The coupling conspiracy

A/N: Hey everyone. This is my first attempt at a Pokémon story so bear with me. I've decided to write Pallet- and ColdCoffeeshipping, since these two couples are currently my number one. Penguinshipping was a must with Kenny in this story, so was the Sakugoshipping (PingPongshipping) friendship. I apologize for any OOC, but it is pretty hard writing Paul liking someone without making him seem OOC... Well enough of me, let's begin with the story...

"Have I already told you about my recent meeting with Paul?" A blond haired trainer asked his best friend, a boy with reddish brown hair, who seemed to be frustrated with the blonde.

"Yes, Barry. Six times already!" he replied, sighting deeply.

"Oh really? I didn't realize that. Well anyway, Ash was there as well and he…well he totally distracted Paul. I mean, I am the Paul fan here, not him! Who the hell does he think he is, just talking with Paul without including me! And then that air between them…" the blonde named Barry rambled.

His best friend called Kenny rolled his eyes and continued walking, completely ignoring Barry, who was still rambling about Ash's rude behaviour. If he was honest, Barry was probably one of the most uncivil person he met, so him calling someone rude was a bit much.

That didn't mean he didn't share his friends opinion, though. Even though Ash was very nice and everything, the way Dawn sometimes talked about him, drove him mad. Not that Ash seemed to return or even notice Dawn's fondness towards him. If Kenny really thought about it, Ash never seemed to look at girls. Perhaps he and Barry were more alike than they thought. Talking about Barry, the blonde had by now realized his friend wasn't listening to him.

"Hey Kenny! I'm talking to you. I'm pouring my heart out here, the least you can do is listen." Barry told Kenny slightly hurt.

"Sorry Barry, but I've got my own problems here."

"Yeah, I know. Ash bugs us both. We should find him someone to date, so he doesn't get in our way."

"And who would that be?" Kenny asked.

"Gary? What are you doing here?" Ash Ketchum asked his former arch-rival and now best friend. Brock, Dawn and he were on their way to the Suzaran Islands for the Sinnoh League, after defeating Volkner and earning the Beacon Badge. They were walking through a thick forest when they suddenly saw an Umbreon running towards them, followed by her trainer.

"Oh hi Ash, long time no see. I'm on my way to Sunnyshore City. I'm following a Pokémon poacher who has apparently gone there to hide. Sorry, I would love to chat, but I've gotta go. It was nice seeing you all, bye." Gary quickly said and hurried off. He was nearly gone when… "Gary, wait!" Gary slowed down and turned around, to see Ash hurrying after him.

"Gary, could you wait a second? I'm on my way to the Sinnoh League and it would be really great if you could perhaps come and watch?" Gary looked at Ash for a second, noticing Ash's blush. After seeing the blush, he smiled at his friend.

"Sure thing Ashy-boy." Gary said using Ash's pet name. "I'll be there, cheering for you, but now I've really got to go. Bye."

With that said, Gary sped off heading to Sunnyshore. Ash smiled to himself, pleased that Gary agreed to come, as he walked back to Brock and Dawn. 'I'll be finally able to show Gary what I've got and impress him! Then maybe I'll tell him…'

Back in Sunnyshore City, Barry and Kenny had arrived at the Pokémon Centre. Kenny promised Barry that he would cheer him up at the League. They were going to take the ferry to Suzaran Islands tomorrow.

"Okay, I'll get back to training. Do you wanna join me?" Barry asked.

"Sure, let's see whose better, your Empoleon or mine."

"You're on!" Barry exclaimed and hurried off, Kenny close behind.

The two friends were on an empty field battling each other.

"Empoleon, Hydro Cannon!" Barry ordered his Pokémon.

"Dodge it by using Hydro Cannon as well."

The two powerful Water-attacks met in mid-air and evaporated.

"Not bad, Kenny."

"Right back at ya."

Gary was on his way to the Pokémon Centre after finding the poacher and dropping him off at the police. He was walking past a field, when he heard Kenny and Barry's battle. Especially the Hydro Cannon's seemed to fascinate him, seeing as his Blastoise knew the powerful move too.

"Alright, I think that's enough. Great job Empoleon." Barry said to his partner, who called out his name as a response.

"You too, Empoleon, great work."

"Not bad guys. Your Empoleon seem to be pretty good, if they know a move like Hydro Cannon." Gary said, addressing the two friends.

"Thank you. I'm Barry from Twinleaf Town and this is Kenny also from Twinleaf Town."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Gary Oak from Pallet Town."

