I forgot to mention it last chapter, but you guys might want to start paying attention everything that happens from here on out. Its all deliberate. All of it.
It was the day after Ash had conquered Meadow Island, and said trainer was currently in his kitchen talking to God.
"Alright Ash, I think that it is time to make your league official."
Ash raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean, official? Can't it just be an unofficial league?"
Arceus shook his head.
"While yes, you can have this league be unofficial, I would highly suggest that you make it official for a couple of reasons. One, unofficial leagues are not taken very seriously because they are- for the most part- pretty weak. Take the Orange League for example."
Ash interrupted, protesting, "Hey! Are you saying that the Orange Crew is weak? Beating them was one of my greatest achievements!"
"And you did it during your first year as a trainer. Think about it Ash. If you would've gone back there after Sinnoh, with that team, you would've absolutely trounced the Orange League, Drake included."
"Alright. You have a point," Ash grudgingly admitted. "But, I am still calling it one of my greatest achievements."
Arceus nodded.
"It is. Like I said, it was during your first year of training. Not many people can boast about beating a League- official or not, during their first year. Regardless, however, I still want you to make yours official. I don't want anybody thinking that the Hoopa League might be evil or something. Connecting your league with Charles is the best way to do that. Plus, you even make this it's own region, depending on where you place it."
"...You have a compelling argument. Alright, lets make it official."
Arceus smiled.
...
"Uh, how do we actually do that though?"
"... I am not sure."
Ash'seyebrows shot up, prompting Arceus to start to laugh.
"What?" Ash asked.
"Of course I know. I'm Arceus, after all."
Ash waited.
Arceus sighed then continued, "Spoilsport. They're currently in their monthly meeting, discussing politics and things of that nature. I was thinking that I could teleport you in there so that you could ask. And if he declines or is hesitant, ask to battle one of the Champions. Oh, and take a couple legendaries. They have been itching to fight. Go pick your team and then come back here. I'll be waiting.
A grin slowly spread on Ash's face as he walked onto his training field, where his Pokemon were all eating lunch. Ash looked over all of his Pokemon, trying to decide who exactly to bring, until his eyes rested on Lugia, Celebi, and Pikachu. Lugia and Celebi were rather self-explanatory- Arceus had requested that he bring legendary Pokemon to battle. Pikachu was also easy to explain though- he was Ash's starter. He was going to be there for every step of Ash's journey. Walking over to them and pulling them aside, Ash started to explain what he wanted.
"Hey guys! Alright, here's the deal. Today is the day that we're making this league official, and I need your help to do it.
_Indigo Plateau_
Cynthia was stressing out.
After Alder had resigned as Champion of Unova- a long and tedious process in itself- the girl who was supposed to take his place just upped and disappeared. What made it even worse, though, was that the guy that had taken his position was Aaron, who was a member of her own Elite Four. So now not only did she have to help find the missing girl- Iris, if her memory served- she had to find somebody to replace Aaron in her Elite Four. And if that all wasn't enough, several prominent trainers had disappeared at around the same time that Iris had too, including Candice, who was one of her own gym leaders. She was broken from her thoughts, however, when Charles Goodshow started speaking.
"Hello Champions, it is good to see that you all made it here," the old man began. "By now, you guys all know the drill, so-" Aaron opened his mouth, prompting Goodshow to remember. "Ah yes, Aaron, you're new to this whole ordeal, aren't you." When Aaron nodded, Goodshow continued. "Well, at the beginning of every meeting, we discuss trainers whom we think have the potential to become champions, or are outstanding to us in any way, or both! So, with that in mind, any one have a trainer?" Everyone's hands shot up but Goodshow was quick to dismiss some of them.
"Yes Lance, I know that Red, Gold, and Crystal are arguably the three best trainers on the planet. But, no one knows where they are, and I tell you that every meeting. So unless someone finds them, I'm dismissing their cases." Looking over at Steven, he sighed. "Same with you. Brendan and May are outstanding trainers, but the fact of the matter is that they have yet to win and Leagues." Steven cut him off.
"But sir, they are a force to be recko-"
"I know. In double battles, they're all but unbeatable. However, like I have said many times before, the PLA doesn't do double battles in official League battles. Feel free to petition that to someone." Turning to Cynthia, he just raised an eyebrow. Her hand was quick to lower after that. He skipped Aaron, who had not raised his hand, and finally faced the last person in the room- Kalos Champion Diantha. Goodshow had no qualms about her talking, so he motioned for her to speak. She cleared her throat, then began.
