The ferry rocked as it gently docked at the harbour.
"This is gonna be so cool," exclaimed Ash, "right Pikachu?"
"Pika pika!" It sure will be!
"Yeah but don't forget Ash, this is the most prestigious tournament around," Brock reminded him.
"But surely compared to the Sinnoh league…well it can't be that tough can it?" asked Dawn.
"Well, according to Pokemon weekly," replied Brock, burying his face in a glossy magazine, "this is the highest standard of competitions in…the world."
"Hmm," muttered Ash, momentarily thrown of his stride, "well…it doesn't matter doe it?"
"Why not?" enquired Dawn.
"This is the most prestigious tournament in the world, right?" he explained, "And I'm the most prestigious trainer, so no problem!"
"Pika!" agreed Pikachu, He's right!
Dawn and Brock both rolled their eyes.
"Come on, brighten up!" a brown haired boy yelled at a shorter blonde haired boy.
"Why? What's so good about Saikō Island?" the blonde haired boy replied in a surly voice.
"Have you listen to anything that I've said?" shouted the first boy.
"Not particularly," sniggered the second, "I mean, with you it's always…well, always nothing: you have the gift of being able to talk without actually saying anything, bro."
"Well, you should have," replied the first, suppressing his rage, "because this is where you need to be prepared- this is the Saikō championships so you need to focus Jazol!"
"Nope, I don't, and especially not when you say so, Chazo," replied Jazol, as he put up his hood and pulled the drawstrings until only his mouth was visible.
"Well, you may look a bit cooler now, but can you still see?" asked Chazo.
"Of course," replied Jazol moodily.
"Well, I'm gonna go get lunch in the cafeteria now. The ship docks at Saikō Island in a couple of hours. So, if you can see, you'll come and get lunch with me," said Chazo, smirking.
"No, actually I'm not that hungry," replied Jazol.
"Oh, you're not hungry," grinned Chazo, "it's got nothing to do with the fact that you can't see?"
"No, don't be stupid."
Ash, Dawn and Brock had been walking around for about two hours now, and still had only see a fraction of Port Kibo, the harbour town of Saikō Island. It was huge, and packed with trainers who wanted to take part in the championships.
"So," asked Dawn, "is anyone we know here?"
"Not sure," replied Brock, "but they probably will be. Even Gym Leaders take part in the championships occasionally, although even for them it's a hell of a challenge."
"Where is this place?" exclaimed Ash.
"You mean the stadium?" asked Brock.
"Yeah," replied Ash.
"I'm not too sure," admitted Brock, " let's ask someone."
They began to search for someone who looked like a hotshot trainer. In a crowded square they found a tall kid, with gelled black hair and black jeans, a metallic belt and battered trainers. He was talking to a bunch of other kids, most dressed like him. He had six pokeballs attached to his belt.
"Excuse me," asked Ash, "do you kn-"
"And just what are you?" asked the kid aggressively, cutting Ash off.
"Erm, we're looking for the stadium for the Saikō championships," explained Brock.
"Really?" replied the kid incredulously, "because wimps like you guys wont last a second!"
"What? Who do you think you are?" Dawn yelled at the kid.
"I'm Ray, from Orre. I've took part in the two previous championships, coming 90th and 76th, top that punks."
"76th doesn't sound to hot to me," retorted Ash.
"Clearly you have no grasp of how this tournament works, you fo-"
But a trainer in blue jeans suddenly cut Ray off. He was a brown haired boy wearing a black jumper, battered baseball boots and some dark jeans with a belt containing six pokeballs holding them up. This newcomer had a hooded friend in tow, wearing greyish skater jeans and grubby white trainers.
The leading boy shouted across the square: "I wouldn't call him that. He's…" the boy paused for thought, "Ash Ketchum, right? He's actually pretty talented, just thought you'd want to know, and you're…Ray Gekko right? You came 76th last year, right? Not bad…but, here's a bet: I can top it. What d'you think, Ray?"
Ray was taken aback, as was Ash. "Hey, just who are you?" Ray asked.
"I came 34th last year, the best place to age ratio achieved for thirty years. Remember me now?"
"No, so you must be lying. How about I teach you a lesson?"
