The Challenger Returns
Here's the second chapter of the story! Hope you guys are so far enjoying! Remember if you want your very own OC to feature in the torunament, then leave the following information in your reviews:
OC Name
Party Pokemon (The first three should be the ones you want your OC to have no matter what.
Personality: A brief description of how your OC acts, whether they can be friendly or just plain assholes.
Appearance: Just list the age, clothes, hair style, skin color and eye color.
That's all for now!
~xXx~
Full Summary: A loss can sometimes change a person. After Ash Ketchum mysteriously disappeared without a trace, his friends and family were left absolutely devastated. 3 years later, a tournament is being held in the exotic Dahara City, located in the faraway lands of the Kalos Region. Serving as the world's biggest event ever, trainers of all kind will be pit against each other in a battle for the best. Only the strongest of the strong can survive and go through the grueling journey. At first, entering the tournament seemed fun and worth a try, but when the missing trainer from Pallet Town returns to claim his place as the Pokemon Master, everyone has their mind set on finding their long lost friend. However, the Ash they once knew has completely changed and no one knows why. Along with old feelings resurfaced, ambitious rivals, and a dark plot endangering the lives of many, Ash and his friends are in for the toughest battles of their lives...
Normal Talk
Thoughts/Letters/Announcements/Flashbacks
Pokemon talking
Talking through aura/psychic ability
~xXx~
~[Chapter 2: Champion's Plateau}~
-Dahara City-
-Kalos Region-
Serena gasped as she stepped out the door and looked at the environment around her for the first time. It had been a while since she had been to Dahara City, but this was her first time at Champion's Plateau. And it certainly lived up to its name.
"WOWWW! Look at all this!" Dawn exclaimed, twirling around in amazement with Piplup chirping out in agree. The Sinnoh coordinator was gushing over the beautiful envvironment. "This place looks so pretty!"
Serena agreed with her, although she was more focused on the desgins of the buildings around. They looked so different from the prestigious Kalos style, yet this place was in the richest city of the world. It was amazing how they were really inside a city in the middle of the desert, yet it didn't feel as hot as it should have been.
A chorus of gasps sounded behind her, the others apparently taking in the sight for the first time. Even the calm Drew had his jaw dropped as he looked around. "What an exotic place. So this is the Champion's Plateau, huh?"
"That's right," Brock said. If his eyes weren't squinted, one could tell that even he was in pure bliss. "This is the home city of the Master League which is held in that big tower over there." He pointed to a tall, easily visible tower in the distance that seemed to reach up to the skies.
"The Heaven's Summit..." May slowly said with wide eyes as she took in the sight. The others mimicked her expression.
"Where a Pokemon Master is born," Gary spoke up. He gazed at the tall tower and knew that the tournament would be taking place in there. He didn't know why, but looking at the tower just sparked up determination inside his body. It was as if the tower knew that he'd come here to become the Pokemon Master no matter what.
Misty whistled at the sight. "Now THAT, is what I would call sensational!"
"Unlike you," Max coughed. Unfortunately, the Cerulean Gym Leader had heard him and was scowling. "What did you say, you brat?"
Max glared back. "You heard me! Un-sensational sister!"
"Wow, so mature," Misty rolled her eyes. The Hoenn boy had it going but then ruined the whole build up with that shitty remark. She smirked, seeing him stomp his feet angrily and turn away, muttering curses aimed at the red head.
Clemont glanced around, as if he was looking for someone. "You think he'll be here? Ash is always up for a challenge, especially when it comes to battling."
"Of course he'll be here, brother!" Bonnie piped up, her large smile never ceasing to amaze anyone. "It's a tournament, which is Ash's favorite!"
Serena smiled at her while Brock nodded. "You're right on that one, Bonnie. From all the years I've known and travelled with Ash, there is no way he would turn something like this down!"
"Definitely!" Iris exclaimed. "Just watch, I know that kid will be here!"
"Hey guys, the tournament doesn't start until two days! We can do alot of sight seeing here!" Tracey exclaimed. The headband boy had met up with the group in Pallet Town, having left with them to the airport together. Like the others, even he was participating.
Dawn nodded. "We should. There's so much to do here! I heard there are even street battles around the city and some training grounds too!"
"That sounds fun to me," Gary said as he approached Dawn and wrapped his arm around her waist. "But there are also alot of fancy restaurants here. It's been a while since we've gone on a date, right babe?"
