-Indigo Stadium-

"WELCOME, POKÉFANS, TO THE FIRST MATCH OF THE POKÉMON WORLD TOURNAMENT!"

The arena was packed. People had been waiting in lines for hours in order to get seats to the opening battle. Misty, Max, Brock, Dawn, and May all sat in a group near the center of the stadium, ten or so rows up.

"Quality seats, Misty!" Max said, legs jittering with excitement.

"Helps being a Gym Leader," the redhead replied. "Now pay attention. The Battle's about to start."

"-GIVE IT UP FOR DANIEL MILLER OF LAVENDER TOWN!"

The audience roared its approval as the blonde-haired Trainer walked forwards. He laughed excitedly, waving at the crowds.

"I fought that guy a few months ago," Misty commented. "He lost twice before he earned the Cascade Badge. He was a pretty good battler."

"AND FACING HIM, THE MYSTERIOUS NEWCOMER, THE DARK TRAINER OF UNKNOWN STRENGTH AND SKILL, CERTAINLY THE DARK RAPIDASH IN THIS TOURNAMENT, I GIVE YOU, RRRRREEEEEDDDDD!"

The crowds cheered and applauded as the cloaked Trainer marched onto the field. Lucario at his side and Pikachu on his shoulder, Red ignored the crowds as if they weren't even there, staring at his opponent. Under his dark hood, he smiled darkly, nodding once to Daniel.

"That's the guy I was telling you about, Brock."

The ex-Gym Leader leaned forward in his seat. "So, this is the guy that got Max to shut up? I must say I'm impressed."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?"

"THIS WILL BE A TWO-ON-TWO DUAL BATTLE WITH NO TIME LIMIT! TRAINERS, CHOOSE YOUR POKÉMON!"

Daniel flung two Pokéballs onto the field. "Let's do this, Machoke! Bring 'em down, Marowak!" In a flash of light, the Bone Keeper and Superpower Pokémon appeared on the battlefield, one clutching a large femur, the other adopting a karate stance.

Red nodded to the Pokémon at his side. "Athena, Pikachu. Take the field."

"A Lucario and a Pikachu?" Max asked. "That's a terrible choice! Pikachu's weak against Ground types like Marowak, and Lucario's bad against both! What's this guy thinking?"

"BOTH TRAINERS AT THE READY!" the referee paused, lifting his flags high in the air. "BEGIN!"

"Machoke, use Focus Energy, then Mega Punch on Lucario!" Daniel commanded. "Marowak, Bone Rush the Pikachu!"

Machoke closed its eyes, taking a deep breath. The Pokémon's muscles expanded, swelling to nearly double their original size. Marowak, gripping the huge bone, sprinted forwards toward Pikachu.

"Athena, intercept Marowak with your own Bone Rush. Pikachu, Iron Tail on Machoke." Red's voice was calm and collected.

Red's Pokémon leapt into action. A deep blue bone appeared in the Aura Pokémon's hands, and it rushed the Bone Keeper. Pikachu's tail glowed white, and it raced at Machoke, leaping into the air and bringing the tail straight down on Machoke's head. The Superpower Pokémon crumpled under the force of the blow, landing face-down on stadium floor with a Thud. Pikachu flipped in midair and landed on its feet.

Meanwhile, Marowak and Athena were locked in a power struggle, trying to overpower each other's attacks. Athena suddenly jumped up, flipping over Marowak and lashing out with the glowing femur. The attack struck the Ground Type in the back, sending it tumbling to the ground.

"Marowak! Get up!"

The Bone Keeper struggled to get to its feet. Readjusting its grip on the bone, Marowak faced Athena again, eyeing the Aura Pokémon warily.

"Good! Now, use Skull Bash! Machoke! If you can get up, use Mach Punch on Lucario!"

Obediently, Marowak lowered its head and rushed Athena. Nearby, Machoke slowly picked itself off the ground and ran towards her as well, its fists glowing light blue.

"Pikachu, intercept Marowak with another Iron Tail! Athena, Force Palm!"

Speeding towards the Bone Keeper Pokémon, Pikachu's tail glowed white once more. Marowak, seeing the small mouse racing towards it, turned away from Athena and faced the Electric Type head-on.

The force of Pikachu's blow sent Marowak flying. The Ground Type landed some ten feet away from the Electric Mouse.

Athena raised an open palm at the fast-approaching Machoke. Her eyes briefly flashed dark blue, and she brought her palm forward. Her hand glowed blue, and she ran forward, meeting Machoke midstride. Thrusting her paw into Machoke's unguarded chest, a blast of dark blue light struck the Superpower Pokémon, sending it crashing to the ground alongside Marowak

Red smiled. "Athena! Pikachu! Finish this with Aura Storm!"

