When Ash turned on the light, they saw John and he was pinning someone down. They then heard John say, "How did you find this place?"
"Who is it, John?" Asked Ash. John got up while keeping the person he had in his grip and showed her to Ash and the others. It was Georgia the Dragon Buster. Ash took several steps until he was in punching distance of Georgia. Ash asked Georgia, "What are you doing here Georgia?"
"I'm here to collect that bounty on your head, Ash Ketchum. Professor Oak was a good man, how could you kill him." Said Georgia. Ash then said, "First of all, Professor Oak was on my side, he and Gary gathered all my Pokémon together, told them what was happening all those years ago and gave them to me."
"Sure, she told me you would try to lie to make me think you're innocent." John kept a strong grip on Georgia while he walked around her to face and asked, "Who is this she, is it Iris?" Georgia looked at John and said, "Yeah, what's it to ya?"
"Iris was one of Ash's friends that betrayed him, he is innocent." Said May.
"Iris also told me that he trained all of you to side with him, especially you, you whore." Replied Georgia, causing Ash to punch her in the gut and as she fell to the ground, Ash said, "NEVER CALL MY WIFE A WHORE!"
As Georgia rose, John grabbed her again and tied her hands together with zip ties and said, "Georgia Langley, you're under arrest for breaking and entering, falsely accusing a Champion of Murder, and insulting the champion's wife. Do you have anything left to say to the champion before you get hauled off to jail?"
"I have only one question, why should I believe you and not Iris?" Said Georgia. Ash looked her in the eyes and said, "Iris has Dragon-type Pokémon, you're a Dragon Buster, shouldn't you be on the side against Iris. Also, I gave my life several times, at least once for every Region at most. Hell, I even gave my life for the entire world. Why would I do so much good, only to murder Professor Oak and steal Pokémon?"
"Well, I guess that does make sense. Why would I take the word of a Dragon Master, I'm sorry." Replied Georgia. Ash forgave her and said, "Now I'm going to give you two options, the first is you go to jail for about 10 years. The second option is John lets you go, I'll drop the charges, BUT you have to help us get revenge against the traitors." Georgia thought long and hard until she said, "Alright. I'll join you guys and help get revenge on the traitors." Ash smiled, and John pulled out his combat knife and cut the Zip ties. John then said, "There, but if you try anything, I'm going to arrest you so fast, I'll get a speeding ticket."
"Alright, cool your jets. I get the gist." Replied Georgia. Ash then offered her a place to spend the night, to which Georgia said, "I appreciate the offer, but I have reservations at a nearby hotel, thank you anyway." Paul then showed Georgia the door and after the two of them left, John said, "We're taking a big risk trusting her after she broke in."
"Sometimes John, you just need to operate on faith." Replied Ash. John then said, "Alright, but I'm keeping my eyes on her, if I see her doing something suspicious, I'm going to find out." Ash chuckled at John, knowing how protective he was of his friends and his family.
Meanwhile back in Kanto, Pidgeot just dropped off Brock's invitation and Cilan's too. Cilan was visiting Brock for a few days so they could share gym tips and cooking strategies. Brock and Cilan looked at the invitations and Brock said, "This handwriting looks familiar."
"I agree, the writing style gives off an aroma of familiarity." Replied Cilan. Brock placed the invitation down and saw a letter that he thought he burned. When he picked it up he was shocked, the writing was identical. Brock then said, "Cilan, this is John's handwriting. He's the Otron Champion."
"John, the same John that left that loser Ketchum and we haven't seen for ten years?" said Cilan, to which Brock nodded his head and said, "If we catch him, we can make Ash appear from where ever he is and finally take him out, once and for all." The next morning, Brock and Cilan got all the traitors, and Max, together and told them their plan. Dawn asked Brock and Cilan, "What makes you think that Ash will come out of hiding, even with the Otron region champion as our prisoner?
"I have a plan, and it will work." Said Cilan before he explained the plan. Back with Ash and his friends, they all just sat down to eat breakfast. As Ash ate, John said, "Has Pidgeot returned yet?" Ash replied and said that Pidgeot returned just as Ash and May woke up. Ash then said, "She also said that she overheard Brock say that he thinks you're current Otron Region Champion."
"Well, he's half right." Replied John, inferring that he WAS the Otron Region Champion. May then said, "Well, what are we going to do if they try to kill John?" John swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "They're more than likely would want to kidnap me, so they can use me to lure Ash out of hiding so they can kill HIM." Ash raised an eyebrow and looked at John, which caused John to smile and say, "What, they wanted you to give up your dream, and with them taking trainer's Pokémon, they might just kill you if they see you."
"True, but how will they try to kill me, let alone kidnap you?" said Ash. John then said, "I don't know, but wait until they find out that you're the champion and I'm not." That statement caused everyone to laugh and they all finished their breakfast and began training for the tournament. As the three months went by, Ash, John, Paul, Trip, Alain, Sawyer, Gary, Shauna, Aubrey, Bonnie, and May got ready for the tournament. Ash had all the Legendaries he caught arrive in Otron Region, just to make the traitor nervous. Finally, after weeks of training, the day of the tournament had arrived. As the start of the tournament drew ever closer, ships and planes from the seven core regions had trainers and their guests arriving by the hour, John watched from Ash's Office as the ships pulled into Sunhill Harbor. Ash was sitting down in a chair when he asked John, "Have any ships from Kanto arrived?"
