Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 26: A place where legends are built.
The Indigo Plateau was the most prestigious place on the Pokemon world bar none. You could ask any trainer across the world and they would agree.
Right now I was standing inside said stadium, getting ready for the draws. Mr Goodshow was giving the customary speech.
"You nervous kid?" A man who looked like he was in his forties asked me.
"Of course. It's the first time I came here after all." I replied. Was I nervous? Of course not.
"Don't worry too much kid, stock to your gameplan and you'll be alright. " The man said.
"Thanks Mr?"
"Adam."
"Thanks Mr Adam. My name's Ash."
The proceedings for the preliminary round went smoothly this time around since team rocket wasn't around to cause trouble. My draw ended up being the exact same from the last time, against the trainer named Mandy who was as obnoxious as I remembered him to be.
"So your first battle is in the water field huh? I suppose you'll be using Blastoise and Gyarados eh." Brock who was with me asked.
"I don't think I'll need three Pokemon to be honest but it never hurts to be prepared. I'm planning on taking Venusaur as a backup."
"What about Charizard? Doesn't he want to have a go?"
"I'm planning on keeping him and Dragonite as a secret weapon until the round of 32." I replied.
" Well, don't be too cocky. That's all I'm saying".
" Don't worry Brock, I'm more than ready for this. "
Our battle was scheduled to be held at 3 PM. Since Mandy was a huge favourite to win the whole thing, the crowd attendance was pretty high. I could hear a few fan girls yelling how cool Mandy was.
Of course my opponent had try and look cool.
"Too bad for you kid. You are unlucky to have met the great Mandy for your first battle. I'll give you a taste of how unfair the Pokemon league can be." He taunted and of course, the fan girls swooned.
"Sure." I gave a dry reply.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the water field. We have already seen some of the veterans take the field by storm, it's now time to pit experience against potential. " The announcer spoke through the mike.
" This is going to be a 3 vs 3 fight and the trainers aren't allowed to withdraw their Pokemon before they faint. Whoever loses all three of their Pokémon first will be the loser." The rules were announced.
"Without further delay, let us welcome the contestants. In the Red corner, we have the Fabulous Mandy. Mandy is one of the ten seeded players in the tournament and is a favourite to win the whole thing." The announcer introduced my opponent who showed a few tricks with his roses before bowing gracefully to the crowd which was louder than usual.
"In the Blue corner we have one of the promising rookies of this year, a protege of the great Professor Oak, Ash Ketchum. Ash is one of the two youngest contestants to qualify this year and we have heard great things about him from all the gym leaders. " While my reception was comparatively silent, no one was tasteless enough to boo me or anything.
" Go Ashy! " Mom had a front row seat and was holding a banner that read 'Ashy's the best. ' Professor Oak was sitting beside her and he gave a thumbs up while Brock was sitting in my corner. I didn't care much about anyone else.
"Let the battle commence." The referee announced.
" Blastoise, I choose you. "
" Exeggutor, get ready for battle. "
Both Pokemon were released and stood across each other on the raised platforms.
" Oh? Looks like Trainer Mandy has started out with his ace while Trainer Ash has fielded a water Pokemon. Looks like Trainer Mandy has an advantage here but that Blastoise looks strong. "
" Blastoise, take to the water. "
" Exeggutor, use Egg Bomb."
The multi faced Pokemon used it's signature move which was too slow as Blastoise was already inside the pool.
"Would you look at that, that Blastoise is really fast for it's size."
" Rookie mistake kid. Exeggutor, use Psychic on the pool as we practiced. " The Egg Pokemon started gathering it's Psychic energy which was channelled into the pool until it became a giant whirlpool.
" What are you going to do now kid? " He taunted.
" Oh, looks like Trainer Ash might be in a pinch here."
" Blastoise, use Ice Beam. " While I was feeling nostalgic about the Krabby from my first life, it was time to act.
"Are you an idiot? That Blastoise is definitely not able to hear you."
However, to Mandy's and Exeggutor's utter mortification, Blastoise rose to the surface of the spiralling whirlpool calmly before he went close to the completely defenseless Exeggutor and fired of a point blank Ice Beam. The super effective attack was more than enough to knock Exeggutor out clean.
"Exeggutor is unable to battle. Red corner, please send out your next Pokemon." The referee announced.
"Unbelievable! Mandy's Exeggutor, famed for it's unbelievable endurance was knocked out in one hit. This is undeniably the biggest upset this year yet Blastoise doesn't even look winded. What kind of training has it gone through?!" The announcer was getting into the heat of things while the crowd was stunned silent. Mom was cheering, Professor Oak was clapping and Brock was smirking in the corner. All was right in the world.