"Well, this last year in Kalos, I met a trainer who- at first- didn't seem like anything special. However, that quickly changed after I saw just how much he loved all Pokemon, not just his own." At this, several eyebrows raised and a few snickers could be heard throughout the room. Confused, Diantha continued, "Um, anyway, that set him apart to me, but it wasn't until the events at Desser City that he really showed me just how special he was." At this point, Cynthia couldn't hold her laughter anymore, and she said,
"Could the events at Desser City possibly be that this boy, who you hadn't thought much of, managed to stop two or more legendaries from either destroying a city, each other, or humanity?" Diantha's jaw dropped. "...Yes, why?" Cynthia snickered.
"No reason."
"Well, anyway," Diantha nervously continued, "When Hoopa Unbound attacked and released a whole slew of legendary Pokemon, this boy named Ash Ketchum managed to not only stop the legendaries fighting for the Unbound Hoopa, but actually managed to command three Mega-Evolved legendaries against the others- Rayquaza, Latios, and Latias." When she stopped talking, everyone in the room exploded in laughter.
"Figures that he'd show up again in a different region," Lance chuckled.
"Yeah, although actually commanding the legendaries is a step up for him." Steven agreed.
"Not really, he did it with the Lake Trio in Sinnoh," Cynthia said
"Yeah. The kid's got a really pure heart, and it doesn't hurt that his Pokemon would all die for him in a split second." The laughter continued until a familiar voice silenced the room.
"Well, it's great to hear that you all think so highly of me, but if you guys are having a hard time believing that I temporarily commanded some legendaries, well... You'll be a bit surprised in a while here."
Silence ensued. No one dared move a muscle. Because here, standing in front of them, was the boy who's disappearance had started the rest, Pikachu on shoulder and a Celebi floating beside him. Finally, Cynthia dared ask,
"...Ash?"
"In the flesh!" He answered, while Pikachu flashed a peace sign on his shoulder. It was Lance who spoke next.
"Where have you been? Why are you here?" Lance looked at him. "Not that we don't want you here," he quickly amended. He took a breath before continuing, "And more importantly, how did you get in here?" Lance asked, frowning.
"The first question is confidential. The third question relates to the first question, so it is also confidential, but the second question I'm free to answer. I came here to make a seventh league." Everyone else's eyebrows shot up. "But, I'm only going to let trainers who have won at least one League Conference challenge it. We're too powerful for anyone else." At this Goodshow interrupted.
"Ash, it's great that you want to start a seventh League. Really, it is! However, do you really think you're powerful enough to lead one? You only beaten one League Conference yourself, and now you only want League Winners to be able to challenge? Sorry Ash, but you're simply not powerful enough yet." Goodshow said.
But to his surprise, Ash did not become sullen or downcast. Instead, the young boy started chuckling! Goodshow quickly became confused at Ash's response.
"Ash, are you okay?" He asked, fearing for the boy's mental health. The boy waited until his laughter died down before responding,
"Yeah, Mr. Goodshow, I'm fine. I was just laughing about the whole 'you're simply not powerful enough yet' thing. You haven't seen me recently." Seeing the bewildered and skeptical faces of the Champions, he continued.
"From my knowledge, Cynthia is the most powerful Champion, right?" When he got nods, he smirked and continued,
"I could sweep her 6-0."
After he said this, you could hear a pin drop. After about a minute, however, someone started chuckling. Ash turned, eyebrow raised, at the one laughing, and saw that it was Lance.
"Ash, you're hilarious. Seriously, I haven't laughed this hard in years! I mean, seriously? 'I could sweep her 6-0'? HA! Ash, not even Red could do that!" Lance laughed. Ash's face instantly became harder, and he monotonically said,
"I see. Cynthia, I challenge you. Lets go."
A couple minutes later, all the Champions except Cynthia were sitting in the stands of the main Indigo Stadium, where Cynthia was trying to get Ash to recall his challenge.
"Ash, please don't make me do this! Just forfeit, please!" Cynthia begged. But to no avail, as Ash just monotonically said,
"Just release your first Pokemon." With a heavy sigh, Cynthia did just that and out from her first Pokeball popped a Roserade. Ash inwardly smirked.
