Beta Reader: Undercityrezident

The Pokémon World Tournament, Rosenburg Cup. A grand tournament hosted once every ten years, the mega event attracts trainers all around the world including the five main regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova to the island settlement Rosenburg, a three hour journey away from the Kanto region by flight. In hopes of winning the championship, Ash Ketchum, a sixteen year old trainer from Pallet Town entered the tournament after a year of training in seclusion under his teacher and father, Alexander Ketchum. Despite losing five leagues in five different regions in a row, the young trainer entered the tournament with determination fueled by his veteran teacher's training in Pokémon battling. However, his hopes of winning crashed right in the beginning of the tournament when he was totaled by the legendary Pokémon trainer Tobias, in an intense group stage match. Now, with three more group matches left, Ash needs to win all his battles in order to make it into the next tier. Will Ash succeed?

PROLOGUE

The Elite's Answer

Rosenburg Island, October 6th

On a craggy coastline standing below the mountainous region in the far east of Rosenburg Island, two humanoid creatures stood face to face, prepared to engage each other in a brawl, each under the command of their respective trainers. The two Pokémon stood unfazed by the rough weather, ignoring the chills the cold water touching the shores and the strong sea breeze gave them. The sky, painted in an orange hue indicated the onset of a pleasant evening, creating a contrast to the heated battle that was about to begin.

One of them was a round bipedal creature characterized by the shaggy fur covering its body and the metal shackles it wore on its wrists and ankles. The Pokémon restlessly shifted its weight from one foot to the other, snorting hot breath out of its large pink snout.

However, despite its impatient gibbering, the Pokémon neither let its guard down nor lunged at its opponent hastily. Instead, the primate put its glove shaped fists up, studying the opponent carefully in preparation for its attack.

Eyeing the foe's movements, the opposing Pokémon, vaguely resembling a professional boxer, put up a similar fighting stance. The Pokémon leaned forward on its left foot, ready to spring into action while the right foot rested on its ball. Much like its furry opponent, the punching Pokémon had its gloves up protecting its face, the right slightly behind the left.

"We're ready when you are Ash," said the trainer standing behind the latter. Standing over six feet tall, the man packed with muscles joined his hands, as if in meditation, before opening his eyes. "Don't hesitate and attack," he spoke, authority in his voice and confidence in his gaze. Apparently, he didn't care about the chilly weather either, considering he wore nothing but white pants that were tied up by a black belt.

"Alright then," the teen-aged, raven-haired trainer agreed. He was sporting a red hat turned around back to front andcarried a determined expression to beat the giant standing before him. He wore a light blue collared shirt with white outlines over grey jeans that were folded up to his ankles. "Let's show Bruno what we're made of," he declared, throwing a side glance at the tiny mouse Pokémon sitting beside him. A pair of red sneakers lay on his side by the rock, where the yellow rodent rested.

"Pika Pika!" The rodent cried in encouragement.

"Primeape," the younger trainer balled his fists, "Use Mega Punch!" He pumped his fist enthusiastically as he gave the command.

"Guard yourself," the elite responded calmly.

The Pig Monkey Pokémon sprang into action at once, leaping at the opponent with its right fist raised up in the air. In response, the Punching Pokémon dug its right foot into the ground, crossing its arms to brace the incoming attack. The attack crashed on the guarding boxer like a truck, pressuring it back with brute force that could turn a car to scrap. But the boxer demonstrated that it wouldn't have any of that when it managed to stand in its place without even budging an inch.

"Not bad," Ash complimented, though he seemed slightly surprised by Hitmonchan's endurance, "In that case, let's use Close Combat!"

A glint was seen in the primate's eyes as it withdrew its fist, alerting the other Pokémon. The primate then stepped forward towards the guarded Hitmonchan and threw a flurry of punches that were so fast, they could barely be seen by the naked eye. The boxer, however, proved to be equally inhuman when it responded to the primate's furious barrage of punches.

The Punching Pokémon moved its neck to slip away from the first two blows aimed at its face, but as the third punch came to strike the Pokémon on its chest, the boxer swatted away the attack with its left glove after taking a step back. The persistent primate, however, closed in once again and jabbed at the opposing Pokémon with its left fist, an attempt that was once again blocked by the latter. Frustrated, the primate tried to power through with a powerful right-handed punch, which the elite's combatant guarded against by punching back with its left glove, nullifying the attack completely.

"Now's your chance," Bruno said, slamming his bare foot on the rocky ground, "Mach Punch!"

The Pokémon tensed at once, its right glove glowing with energy. The primate bent its knees, throwing a wary glance to Hitmonchan's right. And then the punch came, at a blitzing speed that could only be registered as a blur by the human eye. However—

The primate sprang back as the Mach Punch rocketed up, only to feed the empty air between them. A considerable gap now separated the two Pokémon, owing to the pig monkey's natural ability to leap long distances.

