught the hidden meaning behind her
words, just as Daisy had earlier at breakfast.  But Ash's unknowing answer of
being an attentive student and a quick study brought completely different 
reactions in them.  Penny got visibly agitated; if she'd been in her pikachu 
form then there would've been sparks flying from her cheeks.  But Misty had 
gone rather calm and relaxed by contrast, even daring to send Violet a small 
victorious smirk.  Penny was completely confused at Misty's response, which 
only added to her uneasiness.
	Violet knew what was going on though.  So long as Ash remained oblivious
to her double meanings, she really had no chance of getting his attention.
Surprisingly, it didn't much matter to her at the moment.  Here was this boy, 
or more accurately a young man, genuinely interested in her dreams and wishes
without using it as a way of getting close to her.  Violet couldn't remeber 
the last time she'd met anyone like that; had she ever met someone like that?  
It was becoming easier to see the charm in him that had so obviously captured 
these two girls' hearts, and her own flirting was slowly becoming more 
heartfelt.
	Soon they were all talking in depth about their own dreams and wishes
for the future, and the day passed right along.  It wasn't as much of a 
surprise when Daisy came to remind them that the gym was closing.  But this
time as she hugged him goodbye, Penny couldn't restrain herself.  "Watch 
yourself Ash," she said, glaring pointedly at Violet, ignoring Misty shaking
her head wildly.
	"Watch what?"  Ash asked, confused by the sudden warning after feeling
that the day had gone by quite well.
	"You still haven't figured it out?  Ash, almost everything she's saying 
has a double meaning to it, and your answers are only making things worse!  
You have no idea what you've been agreeing to, do you?"
	"Time to go Penny," Misty almost growled, grabbing her by the ear and
dragging her friend over to the door before she could do anymore damage to the
situation.  
	Violet just watched them go with a bit of a mocking wave, so glad that 
Penny had spoken up about it.  Even now, she could see the gears turning in 
Ash's head as he tried to puzzle out the warning that had been given to him.
It wasn't exactly a lightbulb going off, but once Ash's cheeks turned a bright
pink, she knew she had him.  "So Ash," she said, leaning forward with her 
elbows on her knees, "care to share just what's got you so embarrassed?"
	"I don't think you want to know about that," he muttered, bringing his 
cap down to hide his face for a moment.  But then he had a crazy thought occur
to him, and he saw no reason not to follow it through.  "And if you did, then
you probably wouldn't be someone I would share them with."
	Oh ho, so that was his ploy now, was it?  He thought he could match her
in a battle of wits that she'd been playing before he even thought about 
leaving his hometown.  He was certainly welcome to try, because that would 
just make things a whole lot more fun.  Game on Ash, game on.
	Outside the gym, a different kind of battle was getting ready to start, 
this one promising to be much more physical then mental.  "What is your 
problem Misty?"  Penny demanded once she'd freed her ear from Misty's vicegrip
clutch.  That girl could pinch harder than Ash's krabby!  "I was just warning
Ash to watch out because he was--"
	"--Completely naďve about my sister's flirting?"  Misty finished for 
her.  "That was exactly my point!  As long as he didn't know what she was up
to, he was safe from her advances because they were going right over his head!
But now that he's on the lookout for them--"
	"--he's in trouble," Penny realized, dropping down on her knees as the
full import of her actions hit her.  "I just screwed up, didn't I?"
	Misty just looked back at the gym, making a note to get Togepi as soon
as she hit the Pokémon Center; she needed someone to cuddle, and the pokémon
she considered her baby was probably just as needy.  But before she could 
respond to Penny's obvious declaration, a commotion from down the road drew
her attention.
	"Wait!"  two people yelled, hurrying up to the door and tugging on it.
But the door was locked up tight thanks to Daisy's punctuality.  
	"You slowpoke!"  the woman, a strangely familiar blonde groaned, 
smacking her companion over his head as her blue eyes flashed in annoyance.  
"We missed it by only a few minutes!  I told you that we needed to hurry!"
	The man, also strangely familiar with his shoulder length red hair and
bright green eyes, rubbed his head and whined at the way the woman was 
treating him.  "But Jeanie, I had to go!  It's not my fault I couldn't hold
it!"