"Only a few, and the traitors arrived on the first one." Replied John. Ash just let out a loud humph and said, "Well, it's a good thing we told the Nurse Joys not to announce that the trainers are arriving because we can see them coming into the harbor and airport." John nodded his head and said, "Well, it's almost time for the tournament to begin, let's get going, Ash."
"I agree, but we need to wait for someone." Replied Ash. When John asked who he was waiting for, Ash's secretary buzzed in and said, "Mr. Ketchum, a Mr. Max Kirtman is here to see you." John's eyes widen when he heard Ash say, "Thank you, Kelly, send him in. Then when you're done what you're doing, take the rest of the day off."
"Of course sir, thank you, sir." Replied Kelly before she hung up to let Max into Ash Office. Max saw that John was in the room and thought he still didn't know about him and said, "I'm surprised Ketchum, I never thought you could FINALLY achieve your dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, let alone the champion of a Region." Ash smiled as John clapped his hands and said, "I have to say, Max, that was pretty good acting, but next time don't act." Max was confused, until Ash said, "Max, he knows you're a spy for me."
"I thought we agreed not to tell him and the others!" Max shouted. John then said, "He didn't tell me, I compared the writing of a note you sent Ash that he crumpled up and threw away, of which I grabbed, to all the letters of the traitors, their families, even my own family, until I found a letter you wrote to me and the handwriting style on the note was identical to the letter you wrote, so I confronted Ash about it."
"Oh, well, it was my idea to keep it a secret from you and the others." Replied Max. John then said, "Well, I'm glad that you're on our side. Now can we get to the tournament, everyone is waiting for us downstairs." John, Ash, and Max all left Ash's office to meet up with Ash's other friends. When they did arrive, only May and Aubrey greeted the three of them with happiness, everyone just looked at Max and Greninja and Pikachu looked like they were going to use water Shuriken and thunderbolt until John said, "Relax guys, Max is on our side, apparently he's been on our side the whole time." Max then explained everything, about how he was getting information from the traitors for Ash and how he couldn't leave with Ash and the others because that way, they would have never found out about the warrant for Ash's arrest.
"Okay, but if you try anything against my brother, I will personally hunt you down and TEAR YOU A NEW ONE!" Said Emma, threatening Max with her clenched fist being a mere few centimeters of Max's nose. Max sweat-dropped and said, "D-do-don't worry, I-I'm on your side." Ash held back any laughter, while John couldn't help but laugh. John then heard the announcer say, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the First ever annual Otron Regional Tournament. Now before we have the elite four and our Champion come out, let's introduce the woman who will introduce them to you all, Shauna Bertrand!" Ash and the others heard the crowd cheer in the tournament.
"That's my cue, wish me luck guys." Said, Shauna, before she walked into view of the crowd and called out Venusaur (A.N.: Shauna's Ivysaur evolved while in Otron, she also caught a Sylveon, you'll see where it's from later in the chapter.), Sylveon, and Flabébé. Shauna then said, "Venusaur use Solar Beam; Sylveon use swift, and Flabébé use moon blast, hit in the dead center of the stadium!" all her Pokémon obeyed her and used the move they were told to use, and the three moves hit dead center above the stadium, creating a sparkling entrance for Shauna and her Pokémon. Shauna then rode Venusaur's like she was a puppet on strings and she danced all through the Sparkles before she landed back on her feet and received the Microphone from the announcer. Shauna then said, "Thank you, Will, like he said, welcome everyone, to the First ever annual Otron Regional Tournament. I hoped you enjoy the little show we did, we like to give a performance to entertain the crowd. But this day and the days to follow aren't for performances, they're for trainers to battle. So, to all competing in the tournament, I wish the best of luck to you all and the lucky trainer who wins it all does his or her best in battling our Champion. But now, let's introduce you all to the Elite Four. The first Elite Four Member is Paul Barrett." Paul then rode his Honchkrow in and jumped off while his Torterra used Rock climb to catch Paul and carried him down to the Stage Shauna stood on and took his place next to her. Shauna then said, "Our second elite four Member is Trip Durham." Trip came out with all his Pokémon out, Serperior, Tranquil, Frillish, Lampent, Vanilluxe, the sight of which sent chills up Iris's spine, and Conkeldur. Trip didn't have his Pokémon do anything special, just the sight of them can show how strong they are. Trip then took his spot next to Paul.