"Pallet Town?" Barry asked. He though he heard that name before, but he didn't know where.

"Yes from Pallet Town. Why do you ask, do you happen to know Ash?"

Now Barry knew from where he knew the name, of course it was Ash's home town. "Yes, I know Ash, we're rivals. And Kenny here knows him too. His childhood friend is travelling with him."

"Oh, you mean Dawn?"

"Exactly, but how do you know Ash?" Barry asked.

"He used to be my rival, when we started on our Pokémon journey. So are you two entering the Sinnoh League?"

"No, just Barry is, but I'm going to cheer for him. I am a coordinator."

"Like Dawn, huh. Wanted to be able to see her again, didn't you?" Gary asked Kenny, winking at him, which caused Kenny to blush.

"No need to get embarrassed. I know someone who did something similar to that. Love makes you do strange things all the time." Gary told them, hiding the fact that he was talking about himself. "Well, then I might see you at the League."

"You're entering as well?

"No, I'm a researcher like my Gramps now, but Ash asked me to come, so…" Gary answered smiling happily.

After Gary had said goodbye and headed over to the Pokémon Centre, Barry and Kenny looked at each other grinning.

"Do you think what I'm thinking?" Kenny asked his best friend.

"If Ash wanted Gary to come watch the League just because of him, he must care about him a lot."

"Exactly and Gary agreed to go, so he probably likes Ash back. That thing he said about love, maybe he was talking about himself, if he used to be a trainer like Ash."

"It's perfect!" Barry exclaimed happily, pumping his fist into the air.

Back with Ash and his friends, they had by now reached the Suzaran Islands. Ash could barely wait and ran off looking for the Pokémon Centre so he could register, Dawn and Brock following him.

"Nurse Joy, could you please sign me up for the League?" Ash asked her before Brock had the chance to say anything. Ash handed her his badge cage containing his eight badges and his Pokédex. After registering him and giving him back his badges and Pokédex, Nurse Joy handed Ash his ID-card. Ash thanked her and wanted to head to the stadium right away, pulling Brock with him, who was in the process of getting jabbed by Croagunk.

Once Ash and company arrived at the stadium and the League Village where they would be staying, he immediately hurried of to find a place to train. He found a quiet area near a forest.

"Alright everyone, come on out!" he yelled and threw out his Pokéballs containing his five Pokémon he obtained in Sinnoh. Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder and joined his teammates.

He was in the middle of training when Gary suddenly walked up to him. "Hey Ashy, training I see?"

"Gary! You came?" Ash asked him cheerfully and also rather pleased.

"Of course I came. You asked me to. So… ready for the League?"

"You bet I am. Want a battle?"

"Sure why not, but you won't be winning, Ashy-boy." Gary said and pulled out a Pokéball.

Meanwhile Barry and Kenny had arrived at the Pokémon Centre on Suzaran Islands and Barry had registered himself for the League.

"Okay, so we have to set up a plan, Barry. I think we should talk with Gary and convince him to tell Ash his feelings. I know it won't be easy to do, but we have to give him loads of good reasons. Well then let's go, ready Barry?" Kenny asked, but didn't get a response. "Barry?" Kenny asked again, looking around the Pokémon Centre, but couldn't see the blonde anywhere.

"Great! He ran off as usual. God, why am I friends with him again?" Kenny muttered to himself annoyed. 'Oh yeah, because I need his help and he is reliable. Frequently anyway...' Kenny thought and set off to look for Barry, who had probably left for two reasons: To train and to find Paul and possibly train with him. Kenny sighted and decided to look for Gary alone.

Paul was at a secluded place training his Ursaring when he suddenly heard his retarded rival talk close by.

"Well, I have to rivals to look out for: Paul and Barry. Paul is a really good trainer and his Pokémon are tough and Barry is pretty good too. His Empoleon is amazing. It withstood Pikachu's Thunderbolt and was able to counter. Totally amazing. I hope my Buizel will be that resistant." Paul heard Ash say. Ash continued talking about his rivals, but to Paul it seemed he talked more about Barry. For him it sounded like Barry this and Barry that.

Paul tried real hard to not let that anger him, but it was no use. When he talked with Barry—it didn't happen frequently, but often enough—the hyperactive blonde also talked about Ash like a maniac. But he couldn't deny that he somewhat understood him. Who would like him anyway? Paul was mean, cold-hearted and horrible to his Pokémon. That's all people seemed to see. They didn't see his true self. What he used to be like.