The move caused the elite to raise his eyebrows, surprise briefly registering on his face before being replaced by a small smile, "That Primeape has some good instincts."

"Thanks," the raven-haired trainer replied, the edge of his lips tugging upwards, "But he's that good 'cos he was trained to be a P-1 Champion."

"P-1," Bruno muttered the name, a faint recognition on his face, "Did you hear that, Hitmonchan?"

The Pokémon nodded,a strange combination of glee and excitement now showing on its face as it mumbled something to its opponent. Primeape growled back in return, snorting to pump itself into action. The trainers acknowledged the growing competitive flare within the Pokémon, as the expression resonated in their faces.

"Mach Punch!"

"Primeape, dodge!"

The Punching Pokémon jumped into action, closing down the distance between the two combatants. In response, the primate jumped away to hide behind a rock as another of the blurry punches rocketed through the space where the Pokémon once stood. But the fighting type was relentless. Turning its head in the direction its opponent slipped away, Hitmonchan lunged at the rock behind which the primate hid itself.

The hard rock was blown into a million pieceswhen the Hitmonchan's fists tore through it like paper, exposing the hiding primate. The Pig Monkey, however, took another leap before its opponent could charge another of its moves. The boxer followed its opponent as Primeape landed, the gap between them becoming smaller than ever. Redeeming yet another chance, the Punching Pokémon attempted to box the pig monkey into oblivion, but was rewarded with a small graze instead. The Pokémon were now close enough for Hitmonchan to feel Primeape's hot breath. Clearly, the pig monkey had no escape the next time. However—

"Mega Punch!"

The small gap between the two Pokémon was something the primate could take advantage of as well, especially since the Hitmonchan was still regaining its stance after its previous punch. Using the chance created by Hitmonchan's momentum, the primate crossed its right fist straight onto the boxer's face. But then—

The latter displayed its excellent reflexes by quickly shifting from offense to defense and blocked the Mega Punch with ease. The punch hammered the less-than-prepared boxer a couple of steps back, but the Pokémon managed to stifle the attack completely without receiving a single scratch.

Both of the Pokémon took a brief pause to catch their breaths. While Primeape spent the most of its effort into offense with power consuming moves, the opponent paid a fair share of its own stamina too in addition to the slight damage it received while stopping the primate's powerful attacks.

"Now Ash," Bruno said, folding his arms. "Since we were discussing battle styles, what do you think of mine?"

Ash's lips thinned into a line, as he pondered on the question for a while, "Your battle style focuses on taking as many attacks as you can and then strike back when the opponent's tired…" he commented, and added hesitantly, "I guess?"

"Close," the elite commented, "But not exactly. Let me show you how my style works." He clenched his fists, "Hitmonchan, Bulk Up."

"A defensive move huh," Ash muttered. He was curious as to what Bruno's battle style was but at the same time he couldn't resist exploiting the opponent's vulnerability, "Then in that case, use Focus Punch."

The primate nodded, pulling back its right fist like a catapult before releasing a stone. Meanwhile, Hitmonchan took a deep breath and tensed its muscles, standing still even as its opponent began to collect immense fighting power into its right hand. The strength the primate built up continued to grow as a stream of energy formed around the primate's fist. Meanwhile, the boxing Pokémon's muscles suddenly began to bulge, instantly giving the Pokémon a well-toned body that belittled fitness centers' advertisements.

The stream of energy around the primate's fists then took a proper shape surrounding its gloved fist.

"Go!" Ash exclaimed, deciding it was the right moment to attack.

The pig monkey took a giant leap, bridging the gap between either battlers in the matter of a second as it threw its right hand straight at the opponent.

"Block it!"

The boxer retaliated by joining its two gloved fists together and placed them between the assaulting primate and its face, its knees slightly bent.

The powerful punch landed on the defending Pokémon from above, like the hammer of a demigod, as if to crush Hitmonchan into the ground. But the boxer maintained its posture perfectly, letting its legs bear the brunt of the attack. However, the rocky ground underneath its feet wasn't strong enough to do the same, and cracked because of its inability sponge the blow completely. The powerful shockwave that resulted from the collision sent a burst of wind, forcing both trainers to put some effort into maintaining their footing.

The primate, having failed in its attempt to land a successful attack, jumped back, its eyes wide open in surprise.

"They blocked a Focus Punch?" Ash looked equally stunned, looking at the unscathed Hitmonchan.

"Mach Punch!"

'Oh no,' the raven-haired trainer realized they were vulnerable after launching such a powerful move, "Primeape, dodge!" he yelled hastily.