"Our third Elite Four member is my husband, John Bertrand!" said Shauna. As John came out of the tunnel, Misty and the other traitors looked at Cilan and Brock. Brock then said, "That can't be right, the writing on the invite was identical to a letter he wrote me, how is he not the champion?" John then had his Blastoise use hydro pump to launch him into the air. When John reached the height of the launch, he had his Scizor catch him and flew him around the stadium. As John got close to the traitors, he told his Scizor to let him go, to which Scizor did and John did a roll and ran past the traitors while slapping Misty. John then leaped off the wall and before he hit the ground, his Pidgeot caught him by her talons and flew towards Shauna, Paul, and Trip. Like he did with Scizor, John told his Pidgeot to let him go, to which she did, and John did a roll and stood up on the other side of Shauna and did a TA-DA pose, which caused the crowd to make an uproar in applause. Paul looked at John and said, "You just had to top me off, didn't you?"
"Sorry Paul, I have pizzazz." Replied John. Shauna rolled her eyes and said, "Our fourth and final Elite Four Member for the Otron Region is Alain Crawford." Alain rode his Charizard in from outside the stadium and landed on his feet next to John and slowly rose up, then his Charizard landed next to him. Shauna then said, "And now, it's my pleasure to introduce to you, the Orton Region's Champion. The one and only, Ash Ketchum!" Ash then appeared out of the tunnel and walked to Shauna and the others, with all his Pokémon accompanying him. As they walked towards the center, the traitors realized that the Pokémon they obtained from battles weren't going to be enough to take out Ash's Pokémon. Ash then took the microphone from Shauna and said, "Thank you, Shauna, for introducing us all. As you all know, my name is Ash Ketchum, Champion of the Otron Region. The people standing up here are my friends and my family. Now I know I explained the rules in the Invitations, but I'm going to explain the rules one more time. The first two rounds will be preliminary rounds, with two trainers battling against each other in a 3v3 Pokémon Battle, out of the three-hundred sixty people here now, only one-hundred of you will move on after the second Preliminary round. After which we will have a banquet and from the third round on, it will a Pokémon double-tag-battle, which is when a team of two trainers can use up to four Pokémon in their Party and have two Pokémon out for each trainer on the battle, so there must be four Pokémon out on each side. Now before the first set of Battles of the first Preliminary round begins, we will have an exhibition match between me and a family member, but first, I would like to take this time to address the Donphan in the room. I was accused of killing Professor Samuel Oak of Kanto as well as stealing several Pokémon. Before that, I was betrayed by my own mother and my own friends, they wanted me to quit being a trainer."
Ash then said, "Today, I am here to tell you that these claims are false, lies told by those who hurt me. I don't know what they have done this to me, I don't know why they betrayed me, but I can tell you this, I know they are here, all of them and I know that Kanto's newest a Professor, the one who put the bounty on my head, is here as well. I promise you traitors one thing, I promise that by the end of the competition you will regret your betrayal, one by one I will reveal you to the world." That last part made the traitor's blood boil. Ash then said, "I am also aware that the league has passed a recently passed law were a winner of a Pokémon Battle can take one of the loser's Pokémon, I am not sure why this rule was passed but shame on the league for tolerating this horrible rule." Lance and Mr. Goodshow were in the stands and they looked down in sadness, know that they were allowing such a thing to happen, but they had no choice, it was a majority voted yes. Ash then said, "Let me just say this, that rule does not apply in this tournament, the Otron Region never allows that kind of battle to take place. I know for a fact that the Pokémon league has taken a huge blow due to this rule being enforced, there are less and less trainers battling in Gyms. New trainers only go to get their Starters, catch Pokémon, but never two partake in gym battles. They battle wild Pokémon to level up and even if they do go to a gym, they could still lose and lose their Strongest Pokémon. Regardless, this isn't new to the league, they've been slammed massively for this new rule and trainers started dropping just to keep their Pokémon, for many risking your Pokémon for a badge wasn't worth it."
"Now, before we begin the exhibition match I know that there will be some that will try and claim this reward. I welcome anyone that wishes to try and arrest me for crimes I never committed…" said Ash. After which all his Pokémon roared and shot moves into the sky, Clemont pissed his pants in fear, Dawn almost did, but the others looked on in jealousy, those Pokémon should be theirs. Ash then said, "But if my family of Pokémon isn't enough for you, then maybe you would like to have a go at these Pokémon..." one by one, the legendary Pokémon Ash caught over the years appeared and any attempt to try and take Ash was quickly wiped away, except from the traitors, nobody was brave enough to step up aside from stupid traitors that think this is all fake, but even they are living in a delusion, 6 legendarily just as equally powerful as the small army Ash has, legends only allow themselves to be caught by trainers with good hearts, a killer would never be able to capture them, whatever chance they had about making Ash quit was rapidly melting away.
"Now that this is out of the way, let's start the exhibition match kick off the best tournament to ever be held and to help me with this, I would like to introduce my brother-in-law…MAX KIRTMAN!" said Ash. Max then ran out to stand next to Ash in the stadium. Ash then said, "Our battle will be a one-v-one Pokémon battle, no substitutions, and it'll be over when the Pokémon on either side is unable to continue battling." Ash then handed John the Mic, so he and Max could go to opposite sides of the battlefield. When they got to their sides, they called out their Pokémon. Max threw a Pokéball while he said, "Gallade, let's go!" Gallade then appeared from his Pokéball and took his place on the battlefield. Ash then looked at Pikachu and said, "Pikachu, I choose you!" Pikachu then leaped from Ash's shoulder and landed on the Battlefield. John then said, "Alright, you all heard Ash explain it, so, BATTLE BEGIN!"