Why was Paul foolish enough to like the blonde anyway? He was everything he didn't like, but then again. "Opposite attracts." Paul muttered to himself. His brother had told him that quite often. But he couldn't think about that now, he had to train.

After battling Gary and talking with him, Ash returned to the Pokémon Centre. Gary said he wanted to go look around a bit. When Ash entered the Pokémon Centre, he saw Barry talking with Brock.

"Hey Barry! I see you made it." He greeted his rival.

"Ash, hi. Of course I made it. After all, I had all my badges before you did. Anyway, have you seen Kenny?"

"No, I haven't. Why, is he here?"

"Yes, he came to cheer me up and…"

Before Barry could tell Ash more, a voice interrupted him.

"Ash, it's nice to see you." Kenny said, walking up with Dawn next to him.

"Oh, hey Kenny."

Barry quickly gestured Kenny over to talk. "Hey, did you find Gary?"

"No, not yet. But I found Dee Dee." Kenny replied grinning.

"Yeah, I see that, but could you please focus on the plan?" Barry retorted slightly frustrated because Kenny seemed distracted.

"I'm focused, okay. You were the one running away, so I had to look for Gary alone.

"Yeah, okay sorry. But try not to get distracted."

Kenny didn't even have the chance to respond, when Paul entered the Pokémon Centre and Barry hurried off rather quickly. "I guess so much about getting distracted." Kenny muttered smiling and returned to talk with Dawn.

Paul gave his Pokémon to Nurse Joy, when the blonde he tried hard not to think about suddenly appeared, standing behind him and grinned like a mad man.

"Hey Paul. It's great to see you here."

"Yeah…erm hi. Who are you again?" Paul just couldn't help himself. Why did he always have to be mean?

"I'm Barry, remember? I'm your biggest fan! I'm a rival of Ash's too." Barry told him, slightly hurt because Paul didn't seem to recognise him.

'Great, there's that wrecked name again.' Paul thought angrily.

"Humph, like I care. Anyway, I gotta go." With that said, he took back his Pokémon and left, leaving Barry behind who looked extremely miserable.

Kenny noticed his friend in despair and excused himself from Dawn and the others.

"We'll see you at the opening ceremony." Kenny said and headed over to Barry.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"He didn't even know who I was…and when I told him, he walked off, without talking to me. I'm hopeless, aren't I?" Barry sulked close to tears.

Kenny tried to find the right words to comfort Barry, but didn't have much success. It was hard to defend a person, who wasn't exactly someone you'd invite to a party. Not that Paul would want to come, of course, but you get the picture. Kenny wasn't even sure if Paul really deserved Barry, but the latter was hopelessly in love with the trainer from Veilstone City.

In the meantime Gary had found another of Ash's rival training.

"Not bad, you're Torterra looks really strong. You must be Paul, right?" Gary asked him after watching him train his Continent Pokémon.

Paul looked at him before he replied. "Yes and who are you?"

"I'm Gary Oak. Ash used to be my rival back in the days, but now we're friends. I decided to become a Pokémon researcher."

"Ash may be my rival, but I'm way better than him. After all, he never beat me."

"Ash could never beat me either. That fact used to drive him mad. He did beat me however at the Johto League Silver Conference. You'll better look out. Ash had gotten a lot stronger since I last battled him in a big competition." Gary warned Paul who in return rolled his eyes.

"Believe me, I'm looking out for Ash, but not why you think I would." Paul had said these words before he could stop himself. Why was he willing to tell this stranger his biggest secret? Gary looked at him stunned.

"Erm… do you mean that you like Ash?" he asked, fearing the worst. 'No one steals my Ashy away from me!' he thought determined. Paul looked like he would get sick any moment.

"Not him! But his other rival does! Unfortunately…" Paul added quietly.

"Who, Barry?" Gary asked surprised. That was new. After seeing Paul nod his head, Gary started laughing, which caused Paul to glare at him. "What's so funny?"

Gary tried with all his might to stop laughing just long enough so he could respond. "If you think that Barry likes Ash then… well you'll see… Don't lose faith, Paul." Gary replied, still shaking from suppressing to laugh and walked off, leaving a confused Paul behind him.

Kenny and Barry, who had calmed himself down, were looking for Gary to talk with him. They found him apparently working because he was examining a Bidoof.

"Hey Gary, are you busy right now?" Kenny asked him. Gary looked up at them and smiled. He especially smiled at Barry, remembering his conversation with Paul not ten minutes ago.

