"The following morning, Ash gave one final pep talk to his team.
"Alright, today is our first Tournament in the Unova region. Let's do our best out there, and make a good impression on people watching this" Ash said, to which his Pokémon nodded and cheered.
"Alright, Pikachu, Pignite, Frillish, I've chosen you. Sorry Rufflet, but I want an option for a Special attacker" Ash replied, patting his Rufflet, who nodded, though a little sad. After returning them to their balls, Ash departed.
Meanwhile, Hilda was also giving a pep talk to her Pokémon.
"Alright, this is it. Our first tournament. Just do your best, and we'll be OK" Hilda said, and her Pokémon nodded.
"Let's do our best, and we'll make a good impression" Hilda added, and her Pokémon cheered. Hilda did the same as Ash.
When they meet up, Ash asked "Good Morning Hilda, are you ready to go?", to which Hilda nodded, and replied "Yeah, about as ready as I'll ever be"
"Nervous about your first Tournament?" Ash responded, and Hilda nodded. Ash smiled then said "You'll do fine. Just, do the best you can. It's all you can do", to which Hilda nodded, then they departed.
Soon after departing the Pokémon Centre, they met up with Nate, Rosa and Hugh.
"Hey guys" Nate called to Ash and Hilda, who waited for them at the outskirts of town.
"Ready for your first Tournament?" Ash asked, to which Rosa replied 'Yeah, I'm really excited", while Nate added "It'll be interesting", and Hugh responded "Yeah, it'll help get in my eye in with tactics"
"Good to hear. There is something that I feel a bit weird about, to be honest," Ash replied, to which Rosa asked, "What is it?"
"I'm the veteran in this situation" Ash replied, to which Nate responded, "I'm guessing you've been through this before?"
"Numerous times. This is the fifth region I've explored after all" Ash responded, to which Hugh added "Well, we'll have to see how a Veteran goes in this Tournament"
"Yep" Ash replied, and soon, they arrived, and, waiting for them, was Maximus and Trip, standing at the opposite ends of the foyer and staring anywhere except at each other, and Colress.
"Good. Now that everyone's here, I can talk to you about the Driftveil Cup. Maximus, Trip, get over here" and reluctantly, Maximus and Trip walked over, though keeping their distance from each other, which Clay noticed, but didn't comment on.
"Alright, So, the Driftveil Cup is an eight-person, single-elimination tournament. You win three rounds, you win the Tournament. The top two will get points towards entry into the Unova League and, if you're really ambitious, the Pokémon World Tournament" Clay said, to which everyone nodded.
"The first stage will go as follows. Ash VS Nate, Hilda VS Rosa, Colress VS Hugh and Trip VS Maximus" Clay added, and while Ash and Hilda nodded to their opponents, who nodded back, Maximus and Trip just locked eyes briefly, the hatred obvious.
"Alright. Finally, each of you will use three Pokémon, and the first trainer to have all three of their Pokémon faint will lose and be eliminated from the Tournament" Clay continued. He then concluded with "I wish you all good luck. Ash, Nate, get ready, you two are going first", and he departed.
"Good Luck Nate," both Rosa and Hugh said, to which Nate acknowledged with a wave. Hilda added "Good Luck Ash" and Ash nodded and smiled at her, before him and Nate headed for the arena.
"Hello and Welcome to the Driftveil Cup. This is an eight trainer single-elimination Tournament, and the winner and second place will get points towards the Unova League Championship, and doing well in that League could lead to the Pokémon World Tournament" Clay said to the cheers of the crowd.
"Now, let's introduce our first battlers" Clay added, and the crowd's cheers intensified.
"Introducing one of the Up-and-Comers from Aspertia City, Nate" Clay called and Nate entered the arena to significant applause.
"And his opponent, he's from another region entirely, but he's making a splash in Unova. The Tournament Veteran, Ash Ketchum" Clay called, and Ash approached enthusiastic applause.
"You both know the rules, three Pokémon, both sides can Substitute Pokémon, first one to have all three Pokemon KO'ed loses and is eliminated. Now begin" the referee said as Clay retreated, and Nate called "Alright Stoutland, standby" and Stoutland materialised.
At the same time, Ash called "Pignite, I choose you" and Pignite materialised.
Battle: Pikachu, Pignite and Frillish VS Stoutland, Dewott and Duosion.
"Stoutland, use Take Down" Nate called, and Stoutland charged recklessly at Pignite, but Ash was ready.