Dawn blushed and playfully punched her boyfriend. "We've just got here and already you're making plans for another date." Gary shrugged, his smirk never leaving his face. "What can I do? You're so beautiful and mesmerizing that it's hard too!"
The others rolled their eyes and smiled at the two flirting. Max nudged May and whispered, "I could see you and Drew doing that." Needless to say, his sister was redder than a Cherish Ball as she grabbed him by the collar, earning a surprised yelp.
"Shut the hell up before I personally have my Blaziken burn you to a crisp," May dangerously hissed, earning rapid nods from Max. Drew raised an eyebrow as May let her horrified brother go, who immediatly began to take deep breaths. "Hey June, what's wrong with your face? You look like pissed off Primeape."
Max immediatly burst into a fit of laughter as May took a threatening step towards the green haired boy. "Listen grass head, if you call me 'June' one more time, I swear to Arceus I'll-"
"Whoa, triggered much?" Drew raised his arms up in defense and smirked. "Fine, I'll stop calling you June, July." Serena gulped as May looked ready to explode, so the Kalos native decided to cool the situation. "Hey, look at all the shopping sights!"
Immediatly, May's expression brightened as she took in the information. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that! Come on, let's go!" She looked ready to run off, but just then Professor Oak walked up to them, followed by a chuckling Delia and Mimey.
"Now now, don't rush into things. We still have to book our hotel rooms," the Kanto professor stated. "After that, you may go do whatever you want to." Everyone else agreed and the group then made their way to the hotel, which was hard to find in the large, bustling city. The hotel was incredibly fancy, as it was humongous and had a large golden statue of a Staraptor on top. After a while, they finally booked the rooms, boys and girls seperate. Delia decided to go run off with Norman and Caroline Maple, whom she had ran into while Professor Oak had told the group that they could go do what they wanted as he met with the other regional professors.
Soon, the group of teenagers found themselves walking down the busy streets of Champion's Plateau. Dawn, May, and Serena were talking together and listing down the names of all the shopping stores. They planned to go on a major shopping spree during their stay here. Gary and Iris planned a battle later on while the others just normally chatted with each other, save for Misty and Max's bickering.
"Hey guys, there's a street battle going on a couple of blocks from here! Wanna check it out?" Gary suggested.
"I'm down," Iris said. "I could use a good battle right now."
"Same here," Drew said, flipping his hair much to May's annoyance. The Hoenn girl had been silently plotting the green haired coordinator's murder all this time. The others agreed to Gary's suggestion and followed him as he lead the way.
Champion's Plateau was absolutely amazing. As they walked down the street, the group took in their surroundings and could not help but be amazed. People with all kinds of Pokemon walked around, going in and out of the many colorful buildings. Large TV screens on some buildings were either advertising commercials or showing a view of the Heaven's Summit. There were cars and vehicles driving around and many cameras flashing from tourists. Hell, Max had even brought a camera with him and the group took their time taking pictures together.
Soon, they found themselves in a large circle with a huge fountain in the middle. The fountain was shaped in a fancy way too, with two large statues of seal like Pokemon standing in a graceful pose.
"Those are Primarina, the fully evolved Water type starters from Alola," Gary explained. He was very knowledgable about Pokemon due to his former profession as a researcher. Of course, he'd given up on that now and was now a full time trainer aiming to be Pokemon Master.
"Wow, they're so...majestic," Misty was at awe. Despite being a stone statue, the Primarina looked so beautiful and appealing. The fact that is was also a Water type added to Misty's list of must have Pokemon, probably even beating the mighty Milotic.
She wasn't the only one who was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the Water type. Dawn, May, Serena, Bonnie, and even Drew looked at the Pokemon as if it were a legendary god or something. "Now that is a Pokemon I could use in a contest," the green haired boy said.
"Same here," Dawn and May agreed.
"I wonder how a Primarina could do in a showcase," Serena wondered out loud. Probably amazing."
"Wowww, it looks so pretty!" Bonnie gushed.
Gary chuckled at their antics. What he was about to reveal next would shock them. "That's not all. It's TYPING is something. Primarina are not only Water types, but they have a secondary Fairy type as well."
He was right, as everyone looked at him with wide eyes. "Fairy types? Really?!" Serena asked. Fairy types were her absolute favorite out of all Pokemon types. She was so happy when her Eevee had evolved into Sylveon for the first time.
"A Fairy type! Even better!" Dawn exclaimed, May, Bonnie and Drew reacting the same way. She grabbed Gary by the shirt. "You have to catch me one, or take me to Alola personally!" Gary laughed and pulled her in for a kiss.
