Okay, here we go! Welcome to The World Pokémon Championships, my first fanfic! For the regular disclaimer, I wanna say that I don't own Pokémon, the games, the anime, or anything else Satoshi Tajiri's lawyers can sue me with. But I claim ownership of the two characters that appear in the next chapter 'cause I've got to protect my interests.

With that said and done, let the tale begin!

CHAPTER 1 – ARRIVAL

"We've arrived! Welcome to Ayers Island, home to the prestigious World Pokémon Championships! Please disembark the ferry in an orderly fashion. Thank you, and enjoy!"

Ash ran to the side of the ferry as the announcement was made, Pikachu hopping along on the railing beside him. "C'mon, guys!" he yelled over his shoulder, as he turned to Brock and Dawn, who were strolling behind him.

"Pii pika pii!" encouraged Pikachu, moving his head vigorously. Hurry up!

Brock waved his hand nonchalantly. "Yeah, yeah, we're coming, just get onto the docks," he said to Ash as a crowd of swarming Trainers moved between them and off the ferry. As Pikachu jumped down onto the dock, Ash, Brock and Dawn fought through the massing crowd and moved down the ramp onto the concrete path of the dock.

"Come on, let's hurry in before we get separated," said Dawn nervously, as more Trainers rushed around them.

"I agree, we should head for that gate," said Ash, pointing at a set of large wrought-iron gates in the distance as Pikachu jumped up to his shoulder.

With much difficulty the group made their way towards the gates, weaving between the throng of Trainers who were standing around, running madly towards the gates with them, or letting out their Pokémon to take in the sights. Once they were beyond the gates, Ash led them towards an empty spot on the left. As they turned, they gasped as they saw the sight before them.

An enormous stadium sat in the middle of an even larger lake, with six narrow bridges, set out in a star pattern, joining the stadium to the rest of Ayers Island. Dotting the western coast of the island were apartment blocks and small hotels, presumably to accommodate the innumerable amount of Trainers and spectators that would be here during the Championships. In front of them, and to the south-west, streets and lanes criss-crossed over each other like a gigantic web. However, on the eastern side of the island, to the right of the grand stadium, were more stadiums; smaller, but still about the same size as the stadiums that Ash and his Pokémon had battled on during his Conference campaigns at Mt. Silver and Ever Grande City. Towards the north, they could see a towering mountain range, its dark outline sharp against the clear sky. Dotted along the streets were hundreds of buildings: bookstores, souvenir stalls, cafés, restaurants, and fashion boutiques. And everywhere, from the hotels to the stadiums, were Trainers and Pokémon. Trainers walking with their Pokémon, talking to them, eating with them, and practicing attack combinations. The Pokémon, Ash saw, were also extremely rare; barely ten feet away from him was a blonde-haired woman standing next to a Gliscor similar to his own, and a Kangaskhan behind her. As he stared further, he saw a Milotic, a Mamoswine, and even an Omastar, which was widely believed to be extinct, although Ash and Brock had both seen one during their travels through their home region of Kanto. He even saw the Regice he had been in battle against when he had challenged Brandon at the Battle Pyramid, and sure enough, Brandon was there too, talking to a tall man with short blue hair.

Brock and Dawn, too, seemed stunned to silence.

"Wow…" was all Dawn could manage saying as her eyes watered at the sight of it all.

"Wow is right, just look at this place!" said Brock, equally awe-struck. "This has to be the most Pokémon I've ever seen in one place, ever!"

"Hey Ash!" said Brandon, having just noticed him. He walked over and extended his hand, which Ash shook. "It's been a while! I didn't know you got an invitation!" he added.

"Yeah, neither did I til a couple of days ago," said Ash sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "But it must be a pretty big tournament, though, to have this many Trainers all here at the same time."

Brandon chuckled. "Well, it's not called the 'World' championships for nothing, now is it?" he said. "It's pretty rare to even get an invite to this place though. Fortunately, because I'm a Frontier Brain, I get put in here on default, and this is my fourth time here."

"So you're fairly experienced here, are you?" inquired Brock, who had been quiet until now.

Brandon jumped comically, before recovering and shaking Brock's hand too. "Brock, I didn't see you there! Well, to answer your question, yes and no. Just because I've been here doesn't necessarily mean I've met success regularly, if you know what I mean.

"My first two years here, I only made it to the second round, so I was quite the novice by the standards here. Last year I actually managed to get to the top sixteen, so I was pretty proud to make it that far. Unfortunately, I got swamped in my next match. I lost that one six-three. It's pretty intense around here," he explained.

Dawn was shocked. "Wait, so you're a Frontier Brain, one of the best Trainers in all of Kanto, and you lose a match six-three?!" she asked. "Who on earth could you have lost to?!"

Brandon furrowed his brow for a second before his eyes flashed.

"I think his name was—"

"Gary Oak," said a voice behind Dawn.

Everyone jumped and turned. There, standing next to his Electivire, was, sure enough, Gary Oak. He smiled as he saw Ash and said with a sneer, "Don't tell me you're surprised, Ash. Just 'coz you beat Brandon doesn't mean you're the only one."

"Hey I never said that!" said Ash, throwing a mock-punch at Gary before shaking his hand. "So you were here last year, eh? Did you win the tournament?"

Gary laughed. "Who, me?" he said. "Not a chance! I got lucky against Brandon—"

"Damn right you did," said Brandon. "Well, that's what I'm saying anyways," he added with a chuckle.

"—Yeah I got lucky against you, but that was nothing. I lost my quarter-finals match six-four," finished Gary.

There was a stunned silence from everyone as he said this. Ash was the first to recover. "You got beaten six-four?! How?? Who beat you?" he demanded.

"It doesn't matter how he beat me; he beat me, that's all there is to it," said Gary, shrugging his shoulders. "And his name isn't important either, I'm sure you'll run into him soon enough, knowing you, Ash." He looked around for a moment. "Well, I'm off to officially register in the tournament. Make sure you four all do it too, eh?" he said.

"Well then, I might as well join you!" boomed Brandon. He pulled out a PokéBall and turned to Regice. "Come on, Regice," he said, as he returned Regice to its ball, and Gary did likewise to his Electivire, before clapping Brandon on the shoulder as they walked off towards the centre stadium.

"I wonder who could've beaten Gary…" whispered Dawn.

Trivia:

*The design for the centre stadium was inspired by Final Fantasy X's Luca Blitzball stadium.

Quiz:

*What was the name of the location in Kanto where Ash and Brock saw an Omastar?