Next morning, Ash stretched himself in the room before going to the room's porch. He felt the sunlight and gazed up to the sky, a proud grin working its way onto his face. Pikachu hopped up to the railing and joined his trainer.
"This is it, buddy. The first day of the Indigo League," the Pallet Town native responded before glance towards the Mouse Pokémon, "You ready?"
"Pika!"
Ash's grin grew, "Then let's get started."
After getting breakfast, Ash, Misty, and Brock headed to the registry area. A receptionist was there to greet them, "Welcome. I assume you are here for your preliminary round match?"
"The only thing I'm here for is your hand in marriage, oh beautiful woman!" Brock interrupted, doing his usual 'lady magnet' antic.
"And the only thing you'll get is a restraint!" Misty said before pulling him away by the ear, much to the 'ladies' man's' dismay.
"Yes," Ash responded before receptionist shook off her stupor and continued, "Great. I will need to see your Pokédex." Ash gave her his device and she scanned it.
"Alright, you are all set."
"Thank you."
"Now the wheel will determine what terrain you will be battling on," the receptionist informed.
Ash nodded along. He had partially read up on the some of the rules and battling of the Indigo League. He remembers that the first four preliminary rounds are all three on three and can take place on one of four terrains: water, rock, grass, or ice.
The receptionist booted up a virtual wheel depicting each of the four terrains. It began to spin around for a while before slowing down and ended up on the water field.
"The Water Field," Misty commented, "Nice."
"And now the computer will pick your opponent." And Ash's image appeared next to his opponent: a man with long teal hair, pink crop shirt and yellow scarf around his neck.
"His name is Mandi. You are the third match of the day on the Water Field which is Stadium B. Be there by 1 PM. Good luck!"
"Thank you," Ash said and he and his friends left.
"So which Pokémon are you going to use?" Misty asked.
"I already got it planned out," Ash reassured.
"Really?" Brock asked, holding his ear in pain from the early.
"Yep," Ash reaffirmed.
Both of his friends shared a glance but then they shrugged it off. They were really in for a treat to see what Ash had in store.
"Gary, Gary! He's our man!" the sound of cheerleaders cheering for the infamous grandson of Professor Oak could be heard as they approached Ash, Misty, and Brock.
"Oh brother," Misty muttered.
"Not good..." Brock followed. Both of them knew and have witnessed Ash's rivalry with Gary. They hoped it won't get nasty as it usually did.
"Hey Ashy-Boy!" Gary chortled before being his boastful self, "I see you made it! Great news for me, since I will be the one to beat you!"
"Whatever, Gare-Bear," Ash smirked at the use of his rival's old pet name, "Where are you battling first?"
"The Ice Field first," Gary informed before mocking him, "And Ash, do try to win at least one of your rounds to make Pallet Town look its best."
"You just worry about yourself," Ash retorted before walking past him, slightly shocking Gary, Misty, and Brock. The latter two had never seen Ash so calmly response to Gary's claim before and Gary just ignored him, thinking Ketchum was just trying to get under his skin. The boastful Oak headed towards his designated stadium while Brock and Misty caught up with Ash.
"Wow, Ash. I've never seen you handle Gary like that," Misty brought up.
"Yeah, what was up with that?" Brock questioned.
"Well, on my time on New Island, I began to mature myself. I learned to not take whatever other trainers say about me to get in my skin," Ash explained, "Besides, Gary is no where near my level anymore." Both of his friends nodded.
"Well, if it isn't my round one opponent," the voice of Mandi said, acknowledging his presence.
"So you must be Mandi," Ash said before going for a handshake, "Pleasure to meet you."
Mandi scoffed at the gesture, "The 'Astounding' Mandi does not shake hands with his opponent. These hands are for Pokeballs."
"Whatever," Ash said, putting his hand down.
"Any reason you are talking to him right now?" Misty asked to which Mandi had a smirk on his face.
"Why of course! I was wondering who I would get the pleasure of beating in my preliminary round," the magician like trainer arrogantly stated, "Tata for now!" The trainer left and Ash just couldn't help to roll his eyes.
"He's just arrogant. There seem to be a lot of trainers like that here," Ash noted before going to see Professor Oak.
Ash made his way over to the P.C. and called up Professor Oak, getting his selected Pokémon. He kept quiet as he wanted to surprise his friends on his teammates. After getting his Pokémon, Oak recalled something. "Oh and Ash, I wanted to show you something." He turned to camera and revealed the citizens of Pallet Town with signs, saying various encouragements for Ash and Gary. Ash couldn't help but smile at that. The people of Pallet Town had his back, just like when he first got his starter.
But now, he had a battle to win.
Across Indigo Plateau, many trainers were battling for their ranking in the league.
Gary called out for his command on the Ice Field, "Arcanine, Extreme Speed!"
The Legendary Pokémon blitzed forward like a blur and rammed through his opponent's Raticate, which was taken out from the battle.