"Pignite, Substitute then Brick Break" Ash commanded, and Pignite was just able to hide behind the Substitute before Stoutland struck, using a quarter of Pignite's health, and when Stoutland hit with the Take Down, the Substitute was destroyed, and Stoutland took slight damage in recoil. Pignite then cloaked its hand in Orange energy and chopped Stoutland, dealing Severe damage.
"Stoutland, return," Nate said and he withdrew Stoutland. Nate then added "Duosion, standby" and Duosion materialised.
"Duosion eh? Alright, Pignite, return" Ash called and he withdrew Pignite. He then added "Now, Frillish, I choose you" and Frillish materialised.
"Alright, Frillish use Ominous Wind" Ash commanded, while Nate called "Duosion, use Psyshock", and the wind of Spectral energy collided with the ring of Psychic energy, and exploded.
"Water Pulse Frillish" Ash called, and Frillish shot a ball of water at Duosion, but Nate countered with "Dusoion, Hidden Power" and next thing Ash knew, several Electric orbs connected with the Water Pulse, not only destroying it but keeping on going and dealing Considerable damage to Frillish.
"OK, did not expect that" Ash admitted to himself. Nate responded, "Let's see if you can respond to this, Duosion, use Psyshock", to which Ash called "Frillish, deflect with Water Pulse, then fire an Ominous Wind" and Frilish's ball of water connected with the ring of Psychic energy, and although the Psyshock wasn't stopped, it was deflected, allowing Frillish to easily avoid it and fired a wind of Spectral energy at Duosion, and while Nate commanded "Duosion, Hidden Power" the Electric orbs failed to reach Frillish, and Duosion took exactly two-thirds of it's Hit Points in damage.
"Duosion, use Psyshock" Nate commanded, while Ash commanded "Frillish, use Ominous Wind" and both the Ring of Psychic energy and the Wind of Spectral Energy shot at each other, and Frillish took Significant damage, while Duosion was KO'ed.
"Duosion is unable to battle, Frillish wins," the referee said, and Frillish cheered, and Ash said "Awesome job Frillish". Nate then withdrew Duosion, and said: "You did well Duosion, now rest well". He then grabbed another ball and called "Stoutland, standby" and Stoutland materialised.
"Stoutland, quick, use Crunch," Nate said, and Stoutland cloaked its fangs in Anti-Positive energy, grew, and crunched Frillish, KO'ing it.
"Frillish no" Ash called as Frillish was hit, and fell back, fainted.
"Frillish is unable to battle, Stoutland wins," the referee said, and both Stoutland and Nate cheered. Ash withdrew Frillish, and said, "You did well Frilish, now take a good long rest". He then looked to Pikachu, and said "You wanna take this one Pikachu?" to which Pikachu nodded and replied "Pika Pikachu"
"Alright, Pikachu, I choose you" Ash called, and Pikachu jumped into the battle.
"Now we'll get to see what Pikachu can do. Now Stoutland, use Take Down" Nate called, but before Stoutland had taken more than a few steps at Pikachu, Ash commanded "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt" and Pikachu unleashed a blast of electricity that KO'ed Stoutland.
"Stoutland is unable to battle, Pikachu wins," the referee said as Nate withdrew Stoutland.
"You did well Stoutland, now rest well," Nate said as he withdrew Stoutland. He knew he had lost, as he said "Dewott, standby" and Dewott materialised.
"If I go down, I might as well try to take Pikachu with me. Dewott, use Aqua Jet" Nate called, while Ash responded "I had a feeling you would Nate. Pikachu, dodge with Quick Attack, then use Thunderbolt" and Dewott cloaked himself in water, and dashed at Pikachu like an arrow, but Pikachu dashed around Dewott and shot a blast of electricity, KO'ing Dewott in one hit.
"Dewott is unable to battle, Pikachu wins. The Victor is Ash from Pallet Town" the referee said and Ash called "Alright Pikachu that was awesome" and Pikachu cheered. Nate withdrew Dewott and said "Sorry about that Dewott, you really didn't stand a chance". He then turned to Ash and said "Damn, you're a tough one. That Pikachu's strong"
"Thanks, Nate, you've got a lot of potential with that team" Ash replied, to which Nate nodded. He then turned around and departed, while Ash and Pikachu did the same.