	"You were the one insisted on drinking that extra bottle of water at 
the Pokémon Center," Jeanie reminded him, crossing her arms over her chest 
and glaring him down until he backed down.  "And now two minutes are going to
cost us over twelve hours!  Honestly Jake, you can just be so...so hopeless 
sometimes!"
	"Apparently it's not just Ash," Penny said quietly, nudging Misty in 
her side with an elbow.  
	The two trainers jumped at Penny's comment, not realizing they had an
audience watching their antics.  "Oh, I'm sorry!"  Jeanie apologized, smacking
Jake in the back of the head again as he just stood there.  "Well go on, 
apologize!"
	"Oh don't worry about it," Misty said with a small smile.  "It's no 
secret that boys are pretty hopeless about these things."
	"It's not like they can help it after all," Penny agreed, combing her
fingers through her hair and wincing when she found a couple knots.  That was
one thing she didn't like about her human form; fur was just so much easier 
to take care of.
	"Hey!"  Jake whined, before being cut off by an enthusiastic Jeanie.
	"Oh finally, you girls sound like you understand just what I'm going 
through!"  she all but squealed as she grabbed them by their hands.  "Let me
guess, your boyfriends are every bit as dense as my traveling companion over
there, right?"
	"Boyfriend," both Misty and Penny corrected together, glancing at each
other with a little grin.  
	"Boyfriend?"  Jeanie repeated, her ice-blue painted lips curling just
slightly in amusement.  "This sounds like a juicy story if you ask me!  Come
on!"  she added, marching up between the two and hooking an arm around each 
of theirs.  "As long as we have to wait for tomorrow, I might as well get in
some time in my second favorite thing: girl gossip!  Now tell me all about
this guy."
	Jake's face fell and he prepared to argue about it, but a single sharp
look from Jeanie quieted him down.  "Maybe there'll be a couple of guys I 
can hang out with there," he muttered, following along as Jeanie dragged her
new friends off.
	Neither Penny nor Misty were quite sure just what had happened here, 
but it would be a good way to spend the night at least.  And yet, as she was
pulled along back to the Pokémon Center, Misty couldn't help but glance back
at the gym.  "I just hope Ash doesn't try anything stupid," she murmured.  
Penny looked over at the girl and nodded quietly, echoing the sentiment.
	Ash was certainly trying not to be stupid, but he was hampered by his 
inexperience and his general unease at the subject matter.  Violet was quick
to capitalize on this at the beginning and scored some easy points on him in
her mind.  Things were going just as she had expected it to.
	But she didn't expect how quickly he was learning.  The more he warmed 
up to their little tęte-ŕ-tęte, the more he fired off a few zingers himself.
Why, he was even managing to make her blush once in a while.  Her!  Blushing!  
She hadn't blushed for real since she was a preteen!  
	This was not how she had planned it.  Ash was supposed to be a blushing
puddle of goo in the face of her teasing before she moved in for the kill and
won this bet.  But here he was, holding his own against her, and she was being
forced to scramble far more than she wanted to.  And yet, she found she was
enjoying this battle more than any she'd had in a long time exactly for that 
reason.
	And Ash was getting bolder.  His attempts at double entendre were 
amateur, but when he was more direct he had far more success.  "Why Violet, do
I have you flustered?"  he asked behind a grin as he made her blush yet again.
"And to think, all we're doing is talking.  Makes me think you couldn't handle
anything else."  
	Of course Ash had no intentions to follow through, just as he was sure 
all her words were bluffs and games.  But then she uttered the three words 
that put Ash on the spot: "You wouldn't dare."  The thing about those words,
once they were uttered there was no going back.  He never turned away from a
dare, and today would be no different.  
	It was only the barest brush of lips, exactly the same as he'd done to
Lily the day before.  Being a little bit older, Violet did not gasp from the
contact but instantly sought to deepen it.  She managed to press her lips 
fully against Ash's for just a split second before he pulled away from her.
Violet could only watched him as he walked away; she could almost feel his 
satisfaction at having proved her wrong.  Again.  
	A frustrated whine left her throat as she threw herself against the back
of the couch in agitation.  She'd lost the game...when was the last time that
had happened?  She should be angry, should be furious at having been shown up 
like that.  But as she searched her thoughts, the only negative emotions 
Violet could find was that she was upset at being left wanting.