"Raticate is unable to battle, Arcanine is the winner! Therefore Gary is the winner!"
"And just like that, the one and only grandson of Professor Oak, Gary, had flawless beaten his opponent!" the announcer said.
Gary flicked his hair in a cocky manner while smiling just as his cheerleading squad did their usual cheer, "Gary! Gary! He's our man!" With that they took their leave and got stopped by a few reporters.
"Gary Oak! Gary Oak!" one reporter called with a cameraman behind her, "How do you feel about your first win?"
Gary smirked and spoke with his cocky tone, "Well of course, I feel great. Winning a battle just comes naturally to me. After all, I won ten badges, which makes me more than sure to win the Indigo League this year. Every battle has a winner and a loser. And I know real losers when I see them."
The grandson of Oak directed that last part to his rival, hoping that would irritate and get under his skin.
Said rival was currently at a nearby cafe and watched his battle. And Ash couldn't help but smirk, thinking his rival was going to win if they ever battled.
"I can't believe that guy!" Misty huffed and Brock nodded along.
Ash checked a nearby clock and saw it was almost time for his match. "Well, almost time for my first match." Without further ado, he got up and made his way to the stadium with Pikachu in toll.
"Good luck!" His friends shouted, "We'll be watching in the stands."
On in the Water Field, the battle was reaching the end of the current match.
"Seaking, go for Megahorn!" the green trainer said. Their Goldfish Pokémon took advantage of the terrain and rushed his opponent with a lime green coated horn. It pierced the red trainer's Hypno, dealing super effective damage. The Hypnosis Pokémon faltered before falling defeated.
Ash watched the battle from the TV screen in the locker room of his side. He gazed at his three Pokeballs of his team to beat Mandi.
"Ash Ketchum, please report to the field," the intercom said.
Ash took a deep breath, collecting himself, and rose. "Ready buddy?"
His starter nodded and gave an affirmative, "Pika!"
And the two walked into the stadium, ready to prove themselves.
"Welcome to the Water Field, trainers! On our left, we have Ash Ketchum, a young boy from Pallet Town! And on the right, we have the one and only Astonishing Mandi!" the announcer said.
Ash walked on to the field with a confident expression on his face. When Mandi entered the stadium, mutliple Pidgeys appeared and flew away, making his entrance flashing.
The referee began, "This is a three on three battle between these two trainers. The match is over when one side has lost all of their Pokémon and is unable to battle. Trainers chose your first Pokémon."
Mandi gave a cocky smirk before flaunting his hair, "Go, Golbat!" The blue bat with a huge mouth flew above the watery terrain, chattering as he did.
Ash took this time to chose his Pokémon, "Come on out, Vaporeon." He chose his Bubble Jet Pokémon, who cried ready for battle. "Vay!"
"Battle begin!" the referee delcared.
"Golbat, start the match off with Mega Drain!" Mandi said, ready for an easy win.
"Into the water," was all Ash commanded. His Water type dove into the water, just as Golbat went to snag him. The Bat Pokémon began to flutter frantically trying to spot the Eevelution.
"Hey, what's going on?" Mandi questioned.
"You'll see," Ash said before taking action, "Icy Wind."
From the pool, a chilly breeze was fired and struck the Poison/Flying type.
"Golbat!" Mandi cried.
"Now, Ice Beam," Ash said.
From another position, a trio of icy energy arcs struck again.
"What is going on?!" Mandi said, losing his cool.
"Simple," Ketchum started before folding his arms, "Vaporeon are known for having molecules similar to water. So since I had Vaporeon dive into the pool, he is untraceable."
Mandi grit his teeth before catching himself, "Air Slash! Hit from the last position!" The Bat Pokémon fired air crescent blades from the last attack, only to hit water.
Ash called for his next command, "Hydro Pump."
A gushing torrent struck Golbat, this time in his mouth, causing the bat to spit out any excess water. "Follow up with Waterfall." The Bubble Jet Pokémon finally revealed himself while riding a stream of water from the pool. The Waterfall hit Golbat before Vaporeon began free falling back down.
"Aqua Tail," Ash said, knowing the battle is over.
The Water type Eevelution flipped in mid-air, his tail gaining a spiral of water and slammed the Poison/Flying type onto a platform. When Vaporeon landed, the referee made the call.
"Golbat is unable to battle. Vaporeon is the winner!"
"And would you look at that! Ash managed to win the first match of the battle using Vaporeon's abilities to the best!" the announcer stated, impressively.
Mandi growled, "He's just lucky," before regaining his demeanor and sent out his next Pokémon, "Go, Seadra!"
Out came the seahorse Dragon Pokémon, "Dra!"
"Return," Ash recalled his Pokémon.
"What's this?" Mandi mockingly said, "Afraid of my dashing Seadra?"
"Nope," Ash said before smirking himself, "Just showing you up," before throwing out his own Seadra.
