Once Grace entered the house with Raichu and Hawlucha, we told her about what happened, including the return of Sino and Greninja and the invitations to the tournament. Pretty soon, we were on a plane heading to Kanto for the Ash Ketchum World Tournament. After a day in the air, the plane landed in the Viridian City airport. We got our luggage and headed towards the pokemon center for the night. Since it's a month away and in the Indigo League stadium, we'll travel there and train very hard along the way. For this special occasion, I got special permission from Sycamore to bring all of my pokemon with me so they could train together, just like old times. It'll be an extra load yes, but, I've built tremendous strength since my kid years, so, it won't be bothering me one bit. When morning came, everyone was fed and ready to hit the road. A couple of my pokemon stayed out with me, including Empoleon ( always stays out for obvious reasons ), Persian, Sino, Greninja, and Braviary. For Serena, Raichu rested well on her shoulders while Hawlucha walked by her side. It felt so great to be traveling again with Serena, especially now with her husband, her best friend, and our mom. After a while, we stopped for a break, which made it the perfect time to do some training. Braviary raced Talonflame as they dished out some serious hits in the air while Serena and I did some double battle practices, the match being Empoleon and Persian vs Sylveon and Altaria. Sino and Greninja were sparring at close range with power up punch and aerial ace. This was their way of training their precision and ability to respond quickly. Meanwhile, Empoleon and Altaria collided with sky attack and drill peck while Sylveon and Persian collided with iron tail. Raichu was sparring with Hawlucha, helping it learn how to use brick break. As we were all having a ball battling, Carl and his Meditite were training by doing some meditation. Grace was whipping up some lunch while watching us train hard, happy that everyone was enjoying themselves. Once lunch was ready, we all stopped to eat and restore our energy. As we ate, Grace mentioned,"I see that you all have been working very hard for this tournament." Serena smiled, saying,"We are!! I'm especially excited to win the whole thing"!! I added,"I'm pumped up for winning this tournament and etching my name in the history books. Be cautious fellow participants because when you battle me, our moves will hit harder than a thunderclap"!! As I clapped my hands together, behind the bushes and trees, a streak of thunder came shooting up at the sky. That startled us big time as we quickly ate and went to see where that came from.
As it turned out, it just so happened to be Paul and his Electivire training hard. It had just used thunder on a huge boulder, shattering it into a million pieces. In interest, Serena and I went up to him, saying hello, as he turned his head in curiosity. When Paul saw that it was us, he smiled slightly as he said,"Long time no see Liz. Serena. Raichu." Raichu nodded in affirmation as our pokemon watched from behind. I then popped the question, saying,"So, Paul, you training for the huge tournament coming up"? He nodded, saying,"I'm going to win and have my pokemon get stronger while doing so," with Electivire nodding in agreement. I then gave him a determined look, saying,"So, wanna battle? 3 on 3"? He thought about it before saying,"Deal, on one condition. If I battle with Electivire, can you face it with Infernape, that is, if it's currently with you." I nodded and said,"Ok, you're on"!! We soon stood on opposite sides of the field as Serena acted as the referee. Paul grabbed a pokeball while saying,"Now Magmortar, stand by for battle," as the huge fire type appeared for battle. I looked at the pokemon I currently had out and decided to go with Sino, who was ready to fight his opponent. Paul smirked, saying,"So, this is the famous Sino I saw at the Kalos League. Let's see what it can do," before returning Magmortar and pulling out another pokeball, saying,"Now Ursaring, standby for battle"! The huge brown bear like pokemon appeared with a fierce look and a loud roar. Sino and I looked at each other before nodding as I say,"Let's fight power with power!! Sino, together as one," as we synchronized and Liz-Sino appeared in place of Sino. Paul and Ursaring were shocked, but determined to win nonetheless. With both sides ready, Serena called for the battle to begin as Paul and I both say,"Bring it on"!! Paul had Ursaring use hammer arm as Sino intercepted with power up punch. Power was matched evenly, no one giving in less than an inch. Sino then struck Ursaring in the gut with night slash, driving it back. It stood tall, grinning in respect. I then say,"Try this new move! Sino, use extreme speed," as Sino pummeled Ursaring repeatedly with the move. Ursaring stood its ground and soon stopped it by slamming Sino with hammer arm. We both felt it hard, but weren't willing to give in. Ursaring then went in with slash, but Sino dodged it and landed a hit with water shurigen. The final call was when Sino did a combination of extreme speed and power up punch, hitting Ursaring so hard, it collided into a tree and was rendered unable to battle. Paul was surprised as he returned Ursaring to its pokeball as he says,"Not bad. Definitely a worthy adversary in battle. Now, Magmortar, stand by for battle," as Magmortar appeared once more. I called Sino back for a minute as I had Empoleon take position to battle. It clashed its wings together as it glared at Magmortar with determination. I say,"Empoleon is one of my newest additions and a real powerhouse. Get ready," as Paul responded with,"Is that so? I'll see for myself," as we shouted,"Use flamethrower / hydro pump," as both moves collided, creating smoke. Empoleon charged in with aqua jet, not touching Magmortar, before hitting it with hydro pump. I then say,"We know about flame body, so, the best way for us to battle is long range, powerful attacks." Paul smirked as he then says,"Then try this! Use rock tomb," as Magmortar shot rocks out of its dual cannons. I then say,"Slice them away with steel wing," as Empoleon used the move to bat away the flying rocks. Then, water seemed to surround Empoleon as I knew which move it was preparing to use as I shout,"Fire your surf," as Empoleon launched the move, hitting Magmortar and knocking it out.