"Ugh, screw that!" Iris exclaimed with a disgusted face. While she agreed that the Primarina was definitely a beauty, she wanted nothing to do with a Fairy type, as it was a potential harm to her Dragon types, which was something she loathed.
"Hey if your all done drooling then can we go see the battle?!" Max impatiently asked. He was getting sick of waiting and just wanted to go see a tough battle already. Before anybody could yell at him, Brock spoke up.
"He's right guys. Let's go, we can come back and take pictures later otherwise we're going to miss this battle!" The squinty eyed man would love to stay around the statue longer, but even he was interested in seeing the street battles around here.
"Alright fine! We could see these battles later though," May muttered. She noticed Drew about to say a witty remark and she immediatly gave him a look that told him to shut up.
Gary pointed to a large crowd in the distance. "It's over there! Come on, let's hurry up before we miss it!" Unfortunately, he was facing the others and talking to them while walking so the Pallet Town native accidentally bumped into someone and knocked back. "Sorry, my bad!"
"Well, I didn't know Gary Oak was one to rush into things," a very familiar voice suddenly said. Gary looked at the brunette girl he had bumped into with wide eyes. "Leaf?! What are you doing here?!"
Leaf gave him a deadpan expression. "You know, a person usually says hello first, then asks the questions."
Gary was about to apologize when suddenly Bonnie suddenly zoomed past him and knelt down in front of the surprised brunette. "Oooh, you're perfect for my brother! Please look out for him!"
"B-Bonnie! I told you to stop that!" Clemont yelped, dragging his pleading sister away while sheepishly smiling at Leaf. "Uh, sorry about that."
"It's fine," Leaf smiled. "She's a sweet one!" Bonnie smiled at that and stuck her tongue out at Clemont. Leaf then turned to Gary, who was waiting for an answer to her question. She sighed, knowing he wasn't one to apologize.
"I came her to participate in the tournament. I received an invitation from the Pokemon League."
Gary raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't seen Leaf ever since she left for her Kanto journey, which was a little before his. Even then, he still didn't know what she did. "Really? What did you even do that made the league think you were good enough to take part?"
Leaf shrugged. "Nothing much except I made it to the top sixteen in the Kanto league, top four in the Johto league, and runner up in the Unova league. What about you? Still a researcher?"
"No! I'm a full time trainer now!" Gary exclaimed. "Ahem!" He turned around to see his friends looking at him expectantly. "What?"
"Aren't you going to introduce us?!" Dawn angrily exclaimed. Though she loved him, ber boyfriend could be so clueless sometimes.
"Oh right! Leaf, these are my friends. Guys, this is Leaf. Childhood friend of Ash and mine's. Leaf, that's Dawn, my girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?" Leaf raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Finally ditched that harem of cheerleaders, huh? Hey Dawn, does he know how a relationship works?" Dawn nodded, a small smile on her face.
"Why are you asking her that?" Gary deadpanned, earning a smirk from Leaf. "Because I know how you work, that's why."
Serena walked up to Leaf. "I think I know you from somewhere."
"Pallet Town Summer Camp," Gary said simply, knowing what the Kalos native meant. Leaf's eyes widened. "Serena?! Holy crap, it's been so long!"
"Same here!" the blond haired girl replied. Serena remembered Leaf from the camp she went to when she was really young. Leaf had been one of the few friends she had, the others being Gary (kind of) and Ash.
Max walked up to her. "Wow, you must be a really strong trainer if you've made it that far. I have to battle you!"
Misty snorted. "So that you can embarass yourself again?" Immediatly, Max had turned around and the two began shouting insults at each other, letting Leaf sweatdrop.
"Yes, they're always like this," Brock said, seeing the look on her face. May sighed and looked at them. "Let's just go. We're going to miss the fight."
"Oh, I'm going there too!" Leaf exclaimed. "We can go see that battle together, if you guys don't mind." They didn't mind at all and let Leaf tag along. Iris was impressed with Leaf's accomplishments and the two had formed a friendly rivalry together. All the while Leaf would tease Gary and Dawn would join in as well, the two girls almost like best friends much to Gary's disappointment.
They reached the crowd and pushed past the people in order to get a good view. Max was practically running into everyone like a mad Tauros, as he was eager to see. May shouted at her brother to stop while Misty chastised his stupidness. As the group finally got a view as to who was battling, Dawn and Brock's eyes widened in surprise.