"Well, look here folks! Looks like we are having a mirror match between two Water types!" the announcer said, shocked by the development.
"So you have a Seadra too, big whoop," Mandi stated, "We'll show you who's better! Seadra, use Bubble Beam!" His Dragon Pokémon fired a cascade of bubbles towards Ash's.
"Dodge it." Ash's immediately avoided it before swimming straight towards him. "Dragon Dance to Dragon Breath." Ash's glowed with a faint red aura before expelling bluish draconic flames towards Mandi's.
"Seadra, dodge it!" Mandi's cried, worryingly. His immediately dove underwater, avoided the Dragon type move, before resurfacing.
"Dragon Pulse," Ash commanded. His Dragon Pokémon fired a multicolored beam that took the form of a dragon and struck Mandi's. When the smoke cleared, Mandi's was barely floating, bruises all over his scales.
"Impressive. Blizzard." Ash's expelled a chilling sensation of wind that struck Mandi's, taking him out of the fight.
"Mandi's Seadra is unable to battle, Ash's Seadra is the winner!"
"And just like that, Ash has taken down two of the Astonishing Mandi's Pokémon without breaking a sweat!" the announcer informed.
Mandi began to fume at this. This rookie had beaten two of his own Pokémon and his haven't even taken damage yet. What is with this guy?
"Like all performers, save the best for last. Go Exeggutor!" Mandi said, sending out his last Pokémon. The ball's inhabitant revealed the Grass/Psychic Coconut tree like Pokémon.
"Exe..."
"Seadra, return," Ash said before taking out his last Pokémon of the match. "Come on out, my friend."
"Kookie!"
In the stands, Misty and Brock were shocked to see who was in the Pokeball.
"Is that..." Misty started.
"I think it is. Although, this will be interesting to see," Brock said.
"Yeah. He never really used him before," Misty commented.
Back on the Water Field, Mandi found Ash's last Pokémon to be a laugh.
"Please," the 'magician' said, "That overgrown crab doesn't stand a chance against my Exeggutor! Start with Razor Leaf!" The Coconut Pokémon swung his head and fired sharp leaves from their leaves.
Ash made no commands against either dodging or attacking as the leaves struck the Pincer Pokémon.
"Ha!" Mandi began to laugh boastfully, "Better consider to switching to your other Pokémon now!" But his laughing came to a stop when he saw that Kingler merely shook of all the Razor Leaf.
"Kingler, into the water." The crab Pokémon dove into the water before swimming towards his opponent.
"Use Psychic and create a whirlpool!" Mandi shouted as the Grass/Psychic type eyes' took a blue glow and made a current that would hopefully get the Pincer Pokémon.
"Power through it." Kingler powered the current, breaking out of it before resuming the charge.
"Egg Bomb!" Mandi shouted. The palm tree Pokémon's faces fired off multiple egg like projectiles into the pool, intent on striking the crab down.
Ash folded his arms, the match was already his, "Hidden Power." Kingler raised his huge pincer before firing green orbs to cancel out the Egg Bomb. Upon getting closer, Exeggutor began to grow scared of his opponent.
"X-Scissor," Ash finished. His Pincer Pokémon leaped out of the water, before his pincers gained a crimson aura, crossed them in an "X" fashion, and slashed the Coconut Pokémon knocking him out of the fight.
"Exeggutor is unable to battle, Kingler is the winner! Therefore, Ash is the winner!" the referee stated.
"Well, look at this! Ash Ketchum has won his first match flawless with his Pokémon at his side!"
Kingler scurried over to his trainer, who gave him praise. "Amazing job out there, Kingler." Ketchum patted his carapace and Kingler clicked with joy.
"How did you know Vaporeon do that?!"
"How did you get Seadra to fire off such powerful moves with that accuracy?!"
"When did Kingler evolve?! And how did it resistant that Razor Leaf?!"
Since the conclusion of his match, Ash was being hammered with questions from his friends, Pikachu just sweatdropped at this and continued to lick ketchup as they were the same cafe from earlier.
"Calm down guys," Ash placated before starting with the first question, "The Pokédex informed me and I saw it for myself when we were training in the pool. The island has training equipment for all of my Pokémon from range to physical contact. I'm not sure specifically when he evolved, but it might have been around the fourth or fifth week of training. After learning that Kingler wasn't as mobile as Krabby, I taught him to tank hits instead, plus I trained his defense to be the best."
Ash continued to answer the questions to the best of his ability, mostly about his Pokémon but he wanted to keep them in suspense, much to their chagrin but they obliged.
"Although, I have to say your Pokémon looked mesmerizing~" Misty commented with her love of Water types.
"Of course, you would say that," Brock joked.
Ash just shook his head in amusement. Today had been a great day for him. Ash's training had paid off and he couldn't be prouder of Vaporeon, Seadra, and Kingler's work for today. And the Pallet Town native couldn't wait to show his stuff for the rest of the league.