Paul returned Magmortar as I called back Empoleon and pulled out a pokeball from my bag. He knew which pokemon I was about to use as he pulled out his partner's pokeball, with both of us saying,"Electivire, stand by for battle / Infernape, it's time to battle"!! Both pokemon appeared and glared at one another. With a glint in our eyes, we shouted,"Use thunder punch / mach punch," as they collided with the moves, creating a stalemate. Once they separated, they both used flamethrower and thunder, creating an explosion. In the smoke, Infernape snuck in as I say,"Use a fire punch / close combat combination," as Electivire was pummeled with supersonic speedy, fiery punches, knocking it back. It then went underground with dig as Electivire tried to dig it out with thunder. Once Infernape appeared from below, they collided with blaze kick and brick break, not giving in an inch. Suddenly, Electivire was surrounded by fire for a minute, meaning that it had the burn status. Infernape went in with mach punch as Electivire used protect and created a shield, surrounding it. Infernape easily recovered and pummeled it with fire punch. At close range, Electivire hits Infernape with a harsh thunder. It still could battle, but the initial shock hurt badly, so, it staggered a little. I knew what to do as I say,"Infernape, incinerate the battlefield with your fiery spirit," as its blaze ability activated, surrounding it with a fiery aura. With determination overflowing, it launched a huge flamethrower, hitting Electivire hard and making its burn much more painful. It staggered to its feet and went in with thunder punch, but got a full taste of flare blitz, dealing the knockout blow. Serena raised her hand and says,"Electivire is unable to battle. Infernape wins. The match goes to Liz." Infernape and I hugged one another as I praised it and the other pokemon who battled with me for a great job in the battle. Paul praised Electivire for a valiant effort before returning it to its pokeball for a well-deserved rest. He then walked up to me, saying,"That was an intense battle. Infernape has improved well on its power. You're going to be a real threat at that tournament. Hope we can have another battle like that at the tournament." I tipped my hat, saying,"I agree Paul. Let's battle like that again soon." He soon headed off on his way, ready to continue his training session and preparing for the tournament. Once he was gone, we packed up and continued on our way.
Soon, weeks passed as our journey to the stadium was almost to a close. Along the way, Katie caught 5 more pokemon, completing her team. It now consisted of Flareon, Ludicolo, Furfrou, Pidgeot, Audino, and a shiny Alakazam. Along with being great performers, they put up a great fight in battle. I got to see Carl's full team, which consisted of Meditite, Hariyama, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Machamp, and Crabominable. We all grew stronger and many of our pokemon learned brand new moves. Everyone grew tougher and a lot stronger as well. Before we knew it, we had finally arrived to the stadium. There were many trainers from all over the world who were excited to participate. Some of them were new to me, others I recognized easily as friends of mine or Ash's. In fact, every person that Ash knew on his journeys were here to partake in the tournament. Awesome!! Now, things are getting interesting!! As we went to go register our place in the tournament, I saw some of Ash's rivals that registered their place already. Tyson, Morrison, Ritchie, Bianca, Conway, Sawyer, and many more. I even saw Alain registering as well, which got me pretty excited. What else will this special event bring to us?