"Is that Paul?!" Dawn exclaimed. Indeed it was the purple haired trainer from Sinnoh. He stood behind his Torterra, who was facing the opponent's Bastiodon in a pushing contest with their heads bashing against each other. The Bastiodon looked beat up and ready to fall while Torterra looked relatively fine, showing who was clearly winning here.
"You know him?" Leaf asked. She was impressed with the purple haired trainer's calm demeanor and power his Torterra possesed.
Dawn nodded and looked at her. "He was Ash's rival in Sinnoh. A jerk too, though I think he changed after losing to Ash in the league."
Leaf nodded. She had come to know that the group was Ash's friends and wasn't surprised when she find out that they knew nothing about his disappearance. Even though she hadn't seen him in a long time, Ash was still her childhood best friend who was hard to forget about.
"I heard of that guy," Gary said, nodding towards Paul. "He's a pretty strong trainer and if he's here, then there's no doubt that he is competing in the tournament."
That would be a problem. Paul was a really strong trainer who could easily crush most of them in battle, save for Gary and Iris. Dawn didn't know how good Leaf was, but from her accomplishments it sounded like she could also give Paul a run for his money. She just hoped the once rough Sinnoh trainer had changed his ways.
"Hey look, there's Reggie!" Brock exclaimed, and Max immediatly shoved past him, shouting something about wanting to battle Paul. The group caught up with Max, and made their way to the two Sinnoh natives.
"Reggie! Paul!" Brock greeted as they approached the two, who looked at them in surprise.
"Brock! Dawn! It's nice to see you!" Reggie exclaimed. "I didn't know you two would be here, though I'm not surprised. Paul, remember them?"
Paul nodded and greeted them with a simple, "Hey."
"So these are your friends?" Reggie asked. He was a talker unlike his silent brother. Brock nodded and introduced everyone. Max walked up to Paul and immediatly challenged him to a battle, much to the Sinnoh native's surprise.
"Sorry, not right now," Paul responded, much to Max's disdain. "Maybe later on in the tournament." Though Max was disappointed, he brightened up after hearing that.
Dawn looked at the Sinnoh trainer. "So Paul, I'm guessing you're competing too, right?"
Paul nodded. "Yeah. I've been training my Pokemon non stop ever since I received the invitation and it's safe to say my Pokemon are on point. I even listened to Ketchum's words and formed a bond with them, which has made them stronger. Speaking of which, is he here?"
Dawn sighed. She knew he'd ask that question. After the Sinnoh league, there was no doubt that Paul was looking for a rematch with Ash.
"We don't know. We haven't seen him yet," Brock answered.
"Don't worry, he'll show up," Reggie smiled. "I know he won't skip out on this tournament. And wow, I just realized how many familiar faces we've seen today!"
Paul nodded, much to the group's confusion. "Familiar faces?" May asked.
Paul looked at Dawn and Brock. "Barry, Conway, and Tobias are here. I saw them walking around. Barry's here with his dad, who is a frontier brain and Tobias, you know why. As for Conway, I have no idea."
"We even saw some other strong trainers as well, like that Alain guy and this kid from Johto with a powerful Typhlosion that Paul barely managed to defeat," Reggie answered. Paul grit his teeth in annoyance at his brother's words of barely beating that kid. Of course Reggie had to tease him right here.
"Damn, so this isn't going to be an easy tournament," Drew said with a flip of his hair.
"Even with all that training, our chances look pretty slim," Misty said. She already knew how strong Alain was and if a random trainer from Johto could amost defeat someone like Paul, then it wasn't looking so good.
"Nonsense! We can still do it!" Clemont exclaimed.
"Yeah, with all that trainer we did, there's no way we can be defeated so easily!" Bonnie piped up. Max agreed with her and shot a look at Misty, who stuck her tongue out.
Gary stepped up and looked at Paul. "Hey, let's have a quick one on one battle. I want to see how strong you really are."
Paul was about to decline, but then remembered that this was Gary Oak who was challenging him to a battle. He knew Gary was a really strong trainer and grandson of one of the most famous prodigies in the world, so it should be interesting. "Fine by me."
Max's jaw dropped. "Huh? Wait, you accept a battle from him and not me? Why is that?!"
"Max, this is just a one on one, not a full battle. Besides, Gary and Paul are the strongest out of all of us right now so just sit back and watch," May said. Max agreed and watched as the two trainers stand a good distance from each other with a Poke Ball in their hands.