"Hey guys, no I'm free. What's going on?" Kenny and Barry looked at each other before Barry started talking. "It's about Ash. And you I guess… and actually about Kenny and me as well… and then of course Dawn and…" Kenny decided to interrupt his friend from babbling nonsense. "It's about Ash and you Gary. You like him, don't you?" Kenny asked him, not trying to talk around the bush like his best friend had.

Gary was a bit taken aback before he nodded his head. "Yeah, I do. I have for quite some time. How did you know?"

"Just call it intuition." Barry replied. "So will you confess to him?"

"Erm it's not that easy. I don't even know if Ash returns my feelings. I don't want to startle him."

"But if you never tell him, you'll never know. And I do think that he returns your feelings." Kenny and Barry reassured Gary, who looked at them both rather suspiciously.

"Why are you two so obsessed with the idea of Ash and me dating?"

"To get him out of our way!" Barry said before Kenny could stop him.

"Out of your way?" Gary asked, but then he understood. "Oh you mean get Ash away from Paul and Dawn?" he asked smirking.

Kenny blushed, but Barry who didn't know how to spell the word embarrassment happily nodded.

"Well guys, to be quite honest with you, I don't think Ash likes Dawn like that and Barry, how about you talk with Paul. I think that would be very helpful."

"I tried, but whenever I wanna talk with him he hurries off."

"Try not to mention Ash's name and you should be fine." Gary advised Barry smiling encouraging. "And Kenny, Dawn is a bit clueless. Make your feelings clear to her and you've got yourself a girlfriend."

"You sure?" Kenny asked not totally convinced.

"Positive. If I have to admit my feelings so do you." Gary said and walked off smirking.

The Sinnoh League opening ceremony was big and colourful. Kenny and Gary had joined Dawn and Brock in the audience. Barry, Paul and Ash all stood on their own, with Barry glancing at Paul now and then.

The first match-ups were revealed. Barry and Paul were up against someone they didn't know and Ash was up against Nando. Barry had met him before and battled his Roserade with his own. The result was a draw.

After the opening ceremony, Ash and his friends returned to their rooms. Gary said goodnight to everyone before heading to his own room. Kenny and Barry had left already. Kenny had mustered up all his courage and kissed Dawn on the cheek to say goodnight. Barry tried finding Paul but didn't succeed, so he walked back to his room sulking.

"Good luck tomorrow, Ashy. You'll be great." Gary encouraged Ash, hugging him goodbye, which caused Ash to blush. Gary noticed the blush and smirked satisfied.

Ash's battle against Nando was a tough one, but in the end it was thanks to Heracross, Quilava and of course Staraptor that Ash was victorious. Gary had been cheering for Ash all the time, spurring him on. Ash was so happy with his win and Gary's support that he thought he could do anything right now, as long as Gary stood behind him.

Barry, Paul and Conway had all made it through the first round. Barry was battling very well, concentrating hard on his strategy because he wanted to show Paul that he was good and worth it. But when he saw who his next opponent was, he caught his breath. He had to battle Paul! How on earth was he supposed to keep his cool during a very important battle when his opponent made his heart and stomach do somersaults?

Paul had mixed feelings about his upcoming battle. He was looking forward to the battle, but he was hoping to battle Ash first. He wasn't sure if he could beat Barry. After all he never battled against him, so as a result he did not know his strategy like he knew Ash's. Even though on the outside he looked as calm as ever, inside he was a nervous wreck.

Ash was more fortunate than Barry and Paul. He knew that Conway was strong, but he would be able to concentrate during the match. He wouldn't have to fight his own body as well, like Barry and Paul did. Furthermore, after his battle he went to Gary to thank him for the support—he somehow forgot to thank Brock and Dawn—when Gary asked him for a private talk. Before Gary left he winked at Kenny signalling him to get a move on, which caused the coordinator to groan quietly. He headed over to talk to Dawn nonetheless.

"So Ash, great battle today."

"Thanks Gary." Ash replied slightly blushing at the compliment. Gary smiled back at him, causing Ash's blush to intensify.

"Ash, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Gary asked. "No, go on."

"Why did you ask me to come here?"

Ash blushed again at Gary's question. He looked at his shoes while he replied. "I wanted to prove myself to you. Show you that I've gotten stronger. It's stupid, I know. But I can't help myself. I've wanted to prove myself to you since we were seven years old, you know. I've always liked you Gary, but feared that I wasn't good enough for you and…" But Ash didn't get further than that. He was silenced by a very soft pair of lips.

Gary pulled back after a second and had to chuckle lightly because of Ash's face. He looked absolutely adorable.