	Another person searching his thoughts at that moment was sitting on a 
small hill just outside the city limits, right across the river from the 
Cerulean Cave.  Brock had been out here most of the day, telling Suzie that he
needed some time alone with his thoughts.  It was the truth, but he purposely
didn't tell her about the nature of the thoughts he needed to be alone with.
	Once again, he ran through the series of events the night before, 
wondering just how it had all happened the way it had.  He'd helped out a 
Nurse Joy a few times in the past.  Not this one specifically, but the results
had always been the same.  Thanks for the help, nervous blushing as he tried 
to put the moves on, and him going away dejected at another rejection.  
	Yet this time, the one time he had intentionally not put the moves on 
her in any way, he'd gotten a kiss out of things.  And what a kiss it had 
been!  So soft and sweet and tender and everything he'd ever thought it could
be!
	He shouldn't be thinking like that though, not now that he had Suzie as 
his girlfriend.  She was everything he had ever wanted, and he was making the 
concerted effort to keep himself out of "girl-crazy" mode since they'd left 
Cinnabar.  So why now, of all times, did he find the success he no longer 
wanted?
	The more he thought about it, the more he ended up confusing himself.  
Maybe he was overthinking things, maybe it wasn't such a big deal after all.  
Yeah, and maybe he'd end up getting a kiss from the local Jenny too.  This was 
all too much for him.  Time to head back and--
	Sounds of a struggle reached his ears, snapping Brock from his thoughts.
A man and a woman were arguing, and he could hear a growlithe barking at 
something frantically.  The fight was close, just on the other side of the 
hill, and Brock clambered up it to see what was going on.
	"Stop struggling!"  a black-clad thug growled at the woman in his grasp
as he dragged her backward toward a waiting motorbike.  One arm was around the
woman's waist and the other aroud her neck.  Brock couldn't see much of the 
woman around the man's portly body, but from the bare legs, the black heels 
digging into the ground to try and halt the thug's progess, and the frantic 
growlithe hopping around agitatedly, Brock had no doubts that she was Cerulean
City's own Officer Jenny.
	So why was the growlithe not attacking to save her?  And then he saw it,
the glint of metal near her neck.  The coward!  Using a knife to threaten her
life and to keep the pokémon at bay.  This was unconscionable; there was no 
way that Brock could let him get away with such an affront to honor.  He 
snatched up a small rock in his hand as he stood up tall, Brock flung it at 
the crook's head.  
	It bounced off with a satisfying thunk, making the man stumble forward a
step in shock.  He turned to look to see what had attacked him and noticed 
Brock standing up on top of the hill.  "Ahh, a wannabe hero," he laughed in a 
rough voice pointing the knife up at Brock.  "You better stay up there before 
I show you just what happens to those who interfere--"
	With a quickness born of practicing the maneuver many times, Jenny 
grabbed the man's outstretched arm and bent forward, hauling on the limb hard.
The thief went flying over her shoulder to land hard on his back, but the 
strain from throwing a man that large was too much on her knee, and it 
collapsed on her before she could follow up.  
	Her growlithe tried to move in with a bite attack, but the thug was 
quicker.  A flash of metal in the dying sunlight and the pokémon's blood 
splashed on the ground below from a gash in its side.  "Growline!"  Jenny 
yelled, trying to force herself to stand but only getting stabbed in the side
for her trouble, dropping back down hard.
	"You stupid cop," the thief snarled, forgetting all about Brock in the
heat of the moment.  "We coulda done this easy, but no, you didn't want to be
smart cop.  So now, you're gonna be a dead cop."
	Jenny's brown eyes widened as she watched the guy approach.  She held 
the wound in her side as she struggled to get up, but her knee would not 
support her.  This couldn't be it; it couldn't end like this.  She lifted her
free arm to try and block the descending knife, hoping to buy herself just a 
little time.  But before the blade connected, the man was tackled violently to
the side by her savior.
	Brock had rebounded a bit off the guy's stomach from the force of his 
charging tackle, but the crook had definitely taken the worst of it.  "Go 
Onix!"  he yelled, calling out his largest and most trusted pokémon.  "Bind 
him!"