"Electivire, stand by for battle!" Paul released the bipedal Electric type from its Poke Ball and waited. Dawn and Brock were immediatly hit with nostalgia, seeing Paul's main Pokemon out on the field after a long time.
"Be careful babe! Electivire is one of his best Pokemon!" Dawn shouted at Gary, who merely saluted her. Paul raised an eyebrow at the word 'babe', but shrugged. He didn't really care about relationships.
"Electivire huh? Well, let's see how this works out. Electivire, you're up!" Gary threw out his Poke Ball and revealed the same Electric type who narrowed its eyes down at Paul's Pokemon, who smashed its fists together and growled challengingly.
"Huh," Paul was surprised at Gary's choice. He was expecting a type disadvantage but this would do. The others were surprised as well. "Electivire vs Electivire? This already is interesting!" Iris exclaimed.
"Paul's Electivire is overpowered as hell though," Dawn said. "Ash barely beat this thing and even then, he had Infernape and Pikachu."
"Let's see how Gary's been training," Leaf said. She could tell that Gary was getting a little cocky. Dawn kept giving him a look that told him he was making a mistake. The bluenette knew that while Electivire was strong, it was nowhere near the level of Paul's Electivire.
Brock made his way to the middle and raised his arms. "This is a one on one battle. First Pokemon to fall will lose and remember, a tie is a tie! Go!"
Paul was the first to give an order. "Electivire, Fire Punch!" Paul's Electivire held up its right fist, igniting it in flames, and rushing towards Gary's Electivire with a battle cry.
Gary narrowed his eyes as he gave out an order. "Dodge and counter with Brick Break!" There was no point in using Electivire's Electric attacks, as he knew that Paul's Electivire had the Motor Drive ability so it was all physical attacks from here. But Gary didn't care. He just wanted a challenging battle and that's why he sent out his own Electivire.
The Electric type sidestepped Paul's Electivire, and swung at it with a white coated fist.
"Brick Break!" Paul shouted. His Electivire wheeled around and met Gary's Electivire with the same attack, the two Pokemon's fists colliding and pushing against each other. This was a part of Paul's training as his Electivire was able to overpower Gary's and hit it with Brick Break in the face.
Gary's Electivire stumbled back and its trainer immediatly shouted out the next order. "Dynamic Punch! Hit 'em hard!"
Paul merely watched as Gary's Electivire raced towards his Thunderbolt Pokemon with a red glowing fist that looked ready to smash anyone to a pulp, and then gave out his order. "Now!"
Paul's Electivire reared its arm back, and thrust its fist into the other Electivire's chin, the harsh uppercut sending Gary's Electivire in the air momentarily. "Now hit it down with Hammer Arm!"
"Electivire, no!" Gary shouted as he saw Paul's Electivire jump up and slam his arm onto his Electivire, sending it smashing into the ground. It struggled to get up as it propped itself onto its knees and breathed heavily. "Are you okay?"
"ELECA!" Electivire shouted as he stood up. Gary nodded and looked at Paul's Electivire, who didn't look the slightest tired. Dawn wasn't kidding when she said that was one of Paul's main Pokemon and strongest. His own Electivire was already brought to its limits just by two hits!
However, he wasn't one to back out of a fight so easily. "Electivire, use Cross Chop!"
"Focus Blast!" Paul immediatly replied.
"Hit it right back!" Gary quickly countered. His Electivire shot towards the opposing Electric type, who thrust its palms out and shooting a white energized sphere at the incoming attacker. Gary's Electivire tensed itself with its arms crossed, then diagonally chopped into the sphere, resulting in a small explosion that pushed it back.
Unfortunately for Gary, Paul wasn't going to let him rest. "Again! Keep doing it until you hit him!" His Electivire nodded and continuously fired off several more Focus Blasts, each one exploding on the ground whenever Gary's Pokemon dodged. It ducked, then jumped to the side avoiding two Focus Blasts, then jumped forward over another one. The others caught onto what he was doing.
"He's trying to close the gap between the two," Leaf muttered lowly. "That's smart."
"But it looks like Paul has something planned! Come on Gary, you can do this!" Max grit his teeth. Dawn looked at everyone and saw their tense looks, knowing they were rooting for Gary but when she turned to Leaf, she saw the brunette staring intently at Paul.
"He's bringing Gary into a trap," Leaf suddenly spoke up, startling everyone.
"What do you mean?" Misty asked. "Gary is trying to close the gap between the two Electivire so that he could correctly attack but Paul knows what he's doing and is bringing him into a trap where he could easily leave Gary open for an attack. I hate to say it, but it looks like the battle is in Paul's hands," Leaf said with her eyes closed.
