A/N: Hey all! Anyone remember me from that TorD that got removed a while back? Where Paul thought he was a hobbit? Ah, good times. Anyway, here I am with my first REAL fic. It will be Pokeshipping. Duh. Plus, I just recently started playing Pokemon Colosseum again. Thusly, Wes and Rui will be playing prominent roles. Viva Colosseumshipping! There'll probably be some Contest and maybe - maybe - Ikari as well, and comedic MorningWoodShipping in this chapter. Now, before we start, the oh-so-painful part: I don't own Pokemon. If I did, Misty would never have left. And there would be an Alchemy Pokemon with a steel arm and leg, but that's another story. Now, hobey-ho, let's go!

Kurt was a renowned expert on all aspects of Poke Balls the world over. The mass-produced Balls carried by Poke Marts bore no comparison to the specialized models he made from his collected Apricorns. His Lure Balls made capturing even a fierce Gyrados child's play; the Friend Balls he created could endear even a raging Charizard (if one could be found in the wild) to its newfound trainer. Anyone serious about Pokemon collecting came to enlist his craftsmanship from even as far as Sinnoh.

Though he could often seem like a grouchy old man, he took his work very seriously – particularly when it came to the mysterious GS Ball he had been delivered over a year before. Despite all his skills and his best efforts, he had managed to glean very little from the artifact. All he could determine was, firstly, that it could not be opened by normal means; second, that it was already occupied by a Pokemon of some sort; and, lastly, that the ball itself had incredible power, rivaling or possibly even exceeding that of a Master Ball.

Though his progress was minimal, when made at all, he still pursued the project with a merciless work ethic. If someone were to tell him that he would very soon be sleeping on the job, he would immediately follow a howling laugh with the command to get out of his house. Understandably, he was oblivious to a few factors behind the scenes.

Those factors were named Butch and Cassidy.

Kurt was readying his tools for yet another test on the legendary Ball when his eyelids began to grow heavy. Mentally striking himself for daring be drowsy at nine in the morning, he pressed on regardless. Still, the fatigue gradually escalated, heavier and heavier, until the Poke Ball expert's comatose body slumped to a heap on the floor.

With a perfect Team Rocket evil grin, Butch recalled his Hypno. He casually kicked Kurt on his way through the door; the sleeping man stirred, but didn't wake. "Too easy. The old fool never stood a chance."

His partner briskly strode past him and leaned down to collect their prize. The mythical gold-and-silver Ball sparkled in the light as Cassidy held it up to examine it.

"All for this. Huh, it'd better be worth our time."

A region away, the party was officially on at the Ketchum household. Ash had just returned from the Sinnoh Pokemon League, and the sort of championship battle that was the stuff of legends. Down to only one Pokemon each, Ash had called out Pikachu, while Cynthia was relying on her Garchomp. The two matched each other blow for blow, neither faltering nor giving an inch. At the end, it came down to a single clash of attacks: Pikachu's Volt Tackle against Garchomp's Dragon Claw. As the smoke cleared, it was impossible to tell who was the victor – until both hit the floor at the same time. A draw.

Such an event occurring in a championship match was unprecedented in Pokemon League history. Therefore, until the committee reached a ruling – which would probably take days to a week – Ash had returned home, Dawn and Brock in tow, for what was very likely the biggest celebration ever to hit Pallet Town.

Gary, Tracey, and Professor Oak had come, of course. There was no way Gary would miss a chance to sneer good-naturedly at Ash for "not being able to manage more than a lousy draw." The Pewter Gym had been deserted, letting loose a horde of squinty-eyed munchkins. A host of relatives Ash had never heard of were suddenly his best friends. Even the Sinnoh Elite Four had shown up to congratulate him on a battle well fought. Best of all, though, the Cerulean City Gym had also been emptied for the occasion, and the Sensational Sisters (plus Misty) were all present and accounted for.

Brock had quickly been beat back to his senses under the gentle guidance of Misty's mallet. He was keeping himself mostly in check around the Waterflower sisters, though it was anyone's guess how long that restraint could last. In the meantime, Ash was being dogged by a ring of applauding family whom he never knew existed. One couple split themselves from the crowd and approached closer.

"Oh, bravo, bravo my boy! A fantastic display of fabulous fighting fury!" The speaker was a young man with glasses and purple hair tied into a ponytail. His voice sounded vaguely familiar, but Ash couldn't quite place it.

"Just so! And that Pikachu of yours -" His long red-haired partner gestured to the electric mouse perched on Ash's shoulder. "- really, what an astoundingly adept array of electrical attacks!" Again, Ash had the feeling that he knew this woman's voice from somewhere. "Isn't that right, Meowmi?" The Meowth at her feet gave a rather unconvincing purr.