	Onix was a little surprised at being told to attack a human that wasn't 
a member of Team Rocket, but once he saw the knife as well, he understood the
danger.  The man was reaching for a pokéball in his pocket, but Onix' large 
tail wrapped around him before he could enlarge it, releasing the pokémon 
within.  He didn't want to hurt the man too terribly, but he had to be stopped
before he could figure out a way free.  Without his trainer's prompting, Onix
used his tail whip to shake the man back and forth until his eyes rattled in 
his skull.  Once he was sufficiently dizzy, Onix used his favorite move: slam.
Though the ground was soft enough to prevent any permanent injury, it was 
clear that the man would not be getting up any time soon.  
	"Good work Onix," Brock said, returning him to his pokéball with a small
grin.  He wasn't that surprised that he'd acted on his own; all pokémon had 
minds and instincts of their own.  It was only by building a strong trust 
between them that the wanted of the trainer and the pokémon would be in such
perfect sync.  With that taken care of, Brock immediately turned his attention
to the nearby injured.
	Growline's slice was mostly superficial; it would need tending but the 
wound had stopped bleeding for the moment.  Jenny, on the other hand, was in 
pretty rough shape.  The thug's knife had bit deep into her side, and her knee
was swollen badly from when she had thrown him.  "Easy, I got you," Brock said
soothingly pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and pressing it against her
side.  "Press this against the wound to help the bleeding.  And don't worry, 
it's clean," he assured her with a faint chuckle.
	Jenny chuckled weakly at the joke, but the sound was cut off by a hiss 
of pain as her injury was agitated.  "On the bike," she said, pointing at her
bike that the thief had been trying to steal.  "Growline's pokéball."  Brock 
nodded in understanding and retrieved it for her, letting her recall her 
beloved friend into the pokéball safely.  That was about all the strength she
had though, as her arm fell limply to the grass and her eyes fluttered closed.
	She wasn't unconscious, just resting her eyes to try and regain her 
energy.  She could feel the need to sleep tugging at her though, but she 
fought it off.  She had to get back to her station, had to get Growline looked
at.  But those thoughts were fading off just a little bit as she felt herself
moving.  Maybe she had lost more blood than she realized.  Why else would she
feel like she was flying?
	She forced her eyes open only to find that she wasn't flying, she was 
being carried.  The young man who had saved her was carefully carrying her 
over toward her bike, only to sit her down in the front seat.  She appreciated
the vote of confidence, but if he thought she could drive the bike anywhere in
her condition, he was nuts!
	Brock knew this, and he slipped on the bike behind her, reaching forward
under her arms to grasp the handlebars.  "You'll have to tell me which way to 
go," he whispered by her ear, starting the bike and warming up the engine.  
"We'll take it slow, but let me know if it's too much for you."
	"A-all right," Jenny murmured, cursing the blush that had risen to her 
cheeks.  So what if this handsome young man had just saved her life, so what 
if his arms around her were careful to hold her securely yet not jostle her
injury, and so what if she felt safe for the first time that day!  It should
not be enough to make her blush.  And yet it was, and she could not bring her
reaction under her control.
	Back inside the gym, Ash was just finishing up another very tasty, but
rather exotic dinner.  It seemed like these sisters definitely had the talent
for cooking, but to his knowledge that gift had missed Misty completely.  He
had yet to try anything she'd made, but only because she always let Brock do
all the cooking!  It made him kind of nervous to wonder what kind of 
concoction she would come up with given half the chance, but he knew he'd eat
it like the dutiful boyfriend that he was.  Same went for Penny, if she could
even cook at all.
	"Hey Ash!"  Violet yelled right by his ear, making him jump in surprise.
She hadn't meant to scare him, but that was the third time that she had tried
to get his attention.  
	"Oh, sorry Violet," he said, pushing away his plate and turning to face
her, a little unnerved by how close she was and that she did not move back 
when he turned.  "Is there something I can do for you?"
	Violet grinned a bit at seeing him uneasy, but it was slightly offset by
the blush she knew was staining her cheeks at being this close to him.  "It's
no big thing Ash, I was just wondering if I could go get that box now.  It's
almost surprise time and I want to get ready for it."