"And how do you know that?" Iris asked. "For all we know, Paul could probably have no clue as to what's going on."
"That's where you're wrong," Reggie said. His smile was long replaced by a frown. "Look at Paul. See how he's keeping a close eye on Gary's Electivire and where exactly he's commanding his Electivire to fire the Focus Blast?"
The group looked at Paul and his Electivire, and where each Focus Blast was landing. Gary's Electivire was slowly catching up and by the slow movement Paul's Electivire was showing, it was clear that this was indeed a trap and that Paul was literally about to use Gary's trick to his own benefit.
Gary's face brightened when his Electivire was in close range at last. "Now, use Iron Tail!"
"No!" Gary abruptly turn around, seeing Dawn and everybody else's horrified expression before turning around and seeing Paul's smirk.
"Giga Impact!" Gary's eyes widened as Paul's Electivire crouched down and surrounded itself in purple and orange energy before shooting up towards his own Electivire, who was surprised by the turn of events. Giga Impact easily overpowered Iron Tail as Paul's Electivire slammed into Gary's Electivire and sent the latter flying up in the air before rocketing down and smashing into the ground. Dust and smoke was sent flying everywhere as a large explosion surrounded the downed Electivire.
The smoke cleared to reveal Gary's Electivire unconscious with swirls in its eyes while Paul's Electivire calmly landed beside its trainer. "Gary's Electivire is unable to battle. Paul wins this match," Brock said.
"Good work," Paul told it before returning the Thunderbolt Pokemon inside its Poke Ball.
"Electivire, you were amazing out there," Gary spoke as he returned the Electric type. "Take a good rest." He looked over at Paul who gave him a respectful nod. The Kanto native nodded back with a slight smile. Despite losing badly, that was still a tough and fun battle for Gary.
Reggie walked over to them with everyone else. "That was amazing! Paul, it's safe to say you're training definitely paid off. And Gary, you certainly live up to your name as Professor Oak's grandson!"
"Thanks Reggie, I appreciate that," Gary smiled. "And good battle Paul. I can see why you're considered such a strong trainer."
"Thanks, you too," Paul said. He turned to Reggie. "Let's go now." Reggie nodded and waved at the group of teenagers. "Bye guys, it was nice seeing you here. Hopefully, we can meet again sometime later!"
"You too, Reggie and Paul," Brock nodded. Everyone else said bye as well, with Max promising a battle to Paul, who rolled his eyes. The two Sinnoh brothers walked away, leaving the group to themselves.
Dawn walked up to Gary and held his arm, leaning against his shoulder. "Gary, you were amazing in that battle. You and Electivire really had it going!"
"Thanks Dawn, but I'm not surprised I lost so easily," Gary chuckled. "I knew from the start that I might not win since Paul's Electivire is more trained than mine. That doesn't mean my Electivire is weak at all."
"You are right about that," Brock said. "Paul has trained his Electivire the most out of all his Pokemon, even his Torterra. It is considered to be his strongest, but Torterra barely pulls through with its type advantage. At least, that was how it was before. I don't know where Paul's Pokemon stand now though."
"That's fine and all but Gary, why did you use Electivire?" Misty asked. Gary shrugged. "I just wanted a challenge, that's all. If I used anyone else, things would have gone alot smoother that's why."
"But your Electivire knows so many strong attacks," Serena said. "Why didn't you use them?"
"Because of Paul's Electivire's ability, right?" Leaf asked. Gary nodded and she continued. "Motor Drive, where if the user gets hit by an electric type attack, they aren't harmed by it rather boosted by attack and speed instead. If you used any Electric type moves, that battle would have been over in one hit."
"Smart," Gary chuckled. "Since when did you become so knowledgeable on battling?"
"Did you forget that I'm a trainer too?" Leaf raised an eyebrow. "Speaking of which, we should battle later on to see who's better."
"Sounds good to me."
Max cleared his throat and looked at Leaf. "Not so fast, first you have to get past me. I have to see if you're worthy of battling Gary!"
"Oh, can it already!" May practically shoved her brother out of the way, causing him to yelp. Misty and Iris shook their heads, the latter muttering, "What a little kid."
Clemont looked at the group. "Hey, let's go look around some more. We can find all sorts of things and take pictures or something."