Confusion spread through the stands. "Aura Storm?"

"What kind of move is that?"

"I've never heard anything like that before…"

"PIII… KACHUUU!" the mouse cried, electricity coursing throughout its body. Thunder rumbled overhead, and storm clouds formed seemingly out of nowhere. Pikachu fired a bolt of electricity into the clouds. A thunderclap shook the stadium.

Athena closed her eyes. A small sphere, glowing deep blue, appeared between her hands. At that exact moment, a huge lightningbolt exploded down onto the arena, striking the sphere in her paws, turning the orb a violent shade of purple. Thunder roared overhead.

Athena's eyes shot open. The black appendages on her head flared. Athena roared, leaping high into the air. When she was directly over the prone Pokémon, the attack was released, shooting down to meet Machoke and Marowak.

The Sphere struck Machoke dead in the chest. The volatile ball of energy exploded outwards, enveloping both Pokémon in the blast and kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

When the dust had finally cleared, Machoke and Marowak were exposed, lying in a huge crater, unconscious. The storm clouds overhead vanished as quickly as appeared, and the sun shone down on the stadium once again.

The arena was silent. After an awkward moment or two, the referee picked his jaw up off the floor, dusted it off, and closed his open mouth. "MACHOKE AND MAROWAK ARE UNABLE TO BATTLE! THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND IS RED!"

Red said nothing. Rather, he nodded respectfully to Daniel and turned, cloak sweeping dramatically as he walked away, his Pokémon following close behind.


-Forests surrounding Indigo Plateau-

"Well done, you guys," Ash said once they had reached the clearing. "You battled great, as usual."

"Pika pikachu, chu Pikapi."

I get the feeling they'll remember that battle for a long time.

"You said it, Athena."

Ash sat down against a tree and gazed out over the clearing. Athena wandered off away from the clearing, but Pikachu remained on his shoulder. Two of his Pokémon were sparring, holding a mock battle nearby. His last Pokémon was resting in the sunlight, lazily watching the clouds go by.

Ash unfolded the sheet of paper Nurse Joy had given him. "Hey, Max has a battle starting not too long from now. I think I'll go watch." He stood slowly, eyebrows raised underneath his hood. "Any of you want to come with?"

No thanks. Athena replied from somewhere in the forest.

The others declined as well, deeming to continue their fight, or their nap. In the end, only Pikachu wanted to go – understandable, as he had been the only one of Ash's Pokémon to actually know Max.

"Come on then," the Trainer said to his starter, and the two set off for the Tournament Village.


-Pokémon League Village-

"That was soooo amazing!" Max said for the umpteenth time, eliciting a collective groan from the group.

"Max! We get it! It was cool! We were there! Now, for the love of Arceus, shut up!" May snapped, glaring pointedly at her brother. "If you say one more word about Red the rest of the day, I am going to have Blaziken roast you over an open fire. Got it?"

Her hand lowered to the Pokéball at her waist, and Max visibly blanched, a sweatdrop forming on the back of his head. "Okay! Gotcha, sis. Not one more word about …err… him. No problem at all. I mean, I don't know why you wouldn't want to talk about possibly the greatest finishing move in the history of the Pokémon League, but that's up to –"

"Max." May's voice was cold.

"Shutting up!"

"I think he's kind of cute," Dawn said.

May facepalmed. "Come on, Dawn!"

"No, really! I mean, did you even see him? He was gorgeous. Right, Misty?"

"Dawn, he face was completely covered. You couldn't see anything underneath that hood of his," Misty replied, rolling her eyes.

"He was still cute," Dawn insisted.

"Sure he was."

Brock glanced at Max. "Don't you have a match, in like, fifteen minutes?"

"What!?" Max scrolled furiously through his Pokégear, where he'd stored his battle schedule. "Crapcrapcrapcrap! I have to get to Dragonite Stadium by one twenty or else I lose by forfeit!" Pocketing the Pokégear, Max raced down the road at a breakneck pace. Misty and Brock were right on his heels, followed closely by the two Coordinators.


-Ten minutes later-

Max took several deep breaths, trying to calm his ragged nerves. His hand clenched Grace's Pokéball so hard his knuckles were white. He shifted uncomfortably, waiting for the referee to announce him. He wasn't worried about the battle – his opponent was some Johto kid named Joey – but rather the fact that this was his first match in the Tournament. Various scenarios ran through the young Trainers head, most of which involved him losing.

Max's eyes narrowed. There was no way he was going to lose! Hadn't he made it all the way to the final round of the Ever Grande Conference not a year ago? He was Max Maple! There was absolutely no chance of him losing to some newbie kid from Cherrygrove!