"Lugia, I choose you."
You could hear a pin drop in the Indigo Stadium after the legendary emerged from his Pokeball. Granted, that wasn't saying an awful lot, considering that there were only seven other people in the stadium, but still, it got really quiet really fast.
"Well, since you're not doing anything, I'm just gonna start. Lugia, Aeroblast!" Ash called, pointing at the Roserade. Lugia complied, sending a massive blast of air at Cynthia's grass-type.
On the other side of the battlefield, Cynthia was nearly too shocked to actually say anything, but Roserade had managed to dodge the attack anyway. Shaking her head to snap herself out of her stupor, she shouted,
"Roserade! Magical Leaf!" But before the grass-type could launch it's attack, it was already knocked out, courtesy of a devastating Air Cutter.
With a grimace, Cynthia recalled her Pokemon, grabbing her second sphere. Things were about to get serious.
"Garchomp, I choose you!"
"Did that just happen?" Lance managed to say.
"I think so, Lance. Cynthia just got swept six to zero." Aaron replied.
"Holy shit."
Back in the meeting room, Goodshow and Ash were having a very serious discussion.
"Ash, I'm not going to lie when I say that you completely shocked me. However, you used a legendary Pokemon. Would your proposed League only use Pokemon of that status?" Goodshow inquired.
Ash shook his head.
"No. As a matter of fact, Pikachu here is about twice as powerful as Lugia. It's gotten to the point where using him has become overkill in most situations." Goodshow frowned.
"Can you prove that?"
Ash just smiled.
"...Wow. Did your Pikachu really just..." Goodshow started, seemingly unable to finish his sentence.
"Sweep Lance's team single-handedly? Yes, yes he did." Ash finished for him, smirking. Goodshow shook his head.
"I haven't seen that kind of power since... Well, nevermind. The point is, you're strong enough to create a League. However, the logistics still stand. Ash, don't be offended when I say this, but I think that you should become an unofficial league." Goodshow said.
But before Ash could even open his mouth in protest, the old man was already talking again.
"But, that's only because the PLA would hinder you. Ash," He said, producing a document from his desk, "Read this, and then I'll explain more. Confused and a little dejected, Ash nodded and began to read the exert that Goodshow handed him.
Pokemon League Association Official Clause 1728 Article F,
aka the Tobias Law
Due to the Fair Use and Team Diversity Clauses of 1998 and 2004 respectively, Legendary Pokemon are banned from the official teams of the following trainer positions:
Champion,
Elite Four Member,
Gym Leader,
and
Gym Trainer
This is to uphold the fair challenge that the PLA has been offering for over one hundred years since it's founding in 1825. If Legendary Pokemon were (somehow) obtained and used by any of the above positions, some trainers would feel discouraged due to the sheer power that Legendary Pokemon hold. Furthermore, the objective of the Pokemon League Association is to provide a fair challenge to all trainers, regardless of skill level or experience. For further reasoning, see Pokemon League Association Official Clause 48 Article A, aka the Gym Leader Team Rotation Law.
Ash put down the paper with a sigh. Sure, his team of regular Pokemon was more than powerful enough for any challenger, but it wouldn't be fair to his legendary Pokemon if he never used them. They wanted to battle strong opponents as much as he did, after all.
Seeing the young boy's dejection, he pressed on to hammer his point into Ash.
"Also, we have tons of restrictions on the location of Leagues, the styles of battle in the Leagues, the teams of both Gym Leaders and Champions- even more so than the legendary limit- and loads of other restrictions on just about everything else." Goodshow continued. But, seeing the look of utter dejection on the boy's face, he sighed and continued,
Ash sighed and asked,
"And you're sure that there aren't any super-convenient World Tournaments or Championship Leagues or anything I can win to prove that The Hoopa League is powerful enough to be a League?
Goodshow shook his head confusedly, but finally said,
"But, that doesn't mean we can't help you, support you- both financially and with our people- and we can advertise for you guys too."
Ash's grin was about as wide as Route 42 when he said,
"I'll do it."
"So you didn't make the League Official?"
Ash shook his head.
"No, but Charles Goodshow- that's the head of the Pokemon League, by the way- gave me some pretty good reasons why I shouldn't."
Arceus just nodded.