"Well done Ash, that was a great battle," Hilda said as Ash returned, to which He replied "Thanks Hilda, I believe you're up next"
"That I am" Hilda responded. Ash then added "Actually, can I please talk to you quickly?" to which Hilda replied "Sure". They retreat a short distance, and Ash said "You need to think of a plan to counter Rosa's Swanna. Two of your Pokémon are purely Physical, so it'll be hard to hit Swanna"
"So, use Dewott against Swanna?" Hilda asked, to which Ash responded: "I recommend it". Hilda nodded, and Ash returned to the group, while Hilda headed for the arena.
Meanwhile, Clay returned to the stadium and called "Alright fans, Ash of Pallet Town is through to Round 2. Now for the second battle, we have Rosa or Aspertia City", and Rosa approached the arena, waving to the cheering crowd before Clay continued with "And Hilda of Nuvema Town, the younger sister of the legendary Hilbert", and when Hilda approached the arena, there was a huge cheer, which Hilda also acknowledged with a wave.
"The battle between Hilda of Nuvema Town and Rosa of Aspertia City will now begin. Each side will use three Pokémon, both sides can Substitute Pokémon, and the first one to have all three Pokémon KO'ed loses and is eliminated. Now begin" the referee said, and Rosa responded with "Swanna, let's put on a show" and Swanna materialised. Hilda nodded, then responded "Dewott, let's show them what we can do" and Dewott materialised.
Battle: Dewott, Simisear and Herdier VS Swanna, Pignite and Escavalier
"Swanna, take to the skies and use Air Cutter" Rosa called, and Swanna flew up and shot blades of wind, tinted sky blue, at Dewott.
"Quick Deott, deflect them with your schalops, then use Hidden Power" Hilda commanded, and Dewott managed to deflect the blades of air, then generated orbs of ice that it shot at Swanna, dealing Moderate damage. However, Rosa's command of "Strike that Dewott with another Air Cutter", was quick enough that Dewott wasn't able to deflect this one, and took Considerable damage.
"We have got to knock that Swanna out of the sky. Dewott, use Water Pulse" Hilda called, while Rosa commanded "Quick, stop it with Icy Wind" and while Swanna blew a sparkling cold wind at Dewott's ball of water. However, far from stopping the Water Pulse, the Icy Wind actually froze the ball, and suddenly Swanna took Considerable damage and was knocked to the ground, instead of Minor damage.
"Oops, that didn't work," Rosa said, to which Hilda replied "Well I'll have to note that for the future. Alright, Dewott, end this with Hidden Power", to which Rosa replied "Quick Swanna, dodge it and use Air Cutter" and Dewott generated orbs of ice, and shot them at Swanna, but Swanna managed to take flight and narrowly avoid it, then fired blades of wind, tinted sky blue, at Dewott and dealt a third of Dewott's hit points in damage, just knocking him into Torrent range.
"Keep the Air Cutter up Swanna" Rosa called and Swanna kept the Air Cutters coming, but Hilda and Dewott were ready.
"Alright Dewott, dodge it and end this with Water Pulse" Hilda called, and Dewott generated a ball of water, also covered with a blue aura, and shot it at Swanna. And Swanna was so distracted by firing Air Cutter, that the Water Pulse hit and KO'ed.
"Swanna is unable to battle, Dewott wins," the referee said, and as Rosa withdrew Swanna, she commented, "You did a great job Swanna, now rest well". She then added "That Water Pulse did more than I was expecting"
"My Dewott's holding a Sea Incense to boost the power of Water-type moves" Hilda replied. Rosa nodded, then added "Well, in that case, Escavalier, let's put on a show" and Escavalier materialised.
"Dewott, use Water Pulse" Hilda commanded, while Rosa commanded "Escavalier, use Iron Head" and Dewott shot a ball of water, with a blue aura around it, at Escavalier, while Escavalier cloaked its head in iron-like energy, and charged through the Water Pulse, taking Considerable damage, while the Iron Head KO'ed Dewott.
"Dewott is unable to battle, Escavalier wins," the referee said as Hilda withdrew Dewott.
"You did well Dewott, now take a long rest". She then grabbed another ball, and said "Now Simisear, let's show them what we can do" and Simisear materialised.
"Escavalier, return," Rosa said and Escavalier was withdrawn. She then grabbed another ball, and said "Pignite, let's put on a show" and Pignite materialised.
"Pignite, use Bulldoze" Rosa called, and Pignite shot a light-brown wave at Simisear, but Hilda was ready.
"Simisear, dodge it and use Brick Break" Hilda called, and Simisear leapt above the wave, his hand glowed orange, and it chopped Pignite, dealing Considerable damage.