Max started the battle by saying, "Gallade, use Close Combat." Gallade obeyed Max and ran towards Pikachu, in which Ash said, "Pikachu, dodge it with agility." Pikachu followed Ash's command and used agility to dodge Gallade's attack.
Meanwhile, in the stands close to the traitors, Delia watched her son battle. She then thought to herself, "My how he's grown, but I know for a fact that he will never forgive me. I just hope that he and his friends beat the crap out of his former friends." Delia then heard Ash command Pikachu to use Thunderbolt. Pikachu used thunderbolt and it was a direct hit on Gallade. As Gallade slowly rose up, signs of paralysis began showing, Max knew that he was in trouble, but he also knew that he gave it his best. Ash knew it too, but he paused the battle and began walking over to Gallade.
"What's he doing?" asked several people in the stands, but everyone near the battlefield knew what he was doing. When Ash got to Gallade, he pulled out a Paralysis Heal and used it on Gallade. Ash the looked at Max and said, "I want to fight fair, fighting a Pokémon who is Paralyzed isn't a fair fight." Before Max could even respond, they all heard Misty shout, "Why in the world would you heal your opponent's Pokémon, that's against the rules of the Pokémon League."
"Here in the Otron region, MISTY, if trainers WANT to heal the opposing Pokémon, they can." Said John, calling Misty out of the entire crowd. John then said, "Now, the Battle may continue." Max took that gladly and said, "Gallade, use close combat." Gallade followed the command and charged Pikachu and used close combat, sending Pikachu flying back and rolling towards Ash and stopped in the middle of the battlefield. As Gallade took another fighting stance, it showed signs of being Paralyzed again. A smile appeared on Max's face and he then said, "Alright Gallade, now USE FACADE!" Gallade charged Pikachu and scored a direct hit, and a huge cloud of smoke covered Gallade and Pikachu. After the smoke cleared, Gallade was left standing and Pikachu was on the ground. John then said, "Pikachu is unable to continue, Gallade is the winner, which means Max Kirtman wins the exhibition round." Ash walked over to Pikachu, picked him up and said, "You did good buddy."
"Thanks, Ash, now can we go to a Pokémon Center." Replied Pikachu. Ash nodded his head and he took Pikachu to the Pokémon Center. John then walked over to Max and said into the Microphone, "So Max, how does it feel to know that you defeated Ash Ketchum." All Max said in response was, and everyone except the traitors knew what he meant by it, "To be honest, I'm glad I defeated him." John smiled and said, "But with that battle over, we can now begin the first Preliminary Round of the tournament. The first set of battle will begin momentarily, until then, feel free to socialize and create great Strategies." After he got speaking, John handed the Microphone to Will Lester. Then John, the people loyal to Ash, and Ash's Pokémon all left to see how Pikachu was doing.
A few minutes later, John and the others found Ash at the Pokémon Center. Ash saw them all enter, stood up and said, "That went better then I planned it." May then asked Ash what he meant. Max then said, "Ash threw the match to trick the Traitors." John then said, "I was wondering how Pikachu went down in only two direct hits."
"Yeah, I talked to Max before I went out there and we agreed to rig the match, I told him to tell Nurse Joy about the match and have her send it to all the trainers except the traitors, because when the trainers of the Tournament entered, they gave Nurse Joy their contact information. So, Nurse Joy told all the trainers except the traitors about our plan, and she gave them the pictures of the traitors so that way, they could keep an eye on them and report anything that we can bust them with if they broke any of the rules." Stated Ash. Just then, Nurse Joy came up with Pikachu and she said, "Your Pikachu has been restored to full health." Pikachu then leaped from the cart and onto Ash's shoulder.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy." Replied Ash. Just then, a young kid ran into the Pokémon Center and up to Ash. The boy then said, "Champion Ketchum, I need your help." When Ash asked the boy what was wrong, the boy said, "Someone challenged me to a battle and when I lost, two other people grabbed me by the arms and the person who beat me took my Pokémon's Pokéball."
"who did the person who battled with you look like?" Ash asked the young boy, who said, "She had orange hair, and it was in a ponytail. She was hanging around two guys…" but he was stopped by Ash putting his hand up and Ash said, "Say no more, I know who that is." Ash then pulled out a photo of Misty and showed it to the boy (A.N.: Ash carries around pictures of all the traitors so that way, if he suspects one of them, he can pull out a picture and he will show it to the victim.). The boy looked at the picture and said, "Yup, that's her." Ash then looked at John, who nodded his head and left the Pokémon Center. Ash then told the boy, "Don't you worry, we'll get your Pokémon back, what Pokémon did they take from you?"
"They took my Ratatta, it was my only Pokémon." Replied the young Boy. Ash then said, "Well, don't you worry, we'll catch the people who stole your Pokémon, they will pay a heavy fine, and you will get your Pokémon back." The young boy smiled and said, "Thank you."
