DISCLAIMER: Don't own Pokemon, do own this story.
This is a kind of 'inbetween the rounds' chapter. Previously, Ash won his first round battle against Tai Kitano from Yokohama, progressing through to the second round of the tournament.
Chapter 4: Exploring the Village
Two days on from his victory, Ash and Misty were watching Thomas, their next-door neighbour, take on Amy, a female competitor from Manchester in the UK. He was currently 1-0 up. Brock came in. 'After the game, wanna go explore the village?' he asked. 'Yeah cool!' said Ash. 'We haven't been around here much have we so yeah, that would be great!' said Misty. Brock sat down and watched the rest of the match with them. Thomas went on to win 3-0 and came back to his lodge. Ash went over to congratulate him. 'Well done. I saw the match on TV.' said Ash. 'I know, I'm surprised I won.' 'Hey, wanna come over for dinner later?' asked Ash. ''That would be great' said Thomas.
Ash, Misty and Brock went off to explore the village. There was everything that a Pokemon World Cup contestant would need here including shops, cafes, a training room for Pokemon, a park for relaxation, and a Pokemon centre for injured ones. Ash spotted a videophone next to the entrance for the public toilets. 'I'm gonna phone Professor Oak and see how he's doing.' said Ash. He went over, put some money in the machine and dialed the number. In his laboratory, Professor Oak answered the phone. 'Hello?' said Professor Oak. 'Hi, it's me, Ash' said Ash back in the village. 'How are you?'. 'Ash! Great to hear from you. Did you hear about Gary's victory this morning?' 'Oh no! He didn't fall at the first hurdle after all!' Ash said in dissapointment. Gary Oak, the Professor's grandson, also came from Pallet and was Ash's arch-rival. 'How's life down there?' said the Professor. 'It's brill. We're living next door to a guy named Thomas from New York.' 'Aah...Thomas. I've heard he's great at Pokemon battles.' said Oak. 'Yeah, this morning he beat his opponent 3-0. Oh I gotta go, my money's running out. Bye!.' said Ash. 'Goodb-' said Professor Oak. The line was then cut off.
'Let's head over to the park. The Pokemon probably need some time out.' suggested Misty. 'Good idea!' agreed Ash. 'I need to go and get some grub for tonight' said Brock. 'Don't forget we've invited Tom over.' 'Oh yeah!' said Ash.
That evening, Tom came over for dinner. 'Hmm...I wonder if we'll meet each other in battle during this tournament?' he said after they had finished. 'I dunno' said Ash. The final first round match of the day had just ended on the TV. Tom was thinking about the match. Hmm...I'll have to get some serious training in if I have to battle against her... he thought. 'Hey, Tom?' said Ash. 'Fancy a practice match down at the training centre tomorrow morning?' 'Yeah, that'll be cool. 11am sound alright?' asked Tom. 'Alright, see you then.' said Ash.
The next morning, Ash and Thomas walked down to the training centre. When they got there, they went to the battle area. A man went up to them. 'Hello, you want to have a practice battle?' Surprised, Ash said, 'Yes.' 'OK, then I'll be your ref' replied the man. 'Pokemon out!' said the man when they got to their places. Ash chose a Squirtle and Thomas chose his Sandshrew. 'Battle!' said the ref.
The battle was intense. 'It looks as if you both needed that' said the ref as the battle (won by Sandshrew) ended. 'Yeah, we'll be ready for the second round draw in a few days!' 'OK then,' said the ref, 'I'll see you then'. 'Goodbye' said Ash and Thomas as they left the training centre to return back to their lodges.
There you go. New feature that I'll try to put up atthe end of each story:
NEXT TIME ON THE POKEMON WORLD CUP:
Ash playshis second round match, but will he win and progress through to the quarter finals? Tune in (or whatever the Internet equivalent of tuning in is) next time!
...Oh, and whileyou're waiting, you could always review this chapter..Thanx