"That's a great idea!" Serena exclaimed, causing Clemont to blush a little. The rest of the group agreed and began walking. Dawn rested her head against Gary's shoulder. She couldn't help but think about her boyfriend's battle with Paul, being similar to something Ash would do.
She sighed. 'Where are you Ash?'
~xXx~
The large van screeched to a stop in the fancy parking lot. The passenger door opened up and out walked Domino, freshly clad in a reporter's outfit, which consisted of a grey cardigan, leggings and a pair of black and white shoes. She also wore glasses and a backwards cap along with a nose ring to up her appearance.
The front driver's door opened and Archer walked out. He simply wore an orange turtleneck sweater with tan pants, and white shoes. His hair was slightly messed up too. The side door then opened up to reveal Proton, Petrel, and Ariana all clad in different outfits.
"Ready to go?" Ariana asked, stepping out of the van while carrying a laptop bag around her shoulder. Domino nodded as Proton and Petrel pulled out some equipment from the van and slammed the doors shut before Archer locked it. The group had been ordered to go undercover as a news team and go around doing various interviews and stuff so that they could get exclusive access into the building's many locations, which were off limits to regular people, and set up the plan.
"You guys know what to do," Domino ordered. "Remember to keep it professional. Giovanni has given us the most important task of the plan because of our responsibilites and accomplishments that we have shown throughout our work. Do not let him down now."
"Understood," Archer said. He looked at his fellow executives and nodded. "Remember what your roles are?"
"Yup," Proton answered. He was wearing sunglasses, a black beanie, a black hoodie and blue baggy jeans to show his appearance.
"All the way," Ariana replied. She wore a similar outfit like Domino, save for the glasses.
"You know me," Petrel said. He wore similar clothes like Archer, only he had a backwards cap on and sunglasses like Proton.
"Good," Domino said. "Let's start." She held a microphone in her hand while Archer held a large video camera over his shoulder, standing in front of Domino. Proton stood beside Archer and held a large microphone that seemed to be a few feet away from Domino, though her voice was heard loud enough.
"Hello everyone! This is Tulip Garcia for Star News reporting live at Champion's Plateau, the site of the upcoming Master League tournament!" Domino cheerfully spoke to the camera. While she was talking, Ariana was connecting the footage onto her laptop and sending it to the grunts who were also part of the news team. They were in the many helicopters up in the air, each having a different news team logo that was obviously made up.
The plan was simple, yet difficult to carry out. Domino and her team were to pose as a fake news team and infiltrate the building with their access. Due to tight security, they couldn't have their Pokemon on them when they went inside because of the Poke Ball detector drones that were constantly hovering around. They weren't the only ones contributing as Cassidy and Butch would be undercover as well, their presence heavily needed for the next part of the plan. The same went for Jessie, James, and Meowth who were especially crucial. If they did their tasks well, then the plan would be flawless and Team Rocket would have one hell of a victory. If not, then it would probably be over. Hence, that is why they all had to be very careful and not fool around this time.
'Let's get this show on the road,' Domino thought to herself as a small smirk appeared on her face.
-Mount Silver-
-Border of Kanto and Johto Regions-
Silver Cave was a harsh, rocky environment that proved to be VERY challenging to trainers. Part of that was the dangerous and unstable ground and the incredibly strong Pokemon. The Pokemon too were very hostile and constantly fighting for territory. One would not expect the normal Zubat or Geodude dwelling around these parts. No, the environment was filled with many rare, powerful, and dangerous Pokemon like Tyranitar and Steelix. Nothing of weak species would be expected to be found here.
So the Pikachu that was currently running across the rocky terrain was DEFINITELY not normal. The Electric type Pokemon dashed and leapt from rock to rock and made its way through the cave until coming upon a large, rocky path that lead upwards a long steep slope.
The Pikachu frowned before trying to climb up the slope, only to slide back down. The Mouse Pokemon attempted to go at it again when a sudden loud footstep stopped it, making it turn around. A Golem stood in front the Pikachu, looking at it and the slope. An amused look came on to the Golem's face while the Pikachu sheepishly scratched its head.
"Pika! Pika pi chu!" Pikachu exclaimed pointing at the slope.
"Golll," Golem nodded and ushered for the Pikachu to climb on to its back. Once the Electric type did, the Golem charged at the slope, easily running up with its Rock Climb before reaching the top. The Pikachu jumped off and thanked the Golem, who merely nodded and went back down. The Pikachu turned around and headed out the cave exit, which was now in front of it.