"Sure," agreed the brown haired boy, "one-on-one?"
"Fine, but you'll regret this," shouted Ray, but, as he did, the hooded boy behind the brown haired boy howled with laughter. "H-hey," stuttered Ray, "shut the hell up! Go, Beedrill!"
"Sure, come on out Bayleef," replied the brown haired boy, sharing a surreptitious grin with the hooded boy as the large wasp-like pokemon and the yellow aromatic pokemon both appeared.
"Cool, a Bayleef," shouted Ash, "I raised one in Johto."
"Nice, you'll enjoy this battle then- it's one small step for my Bayleef and one massive leap for Bayleef-kind!"
The hooded boy slapped his forehead, groaning at his friend's poor joke.
"Enough lame jokes, Beedrill use Poison Jab!" shouted Ray.
Beedrill suddenly buzzed forward, it's drill-like hands glowing a sinister purple. Bayleef ducked its long neck and the Beedrill careered overhead, it's speed too great to control.
"Bayleef, use Ancientpower!"
Bayleef glowed an eerie mystic blue, and suddenly several boulders rocketed out of the ground and flew at Beedrill, smashing it against a nearby wall.
"B-but, how?" yelled Ray, "Bayleef can't learn Ancientpower!"
"With certain training," replied the brown haired boy, "they can."
"Damn it! Beedrill, attack them with Pin Missile!"
A blast of bullet-like spines erupted from Beedrill's stinger, heading for Bayleef.
"Bayleef, use Razor Leaf!"
Bayleef countered with a blindingly fast Razor Leaf attack, cutting both the Pin Missile attack and Beedrill out of the air, knocking the pokemon out.
"Bayleef, nice one!" exclaimed the boy, running forward to congratulate his Bayleef.
"No way!" yelled Ray "Damn it! Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Chazo Kuro," replied Chazo.
"Damn, why didn't I recognise you?"
"You were to busy insulting the newcomers, amigo," replied Chazo.
"Yeah," added the hooded boy, "now beat it or I'll take you out."
"Shut it punk!" yelled Ray, "That Chazo is gonna get his comeuppance in the competition, but you're just a nobody."
"He's my brother, and…well he's kind of a badass," grinned Chazo, "but by all means get beat all over again- it's no skin off my nose, amigo."
Ray, flummoxed, quickly ran off, taking his gang with him. Chazo and his brother walked across the square towards Ash.
"Sorry about that," Chazo said, "some guys are like that, this tournament just makes 'em go all macho."
"It's cool," replied Ash, "so…well, who actually are you?"
"Well, I'm Chazo and this," he gestured at the hooded boy, "is Jazol Esukka. Our names aren't family names before you ask- they were…well, anyway, who are all you, apart from Ash?"
"I'm Brock," replied Brock.
"From Pewter City, right?" asked Chazo.
"Er…yeah," said Brock, slightly confused.
"And I'm Dawn," said Dawn, expecting Chazo to recount her achievements or, at the very least, her hometown. After a while it became apparent that he had absolutely no idea who she was. "Well, I'm from Twinleaf Town, and I'm a pokemon coordinator."
"Oh…that explains it," mused Chazo, "I only really research battlers you see. No offense intended, it's just…battling's what I do."
"Oh, no problem."
"So, who else is here?" asked Ash.
"Oh, all sorts," replied Chazo, "there's Shinto, the guy who got 21st place last year, and Dandee, a friend of mine, he's here for the first time too, then there's…"
Chazo's rendition continued long into the afternoon, with Ash listening eagerly, and Jazol, Dawn and Brock hanging around next to them looking bored.
They eventually decided it was time to find somewhere to stay, and they eventually got rooms in a posh hotel- "Just until we register, then we'll get lodgings," assured Chazo, as everyone reluctantly emptied their wallets in order to pay for a very expensive villa room.
As they opened the door to their vast one-night accommodation they saw a kitchen with a well stocked fridge, five king-sized beds and- "a pool!" gasped Dawn.
"I think this is gonna be fun," grinned Ash.
How did you like chapter one? Please, please, please review! I plan to have some very exciting matches in this here tournament!
(NB: Bayleef can learn Ancientpower as a move tutor move in Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver.)