"-AND FACING HIM, THE UP-AND-COMING STAR FROM HOENN, THE PETALBURG PRODIGY HIMSELF, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MMMMAAAAAAAXXXXXX MMMMAAAPPPLLLEEEE!"

Steeling himself, Max walked into the Arena. The deafening roar of the audience hit him like a solid wall. Reaching his designated platform, he raised a hand and closed his eyes, letting the crowd's cheering wash over him.

"THIS MATCH WILL BE A THREE-ON-THREE SINGLE BATTLE WITH NO TIME LIMIT! TRAINERS, CHOOSE YOUR FIRST POKÉMON!"

Max hurled the Pokéball in his hand onto the field. "Come on, Grace!" In a flash of blue light, a Gardevoir appeared on the battlefield.

"Go to, Seviper!" Joey yelled, summoning the Fang Snake, which hissed menacingly at Grace.

Max grinned. Poison Types weren't very effective against Psychics like Grace. That mistake would cost Joey.

"TRAINERS AT THE READY! BEGIN!"

"Grace, start things off with Conf-"

"Dark Pulse!" Joey ordered. Seviper obeyed, firing off a ring of dark energy that flew towards Grace."

"Dodge it!" Seconds before the attack would have struck Grace, she teleported away, reappearing a few feet to the left of the attack.

"Poison Sting!" Seviper opened its mouth wide. Dozens of needles, glowing bright purple, shot out of its mouth and sped towards Grace.

"Dodge again!" Grace teleported a few more feet away.

"Keep up that Poison Sting! Don't let her dodge it!" The attack persisted, more needles racing towards the Embrace Pokémon. Grace teleported wildly, unable to dodge the barrage of poisonous barbs. "Devoir!" she cried as several needle pierced her skin.

Max gritted his teeth. Grace had been badly poisoned by the attack. As he watched, the Psychic stumbled, nearly falling as the toxins took effect. And Seviper was still at full health! He needed to get on the offensive.

"Venoshock!" A disgusting purple liquid shot out of the Fang Snake's mouth, headed directly for the Gardevoir.

"Redirect it with Psychic!" Max called. Grace nodded, her eyes glowing bright green. The venom arcing through the air began to glow the same color, and stopped midair. The venomous liquid did a one-eighty, speeding right back towards Seviper.

"Get out of there, Seviper!" the poison snake tried to evade the ooze, but Grace simply redirected it right back at it, drenching the Poison Type in the poisonous fluid.

"Confusion, then follow up with Future Sight!" Grace nodded. Her eyes flashed purple as she stared, unmoving, at Seviper. The Fang Snake cried out as Grace entered its mind and retreated from it just as suddenly, leaving Seviper dazed and confused. The image of Grace flickered, and Seviper whirled around, searching for somewhere to direct its attacks. There!

"Seviper!" It cried, firing another Poison Sting attack. The poisonous needles missed Grace by miles. The poison snake was firing erratically in all directions, narrowly missing Joey.

Grace closed her eyes. A wave of Psychic energy radiated from the Embrace Pokémon and disappeared into the future.

Joey leapt to the side, dodging the Poison Sting by mere inches. "Ref!" he called, turning to the judge. "I'm recalling Seviper! I don't want anyone getting hurt while he's confused like this!"

The referee nodded, raising a flag. "JOEY HAS RECALLED SEVIPER; THIS ROUND GOES TO MAX! JOEY, SELECT YOUR NEXT POKÉMON!"

Joey glared at Max from across the arena. "Bring the pain, Beedrill!" He shouted, throwing another Pokéball onto the field. "Pin Needle!"

The black-and-yellow wasp appeared, buzzing furiously. Max flinched at the sight of the Poison Bee. He'd been stung by a Beedrill once as a child, and had had trouble trusting the Bug Type ever since. "Okay, Grace, use Secret Power!"

Beedrill raised its arms. The massive stingers began to glow. Hundreds of white needles appeared in midair, glowing bright white. The glowing barbs honed in on Grace, who released a wave of pink energy that stopped the needles dead in their tracks.

"Silver Wind!" Joey commanded. Beedrill's wings flashed white, creating a huge gust of wind. Silver crescents formed along the wind currents.

"Gaaar!" Grace cried, collapsing underneath the super-effective attack. Her vision swam, and the Psychic fell unconscious.

"GARDEVOIR IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! THIS ROUND GOES TO JOEY!" The referee announced. "MAX, CHOOSE YOUR NEXT POKÉMON!"

"Nice job, Grace," Max said, recalling the fallen Pokémon. "Take a good long rest." He thought for a moment before choosing his next Pokémon. "Burn it down, Cole!" A flash of red light illuminated the battlefield. A Quilava appeared on the arena.

"Whooo, Cole!" Dawn cheered from up in the stands. "Typhlosion, check it out!" she said, releasing the fully evolved Johto starter. "Cole's fighting! May, let your Typhlosion out!"

