"Now, Aggron, THUNDER ATTACK!"

"That one's not gonna work. Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

It was an intense battle. The fate of Hoenn was on the line. It was Ash vs. Champion Steven. "Piiiiiikkkkaaaaachuuuu!" Pikachu slammed into Aggron, and the battle was over. Ash had won the Hoenn league! "Hooray Ash!" yelled May, Max, and Brock, who were spectating. "Well, Ash, I suppose we better be heading back to Pallet town then?" asked Brock. "Yeah, I guess so," replied Ash. Ash said his goodbyes to May and Max, and headed to Pallet Town.

Ash was on Route 1. He was almost home, until a man stood before him. "Ash Ketchum, am I right?" Ash gasped and started to run, but the mysterious man kept blocking him. "My name is Drew Nomékop, which is Pokemon spelled backwards, in case you don't know. I'd like to introduce you to a little card game. It's a Pokemon card game. Let me explain the rules." Ash, interested in this card game, said OK. So, Drew explained the game. "Now that you know how to play, let me introduce you to the Jouenn region! Where card games are all that comes on!" Ash said OK, and they set off for a magical new region. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ash Ketchum, you fell right into my trap! You're now in the Jouenn Virtual World, where the only way to escape is to beat the gym leaders!"

Ash was confused, so Drew explained what was going on. "You're in the Jouenn Virtual World, and there's no way to escape. Well, actually, there is one way, but you have to defeat the gym leaders of Jouenn and the elite 4. No, you won't be playing Pokemon battles, you'll be playing my card game. First, I want to see your skill, Ash Ketchum. Put together a deck and I'll show you you're first opponent." Ash put together a deck. It included Totodile, Pikachu, and some other Pokemon he had previously caught.

"Now, are you ready Ash? We'll have a battle between friends! MAY IS YOUR NEXT OPPONENT!"

The field was set. It was going to be Ash vs. May. How could Ash battle against his friend? He would have to, if he wanted to get out of the Jouenn league. So, the battle begun.

(NOTE: If a sentence starts with an exclamation point, it means the card reader is talking. The card reader will exlpain each card battle.)

!Select your deck master.

!Player 1, select.

Player 1 was obviously May. She chose Torchic.

!Player 1 has selected Torchic.

!Player 2, select your deck master.

!Player 2 has selected Chikorita.

!Let the battle begin.

"This should be interesting! A battle between friends!" Drew looked pleased with himself. It was Ash vs. May, Torchic vs. Chikorita. Who will win this first card battle? Find out in the next chapter.