The Guardian of the Aura Festival
It was two days out from the Arceus Eclipse Phenomenon. As a result, Ash and his Ultimate Alliance of trainers, saw it best to depart from Mount Silver. While the Tree of Beginning was only a couple hours North (by Flying Pokemon) of the Kanto Region, there had been one location along the way that Ash and Co. wanted to visit: The Kingdom of Rota! With Lance scheduling their arrival with Queen Ilene, they were set to have a festival, honoring the Aura Guardians of the Past, Present and Future.
Standing atop Mount Silver, gazing into the horizon, Ash spoke into his Pokegear. "Alrighty then. Thanks for returning my call on such short notice. We're about to take off for Rota any second now, so I hope to see you and everyone else there later tonight," Ash said, before noticing his Charizard lumbering towards him. Giving its trainer a nod, it signified that it, along with the rest of Ash's group, were ready for departure. "Alright, I gotta go. See you at tonight's ball."
"-Safe travels-" The static voice said on the other end. "We'll be there." Switching his Pokegear off, Ash pocketed the device before giving his attention to the fire type starter.
With Charizard now fully healed from his confrontation with Giovanni, Ash climbed aboard his back as it snorted flames from its nostrils. Sinking lower to the ground, Ash's Charizard stretched out its wings before pushing off the mountain and high into the atmosphere. Soaring above the clouds, Ash rode in a northwards direction. Soon, appearing in the sky next to him was May on the back of her newly caught Altaria. Catching up, and the couple in a race was Alex Peters (current Champion of Galar) on the back of his Dragapult. Close behind was Alexa on the back of her Swellow, rocketing forwards with immense speed. Next was Paul, catching a ride on his own Gliscor, followed by Dawn on the back of her Togekiss. Following the first six trainers were a chain of four Charizards (with one being Shiny); with the owners atop their backs being Delia, Blue, Ritchie and Ross. Trailing behind were Harrison on the back of his Pidgeot, Gary, being levitated in a Psychic bubble by his floating Alakazam and Lance on the back of his Dragonite. Taking up the rear, seated atop the head of Professor Oak's Dragonite, was Pikachu. Once a former partner of Ash, it was now prepared to aid Ash in saving the world once more. Together, this band of trainers, friends, family, and strangers to some were all prepared to have some fun days before what could possibly be the end times.
After about an hour of flight in the clouds, the group arrived at the Kingdom of Rota with a warm welcome. Touching down inside the arena known as Cameran Stadium (easy to identify due to all the celebratory balloons), the party of trainers were met with cheers from the audience that filled in the seats of the stadium. Forming a circle, the "Ultimate Alliance of Trainers" (as Alexa dubbed them) smiled wide, waving to the crowd surrounding them. High above the dirt stadium floor, in a balcony within the arena stood the Queen of Rota, Lady Ilene. The ruler of the kingdom, clad in a pink dress, was a descendant of Lady Rin, the Majesty whom Sir Aaron and his Lucario served many ages ago. The audience cheered as the Queen (with a Mr. Mime of her own at her side) stepped forwards to address her people.
"Citizens and Travellers to the Kingdom of Rota! It is on this day that we welcome The Aura Guardians to our fine kingdom!" The crowd cheered as Ash, Alex, Alexa and Blue all raised their hands giving a wave. "It would be fate that had brought Ash and Lucario back to our land on this day. While Team Rocket may have risen to power once more, these brave heroes before us are here to do all in their might to bring an era of light in these times of darkness! Like Sir Aaron before them, these Guardians and their Allies shall prevail over evil, and triumph over this oncoming threat to both People and Pokemon!" The audience erupted into a large cheer, while the group in the center plastered somewhat fake smiles upon their faces. In the coming days, they were to fight against a force that far outmatched them… but in order to bring hope to the people that needed their protection, they needed to exude the confidence of a clan that could defeat this unstoppable force. "Rest easy trainers, and enjoy your day in the Kingdom of Rota! For tonight we shall hold our annual ball in honor of the Guardians' Festival! Now, I shall let our Champion of the Kanto Region take the stage, and announce the format for this year's Guardian of the Aura Tournament!"
The Master of Dragons soon stepped forwards, standing next to the four Aura Guardians. An attendee on the battlefield approached Lance with a microphone, which he took in order to address the people in attendance. "People of Rota! While dark times are about to fall upon the world, I ask you to have hope! The people that my good friend Ash has assembled have your best interests at heart, and together we will all do our part to ensure your safety! But for now, we are to celebrate! I am happy to announce that I have been selected as the Special Referee for this year's Guardian of the Aura Tournament!" The mention of a tourney caused Ash, Alexa, Alex and Blue's heads to all perk up, as they stood next to the Champion. "However this year, the brackets are gonna be a little different! It's not every day that we have four Aura Guardians present, so I believe this calls for an Aura Guardian Battle Royal!" The audience erupted into a loud cheer, as this year's tournament would involve a type of battle from the Alola Region. The four Aura Guardian's all shared a glance at each other, before giving a nod to the Champion of Kanto.