"Exeggutor return. I'm sorry buddy. I failed you. " Mandy said. " Crobat, I'm counting on you. "
The purple bat Pokémon which was different from the Golbat I remembered hovered over the battlefield, flapping it's four wings proudly.
"Nice. Mandy has sent out his Crobat which is a newly discovered evolution of Golbat discovered by none other than Professor Elm. It's blazing fast and should give Blastoise a run for it's money."
"Crobat, use Toxic."
"Blastoise into the water, once more. "
Toxic was a move that rarely missed and I didn't want to put Blastoise on a timer. He dived into the pool once again and disappeared completely from sight.
"Blastoise, try to hit it with Ice Beam."
For a Pokemon as large as him, Blastoise was deceptively stealthy in the water. Although his Ice Beams were lightning quick, Crobat was far quicker, dodging the attack at the last second.
This game of cat and mouse continued for a while and the crowd was starting to get bored. I didn't want to drag it too much either so I gave my next order.
"Blastoise, Rapid spin into Ice Beam, now!"
The giant tortoise blasted out of the water, rotating unbelievably fast. Before Mandy could issue an order, he started glowing blue and a spiral of ice started spreading out in all directions with Blastoise in the centre. Crobat was quick enough to dodge the first two or three waves but soon he got hit with a stray attack that froze his wings and landed him on the pool which had already frozen over.
"Well folks, it just got a little cold in here." The announcer joked.
"Crobat, try to break out buddy." Mandy called out to his Pokémon who was yet to be knocked out. Deciding against prolonging his suffering, I ordered.
"Blastoise, finish this with a Hydropump." Jets of water shot out from the Tortoise Pokemon's cannons that hit the fallen bat square in the face. He was launched out and crashed into a pillar and was promptly knocked out.
"Crobat is unable to battle. Red Corner sent out your next Pokemon." The referee announced.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are quite possibly witnessing the biggest upset in the history of the Indigo Plateau. Trainer Mandy who was favoured to win this match 3-0 is currently on the verge of getting swept himself. Will his final Pokemon be able to save it's trainer from the biggest humiliation a professional trainer can face? "
By now, the atmosphere in the stadium was deathly quiet. Mom was cheering nonetheless but almost everyone else was silent. I might of have underestimated Mandy's popularity given the reaction that the crowd was showing but in my eyes he was laughably weak.
" Crobat return. Seadra, I choose you. " Mandy had lost his flair by now. He was almost as quiet as the crowd by now.
"I will not go down without a fight." Mandy announced. " Seadra, use Hydropump yourself. "
"Uh? Blastoise?" While I was not planning on humiliating anyone, Blastoise just stood there and took the attack head on. He didn't even move an inch backwards or show any sort of discomfort.
"Let's just finish this with Earthquake buddy." I ordered. The ground shook and the ice over it started to crack. The Seadra which was ready struggling to find it's footings fell down hard and was soon out.
"Seadra is unable to battle. Red corner is out of Pokemon. The winner of this match is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." The referee announced once again.
clap*
I don't know who started it but soon the stadium was filled with thundering claps. Even the previously loud fangirls were clapping their hands.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, give your hands for Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town who will go down in history. And congratulations to trainer Mandy for his great showing. " The announcer spoke.
" Yeah! Good fight Mandy, you'll get it next time! "
" Congratulations kid! You're going to be a big name in the future. "
" Good fight Mandy. "
The crowd poured in their support and I would be lying if I said I wasn't moved.
" You know what kid, good game. Next time I'll be the one coming out on top. " My opponent, who had come near me said while stretching his hands out.
" I'll be waiting for you." I said while taking the outstretched hand. The crowd once again cheered the show of good sportsmanship and so my first Pokemon League fight of my second Life came to a beautiful end.
"That was fantastic Ash." Brock, who was the first to reach me said while giving me a hug. "One could have mistaken you for a veteran with how well you handled it." He joked.
"Thanks buddy. Let's go meet Mom and Professor Oak." So we went out of the stadium and was greeted by my mom who was beyond ecstatic. After she calmed down, we went ahead and had lunch before splitting up. Mom was staying in a separate hotel while the Professor, Brock and I had separate arrangements.
Since there wasn't anything else to do until evening, I decided to walk around.
The Indigo Pokemon League was undeniably the oldest of all the Pokemon leagues held across the world. So it was somewhat of a tourist spectacle as well. People from as far away as Kalos were coming to see the place where it all started and you could see that from the wide variety of people walking around.
"Did you see the fight in the ice field? I heard that one of the trainers there had a really strong Gyarados." One of the passer-by said.
"Man! Did you see how good that Ritchie kid was? I bet no one would believe he was eleven if you didn't see him personally. That Pikachu of his is a beast I'm telling you."