"You don't have to prove anything, Ash. You've always had my respect and love, even though I might not have always shown it. But I was young and confused. I didn't know how to handle my feelings towards you. But I do like you Ash. Very much so." Gary admitted leaning in to kiss Ash again, who happily kissed back.

When the new couple returned they saw Dawn and Kenny holding hands. Gary grinned at Kenny congratulating him. "Thanks and right back at ya, as I see." Kenny replied smiling, when he saw Ash take hold of Gary's hand. Brock and Dawn were very happy for them, too. Brock had somehow always known how Ash felt about Gary and vice versa. After all, he wasn't blind. Gary used to undertake a lot to simply tease Ash.

"Well, Barry's the only one left now." Kenny said feeling with his best friend.

"Barry? Why, who does he like?" Ash asked him confused.

"Paul!" Kenny said at the same time like Brock. "How did you know?" Kenny asked him surprised.

"People, I'm not blind, okay. I can see love practically everywhere."

"Wait a minute, Barry likes Paul? Like really like him?" Ash asked taken aback.

"Duh, don't tell me you haven't noticed." Dawn replied. "He practically adores Paul. It's pretty obvious. But I don't think Paul feels the same way." she added feeling sorry for the hyperactive blonde.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that." Gary replied, smiling knowingly.

Paul and Barry's battle turned out to be a tough one. Both trainers gave it their all, wanting to show the other what they've got.

"Empoleon, Hydro Cannon!" Barry yelled, getting ready for the last attack. His Empoleon was close to fainting, but that's when Torrent kicked in, giving Empoleon a blue glow. The powerful move was now even more powerful and was sure to defeat Ursaring, but the Bear Pokémon was paralyzed, which activated its Guts ability.

"Ursaring, Hammer Arm!" Paul ordered. Ursaring ran forwards glowing red, pulverized Empoleon's Hydro Cannon and attacked the Penguin Pokémon at the same time. "No, Empoleon!" Barry called out to his Pokémon, but it was too late.

"Empoleon is unable to continue. This means the winner is Ursaring and Paul!" the referee said. The audience cheered for Paul who returned his Pokémon muttering a "Well done" and then looked over at Barry, who had returned his unconscious Pokémon. "You were great, take a long rest now Empoleon."

Barry tried hard to hold back tears when he looked at Paul and nodded his head, congratulating him. Afterwards he ran out of the stadium where he could be alone. Paul immediately followed him, wanting to talk.

Right before his battle, he had seen Ash and Gary talking while holding hands. It was undeniably the greatest thing Paul had ever seen. Ash was taken. He wasn't a competition anymore and Paul decided to finally be brave. Brave enough to take the next step and get what he wanted for so long.

His conversation with Gary was replaying in his head as he looked for the blonde trainer. 'He must know something, I don't. Either that Barry likes someone other than Ash or that he likes me.' Paul thought, hoping with all his might that the second possibility was the right one.

He was starting to fear he would never find Barry that the trainer had left, when he heard quiet sobs close by. Barry was sitting under a tree, wiping away tears. Paul's heart nearly stopped beating. Barry looked so hurt and vulnerable right now, so very different to his usual hyperactive, confident nature, Paul had always seen him with.

He slowly walked over to Barry who looked up after hearing footsteps. "What are you doing here? Laugh at me?" Barry asked him, almost glaring. Paul shook his head. "Why should I do that? You managed to defeat both my Electivire and Magmortar. You're a great trainer, Barry."

"You know my name?" Barry asked him surprised.

"Of course. How could I forget? You kept reminding me, after all." Paul replied smiling. If an acquaintance of Paul would have walked by right now, he wouldn't have recognise the purple haired trainer. Even Reggie would have difficulties doing that. Paul seemed to be a totally different person. Barry obviously thought so too, because he was staring at Paul like he was some sort of an alien. Paul had to laugh at Barry's cute look.

"You're smiling! I've never seen you smile before." Barry exclaimed happily.

"Well, I never had the necessity to smile before. Not before I met you. I guess, you could discover a lot of things about me, if you truly wanted." Paul told Barry stepping closer to the blonde, pulling him up. Barry returned the smile, close to grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"I believe I could." he replied leaning closer to Paul, touching his lips with his own. Paul quickly returned the kiss, closing his eyes, feeling happier than ever. "And I do want to know you. I truly want that." "Likewise."

THE END!

A/N: Okay, so I hope you liked it and leave some nice reviews. If the story is liked, I might consider doing a sequel.