"Ah well. An unofficial League is okay too. Thanks for trying Ash." He said. Slowly, a grin developed on his face, and he continued, "But I did hear that you got to kick some Sinnoh butt there. Good job by the way. Lugia needed to stretch his wings."
Ash just smiled and walked out of his kitchen.
XX
Splash Island is... well... Wet, Ash decided.
Rocky and wet. It was like one massive tide pool, except Ash was sure that he had never seen one this complex. Standing on a rock that overlooked the water, Ash peered into the crystal-clear water, trying to get a better feel for his surroundings. From what he could see from his vantage point, the water below the rocks were criss-crossed with tunnels and pits, and he could see some Lanturn and Eelectross swimming through. Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Ash? Pikachu? Is that you?" A feminine voice asked. As soon as he turned around to respond, though, he was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug.
"Pikachu-Pi!" Pikachu cried, doing his best to hug the redhead.
"Oh my Arceus I missed you so much! Thank you sooo much for including me on this." Misty earnestly said.
Ash broke the hug and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
"Aw it was nothing," The raven-haired trainer replied.
However, Misty didn't think that it was nothing, and Ash found himself laying on the rocks with a sore head looking up to a ticked Misty.
"So you're saying that giving me the chance to accomplish my dream was nothing? So my dream is nothing?" Ash was quick to salvage the situation, though, saying,
"No, no, Misty, you've got it all wrong. I just meant that I was doing what any good friend would do, honest! Your dream means as much to me as mine does!"
Now it was Misty's turn to rub the back of her head. Putting her mallet away, she extended a hand and pulled Ash up.
"Sorry Ash... I guess that I knew that. Still, I had to do that for old time's sake, right? By the way how's Brocko doing?"
_Somewhere on Rock Island_
'Oh Arceus it's getting closer. Why in the hell did I challenge that Rampardos?!'
Ash shrugged it off, "Eh, I'm sure he's doing fine."
Misty nodded.
"Anyways, this island is weird. Basically, if you were to go swimming right now, you'd have no chance of capturing, say, a Wailord or a Relicanth. That's because on this island, theres a very set tide system. Every six hours, the water drains or seeps into the rock system. And it's not a small change either. The rock that we're standing on right now? It's two feet above the water. In about five hours it'll be a hundred feet above the water."
Ash's jaw dropped.
"So basically, be careful. You've got a flying-type here, right?" Misty asked.
Ash instinctively put his hand on Braviary's pokeball on his belt and he nodded. Misty, following his hand, gained a look of confusion when she saw the oddly-colored Pokeball.
"What's in there?" She inquired.
"You really, really don't want to know."
Ten minutes later, Ash and Misty parted ways, each going to a different section of the tide pools. Facing Pikachu, who he left on the rocks to chill while he was underwater, he asked his starter,
"Is there anyone that you'd like to hang out with up here?"
"PikakaPikaPi!" His started cheered. Ash nodded, releasing Venusaur onto the rocks.
"Be careful guys," He warned them, "This rock will get a lot higher sometime today. I'll try and be back before that happens though, so don't worry about it."
And with that, he dove into the water.
His first encounter with a Pokemon that he didn't already have was a Lanturn. Similing, he said,
"Hey! Do ya want to battle?" When the water-type dipped it's body in a sort of a nod, Ash smiled and released Kingdra and then swam away so he wasn't hit by any stray attacks.
_Kingdra POV_
This Lanturn is weak. Probably has Volt Absorb... I shot a Water Gun at it, damaging the water-type. Scratch that, definitely has Volt Absorb. I can defeat it with an Earth Power or two, I decided. With that in mind, I used the attack, not knowing that the effects would be absolutely devastating.
As per the attack, a rock that was about five feet below us cracked, spewing molten earth. What I didn't expect, however, was for the water to absolutely evaporate in the presence of the magma. Suddenly, we found ourselves in a massive cavern completely devoid of water. Behind me some distance, I heard Ash yelp and fall to the ground. Disregarding that for the moment, I focused on saving Lanturn, who was flopping around trying to get away from the approaching lava. Floating over to it, I extended my tail and grabbed it around the middle, pulling it up into the air with me. I floated it over near Ash where I promptly used a Hyper Beam on it, rendering it unconscious. I dropped it near Ash and then focused on problem number two: the fucking lava.