	Ash glanced over at the clock, seeing that it was 6:00 PM.  He couldn't 
go back to his room until 8:45 anyway, and there was no way it would take her
that long to get it and get out.  "Sure thing," he agreed, getting up and 
taking his plate over to the sink with two thoughts running through his head.
One was that if food around the world was so tasty, he'd have another reason 
to travel other than pokémon.  The other was that there was something just a
little wrong with Violet's request.  He couldn't quite put his finger on what,
but he knew it would bother him until he figured it out.  He only hoped that
he could figure it out before it was too late.
	While Ash pondered this, Brock was busy helping Officer Jenny into her
police station, a small three-room office from which she kept tabs on all the 
happenings in the city.  But right now, Brock was busy keeping tabs on her as
he sat her down in a chair, concerned by how pale she was starting to look.  
"Where's your first aid kit?"  he asked, trying to take a good look at her 
wound but unable to with her hand in the way.
	"In the bathroom," Jenny moaned, wincing as even talking that much 
brought with it a fresh throbbing of pain.  Brock hurried to the bathroom to
retrieve it, and Jenny took the opportunity to try and inspect the wound 
herself.  The edges of the slice in her uniform shirt were sticking to the
injury, so he had to carefully peel the shirt off in order to get a good look
at it.
	It didn't look so bad; it had even already clotted over.  But it hurt 
like nothing she'd ever felt before, even when Growline had accidentally 
caught her leg with one of her teeth.  And speaking of her leg, she could feel
how swollen her knee was.  Fortunately it was also pretty numb at the moment, 
but she knew that it was going to hurt come morning.  Nothing she could do 
about that, so she contented herself with poking at the scab, seeing just how 
bad the pain could get.
	"Hey, cut that out!"  Brock said as he came back in, actually smacking
her hand away.  The look she gave him reminded Brock of those moments when his
siblings had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar back home in
Pewter City.  He tried not to laugh, he really did, but that look just made it
impossible to do.  Of course, that only made Jenny deepen the pout, which made
Brock laugh harder.  "OK, let's take a look and see how bad it is."
	"It looks like it's fine," she started, until Brock actually ripped the 
scab off.  Blood almost poured from the wound, which he quickly wiped away as
he knelt down to see it clearly.  "Yep, just as I thought," he said, getting 
a sterilized needle and thread from the kit.  "It scabbed over, but if I don't
stitch it closed, it's never going to heal right.  It's too deep to heal on 
its own."
	"If you say so," Jenny said, wincing as the curved needle pierced her 
skin and Brock began to close the wound.  She was amazed by his knowledge on
this, and his gentle touch to make sure the stitches were as small and as 
painless as possible.  But what truly impressed her was his professionalism.
Here she was, clad in a bright blue bra only inches from his face, and he 
only had eyes for her injury.  How many guys would've taken the opportunity 
to ogle her?   And in turn, each and every one would have gotten punched for 
their trouble.  
	Jenny had never been that comfortable around men.  They either were 
afraid of her and her authority, or only were interested in her because of her
good looks and fit body.  But this guy was different, she could feel it 
somehow.  He genuinely cared about her well-being, as well as her as herself.  
That was why when he was done stitching her up and wanted to look at her knee,
she had no problems letting him even though that meant he was in the perfect
position to look up her regulation skirt to see her matching pair of panties.  
And once again, his attention didn't waver from her injury once.
	And this was completely against what she knew of him.  Like the Joys,
the Jenny family was very tight knit and shared a lot of stories.  Even though
this was her first time actually meeting him, she knew who Brock was.  If 
anyone would be expected to be a pervert under these conditions it would be
him.  And yet here he was, treating her with more respect as a woman than she
had ever been allowed.
	"It doesn't feel like you tore or broke anything," he said, moving her 
knee around gently to test the range of motion.  "Still, I'll get a hotpack 
to help relax it, but then we'll need to ice it to get the swelling down."
	Jenny nodded, finding herself blushing and watching him as he headed 
back off to the bathroom.  This guy was brave, good with pokémon, and knew a
thing or two about patching people up.  Add in that he was kind and respectful
toward her, and he looked really good too, and he was everything she'd ever 
wanted in a man.  