"Your welcome, do you want a snack?" Ash said to the young boy, to which, the boy nodded his head. Ash then looked at Shauna and said, "Can you take him to the Center's Café to get him a snack?" Shauna nodded her head and said to the young boy, "Come on." Shauna and the young Boy then went to the café. Ash then left the Pokémon center and saw John walking towards him with a woman. When the two of them got to Ash, John said, "Is the boy still inside the center?" Ash nodded his head and asked, "Why, did you find Misty?" John shook his head and said, "No, but I found the boy's mother." The woman then said, "Hello Champion Ketchum, my name is Kelly Coomer, my son is a big fan of yours and wants to become a Pokémon Master."
"Alright, what's wrong with that?" asked Ash. John got his attention and said, "The boy's name is Andy, apparently he never caught a Ratatta, the only Pokémon he ever caught was a Pichu and his mother confiscated it from him about a few hours ago." Mrs. Coomer then reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of her and Andy and his Pichu.
"He was using his Pichu to threaten Kids not to mess with him and give him whatever he wants. Tells people that you gave him the idea." She said. Ash got a good look at the picture and said, "Well Madame, I truly am sorry if I caused any trouble for you, I would never use Pokémon to get things I do not deserve. My Pokémon worked hard to get where we are now, and I do apologize again."
"Oh, it's alright, I'm sure you weren't aware of that, I hope he hasn't caused any trouble for you or your family." Said Kelly C. Ash then told her everything that her son told him and his family and friends. Kelly C. was shocked to hear what Andy did. She then said, "He told you that the people who betrayed you all those years ago challenged him to a battle and took a Ratatta, oh my, now I'm sorry for my son's actions."
"And like you said, it's alright. Now let's go get him." As Kelly C went walked towards the center, John pulled Ash aside and said, "Ash, I need to leave."
"Why?" Asked Ash. John said that he had important business to take care of and he would be back before the tournament would be over. Ash knew that he couldn't change John's mind and told John to be careful. John smiled, and said, "Aren't I always?" Ash just rolled his eyes and they shook hands and parted. After Ash walked into the Pokémon Center, John called out his Salamance and hopped onto him and said, "Alright Salamance take off towards Kanto." Salamance obeyed his trainer's command and started the long trip to Kanto. Back to Ash in the Pokémon Center, Kelly C was scolding Andy for lying to Ash while Shauna and the others watched. Ash then walked over to Kelly and asked, "I take it he learned his lesson about lying." Kelly C. nodded her head and asked Andy, "What do you have to say to Mr. Ketchum?"
"I'm sorry I lied, I didn't mean to lie, I just wanted to help you get the traitors." Ash knelt to look at Andy, face to face, and he said, "I know you did Andy, but lying about things can only get you into bigger trouble. But I am in a forgiving mood, except for the traitors." A smile appeared on Andy's face and thanked Ash for forgiving him, to which Ash said, "You're welcome, just don't go lying to us again, okay?" Andy nodded his head and Kelly C. said, "What do you plan to do about the traitors?" Ash looked at her and said, "Don't worry Mrs. Coomer, we have a good plan."
Later that same day, Ash received a visit from Mr. Goodshow and Lance. When Ash saw Lance and Mr. Goodshow, he had Pikachu and Greninja ready. Lance was the first to speak and he said, "Hello Ash, it has been a while."
"Yes, it has been a while, what do the two of you want?" Replied Ash. Mr. Goodshow then said, "The way you're speaking towards us is well founded since we passed a law in the Pokémon league that allows the winner of a Pokémon battle to take one Pokémon from the loser. But you must know, that the law has severally crippled the League, not many trainers are participating now then back then."
"I know, but what I don't know is why hasn't that law been repelled yet." Said Ash. Lance told Ash, "We have tried to get that law repelled every year since a year after it became a law, but a majority vote from the Professors said to keep it a law." Ash was surprised to hear that, and he said, "Why would most of the Professors vote to keep the law?" Lance shrugged his shoulders and said, "We don't know, but we do know that you would have never killed Prof. Oak, we still don't believe it."
"We are on your side Ash, we've been trying to contact you, but we could never find you." Said Mr. Goodshow. Ash used his Aura to sense if Mr. Goodshow and Lance were lying to him or not, but they weren't lying. Ash smiled and said, "I believe you since I can use my Aura to tell if people are lying to me or not and you two are telling the truth, I'm glad I still have friends in Kanto." Ash then had Pikachu and Greninja stand down.
"Lance, do any of the other Champions believe I didn't kill Oak?" Ash asked Lance, to which Lance said, "Steven does, along with Cynthia, the others believed Professor Tracy and the Professors that are on his side." Ash then said that he would deal with Tracy later.
"Would you two like to come over to my place for dinner?" Ash asked Lance and Mr. Goodshow, to which they nodded their heads and the three of them began walking towards Ash's house.