Not knowing what to do, I used a Hydro Pump on where the lava was emerging, knowing in the back of my head that it wouldn't do anything. However, when it hit, something completely unexpected happened: the cavern shook. Without warning, the left wall of the cavern changed colors so that the rock was a fierce red, and the right wall became a deep, deep blue. The colors started at the back of the cavern and quickly made their way to the front, where the lava was spewing. When they hit each other, the two colors swirled and then made the design of a Pokemon that I had never seen. Ash though...
_Normal POV_
"VOLACANION!" Indeed, the legendary was slowly rising from the lava, roaring while it did. When it fully emerged, it roared and the lava stopped moving, instead bubbling on the ground where it lay. Ash scrambled to the back of the cavern and to higher ground, turning to face a chuckling Volcanion as he did.
"When fire and water mix..." Volcanion began,
"I am born. How can your overgrown fish stand up to that?"
School. Ugh. That would be the reason that this chapter was so late. Anywho, this chapter was another one dedicated to the formation of the League... Now you guys know that it isn't going to be some sort of a seventh region, it's going to be more of a Battle Frontier kind of thing. I kinda put that 'Tobias Law' in there on a whim, to explain why exactly the trainer hasn't become a champion. It explains a lot, really. And Volcanion! My numero 4 on my favorite Pokemon list. God I love that Pokemon. Anyways, I'd expect Kingdra's ass to get whooped next chapter :)
REVIEWS!
Yeeeessss! I hit review number EIGHTY! The number itself isn't really special to me, but to know that you guys like this story so much really makes me happy. Thanks guys, keep it up :D
Omega the Espeon: Yes, yes I am. Unless the Island name would sound really weird with the Plate Name, like I was kinda up in the air about wether to call this island Splash Island or Water Island... And thank you, for reviewing!
The Creator: Brace yourself for a long-ass reply.
1) Thanks! I really tried to keep her close to what you wrote about her. She's a pretty cool character! 2) God damn it, I did. I'm seriously considering editing that chapter to include a scene with Smokey the Ursarang. 3) Nope! You should go read the fanfic 'Ashes of the Past.' I think it's on chapter number 133 right now? You'll get that reference if you do :) 4) Yep. Yes I was. I never really liked Porta Vista XD. 5) Dun dun dundun dun dun dun dundun dundun. Played on a bunch of airhorns. 6) How'd you find that out? But daaaaammmmn that team is powerful. Or his dad. *Dramatic music plays*. 7) Go re-read that response, and then realize that this story foucuses on two Pokemon from gens 4 & 6. Actually, Generation Four was my favorite :). 8) I sure as hell want it to be! However, I'm not going to include anything on it until more information gets released. However, the Tao Trio will start alluding to it when Ash gets to them... 9) I hate to break it to you, but me naming Ash 'Z' was a complete accident. My finger slipped when I was going to type 'Alpha' and it turned into 'Zalpha." So I kept it Z. 10) THAT MOVIE WAS EPIC! And I have some plans about what I could do to incorporate that movie... 11) Shh. You weren't supposed to pick up on that... 12) IT's CLOBBERING TI- wait. Yeah, It's time to knock some heads. 13) My favorite starter is the Froakie line, my favorite Pokemon in general is Camerupt, and my favorite Legendary is... Prepare to be shocked... HOOPA! 14) I noticed when I that review.
bk42bk42: Just outta curiosity, what's the name mean? Anything? But anywho, I'm not sure how much I like that Lucario of his... And hey, we all make mistakes! It's all cool that you forgot to read some of this here bold text before reviewing. We're all good!
God of Spirits- Spirit Black: Thanks! And yeah, I knew that the Crystal Onix would be a Rock-Type... If it wasn't something else in canon. I remember that episode, where Marril didn't work on it, but Charmeleon did, and I didn't want to change the typing all of the sudden. Thanks for pointing it out, though! And maybe your research of Crystal Formations will clue you in on what stone Onix will be when he evolves...
MegaHeracross214: "And so Ash lobbed a Fast Ball at the legendary, hitting her on the flank.
'Alright Hoopa, I'm ready to go back to Home Island now.'
And then he was gone, leaving Meadow Island behind him."
That was the last couple sentences of the last chapter :) So yes, Ash captured her, but no, it wasn't in this chapter.
Guest: Thanks!
Well, that's it for this time. See you on the flip side!