	Brock returned in a few minutes with a not only a steaming towel in hand
but her bathrobe as well.  "Here you go, it's a little chilly in here," he 
said, draping it over her shoulders with a smile.
	"Th-thank you," she returned, and her blush deepened as she heard 
herself stutter.  She'd never felt this attracted to anyone.  Ever.  And as 
he sat down and talked to her while he wrapped her knee with that hot towel, 
it was just getting bigger and bigger.
	After a few minutes, he took the towel off and helped her back up to her
feet.  "Let's get you laying down so we can get that ice pack on you," he 
said, slipping her arm around his neck to help her walk to her bedroom.  That 
was just another little thing she liked about him; he wasn't carrying her like
she was helpless, only offering his support to her.  Yeah, he'd carried her to
her bike before, but even she would admit that trying to walk under those 
conditions would've been bad for her health.
	"I'll be back with the ice in a few minutes," he said, carefully easing
her down on her mattress and helping her take her heels off.  "Let me know 
when you're ready for bed and I'll come back in."
	As soon as he'd left, she started making herself comfortable for bed, 
choosing to wear just a camisole and her panties.  It was a little difficult 
to do on her own, but she managed it.  She could've called him back in right
then, but she wanted to test him for some reason, see if he would wait for her
to say he could.  And he did.  In fifteen minutes of making him wait, the only
thing he asked was if she was ok or not.  "OK," she said finally, arranging 
her sheet over her body and trying to find a comfortable spot.
	Brock opened the door with a bowl in his hands that he set on her night
table.  He moved her blanket aside from the bottom up until he revealed her 
swollen knee, and she was impressed even further by this.  He took a different
towel from the bowl and placed it on the swelling before pulling a chair back
over to the side of the bed.
	She wasn't surprised by it this time, and another ten or fifteen minutes
passed in small talk to get her mind off the biting cold of the ice.  She was
almost sad when he took it off, wanting to have an excuse for him to stay.  
"I'll leave this here where you can reach it," he said, putting the towel and 
ice back in the bowl.  "If it's still bothering you in the night you can use
the ice some more, but not more than fifteen minutes at a time or you could 
get frostbite."
	"OK," Jenny agreed, yawning as he covered her leg up with the blanket.  
As he turned to leave, her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.  The look of
surprise on his face was too adorable to resist, and she tugged him down to
her, her lips catching his in a deep kiss.  
	For the second time in as many nights, Brock was stunned by a very 
unexpected kiss.  But he had no doubts this one was real as Jenny was far more
aggressive with her kiss than Joy had been, her tongue slipping into his mouth
to deepen it further.  He kissed back instinctively, but it was quite clear 
that she was fully in control here.  It was as different from the kiss he'd 
gotten last night as night was to day.  But it was no less enjoyable, by any
stretch of the imagination.
	When she finally let him go, making it last as long as she could, he was
surprised to see an almost sultry look in her eyes as she wiped her lipstick 
off his lips with her thumb.  "Brock, would you mind taking Growline to Nurse
Joy to get her looked at?"  she asked, to which Brock could only nod dumbly.
She smiled, kissed him again lightly, and whispered a soft good night to him.
	The next thing he knew consciously was that he was on his way back to 
the Pokémon Center with Growline's pokéball in hand.  Two kisses, in two 
consecutive nights, by two of his biggest crushes of his life.  If anyone had
told him back in Pallet Town that this was going to happen, he would've 
certainly laughed, maybe cried, and even perhaps been angry a little bit.  
But there was no denying that it had happened.  And now, staring at the Center
that was coming closer as he walked, all he knew was that he had ended up with
more questions instead of finding any real answers.
	Brock's steps were straight and direct down the path, but Ash's were 
rambling as he explored around the gym.  There had been no sign of Violet 
since dinner, so he was cautiously optimistic that he'd be able to get to his
room without any incident.  And this time he wasn't leaving it for any reason;
he'd already made sure he wouldn't have another midnight bathroom trip.
	And yet, he was sure he was missing something.  Maybe he'd been so busy
listening to everything she said to find a hidden meaning during that one 
conversation that he was seeing things is every word she uttered.  He laughed
to himself about it, a little woodenly but it did help him feel better.  And
seeing it was now past 8:45 PM, he could escape to his room and it wouldn't 
matter what she had planned.