Heavy snow hit the Pikachu's face as the blizzard made it almost impossible to see. It didn't mind though as it was used to it and merely made its way calmly across the environment. It wasn't really fond of living here, but it had to be done. Besides, it wasn't so bad. After its trainer conquered the mountain, the wild Pokemon had realized them as friends and helped them grow accustomed to their new home. The cave dwelling Pokemon had acted as guides in the beginning and now served to help them out whenever they got stuck somewhere in the mountain. Their source of food was the berries found and helped by none other than the wild Pokemon themselves. So it really wasn't that bad.
Still, the Pikachu missed the warm climate and the natural grass. Hopefully they would be moving out today and returning to the real world. The Electric type made its way through the blizzard, an arm held over its forehead shielding its eyes from the snow. It squinted its eyes and saw distinct shapes in the distance, immediatly recognizing its partner Pokemon.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed. It ran over to the closest Pokemon and greeted it. A Lucario, who had been sitting crossed legged and meditating merely nodded back and stood up, following the mouse. Lucario had been anew asset to their trainer's team. They had met the Lucario back in their early Sinnoh journies as a Riolu who could perfectly use the move Aura Sphere. It returned to its kingdom shortly after that and met up with the trainer again during their current journey, becoming one of their most powerful Pokemon.
"This way," Lucario said, halting Pikachu. The mouse scratched its head and grinned, following the jackal Pokemon. Despite living on the mountain for 3 years, it still couldn't maneuver its way around. It had to rely on the Pokemon's aura to survive as well.
"Today's the day, huh?" Lucario asked Pikachu as they trotted along the snow. Pikachu nodded. "Pi!"
"Good. It's about time we finally get off this damn mountain." The two made their way over to a small rocky area where they could see several shapes. Three of them were the other Pokemon on the team lying around while the last one was a boy who was standing away from the Pokemon and looking off in the distance with his back facing them.
"Pika!" "Rua!" Pikachu and Lucario both greeted the other Pokemon, who nodded at them. Their team was really strong as their trainer had trained them so much. It was quite a diverse and varied team that could take on almost all types of Pokemon. Besides Pikachu and Lucario, there was the cool and collected Sceptile, the calm and serious Greninja, and the tough as nails Garchomp. There was also one more member of the team, but it was out running an errand and would be back soon.
All five Pokemon made their way towards the boy, who's eyes were hidden by the brim of his cap and was staring off in the distance. Over the years, he had gone from happy and energetic to quiet and serious. His training regiment had gotten tougher, hence why his Pokemon were as strong as they were. It was as if everything had changed except for one thing: the boy's love. His love for his Pokemon, whom he'd given a choice for them to follow him on the dangerous journey or live peacefully back at the lab. Of course, they all agreed to go with him and they had stuck together ever since. Of course, the Pokemon wished that whatever happened in Kalos didn't happen at all otherwise their trainer wouldn't be acting this way.
He was alerted by his Pokemon's presence and smiled at them. Pikachu climbed up on to his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek while the others happily stood by him. Lucario walked up to him.
"So, today's the day. We're finally leaving," the Aura Pokemon said. The boy nodded and said nothing else. That was enough for Lucario to know what his answer was. Of course, they had to wait until the last member of their team got back, then they could all go.
They wouldn't have to wait long as a loud roar sounded from the distance, prompting everyone to look in that direction. A large, draconic shape was rapidly approaching them and the group immediatly recognized it. They all made room for the large, orange dragon that landed on the ground in front of them. It let out a happy roar and held out a piece of paper. Normally, anybody would have shit their pants if they came face to face with the Pokemon and who could blame them? The Fire type was known to be intimidating and held great power within. Plus, it was also very loyal, especially to its trainer as it had been one of the first to go with him. Then again, Charizard had always stuck by Ash's side no matter what.
The boy took the paper from Charizard and looked at it, smiling slightly. It was the invitation to the Master League. More specifically, his invitation. The boy knew of the upcoming event and that he would be invited. He had sent Charizard out to get his invitation from his house in Pallet Town. He had been waiting for this day. The day where he could finally leave Mount Silver.
"... ... ... ... ... ... ..."
It was time for Ash Ketchum to return.
~xXx~
And ya boy is here! I know that the whole "Red" character has been done for Ash so many times, but I'm telling you this one is not like anything you've seen before. Anyway, I'm not too proud of this chapter since it feels kind of rushed to me. Eh, let me know what you guys think. In the meantime, make sure to leave the information above if you want your OC to take part in the tournament as well. See you all next chapter!