The primate snapped out of its shock and attempted to jump back as the boxer dashed towards it and—

In the blink of an eye, Hitmonchan's fist rammed straight on the Pokémon's snout like a race car, blowing the already airborne Pokémon away. Luckily, or unluckily, a pillar of rock found itself in the path of the flying Pokémon, upon which the creature landed with an impact that could crush human bones.

"Primeape!" Ash exclaimed, his mouth wide open in surprise.

"Relying on defense to boost up attack power," Bruno boasted, the corners of his lips moved up, "That is my battle style. All my Pokémon can take strong attacks and pump themselves up both mentally and physically. The more hits they take, the stronger they will hit back. In that regard, I must thank your Primeape," he added mockingly.

Ash clenched his teeth shut, giving the older man a mildly apprehensive look before turning to his Pokémon. "Are you okay, buddy?" He asked the Pokémon slowly gathering itself back on its feet.

The Pokémon grunted, its face now red in anger. The primate most certainly didn't appreciate the punch on its nose.

"Our attack landed a direct hit unlike yours," the elite lectured, maintaining his calm demeanor, "The damage Primeape took is now going to give us the edge in addition the attack boost. Do you see the potential in my style now?"

"Yeah," Ash challenged, "Now you are going to take a look at ours."

"Well then, show me what your style is," Bruno goaded,accepting the challenge the younger trainer threw at him, "Hitmonchan, Sky Uppercut!"

'We can dodge that move, but it's gonna give them more chances to attack,' Ash thought. However, they had no means to counter the Sky Uppercut considering both Hitmonchan's expertise and the fact that Primeape's back was to the wall. The raven-haired trainer, however, smiled.

The Punching Pokémon moved towards its opponent unguarded, pulling its right hand back to pull a powerful uppercut. But then—

"Primeape, use the pillar behind you and jump forward!"

The primate jumped at once, pressing its feet against the rock behind and propelled high up into air. Nevertheless, the boxer completed the uppercut in an attempt to catch the flying primate, only to miss by an inch. Having missed its attack, the fighting type found itself stopping in the same spot the pig monkey was a second ago.

"Mega Punch!" Ash ordered, as the pig monkey landed. The primate then jumped at Hitmonchan, throwing another of its powerful punches.

'He turned things around with just one move. Excellent!' The elite's lips were pressed together. 'But, you can't corner us that easily,' he thought to himself, "Duck!"

The boxing Pokémon, its back to the wall, slithered down as Primeape's fist landed where its head once was, putting a dent in the rocky pillar behind. The primate, who was already furious after Hitmonchan punched its snout, was deeply frustrated by this.

"Let's use that anger," Ash mumbled, attempting to mimic a punch himself, "Primeape," he ordered, pumping his fists forward. "Use Close Combat!"

A glint was seen in the primate's eyes as the Pokémon pulled its fist back and then threw a flurry of punches once again. The boxer didn't have enough space to dodge the attack, leaving itself vulnerable to the multiple punches raining down on Hitmonchan, striking the Pokémon on the face, gut, cheek, chin, cheek and the gut again.

"Hitmonchan," Bruno looked slightly perplexed. His Pokémon was completely at the mercy of the Primeape's fury. He put his two hands together and closed his eyes, as if to calm his mind. And then—

"Use Detect and follow it with Sky Uppercut!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes at once.

The boxer's eyes began to glow with a blue light, an act that dramatically raised its visual prowess. Suddenly, the Primeape's fast and furious punches turned slow, letting Hitmonchan completely study the opponent's attack pattern. Slipping underneath a punch aimed at its face, the boxing Pokémon thrust its right hand upwards. The primate looked down, noticing that the previous attack struck the hard rock instead of the flesh, only to be surprised when a punch rocketed towards it. Before the Pokémon could even fully register the incoming attack and act accordingly, the powerful blow on its gut sent the ape flying into the air.

"Primeape!" Ash cried in worry.

"Pika!" Even the rodent was anxious about its comrade's condition for once.

The Pokémon flew away a good distance, tumbling in the air, before finally crashing on the ground, face first. The fighting-type remained immobile.

Ash's face turned pale upon seeing his Pokémon lying flat on the wet surface. The water washed up by the waves drenched the Pokémon's shaggy fur. The raven-haired trainer cast his eyes down, looking dejected. The rodent's expression mirrored his; the Pokémon's long ears that were always perked up dropped down as if it were lifeless.

Bruno watched his Hitmonchan's shoulders drop in relief. The Pokémon looked equally battered as well. While the Close Combat dealt most of the damage, the other attacks it managed to block did cause a good amount of strain too, especially the Focus Punch. Not to mention Bulk Up had some withdrawal effects too. Regardless, they managed to clinch the victory, albeit barely.