"Might you mind if I took a look-see?" The man stepped forward again. This entire thing was beginning to give Ash a very bad vibe... but they were family, right? He had never met them before, but that went for most of the distant relatives that had shown up here.

"Ash!" Misty's voice called out across the room. Grateful for the distraction, Ash turned away from the odd couple to face her.

The red-haired Gym Leader emerged from the hectic crowd. "Hey! I haven't even gotten to see you yet!" She charged him and wrapped him in a tight hug, which he returned on instinct. After a second, the two realized what they were doing, and Misty pulled away in a rush. For a moment, they simply stood there awkwardly. Then Misty cleared her throat. "Err... who are they?" She gestured behind Ash, who turned to look.

The couple who had been questioning him earlier was huddled down on the floor with their Meowth, talking furiously. They were hard to hear, but Ash could've sworn he recognized "Pikachu", "twerpette", and "motto". He looked back at Misty embarrassedly. "Um, they're family... I think...?" As they watched, the group got up and ran out the front door, attracting odd looks from most of the partygoers.

Misty raised an eyebrow. Probably better not to question these things, she decided. "Anyway, sorry I haven't gotten to talk to you so far. When you put Brock and my sisters in the same region, much less the same house, he needs someone to keep him in line. Since May and Max couldn't come, and he left Croagunk at some Pokemon Center in Johto, that job falls to me. I sure hope none of his brothers turn out like that – one Brock is more than enough..."

On the other side of the room, Brock's brother Forrest sneezed. "Huh. Wonder what brought that on..." Shrugging he turned back to Dawn, who was sitting next to him on the couch. "Anyway, I'll bet you look really cute in your Contest outfit! I'd love to watch you compete! Then maybe we can go and have dinner at a nice restaurant..."

Gazing with horror on the scene, Brock was struck with two things: first, the irony that he would have to pull his little brother away from a pretty girl; and second, the realization that, judging by Dawn's lack of violence, Forrest was a better flirt than he was.

"And, our first competitor in today's Contest Battle: Wes!" The announcer's voice rang out over the stadium.

"You can do it, Wes!" Rui called out from up in the stands. On the field, Wes shot her n exasperated half-glare.

'It's mostly your fault I'm stuck in this pointless Contest anyway. I'd just as soon be back in Hoenn right now. What did I do to get into this?'

FLASHBACK

"A completely wasted trip." Rui was sulking in the sidecar of the hovercycle. "All the way to Johto. Just for a stupid false alarm."

Wes let out a heavy sigh. She'd been going on like this since they left the Lake of Rage, hours ago. "You know we have to check out anything that might be a Shadow Pokemon. A giant, pissed-off, weirdly colored Gyrados fits the bill pretty well. Still, next time next time we'll verify that our rumors aren't a year and a half out of date before we go charging off." He gritted his teeth. A huge mistake like that was downright embarrassing.

Rui wasn't much consoled. "Yeah, I know, but I'm still pretty sure that there aren't any Shadow Pokemon outside of Orre... but whatever. Anyway, I think we're coming up on..." She paused to check the Pokegear that she had bought in Hoenn. "...Ecruteak City. Let's just stop at the Center there for the night."

Wes nodded. It was getting too dark to see the road. "That'll do. It's a decent enough place." He could see the dim lights of the city already; the Pokemon Center wasn't far. He slowed the bike down as they entered the city, and pulled in next to the Center.

It had been a long day since they arrived in Johto. Like Rui had said, the rampaging Pokemon that they had come after was a long time gone, meaning this major detour from his Hoenn Gym circuit had been for nothing. He sighed again as he dismounted the bike.

Though the outside of the Center was well lit, there were still plenty of shadows cast on the bike. Without much visibility, Rui caught her foot on the edge of the sidecar as she got out. "Eeaagh!" Screaming as she tripped, she stopped in midair as Wes caught her by the arm.

Once she had regained her balance, Rui giggled nervously. "Er, thanks, Wes. Sorry, I couldn't really see, and I tripped, and... are you planning on letting go of my arm anytime soon?"

At that, Wes snapped out of his distracted daze and pulled his arm away. An awkward silence hung between the two for a few minutes. It was suddenly and rather rudely broken by Espeon and Umbreon's recently acquired habit of bursting out of their Poke Balls uninvited. In a flash of light, the two Eeveelutions emerged, already giving their trainer exasperated stares.

An ex-Snagem member knew a chance for escape when he saw one. Once again, Wes gave a heavy sigh, this one rather forced. "Right. Point taken, you two. We're going into the Center now." He turned quickly and walked through the door, Rui following a second later. Behind them, Espeon slowly shook his head while Umbreon rolled his eyes. Humans could be so strange sometimes.

