CHAPTER 2 – INTRODUCTIONS

Ash, Brock, Dawn and Pikachu walked slowly towards the main stadium, which, having overheard from several Trainers, they had learned was called the World's Peak Stadium. As they walked, they began to truly absorb the sheer magnitude of Trainers that were here. Ash guessed that there had to be at least five hundred Trainers here, which he suggested to the others.

"Pii, pii pika," said Pikachu, shaking his head, while Brock nodded. Higher.

"I agree with Pikachu," he said. "There has to be more than that… maybe a thousand Trainers… maybe two thousand?"

"That sounds a bit much," said Dawn seriously.

"Yeah, come on Brock, maybe a bit much," Ash agreed, noticing a large grey Pokémon in the street ahead. "I mean, there's gonna be a lot more people who are just watching the tournament, right?"

A blue piece of paper flew by Brock, blown about by a gentle breeze. Brock snatched it out of the air and shook it to get a better look.

"Hey, whatcha got there?" asked Ash curiously, turning his head.

"It's a flyer," said Brock, absorbed in the piece of paper. "It's going on about… different competitions at the tournament?" he said, puzzled. He looked up to see his friends equally puzzled, so he went on, "It says there's a Singles Division, a Doubles Division, and a special 'Tag Team Trophy' tournament for 'Trainers who are looking for an extra challenge!'," he explained.

"Tag Team Trophy, you say? Sounds fun," said Dawn.

"Well," said Brock uncertainly. "It says here you need to have two Trainers, and that you have to partake in double battles, but using two Trainers instead of the one."

"Can I have a look at that flyer, Brock?" Ash asked.

"Sure," complied Brock, handing it to Ash across Dawn.

"Cheers," said Ash, looking down at the flyer. He was so focused on it that he didn't notice where he was going, and— "OW!" —he walked straight into a Pokémon and fell flat onto the ground, Pikachu clinging grimly to his jacket.

He looked up to see what he had bumped into and saw a grey spherical shape with a gaping smile and two yellow eyes. He looked up further and saw a head and another eye, red, rimmed with yellow, staring down at him. He pulled out his Pokédex to observe the strange figure.

Dusknoir, the Gripper Pokémon, the final evolved form of Duskull and Dusclops, it said, in its metallic voice. The antenna on its head captures radio waves from the spirit world that command it to take people there. Because of this, its species has been given the name of 'The Grim Reaper'. As the Pokédex finished its transmission, a male Trainer, who'd noticed Ash run into the Pokémon, looked around for the source of the robotic noise.

"Hey, what'd you run into my Dusknoir for?" he asked Ash.

Ash got to his feet clumsily, Pikachu leaping down to the ground with its fur bristling. "Ah, sorry, I didn't see where I was going, I was reading this," he said, waving the flyer at the Trainer. He was about Ash's height, with dark brown hair that swept over his hazel-coloured eyes. He was wearing a black jacket over a collared red shirt, and full-length dark blue jeans. Perched on top of his head, pushed towards the back, was a round-brimmed brown-greet hat, lined with orange. As he came closer to Ash, he saw the flyer, he smiled.

"Ah right, those little things," said the boy casually. "I almost got hit in the eye by one of them a little while ago, they're real death traps," he added with a laugh.

"I'm Ari, Ari DeVarro," he said, holding out his hand.

"I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town," said Ash, shaking it.

"Pallet Town? That's in Kanto, isn't it?" asked Ari. "So you'd live near Gary Oak, wouldn't you?"

Ash blinked. "Yeah, I do," he said. "We've known each other for ages, since we were little kids, actually. How do you know Gary?" he asked.

"I met him here last year," answered Ari, his eyes twinkling. "We got to be good friends, right up until we had to battle each other in the quarter-finals."

Brock stepped forward at this. "Hi, I'm Brock, I'm from Pewter City," he said, introducing himself. "So you beat Gary in that match, didn't you?" he asked abruptly.

