Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any aspect of it!

Rayquaza45: Hey readers. What's up? Rayquaza45 returns with a brand new chapter for y'all to read.


Chapter Two: Getting there

Ash simply looked at the screen of Professor Oak's computer screen. "Man!"

Dawn was puzzled. "Ash, what is it?"

"I've got so many pokémon here it's hard to decide who to take to the Battle Tower. I've got Sceptile, Totodile, Quilava, Snorlax, Muk and so many more. But I wanna keep Pikachu, Torterra, and Infernape on my team too after what happened in Sinnoh. But I can only have six."

Gary reentered the room, having heard the conversation while he was in the other room after returning from the field.

"Ash the tournament is divided into rounds. It's almost like the Silver Conference." He explained.

Ash just looked at him. "So what's your point?"

Gary smirked. "My point is this; you can contact Grandpa here between rounds and make any changes you want."

"You mentioned doing something like that in the Kanto Battle Frontier, right?" asked Dawn.

"You're right, I did!" Ash realized "I guess I can do that again. So all that's left is for me to choose who I'm starting with."

"Good to know." Gary said "I'm going back out. I've got so many pokémon it's crazy!"

Dawn smiled. "See you later. Good luck. I've already made my choices!"

"Dawn, I don't mean to be rude, but you only have six pokémon." Ash quietly reminded her

She looked pretty offended. "Well excuse me for not running around four different regions of the world!"

Ash closed his eyes and started waving his hands, "Okay, sorry Dawn, I didn't mean it like that! I'm just a little tensed."

Dawn suddenly calmed down. "Well have you made any progress on that…yet?"

Ash seemed almost down. "Not yet. I'm gonna go to the field and see all my pokémon."

Dawn ran off. "I'll see you later, Ash. I'm gonna go pack."


Ash went to the field, hoping to make a decision regarding his team. Pikachu, Torterra and Infernape were already set in stone but three more spots had to be filled. The question was all about which pokémon could guarantee a powerful team. For example: should he take the fully evolved Sceptile who defeated a legendary pokémon, the affectionate Bayleef from Johto who had held its own against his Charizard in its base form or Bulbasaur, his third overall capture with whom he'd endured so much? Choosing like this was almost like choosing his favourite child. Upon entering the field, Ash was surprised to see all of his pokémon there to greet him. Smaller ones like Bulbasaur, Totodile and Cyndaquil were in the front while larger ones like Snorlax were fully visible, even from far in the back. Clearly, they were happy to see him.

Ash smiled. "Hey guys, been a while right?"

All his pokémon started cheering, rejoicing that their trainer had returned to see them. Overhearing Gary and his pokémon must have made them assume that Ash was coming. Bayleef even tried to attach itself to Ash, clearly forgetting, once again, that it was no longer a Chikorita and was therefore too big for that. Fortunately for Ash, he'd managed to get Bayleef to stop.

"Hey guys, the Johto Battle Tower in Olivine City is having a tournament and we're entering!" Ash announced

They all started cheering yet again; it was devastating for Ash to think that some of them may never be used in the tournament.

"I can only take a few of you now, I'm sorry guys." he said.

Strangely, none of them seemed too upset. Sure, they weren't cheering anymore but that's because they were listening to him. Did they really not care? Did they just want their trainer to enjoy more success? Sure, it was possible that they know they couldn't all go first but here was more than that. Did they believe Ash would later trade someone back to the lab in exchange for one of them? One way or another, Ash needed to make his decision. But before that, others needed to come out as well.

Ash raised three pokéballs. "Buizel, Staraptor and Gible: come on out!"

The three Sinnoh natives joined the others. Gible settled himself next to Donphan and Muk. Staraptor flew up to the tree where Noctowl and Swellow sat perched. Buizel, who had lightened up his attitude towards others, stood between Snorlax, Heracross and Corphish.

"Now it gets tough." He thought to himself.

Ash's primary method of selection was opponent analysis. Since Dawn and Gary were both competing it was possible that he'd probably be facing one or the other at some point. With both of them having chosen water pokémon as their starters and Dawn only having six pokémon, thus necessitating her usage of Piplup, Ash decided to choose Sceptile as his fourth pokémon .

Feeling that versatility would be required in the tournament, Ash chose his largest pokémon, Snorlax as his fifth teammate. Finally it came time to choose his 6th and final pokémon. After much deliberation, Ash went with his Glalie. Ash called all his pokémon into their old pokéballs and returned to the inside den where Dawn and Gary were waiting for him.

"Ash! Dawn and I finished packing. After you finish, we go to the edge of town board the ferry to Olivine." Gary said

Ash simply nodded. "I got it. But I gotta go home to pack."

Professor Oak, Tracy, Mr. Mime and Delia all entered the den.

"Good luck to you all. You're free to exchange pokémon during any point at which you get the chance."

Ash and Gary both nodded. "Thanks Professor." "Thanks Grandpa."

Dawn held off on her goodbyes for just a minute. "Professor. What are the rules of this tournament?"

"Oh yeah." Ash said in his clueless voice. "The commercial never mentioned any."

The professor seemed dazed. "I'm not actually sure. But you can surely enter. You can find out all the rules when you get to the Battle Tower."

Ash subsided. "I guess that makes sense. Well anyways I've gotta go pack!"

"Dawn and I are gonna go back with him too." Gary announced.

"Bye!" Dawn said as the three of them ran downhill back to Ash's house.

"Those three have the potential to go all the way in this tournament. It's a shame that there can only be one winner."

"Sure. But the fact that there can only be one winner encourages them to work that much harder, Professor."

He nodded. "I suppose you're right, Delia."


Back at Ash's house, Ash began frantically running around his house, trying to find all of his things. Packing up his clothes, cleansing products, hats and various other items he headed back downstairs where Gary and Dawn waited.