"Cole, Flame Charge!" Max yelled.

The Volcano Pokémon stood on its hind legs and began pounding the stadium floor with its feet over and over again. A cloud of dust soon kicked up, covering and concealing Cole. Cole dropped to all fours, igniting the flames on his head and rear. The cloud of dust caught fire, surrounding the Quilava in an orb of red and yellow flame. "Lava!" Cole cried, charging the Poison Bee Pokémon.

"Beedrill! Poison Jab!"

The massive stingers on Beedrill's arms glowed a deep purple as Cole raced towards it. Beedrill skirted around the charging Fire Type, reaching out and stabbing its opponent. The flames on Cole's body burned even brighter, and the Quilava looped around with incredible speed. Beedrill didn't even have time to cry out, collapsing to the stadium.

"BEEDRILL IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! JOEY, SEND OUT YOUR FINAL POKÉMON!"

Joey didn't seem worried. He sneered, unclipping his last Pokéball from his belt. "You're going down, Maple. I hatched this guy from his egg; I raised him myself. He's one of the strongest of his kind, and he's never been defeated in battle." He expanded the sphere, lifting it high in the air. "Raticate! I choose you!"

The Rat Pokémon exploded onto the field, screeching horridly at Cole. Max flinched at the sight of the beast. He'd never seen a Raticate so huge; where most were only about two feet tall, this was easily twice that. "You ready, Cole?" he asked.

"Quilava!"

Max grinned. "Then let's do this! Use Flamethrower!"

"Counter with Thunderbolt!"

Cole ignited the flames on its head and back. Crying his name, he fired the attack, releasing a spiraling stream of orange and red flame at Raticate. The Rat Pokémon hissed, firing a bolt of electricity into the fire. The two attacks collided and exploded.

"Crunch, Raticate!"

"Rollout!"

Before either of the Pokémon could attack, however, a sphere of rainbow energy appeared between the two. It floated down to Raticate, who tilted his head, examining the odd circle. Lifting a paw, the Normal Type reached out and touched the orb with a claw. The sphere rippled in response to the touch, floating in a circle around the rat.

The orb accelerated, ramming into the Rat Pokémon's stomach. Doubling over as the breath was knocked from its lungs, Raticate cried out in pain, falling to the stadium floor.

Grace's Future Sight attack! Max realized, before remembering he was supposed to be battling. "Come on, Cole! Rollout!"

"Quilava!" The Volcano Pokémon ran forward and jumped. In midair, he curled up into a tight ball and rolled, incredibly fast, towards Raticate.

"Raticate! Get up and use Hyper Fang!"

"Ticate!" leaping to its feet, the Normal Type bared its massive teeth, which glinted in the midday sun.

Cole struck Raticate square in the chest, knocking it back several feet. In response, the rat raced on all fours towards the still-rolling Quilava, chomping down hard on its opponent. The Fire Type cried out in pain, straightening out and falling to the floor.

"Cole! Get him off of you! Inferno!"

The flames on Cole's back flared, engulfing both Pokémon in an intense blaze. Raticate released Cole, scrambling away from the flames surrounding the Quilava. A large patch of fur blackened, burning the skin underneath. "Raaaat!" the Rat Pokémon cried, the terrible burn taking its toll on Raticate.

"Raticate! Are you okay!?"

"Rrr…Raticate…" it replied weakly. The burn intensified, and Raticate swayed, stumbling towards its opponent. Cole made to press the attack, but stopped after a gesture from Max. "It's over, Joey," he called. "Raticate's in no position to go on."

Joey blinked, then nodded. "Raticate, return. You did a good job."

"JOEY HAS RECALLED RATICATE; THE WINNER OF THIS MATCH IS MAX MAPLE OF PETALBURG CITY!" the Referee cried, lifting his flags. The audience cheered wildly as Max approached the Johto boy, offering his hand.

"That was a great match, Joey."

"You, too." They shook hands. Joey smiled sadly, turned, and walked out of the arena. Max waved to his friends in the stands before following suit.


High up in the bleachers, a hooded Trainer sat, grinning at the Max's retreating form. "A good match, wasn't it, Pikachu?"

"Pika pi, Pikachu!"

"Definitely." Standing, Red made his way, unseen, through the crowds. He paused for a moment when he saw his friends applauding Max's victory. Pikachu glanced at him questioningly, but Red shook his head. "Not yet."

Heyo, everyone. Red and Max have had their first battles, and Misty'll have one next chapter. Unfortunately, School has started back up for me, so the whole chapter-a-day thing is officially over. I plan on updating a chapter maybe every week or so.

R&R, people! No, not rest and relaxation, Read and Review! Tell me what you think!

-Wolverinejoe