As the tournament progressed, battle after battle, Ash's friends, and the traitors moved up the bar until they were in the 100 trainers left to battle. The night of the dinner, Ash saw that all his friends and his former friends made passed the two preliminary Rounds. Ash then said, "Greetings, you have proven to be the greatest trainers of those invited here to participate in the tournament. But tonight, isn't about the tournament, this night is to celebrate your accomplishments up to now, we have snacks and food over on the right, and in a little while there will be a surprise once everyone has eaten, so enjoy yourselves and don't cause any trouble." As the guests ate the food they grabbed, Ash and his friends ate at a table on an upper floor of the hall the dinner was held in. Just then, a man walked up to the table and said, "Champion Ketchum, Mr. Bertrand has arrived and wishes to speak with you." Ash placed his fork down and said, "Very well, lead me to him." The man bowed and after Ash told his friends that he would be back, the man then led him to where John was.
When Ash saw John, he had begun to grow a beard. When John saw Ash, he said, "Hey Ash, like the beard?" Ash got a good look at it and said, "Well, it's a good look on you, but I don't think Shauna will like it." John chuckled at the thought of Shauna seeing him in his new look. Ash then said, "Hey John, did you ever finished that business you needed to take care of." John smiled, and he nodded his head.
"Yeah, had to make sure my family was alright since I haven't seen them in 10 years." Said, John. He then said, "Also, I found us an Ally." When Ash asked who the ally was, he heard a familiar voice say, "Hello Ash, it has been a long time since we last spoke." Ash turned around to see Professor Oak being supported by two Security Guards. Ash was overcome with joy and he said, "Professor Oak, you're alive."
"Yes, my boy, I am alive." Replied Oak. Ash then looked at John and said, "Tell me, how, when, and where did you find the Professor?" Ash said to John, to which replied, "It's a long story."
Flashback to Pewter City, many months ago,
John started off by saying, "After I made sure my Family was alright, I searched all over Sinnoh, Jhoto, and Hoenn. I couldn't find Oak. I was in Pewter City Park, thinking about giving up when I heard a voice ask me, 'What's the matter human?'. When I turned to where the voice was, it was a Pidgey and I said, 'I'm getting tired, I'm looking for someone and I just can't seem to find him.' The pidgey then asked me who was I looking for and I said, 'An old friend of mine. I just can't seem to find him.' The pidgey then asked me, 'What does your friend look like?' So, I showed the pidgey the Picture of Oak, figuring it wouldn't hurt and the pidgey was surprised and it said, 'I've seen him before.' I quickly turned my eyes towards the Pidgey and asked where and the pidgey lead me to Oak's Ranch and a Picture of Oak on the wall next to the Tree. I then said, 'That's not him, that's just a picture. I thought you saw him in real life.' The Pidgey then said, 'I did see him in real life and I saw him in here, just move the picture.' The thought of me moving the picture made no sense because I thought there was nothing behind him and…I was wrong. When I moved the picture, there was a hole in the wall behind it and in the hole, was a lever. The pidgey flew in and pulled the lever. Just then, a bookshelf behind us slid to the side to reveal a secret entrance. The pidgey then said, 'I saw two people in Aqua blue suits take the man in the photo you showed me and in that picture in your hands, down those stairs.' I smiled and thanked the Pidgey and told him to flee in case he was spotted through the windows. The pidgey flew away and I went down the steps and the bookcase closed behind me.
When I got to the bottom, there were three doors with staircases going down one of them. I said to myself, "I have to be inside a secret base. So, if I'm going to find Oak I'll need to search all the floors. But first, a change of clothes.' Just then, a guy in the clothes that the pidgey described and choked him unconscious and took off his clothes and put them on me and they were a perfect fit and comfy as an Altaria wings. So, floor after floor, I searched the base, even found out who was in control of the base, a new criminal Organization called Team Comet. The grunts get treated badly by Squad Leaders and the Squad Leaders get treated better than the grunts by the Admins who never really appear except when it's necessary. But when I got to the final room on the third floor, I found Oak, tied up, gagged, and knocked out. I got him up and placed him in a wheelchair. As I tried to get him out, a Squad Leader stopped me and asked me where I was taking the prisoner, meaning Oak. I told him, 'I was Ordered to bring him to the leader.' The Squad Leader than proceeded to tell me that the leader was away attending a tournament in the Otron Region." Ash interrupted John by saying, "So the Leader and possibly the Admins of Team Comet are participating in the Tournament." John nodded his head and continued his story, "I then said, 'Well, our leader said that he was going to use the prisoner as leverage against his enemies.' The Squad Leader then said, 'I should have been informed of such a task, I'll need to contact Admin Meteor about this.' Just then, a voice came over the radio saying that someone was impersonating a grunt and to keep an eye on Oak. The Squad Leader looked at me and I started running with Oak in the wheelchair I had him in. Sirens blaring along the halls and I knew that the base was on alert, I needed a quick way to get out of there, just then, we ran across a road and where there was a road, there was an exit. I then pulled oak back and two grunts passed me on a bike, I looked for an exit sign and finally found it, and just my luck, it was the direction the bike went so I pushed Oak as hard as I could until we got outside. I then called out my Salamance and placed Oak on him and told my Salamance to hover under the cliff a few feet, so I could jump off after I changed, just as I was about to jump, I was told to freeze by a Team Comet Squad leader and a squad of grunts, they had a Houndoom, a Skuntank, a Sableye, an Absol, a Crawdaunt, and a Crobat. The Squad leader than said to me, 'If you surrender without a fight, I promise that your death will be painless.' Knowing my Salamance was behind me, I said, 'I hate both door number one and door number two, so I'm going with door number three, bye."