"Strike back Pignite, a Brick Break of your own" Rosa said, and before Simisear could get back, Pignite's hand glowed Orange and chopped Simisear, dealing Significant damage.
"Now end this Pignite, use Rock Slide" Rosa called, and once again, the light brown shockwave was released.
"Quick, Simisear, dodge use Rock Slide" Hilda called, and once again Simisear avoided the Bulldoze, and brought rocks down on Pignite, dealing Considerable damage and activating Pignite's Blaze ability.
"Pignite, Fire Punch" Hilda called, while Hilda called "Simisear, use Fire Punch" and both Pignite and Simisear cloaked their fists with flames, the former also cloaked in a red aura, and they punched, and KO'ed, each other.
"Simisear and Pignite are both unable to battle, this battle is a draw," the referee said as both Hilda and Rosa withdrew Simisear and Pignite, respectively.
"You did well Pignit, now rest well," Rosa said, while Hilda said "Well done Simisear, now take a long rest"
"Well, we have one Pokémon left each" Rosa said, to which Hilda replied "Yeah, one issue for you. My last Pokémon is at full health, your last Pokémon has taken a fair bit of damage"
"We'll see, I can still win. Escavalier, let's put on a show" Rosa said, then Hilda added "Herdier, let's show them what we can do" and Herdier materialised.
"Herdier, use Retaliate" Hilda commanded, and Herdier charged at Escavalier, cloaked in a powerful white aura, and dealt a quarter of its health in damage.
"Quick, Escavalier, use Iron Head" Rosa commanded, and Escavalier cloaked its head in iron-like energy, and charged, hitting Herdier and dealing Considerable damage.
"Herdier, use Thunder Fang" Hilda commanded, and Herdier cloaked its fangs in electricity, and bit Escavalier, while Rosa commanded "Escavalier, another Iron Head" and, as Herdier bit Escavalier, it was hit by the head cloaked in iron-like energy, where Escavalier took Minor damage, while Herdier took Considerable damage.
"Herdier, quick, Reversal" Hilda called, and Herdier cloaked itself with Orange energy, and charged at Escavalier, striking, and KO'ing.
"Escavalier is unable to battle, Herdier wins. The victor is Hilda of Nuvema Town" the referee said as Rosa withdrew her Escavalier, and said "You did well Escavalier, now rest up", and both Hilda and Herdier cheered.
"You and Ash are so strong, it's incredible. You've certainly learned a lot from him" Rosa said, to which Hidla smiled, and responded "He's been tutoring me since the start of my journey"
"That's awesome" Rosa responded. Hilda and Rosa then headed back.
When Hilda and Rosa return, Ash and Hilda knew what the next battle would be. And so did Clay.
"Alright. Maximus, you get over to the other side first, I'm not letting you and Trip get into a punch-up before your battle even starts" Clay said, and Maximus nodded, then headed for the other side.
"This actually won't be so bad. Either Trip or Maximus is going to lose this battle, and they'll have to go through Hugh or Colress, depending on who wins, to get to me. Maximus may be the only one who would push me" Ash thought to himself as Maximus departed.
"Alright, now Trip, you head for your section," Clay said, and Trip nodded, then headed for his side of the arena.
"Now, I'd better get to the arena, to introduce the third battle," Clay said, and he headed for the arena himself.
And when Clay arrived, he said "The third battle will now begin. This battle will be between two trainers who hate each other. Trip of Accumula Town" and Trip approached, lots of polite applause, then Clay continued "And Maximus of Nacrene City" and Maximus walked to the other side, both shooting a contemptuous glance at each other.
This battle was going to be intense.
Meanwhile in the stands
Two Neo Team Plasma Grunts, both under disguises, are watching from the stands. But they're not watching the battles, they're watching out for Jessie, James and Meowth of Team Rocket.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Arena, Team Rocket, also disguised to the point of covering their hair and changing the style, and Meowth full-oh hiding inside James' coat, are also watching Neo Team Plasma.
"Follow them as best we can when they make their move, remember boss' orders," Jessie said quietly to James, who nods, and responds "They're the two we have to take down"
"Agreed" Jessie added.
Meanwhile, both Neo Team Plasma Grunts are looking around.
"Where are those Rocket Grunts?" one of the Neo Plasma Grunts asked, to which the other Neo Plasma Grunt replied "Are they disguised? If they are, finding them is going to be tough"
"Agreed" the first Neo Plasma Grunt replied.