"Umm, yeah, I beat him," Ari said, wondering where Brock was going with the question.

"Six-four, right?" asked Brock, raising his voice slightly.

"Six-four," repeated Ari sheepishly, still puzzled. "Why do you—?"

"We ran into Gary a little earlier," interrupted Dawn, blushing. "Hi, I'm Dawn, I'm from Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh."

"Pleased to meet you, Dawn," said Ari with a grin, which Dawn returned, a little too enthusiastically. "Ah, well that explains it; I was wondering who your source was!" he added merrily, taking a seat on a nearby park bench.

"So where are you from, Ari?" asked Dawn, taking a seat next to Ari.

"Me?" asked Ari mockingly. "I'm from Ecruteak City, in the Johto region. It's a lovely place, nice and quiet, and the Burnt and Tin Towers really are a wonderful sight at sunrise. You should visit there someday," he said politely.

Dawn giggled.

"Brock and I went there a long time ago," said Ash sharply. "You're right; it is a great place to go. Is Morty still the Gym Leader there?"

"As far as I know," said Ari, leaning back on the bench. "I haven't been back there for a few years; I've spent most of my time travelling abroad, running into new Pokémon, meeting new people… making new friends," he said charmingly, winking at Dawn, who blushed furiously, and hid her face with her hand. He looked around at his Dusknoir, who was standing, or rather floating, some feet away. "Hey buddy, come over here," he said cheerily, so it drifted over.

"This is my Dusknoir, Horazon," he said, introducing the Dusknoir, who bowed dramatically. Dawn giggled again, and Ari laughed. "He's quite a character, but I guess he gets that from being around me too long," he explained with another laugh. "He's also my very first Pokémon."

Pikachu ran over to Dusknoir, paused, and then jumped up onto his outstretched hand. Dusknoir smiled – the face on its stomach did, anyways – and Pikachu smiled back. Ash watched Pikachu fondly.

"Pikachu's my first Pokémon too," he said, smiling. "I got him on my tenth birthday, and we've been best friends ever since."

"Sounds like you two have quite the bond," said Ari, also watching the two Pokémon.

"My first Pokémon was a Piplup," said Dawn eagerly, pulling a PokéBall off of her belt. "Come on out, Piplup!" she said, as her Piplup appeared in a flash of white light, clapping her fins. She scooped the Piplup up in her arms and turned back to Ari. "I've only had Piplup for a little while now, but we're really close," she said proudly, nuzzling Piplup's head with her chin.

"Hey, all great trees begin with seeds," said Ari. "It doesn't matter if something started yesterday or a century ago, it can become quite extraordinary," he explained, stroking Piplup's beak with an outstretched finger. Piplup twittered with delight. Ari smiled infectiously, and so did Dawn.

There was a short silence, before Ash asked, "So Ari, since you beat Gary in that quarter-final last year, you must've come pretty close to winning the tournament, right?"

Ari shook his head. "Not really. I lost my semi-final, but it was fairly close. Six-five, I think. But I still won the Tag Team," he said contentedly.

"Really? You must be pretty skilled," said Brock, impressed. "Who was your partner?" he asked.

"Well, let me introduce him to you!" he said, getting to his feet. "I'll be right, back, okay?" he assured them, his eyes lingering on Dawn momentarily, who returned his gaze, beaming, even as he walked out of sight, his Dusknoir trailing behind.

Ash and Brock looked at each other. "He seems… nice," said Ash stiffly.

"Yeah, he must be a good Trainer too, to do what he says he's done," agreed Brock. "I can see that look in your eye, Ash; you want to battle him, really badly. But just wait until you know more; that might give you an edge. Be patient," he said warningly.

Ash grunted. "Yeah alright," he said grudgingly. "What do you think, Dawn?" he asked. He looked over and saw Dawn still staring at the spot where Ari had walked off. "Dawn!" he shouted.