Sunhill City, Otron Region, Present time,
I then jumped off the cliff and onto Salamance and told him, 'To Otron, quickly.' Following my command, my Salamance got here as fast as he could and since he knew the way, I got to treating Oak's injuries as best as I could and when we landed in front of your house, I realized that you weren't home, that's when I remembered the dinner party and I knew just where you were having it, so we came straight here and I had Tommy get you." Ash was happy that Oak was alive, he then said, "Well Professor, after the tournament is over, we'll get you back to Kanto."
"Thank you, Ash, I'm glad you're safe." Replied Oak. John then said, "well Ash, I'll meet you at the house." When Ash asked him why, John said, "Simple, I couldn't participate in the preliminary rounds, it wouldn't be fair that I enter without having to do the preliminary rounds. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'm not dressed for the occasion."
"Way ahead of you John." Said a voice from behind Ash and John, when they turned, they saw Paul, Gary, and Shauna, who ran up to her husband and gave him the biggest hug that she had ever given him. Gary did the same thing, but his grandpa. Both were overcome with joy to see their respective family member back. John looked back at Paul, who held a suit for him to put on. Paul then said, "Everyone should be here, including you." Knowing that he would not be able to talk himself out of it, so John said, "Fine, just give me a few minutes to change and get rid of the beard."
"Aww, but I like the beard." Replied Shauna. John then said, "Told you she would like the beard." Ash looked at his friend and said, "I know." John then took the suit Paul had in his hand and went into the Bathroom to change. Gary said that he was going to take the professor to get him checked out. Ash nodded his head and the two Oaks left the dining hall. Just then, Serena walked up to the group and said, "Hi Ash."
"Hello Serena, what do you want?" Replied Ash with disgust. Serena answered his question by saying, "All I want is to know this, why did you kiss me, then marry May, you two have nothing in common. But you and I go all the way back to Oak's summer camp."
"Actually, he and I do have things in common." Said May from behind Serena and as she walked up to stand next to her husband, she slapped Serena in the back of the head. Ash then said, "First of all, you kissed me, not the other way around. Second, May and I both love Pokémon. Third, how dare you say Professor Oak's name, you're not fit to say it."
"And from what I heard from Bonnie, you tried everything to get Ash to notice you. You even tried to get him to give up his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, just so you can try to get Ash for yourself, but that plan backfired big time." Said May. Paul then said, "Betraying Ash just so you can have him as a boyfriend, pathetic." As John came out of the restroom, he saw Serena and asked, "What's she doing here?" Ash looked at John and said, "She was just leaving, good day Madam." As Ash turned to walk away, Serena turned him around and pulled him into a kiss, that got a lot of people ticked, May most of all. After they parted, Serena said, "I'm not leaving until you divorce that BITCH and marry me." Just then, two fists came from beside Ash and hit Serena in the face, sending her flying back a few inches. The punches belonged to Joh and May, John for hearing Serena call May a bitch and May for Serena kissing Ash and calling her a bitch. John then called for security guards to escort Serena off the area, but not before Ash stopped them, stepped in front of Serena, and punched her in the stomach. Ash then said, "Get her out of here."
"Wait." Said Shauna. Shauna then walked over to Serena and called out Sylveon. Shauna then said, "Recognize this Sylveon?" when Serena shook her head, Shauna said, "That's too bad because it's your old Sylveon." Serena was shocked to hear that Shauna's Sylveon was her Sylveon. Serena's Sylveon destroyed her Pokéball and ran off before she could re-catch it. The security guards that took the newly stunned Serena out of the Dining Hall Reception area and off the area. John smiled and said, "Good Job showing Sylveon to Serena."
"Yeah, about time too, I wanted her to see how much better I'm doing without her as my trainer." Said Sylveon. John chuckled and told Sylveon, "I bet she was pretty surprised." Ash agreed and suggested, "Shall we get back to the dinner." Everyone agreed and they all walked back to the dinner. Back in the dining hall, everyone saw Ash and the others walked back up to where they were eating, and John was with them. After the dinner, Misty approached Ash. Misty then said, "Where's Serena? I know she was talking to you so, where is she?" Ash told Misty, "She was escorted out of the building because she was a nuisance."
"She also kissed Ash in front of May and myself, called May a whore, and wanted Ash to divorce May and marry her. In response to all that, May and I punched Serena in the face. Ash then, like he told you, had two security officers take Serena out of the building, she has also been banned from ever entering this building again." Said, John. Misty's anger boiled, and she shouted, "AS WEAK AS YOU ARE TO LOSE TO A PATHETIC KID LIKE MAX, THIS IS A NEW LOW." Ash and his friends busted out laughing, causing Misty to get even madder and she said, "What's so funny?" Ash managed to get some air, so he could say, "Did you really think I lost to Max on purpose."