"Still, though," Rui began after she and Wes had checked in. "I wish we could at least do something worthwhile after coming all the way to Johto." As she spoke, a large poster on the wall caught her eye.

Wes walked on, not noticing that his traveling companion was no longer beside him. "Like what? I'm still busy with Hoenn's Gyms..." His voice trailed off as he realized that his Rui, along with his partner Pokemon, had run off. The only audience for his speaking was a Croagunk sitting on the bench, staring at him strangely.

"I'm not crazy," he muttered under his breath, more to himself than the poison jab Pokemon.

After a moment of searching around, he found Rui, Espeon, and Umbreon standing in front of an extravagant poster: "Ecruteak City Pokemon Contest! Beginners and Expert Coordinators Alike Welcome!"

"The Look" bore into Wes from behind; he didn't have to turn to feel it. Rui was giving her all into as cute and pleading a face as she could muster. Regardless, the former Snagger wasn't so easy to sway.

"No. If I refused to do Contests in Hoenn, what makes you think being in Johto will change anything?"

The "Cute Look" instantly shifted into the "Sad Look". Wes sometimes had to wonder if they had any relation to the Pokemon move Mean Look. "Aww, please? It's not like any Trainers from Hoenn will see you. You should at least try it!"

Very similar arguments had taken place throughout their time in Hoenn. Wes was getting sick of them. But just as he was about to retort, something nudged against his leg. Umbreon gazed up at him with what could be called the Pokemon equivalent of a slightly insane grin. "Um bray!"

Wes was struck speechless. He silently looked from Rui's triumphant smile, to Umbreon maniac grin, to Espeon, who seemed trying hard to suppress a laugh. "You've got to be kidding me..."

END FLASHBACK

Up in the stands, Rui eagerly looked around the stadium. Wes had just emerged for his first Contest Battle round. He had breezed through the appeal without a problem; for him, it really consisted of standing there and letting Umbreon show off. Although she'd finally managed to make him enter a Contest, he absolutely refused to wear a costume. It wasn't a big deal, though. He already looked cool enough in his signature blue greatcoat, especially with the Snag Machine over his left arm.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. The Nurse Joy from the Pokemon Center stood behind her. "Excuse me, do you mind if the Pokemon from the Center sit around here? I like to bring them out to watch the Contests."

There were still plenty of empty seats nearby, so Rui readily agreed. All kinds of Pokemon rushed around her for good viewing points. A Magneton floated behind her, a pair of Pidgey perched on the railing, and an Eevee curled up at her feet, apparently content to grab a nap. After glancing around as though worried about something, a Croagunk sat down in the seat next to her.

The MC's resounding voice snapped Rui's attention back to the arena below. "Coming out now is an accomplished Coordinator from the Hoenn region. "Everyone welcome May Maple!"

May strode out to the field in her Contest outfit. Her eyes lit up when she saw Wes. "Wow! I've never seen a Contest costume like that! It's so cool! What's that thing on your arm?"

He was caught of guard by the question. "Err... long story." Up above, the Contest roster in Rui's hand was crushed on a subatomic level by her tightening grip. This May girl sounded a lot like the one who had called her a wallflower in Pyrite Town.

Once more, the MC's magnified voice echoed across the stadium. "Coordinators, call out your Pokemon!"

May flamboyantly twirled as she pulled out her Poke Ball. "Go, Blaziken!" The dual Fire and Fighting type burst out with a roar.

Blaziken left Wes with a difficult choice. The reason he was in this Contest was only to stroke Umbreon's ego. But he had seen a Blaziken battle in Hoenn, and he realized it was too strong to battle with a type disadvantage. Even if he was here against his will, Wes still didn't care to lose. Against a part Fighting type, his choice of Pokemon was clear. "You're up, Espeon." He tossed out his old friend's Ball, and the Eeveelution emerged with a low purr.

"Let the Contest Battle begin!"

A/N: And there's chapter one. Whaddaya think? I don't like that the Colosseum part is so much longer than the others, but there was a lot to establish going into this story. You better believe the larger Team Rocket has nefarious plans for the GS Ball; that's the basis of this whole story. By the way, does Wes's motorbike-thing have a name? It's too awesome not to...

Please, everyone, read and review. Is this story worth continuing? If the general consensus is yes, then there'll probably be a little while between updates. Most chapters won't be as long as this one, either. I just don't have the endurance to write that much in class. This chapter took a full eleven pages in my school notebook, can you believe it? I really hope we don't have to turn those in... or I'll have some explaining to do...

Until next time,

Pokeshipper-Reborn