Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters in this story.

Rayquaza45: Hey there. This is my first ever fanfic. I'm just starting out so constructive criticism is appreciated.

Chapter 1: Finding out

A raven haired teenager woke up late on a Friday, feeling completely exhausted from the surprise fourteenth birthday party thrown for him during the previous night at his friend and former rival, Gary Oak's house. Proud of his recent accomplishments in the Sinnoh region, Ash Ketchum of Pallet town had come home two weeks prior. His mother Delia, Professor Oak, Gary himself and Tracy Sketchit had all been at the party, along side the teenage trainer's most recent traveling buddies: Dawn Berlitz and Brock Harrison. Not to mention all of their pokémon. The party had gone on till early in the morning and involved some questionable activities while Delia Ketchum and the Professor had left to attend to some business in town.

It's didn't exactly help that Gary's fourteenth birthday party had run a similar length just one day prior and had involved even more questionable activities. Not having adults in the house was quite liberating. Strange that it happened on two consecutive days. Ash tried to get out of his bed while exhausted, resulting in him falling on his ass. The pain quickly put him in an alert state of mind. Quickly brushing his teeth, taking a bath and getting dressed, Ash got ready to chow down. He ran downstairs, almost tripping on the stairs on the way.

"Hey, mom?" Ash said quietly while looking around. There was no response. "Strange."

His mother was nowhere to be seen. Her trusty Mr. Mime had also vanished. Ash put his shoes on, assuming that his mom had gone out. Suddenly, Pikachu came up to him.

"Hey Pikachu. Do you know where mom went?"

Pikachu simply pointed out the large building that could be seen from the window: Professor Oak's lab. Dawn had been staying there since Ash had finished up in Sinnoh two weeks prior. Brock had visited his own family and returned for the party the previous day. He left once again late in the night after an emergency in the Pewter City gym required his immediate attention. In contrast, Dawn's intention was to travel Kanto for pokémon contests as Ash's friend May once did. Her 12th birthday had already passed by just before the group finished up in Sinnoh; it was unfortunate that she didn't get to spend it with her family, having been far away from her home in Twinleaf Town. As to the accomplished pokémon trainer: he didn't have an immediate plan regarding where to go next on his journey and was just biding his time till something came up. Grabbing his belt containing his pokéballs and putting on his coat, he exited the house.

After a nice, brisk walk uphill, Ash had reached the lab of Professor Samuel Oak. Opening the door, he saw the pokémon watcher known as Tracy and his mothers helper, Mr. Mime. They were sweeping the floors almost as if they were in competition with one another. Mr. Mime tripped himself on his own broom

"Hey Ash!" Tracy called out from across the room "I thought you'd be out cold after last night."

"I heal quickly." Ash smiled. "Is my mom here?".

"She sure is. She just came early on but Professor Oak hurt his back and she insisted on making him breakfast" he explained.

"Thanks. I'm going to go look for her."

Tracy waved goodbye and turned to Mr. Mime.

"You tripped first. Now you have to go feed all the pokémon." He said, holding out his broom.

While looking for his mom, Ash stumbled into the Professor's living room where Dawn and Gary where watching TV.

"Ash!" Dawn exclaimed after noticing him.

"Hey Ash." Gary said after noticing the same.

"Hey guys! What's going on?"

"Just watching some show. It's taking place in the Johto region this season." Gary answered.

Dawn looked puzzled, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard my mom was here so I came by." Ash explained, hoping to get information as to her whereabouts.

"Yeah she's here." Gary informed him "She's been in the kitchen for a while."

"Thanks. I'm gonna go look for her."

Ash quickly exited the room, running towards the kitchen, crossing the newly swept floor and nearly tripping.

"Gary? When should we tell him about it?" Dawn asked.

"After he has nothing else on his mind." Gary answered.

"We've got all the time in the world then."

After searching for several more minutes Ash managed to find his mother and the Professor in the kitchen.

"Mom?" Ash questioned as he entered the room.

"Oh, my!" Delia exclaimed as she turned around "Ash what are you doing here?"

"I woke up and went downstairs but you weren't home."

"Well I came by to return something I borrowed from the professor yesterday but when I'd found out he'd hurt his back I stayed to make him breakfast." She explained. "I thought you'd be sleeping in since you were so tired after the party."

"Uhh…yeah". Ash said with a mild blush on his face. His mom could never know what happened when she was gone.

So an hour later, Ash had eaten, Mr. Mime had fed the pokémon and the three trainers were in the living room watching TV.

"Hey Ash." Gary started "There was something me and Dawn wanted to tell you."

"What was that?" Ash pondered.

"It's about an advertisement we saw while watching TV." Gary explained "In Olivine city….."

"Hold it!" Ash quickly responded as something appeared on TV "Is this that ad?"

"Yeah! This is the one." Gary laughed.

Two men with their entire bodies shrouded in shadow appeared on the screen.

"Join us for the 'Battle Spirits Tournament' in the Olivine City Battle Tower located in the Johto region."

The man stepped out of the shadow revealing himself to be Tucker, the Dome Ace of the Kanto Battle Frontier.

"A tournament open to all trainers under the age of nineteen. Opening in one week. The winner receives a fabulous prize!"

The second man stepped out of the shadows revealing himself to be Wallace, the champion of the Hoenn region's Elite Four.

"Battle the best!" exclaimed Wallace.

"Stand out from the rest!" exclaimed Tucker.

"Head straight for the top of the pokémon world!" Both men said simultaneously.

"Whoa!" Ash yelled as he jumped out of his seat. "I've gotta enter this thing!"

"I'm coming with you Ash."

"Gary? I thought you ended your pokémon trainer days to become a researcher." Ash said sounding surprised.

"Yeah. I decided that after the Silver Conference." Gary explained. "But sometimes I still get the urge to battle."

"I understand that urge completely. Battling livens up the most boring of times and it's recreational." said Ash.

"True, but I suppose kicking your butt wouldn't exactly be the worst thing in the world." Gary quipped.

"Don't bet on it" Ash smirked.

Dawn the suddenly stood up and got between the boys.

"I'm going too." Dawn announced. "This sounds like an awesome opportunity."

"If they're going to the trouble of announcing it on TV then the prize must be worthwhile." Ash suggested.

"Then I guess there's only one thing left to do." Gary added.

"What would that be?" Ash asked.

"We've gotta decide which pokémon we're taking with us." Gary stated.

"I guess since it's a tournament I should just use the pokémon I already have here at the lab." Ash decided.

At that moment, Professor Oak walked in as if he had been listening in on the conversation the whole time.

"Ash, Gary, Dawn." the Professor started "Why don't you guys make your decisions and then head to Olivine to register?"

"That sounds good." Ash's mom said as she entered the room.

"I guess that makes sense." Ash admitted.

"Then let's get down to it." Gary said as he headed towards the outside research field.

"Hey Gary! Wait up!" Ash shouted as he gave chase.

"Oh boy." Dawn muttered in frustration as she followed them.

Rayquaza45: So, what do you think? This is my first ever attempt at writing fanfiction. I'm doing the best I can. I'd like to thank Gerbilftw for taking the time to help me. Go check his work out, he's awesome. If you liked this chapter and/or have anything to say, feel free to write a review.