	As soon as he slipped inside the door he closed it shut with a sigh of
relief.  Two days down, only one more to go.  At least this one hadn't been as
bad as the first, but--  "About time you got here," a familiar voice said 
behind him from the direction of his bed.  "And here I thought you wouldn't 
keep a lady waiting."
	Ash's back stiffened at that voice, but he forced himself to turn around
and confront the intruder.  "What the heck are you doing in here Violet?"  he
demanded, covering his nervousness with anger.  "You know you can't be in 
here!"
	"Actually," she began, crossing her ankles lazily as she laid on his 
mattress, for some reason wearing a long trenchcoat that covered everything 
from her neck to her knees.  Ash knew that tone of voice by now, and he knew
it meant that he had missed something important in her words, something that
looked like it was now going to cost him.  "You did tell me I could come and 
get that surprise I had you hide for me.  You just never specified that I had
to leave once I'd gotten it, now did you?"
	Ash smacked himself a few times in the head at her statement, feeling 
every bit the idiot he was.  "OK, you got me this time," he muttered as his 
palm slid down his face.
	Violet gave a small giggle that sounded more like it should've come from
Lily than her, and the blush on her cheeks showed that she had surprised 
herself with it.  "Well, what can I say," she said a touch defensively, "that 
was cute.  Now," she said, returning to her usual temperament, "would you like
to see your present?"
	"My present?"  he repeated, confused by that idea.  How could that 
present have been for him?  It wasn't his birthday or anything.  But as the 
clock struck 9:00 PM, she got up off the bed and unbuttoned her trenchcoat, 
making Ash gasp at her forwardness.
	Fortunately for him, she was not naked underneath her trenchcoat.  She 
did, however, have on a light green nightgown that fell to her knees and was
curiously split down the front right up to the underside of her chest.  The 
way it fell open gave Ash a very good view of her lightly muscled stomach, her
long and toned legs that ended in a pair of heels she seemed perfectly at home
in, and the matching pair of panties that she was the only other piece of 
clothing that she was wearing.  For the longest time, Ash had never understood
why women spent so much money on things they wore to bed or under their 
everyday clothes.  But with what Lily had worn last night and now what Violet 
was showing him?  He not only understood it now, he very much supported it.
	Violet let out another giggle as she saw the unrestrained admiration in
his eyes as he took in the lingerie she had purchased just for him.  When 
she'd bought it yesterday, it was only to help her win the bet by any means
she was allowed to.  But after getting to know him today, she could honestly
say that she wanted him to see her like this.  "So Ash," she murmured as she
stepped toward him, her heels clicking lightly on the floor.  She loved to 
wear heels, knowing that they showed off her legs to the best view possible.
"How do I look?"
	"You look beautiful," Ash said honestly, not even having to think about
it.
	She was touched by his honestly, and a small smile touched her lips as
she stopped in front of him.  "A lot of guys have told me that Ash," she said,
making him look up in her eyes.  "You're the first one in a long time that I 
can see means it without any ulterior motive.  You're not saying it because 
you want anything from me.  And that's why I want to kiss you Ash, when I 
never wanted to kiss any of them."
	Ash knew that she was telling the truth, that this meant something very 
special to her, just as he knew that turning her down was not the right thing
to do here.  Just as with Lily, he leaned in and kissed her very sweetly but 
very briefly, even though he could feel she was hoping for more.  "Good night
Violet," he murmured to her, slipping his arm aroud her waist and walking her
to the door.
	Violet found herself a little wobbly on her heels for the first time 
since she had learned how to walk in then.  She was glad for the support that 
he provided her as he escorted her out of the bedroom and into the hallway, 
not sure if she could've made it there on her own.  Ash could've had any kiss 
he liked from her, and maybe even more than that despite the age difference, 
but all he had taken was the sweetest, most gentle kiss she had ever 
experienced.  As she stared at the door after he closed it, a very unfamiliar 
feeling blossomed in her chest.
	Jealousy.  For what her sister Misty had despite being the "runt of the
litter".  And what Violet realized she herself so desperately wanted.