"Prrr..." The low growl from the primate's direction snapped Bruno from his train of thought. Ash looked equally surprised as well, though it was mixed with a hint of happiness on his face when the pig monkey slowly pushed itself up back onto its feet.

"Alright!" Ash chuckled, his visage brightening up. "You're awesome, Primeape."

The Pokémon didn't heed its trainer's praise and instead threw the Hitmonchan a furious glare that most, if not every Pokémon, usually feared when coming from a Primeape. The Hitmonchan however didn't waver, sending back its own serious glare.

"Alright that's enough," Bruno clapped his hands loudly, snapping both Pokémon out of the furious mood. Primeape threw Bruno a wary glance, angry that the elite wouldn't let it quench its fury. But the Pokémon had spent enough time with humans to understand that it was time to drop the bout, no matter how disappointing the prospect was. The Pokémon looked down and growled softly, disappointed.

"Hitmonchan, you were excellent as always," he commended the Pokémon, "And Ash," he smiled at the other trainer and his Primeape, "Your Primeape's still standing after a battle with my Hitmonchan. That's a great achievement by itself."

The raven-haired trainer walked to his Pokémon. "I'm sorry, Primeape," Ash said, patting the furious fighting type, "But you did very well." The Pokémon looked up at its trainer and nodded at this, looking slightly happier.

"So Bruno," he asked, "What do you think?"

'I think you did pretty well," the elite complimented, taking his Hitmonchan back into its Pokéball, "It's rare that someone young like you could do this well in a one-on-one fight against Hitmonchan."

"But there's gotta be something I need to improve, right? I didn't win after all." He wasn't referring to the match he just had now, but to the one he had a week ago, against the mysterious Tobias. He could still remember the bitter feeling he was left with after the loss, because he was carrying it to that very day. It was a week since he lost the match, but he couldn't find an answer other than 'I wasn't good enough'.

The older man scratched the back of his neck, taking a moment of think. "These things are a bit complex…." He trailed off, "But remember this. Just because you've lost a match doesn't mean the battle style you've developed all this time is wrong."

"If you think I've an answer to that question," he continued, "don't you think I'd have been the champion by now?"

Ash's lips spread in a wry smile. "That's what my dad said too," he mused.

"You are the one who knows your style the best. If there's anyone who could find an answer to it, it has to be you. But a small hint," the elite's face now bore a mischievous smile, "You must and you should pursue an answer, though you will never find it. Regardless, the search for an answer should never stop."

Ash blinked at this, "What does that mean?"

"Start by answering that question," he advised."Remember what you've done after that match. Remember the things that crossed your mind all this week and how they affected the way you battle."

Ash folded his arms, falling to deep thought. What did he do all the week? And how would that affect the way he battles? How would it let find him the answer he needed to win against stronger trainers like Tobias? And what did Bruno mean by 'you will never be able to find an answer'?

"Alright then," Bruno announced, collecting the small bag he had brought along for lunch. "Remember what I've said and improve yourself."

"Thanks," Ash nodded, watching the elite walk away, back to the main city. Soon, he was left alone, accompanied only by his two Pokémon and a serene silence, His train of thought travelled back all the way from October 6th to October 2nd.

Bruno.

His dad.

Casey.

Gary.

Morrison.

Barry.

Wallace.

Drew.

May.

Richard.

Paul. That conversation with Paul was where it began. For the first time in his life, even though people called him simple-minded, he remembered exactly when the long train of thought began towards its destination, the 'answer'. The magical answer that could make him the very best.

Author's Note: And here it begins, the start to the second instalment of Road to be a Pokemon Master, RTBPMII: The Secret To Victory. The title is inspired by the 4Kids opening song of season 4.

A New Face: Friends, let me introduce you to my editor/beta-reader, Undercityrezident. He's a friend I've made through tumblr. I have decided to have him as my beta-reader and after seeing his work for this prologue, I am happy I did. He's an excellent author. If you haven't read his Sommeliershipping fics: This Doesn't Change Anything and Beyond the Shroud of Contempt, I recommend you to read them. His major work, Northern Lights and Ocean Dreams is a multi-chaptered Pokeshipping/Pearlshipping triangle love story. If you are a fan of the pairing, I highly recommend you to check out his works.

Comments : Sorry for the huge approx. two month gap, but I am planning to maintain a schedule and maintain it from now on. I'll try my best to make the updates weekly. The first chapter is almost ready too, but will take time including beta-reading and other things. In addition, I will be restarting my fic, Beyond Truths and Ideals from the next week. Hopefully, I'll come up with a new chapter for both of these fics in the coming two weeks.