"Yeah Misty, that's stupid of you to think that." Said, Max, as he walked. Misty was confused until Ash said, "Max was on our side since that day." Misty then shouted with all her might, "WHAT?!" Max then said, "I only pretended to be on your side Misty, so I can get information, but since you only had conversations with the others and you didn't invite me to meetings, I wasn't able to get as much information as I could from you and the other traitors." Misty was speechless until she said, "IMPOSSIBLE!" Misty then said, "Alright Ketchum, you and me one-v-one Pokémon Battle, no substitutions." Ash smiled and said, "Alright, I accept, let's head to the battlefield."
A little while later, Ash and Misty were on the battlefield with Max as the Referee. Max said, "The one v one Pokémon Battle between Misty Waterflower and Ash Ketchum will now begin, trainers, please call out your Pokémon." Misty smiled and pulled out a Pokéball and said, "I hope you like this Pokémon, let's go Venusaur." When the Pokéball opened and the Pokémon came out, it was in fact, a Venusaur. Ash smiled and pulled out a Pokéball while looking at Pikachu and said, "Sorry buddy, but I have a special Pokémon for this battle, COME ON OUT DELPHOX!" Delphox came out and was ready to fight. Misty got a look of concern on her face and she said, "Hang on, Venusaur wasn't my Pokémon, let me change it."
"No, the Pokémon you sent out is the Pokémon is the Pokémon, you even said yourself, no substitutions." Said, John. John then said, "Alright, Battle begin." Ash was the first to make a move and he said, "Delphox, use Fireblast." Delphox was all too happy to finally be battling one of the traitors, but she was hoping it would be Serena, but she used Fire Blast and hit Venusaur in the face, Venusaur was strong, but he held on. Misty then said, "Razor leaf." Venusaur used razor leaf, but Ash had Delphox use flamethrower to stop the Razor Leaf and the flamethrower also hit Venusaur, striking the final blow, defeating Venusaur and ending the battle. After seeing Venusaur beaten, John said, "Venusaur is unable to continue, Delphox is the winner, which means the battle goes to Ash Ketchum." Everyone that was loyal to Ash clapped and cheered to see that he won the battle. John smiled, but his smile turned to concern when he saw two Team Comet Grunts sneak behind some bushes, but he kept this fact to himself. Misty then said, "NO FAIR, YOU CHEATED!"
"Coming from the girl who wanted to switch because Ash had a type advantage." Replied May. Misty then said, "He cheated because I wanted to fight Pikachu, not Delphox." Ash then said, "Next time, be more specific, good day." Ash and his friends then left the battlefield and Misty standing there in her spot. Misty then said to herself, "I'm going to kill that Loser, him and his daughter."
Back at Ash's house, Ash and John were coming up with the brackets of who was going to be paired with who and which teams will battle each other. John was the first to speak, "I think we should have everyone that has been loyal to you be paired with either a random Trainer or another loyal friend and have the traitors be paired up with traitors." Ash liked the idea and they began to do the first round of Pokémon double-tag-battles. After hours of going through the final one-hundred trainers, the Brackets were ready, and the first-round battles could begin after breakfast.
The next day, Ash appeared on all the TVs in and around the Stadium and said, "Attention all trainers competing in the First ever annual Otron Regional Tournament, we have created the Bracket of who will compete with who and their opponents and here is the Bracket for round one." Ash then pressed a button that showed the Bracket of the first round. Ash then said, "Like I said at the beginning of the tournament, your partner for each round will change as the tournament goes on. So, the Partner for the third round might be your opponent for the next round. The first few battles will begin in a half hour, and the first-first Battle will be the team of Will Liles and Georgia Langley against the team of Daisy and Violet Waterflower. The second-first battle will be the team of my Sister Emma and my daughter Aubrey Ketchum against the team of Dawn Berlitz and Barry McGonnigal. Finally, the third-first round will be the team of Jade and Simon against the team of Misty Waterflower and Brock Harrison." Ash went on down the list until he got to final battle, after which he said, "The first few rounds will begin in a couple of minutes. So, trainers, be ready for the battles and I will reinforce the rule where I said at the beginning of the tournament, the League law where the winner takes a Pokémon from the loser will not be tolerated, anyone caught violating this tournament rule will be arrested, the Pokémon returned and the person committing the crime will be tried and face the fullest extent of Otron Law. If you suspect that there is a law being broken, inform the authorities immediately. Thank you and good battling."
After Ash was done speaking, the traitors know that some of them were paired up with the people who sided with Ash on Purpose. Misty and Brock were confident in their ability to carry their team pass the first round. Dawn, on the other hand, wasn't so confident, because her Partner was Barry, Barry barely made it past the preliminary rounds with only one Pokémon managing to win the rounds. Dawn then said, "This is going to end badly for me.