"The water field had a better kid though. He sweeped the entire team of one of the favourites to win the whole thing with a Blastoise."
"You mean that Mandy guy lost?! I never would have guessed."
"Yeah and from what I heard, it was not even a close competition."
I could hear hushed noises from the crowd all around me. It seemed that the results of my match had already started to spread. Not like I was worried about anything, the chance of someone identifying me in this crowd was slim to none.
"You're Ash Ketchum right? Could I get an autograph?" I stand corrected. Someone did recognise me and once I took a close look, it was someone I recognised as well.
Casey was an old friend in my first life, someone who I had kept in touch before I went of the grid. The energetic young girl was admittedly not very gifted in the art of Pokemon battling but her sheer determination more than made up for it. She had served as one of Johto's Elite Four for more than two decades and had retired by the time I was crowned the World Champion.
Right now she had her favourite Yellow and Black striped jersey on and was much shorter than I remembered her to be. She should nine, almost ten by now.
"Thanks. I didn't think anyone would recognise me." I said as I wrote my signature on a piece of paper that she had brought with her. While I had rarely given autographs in my previous life, I was nonetheless well versed in the art.
"You were really cool. The way Blastoise just crushed his opponents was awesome." She said.
"Thanks. You want to be a Pokémon trainer?"
"Yep. I wanna have a team of Yellow and Black Pokemon so that I can match with my favourite Team Electabuzz." She was chattering happily.
" Good for you then. You will succeed as long as you work hard."
" You're not going to make fun of me for liking Team Electabuzz?"
" Definitely not. I don't have the right to criticize what you like or don't like. The fact that you are sticking with them despite their current performance shows that you are a loyal fan." That came from my heart. I was long past wanting to stick to such childish arguments.
" Thank you, thank you." The excitable girl jumped up and while shaking my hands. " I'll cheer for you." She said before running back to her parents who were looking at us.
Well, that went far better than the last time.
"You called Professor?" It was nearing night now. I had already taken a bath and ate dinner arranged for the trainers left. I was currently standing in the luxury suite that the league had provided Professor Oak with and we were not alone in the room.
Opposite Professor Oak sat a man who I recognised at first glance but feigned ignorance about doing so since I shouldn't have met him in this time period. Professor Birch was a tall, fair man with dark hair and a beard. His face was somewhat squarish and he was fairly well built.
"Oh Ash. Come in my boy. Let me introduce you to Professor Birch. He is the regional Professor tasked with handing out starter Pokemon in the Hoenn region." Professor Oak introduced.
"Nice to meet you." I gave a slight bow.
"The pleasure is all mine. Professor Oak has spoken highly of your prowess and after watching the match today, I am inclined to agree. "
" Thank you. "
" Anyways, now that the formalities are done with, take a seat my boy. Do you know why we called you here? "
" Does it have something to do with the Aggron I caught the other day? "
" I knew you were quick to pick up things. Yes, that's exactly it. " Professor Oak praised. " I was monitoring them and sending the data I collected to Birch here who said that he discovered something extraordinary. "
" I'll continue from here. Could you tell me where you caught thise Pokemon from? " Professor Birch asked excitedly.
" Uh, in the mines North of Little Town. Why? What's the matter?"
"It isn't anything you need to worry about but those Aggron you caught are simply put extraordinary. I ran checks on the data Professor Oak sent me and the results show that they are far stronger than any other recorded members of their species. I was simply wondering if there was anything in the mines that helped in this."
"Well Professor, I don't know. But the man who asked me to capture them did tell me that they had consumed a lot of ores in the mine before I reached there. May e you'll find some clues there." While I had a rough idea of what Professor Birch was talking about, I couldn't just straight up say that.
"Well, thanks for the information anyways." He said.
"Well my boy, you should go and rest now. You have your second match tomorrow right? Good luck." Professor Oak said.
"Thanks Professor. And it was nice meeting you Professor Birch. I am planning on visiting Hoenn in the future so I hope I can trouble you then."
" Of course. Hoenn always welcomes promising young trainers like yourself. Until we meet again then. "
And so I bid farewell to the Professors and went back to the dorm. As far as days go, today was a successful one.
That's it. Can someone tell me how the fight went? I did put some effort to not make it look like a one sided beatdown.
Anyways, as for the poll, it's a mixed bag of results. Fir one I have 17 different Pokémon as options but only one of them, Ursaring have two votes. The others have only one vote each.
So right now Ursaring is leading. Remember you can vote twice and both will count. 4 more chapters until the poll close.
Also, in case you don't know who Casey is, she's a girl who Ash kind of nuked with Charizard when she was starting out.
That's about it so I'll see you soon, hopefully.
PS. With all the things going on right now in the world, I sincerely hope that all of you guys are safe.