Dawn's head snapped around. "What, what?" she asked wildly, flustered.

"What's up with you?" asked Ash suspiciously.

"Nothing's wrong!" said Dawn quickly, waving her hands in the air guiltily. Piplup jumped up and down on the bench next to her, as if trying to enforce the message.

Ash raised his eyebrows at Dawn, looked at Brock, and then shrugged his shoulders and sat down on another bench, opposite Dawn. Brock sat down next to him, looking oddly at Dawn.

Ten minutes later, Ari returned, slightly out of breath, as though he'd just ran a long distance to get back.

"Well, I'm back, like I said," he said, as his Dusknoir hovered loyally alongside him. "So, here's my tag team partner, like I said. Come on out!" he called.

A Trainer stepped out from behind Dusknoir. He was a few inches taller than Ash was, and had sharp green eyes. His hair was brown like Ari's, but of a lighter shade, and it went blonde at the front. He was dressed in a green-and-gold open-necked shirt, and a pair of velvet-purple trousers. He looked friendly, and he smiled at Ari before facing Ash, Brock and Dawn.

"Hi, my name's Leoric. I'm from Fallarbor Town in the Hoenn region," he said, waving his hand nervously.

"Leoric, this is Ash from Pallet Town, Brock from Pewter City, and Dawn from Twinleaf Town," Ari said, pointing his hand at each one as he said their name.

"Hey!" they said together.

"Pika! Pip-lup!" said Pikachu and Piplup. Pleased to meet you!

Leoric's face split into a grin as he saw Pikachu on Ash's shoulder. "I take it Pikachu is your first Pokémon, Ash?" he said. "I haven't been able to do that—" he gestured towards Pikachu "—since a long time ago, when my first Pokémon evolved, and he got a bit bulky for my shoulder," he joked.

"Leoric's first Pokémon was a Bagon," Ari explained. "And when it evolved into a Shelgon…"

"I had to stop putting him on my shoulder, or else I'd have it fall off," finished Leoric, laughing. "Well, my shoulder, of course."

"But enough about me," he said, looking at the group. "Are all three of you going in the Championships this year?" he asked greedily.

"I am!" said Ash, getting to his feet.

Dawn shook her head. "I'm more a Contests type of person," she said. "I still like watching battles, but no, I'm not going to be entering."

Brock shook his head as well. "I didn't get the invite," he said light-heartedly. "But," he added happily, looking around, "I'm still glad I came. I can see all these fantastic and rare Pokémon!"

"Ah," said Leoric, slightly crestfallen. "Oh well, plenty of other Trainers out there to battle, I suppose. Well Ari, I'll meet up with you later, yeah?"

"Yeah, of course!" said Ari, patting him on the back.

"Alright then," said Leoric. "I'll be seeing you around." He looked at Ash. "It was great meeting you guys!" he added, his eyes glinting, before he dashed off down the road.

Ash sat down as Leoric left, his hands curled into fists. "Can't wait to battle him," he muttered excitedly, the same glint in his eyes.

"And I'm sure he can't wait to face you," said Brock. "But like I said before, Ash…"

"I know, patience," said Ash.

Dawn stood up and looked at Ari imploringly. "I'm starving," she said. "Are there any good restaurants around here?"

Ari grinned. "Wouldn't be a very good tournament if there wasn't!" he said jokingly. "But first, I need to register for the tournament, and I reckon you would too, Ash?"

"Yeah, I probably should do that," Ash replied.

Ari clapped his hands. "Then we should do that! You wouldn't mind a short detour, would you?" he asked Dawn cheekily.

"As long as it is a short one," said Dawn, just as cheekily. "Lead the way!"

Trivia:

*'Horazon', the name for Ari's Dusknoir, is taken from the Diablo II character mentioned through Act II in Lut Gholein.

*Leoric's appearance is actually based on my twin brother, Shannon.

Quiz:

*What was the original name of the Burnt Tower that stands in Ecruteak City?