"Ready?" Gary and Dawn asked simultaneously.

"You know it. Let's head out to Olivine."

At just that minute, Ash's front door opened wide, he'd forgotten to close it.

"Hey! Aren't you forgetting about me?" A familiar voice asked.

The sun was blocking his direct figure but it was clear that he was a tall male with spiky hair and carried a large bag.

"I found out about the tournament back home. My emergency is solved and I'm going with you."

The figure walked closer into the house, revealing himself to be…

"Brock!" All three shouted at the same time.

"Hey guys." He said calmly.

"You're coming with us?" Ash asked.

"That's right." He said.

"There's no way I'd miss out on the chance to see Jasmine again! Oh and the tournament too." He thought to himself.

"Okay well let's head to the port. We'll get the ferry and head to Olivine" Gary said.

"This is it! The start of an all new journey!" Ash said. "Let's go!"


It was a short walk from Ash's house to the pier. On the way, Brock explained that he took some of his pokémon back from the Pewter Gym. His father had assured him that the gym world work with his own pokémon during such time. Brock had taken back his Steelix, Crobat, Forretress and Marshtomp. But only until the tournament was over since he had to return them to the gym. In addition, he had kept his Sudowoodo and Croagunk. Soon after, the gang had arrived at the pier.

"I'll get the tickets." Gary said.

Ash's stomach growled. "I'm gonna get something to eat. Anyone else want something?"

"No. I'm good" All three said at once.

"Suit yourselves." Ash said as he ran to the local PokéMart.

"So Brock…" Dawn started. "What do you think we can expect to find at this tower?"

"The Battle Tower is a place where trainers can go to compete against each other. It's like any battle but it has various facilities that are used during the battles, like water arenas and arenas for flying types." Brock explained.

"That makes a lot of sense. So what do you think the prize is?" she asked.

"I dunno. But I bet it's awesome."

Brock suddenly delved into a fantasy in which he won the tournament.

Wallace walked up to him in order to congratulate him.

"Congratulations, Brock. You have won the Battle Spirits Tournament."

Tucker then walked up to the podium and stood next to Wallace.

"Here is your prize Brock. Go on take it."

Brock looked astounded. "Is that….?"

Tucker smiled. "Yes Brock. That is a Master Ball."

Jasmine, the Olivine gym leader, walked up to the podium as well.

"Congratulations, Brock." She said flirtatiously, before giving him a kiss on the cheek.


Back in reality, Brock was staring into space with his usual love-struck look.

Dawn started poking him. "Hellooooo. Earth to Brock."

Brock suddenly snapped out of it. "I'm sorry Dawn. I was just wondering what it'd be like to win."

She smiled. "I totally get that."

Gary suddenly returned. "Hey guys, I got the tickets. Isn't Ash back yet?"

"Heyyyy! Wait for me!" Ash called out as he ran back to the group.

"Relax Ash, we won't leave you here." Brock stated.

"Well that's a relief. So let's get on board."


As evening approached, the group boarded the ship, Ash ran first in while Brock followed him. Gary and Dawn went in after, with Gary noticeably putting his hand around Dawn's shoulder. The ship was actually a medium sized vessel with all the necessary safety equipment. There were a handful of other people on board but none of them seemed to be pokémon trainers.

Ash looked around, usually being the last to notice most things. "We must be on a pretty small ship."

"Yeah, I guess. But I thought that we'd see at least a few trainers here." Brock said.

Dawn smiled. "That just means we don't have to fight. Let's take it easy for the next few hours."

"Yeah guys, take it easy" Gary said while spiking up his hair even more. "Dawn, wanna come with me?"

"You know it." She said as she grabbed his arm and they both went to the ship's other side.

Brock seemed puzzled. "Are those two still at it?"

"Yup." Ash said. His voice was filled with annoyance.

"It's getting tiresome to hear about it." Brock responded.

"Try spending hours and hours guarding the door in the middle of the night. On your birthday!"


Late in the night, the ship had reached Olivine City. Ash, Gary, Dawn and Brock headed directly to the Battle Tower so that they could register early.

"We're go to the pokémon centre afterwards for the night." Ash said.

As the group entered the tower, they noticed large support pillars, couches where other trainers were writing stuff down and several receptionists at the counter. Ash approached the desk.

"Hello. We're here to register for the 'Battle Spirits Tournament'." Ash proclaimed.

"Okay." The receptionist said. "I'm going to need you to submit your trainer's licenses and fill out these forms."

"Got it." Ash replied as he took the forms for himself and the gang. The rest of them submitted their licenses too.

A short while later, Ash, Dawn, Gary and Brock had filled out their forms and handed them to the receptionists. The gang obtained their tournament ID cards, took back their licenses and prepared to exit the tower and return once the tournament was to begin. They started to walk, but as they approached the door, a girl entered the building and blocked the single door entrance. She apparently wanted to get their attention.

She was a teenage girl with blue eyes and a slender body. She wore a turquoise shirt, a red skirt and a white hat, green socks and white shoes. She had long brown hair that went down to her elbows and a golden colored bag draped around her shoulder.

"Hi Ash. Gary." She said. "Hope you haven't forgotten me."

"Who is she?" Gary thought.

"How does she know me and Gary?" Ash thought.

As the boys just stood there, not saying anything, the girl sighed.

"Maybe this'll help." She then took off her hat.

Ash and Gary suddenly got a look on their faces, reminiscent of seeing a ghost.


Rayquaza45: So who do you think this mysterious girl is? How does she know Ash and Gary and why don't they know her? And just as important: what does she want?

So guys, if you're enjoying yourselves so far, please review the story! Till next time, take care.