Chapter 3: To the Tournament
A few days after Ash and Gary were given their invitations by Crawford, they set out for the World Tournament. Just as Crawford had suggested, they trained like there was no tomorrow and made sure they had good teams for the tournament. According to their invitations, they had to register 6 and only 6 Pokémon. Gary went for a good old-fashioned Blue rip-off team: Pidgeot, Arcanine, Exeggutor, Gyrados, Rhydon, and Alakazam. Ash, however, wasn't so lazy, unlike the author. He actually used his mind and thought of a more original team. He had Pikachu (of course), Charizard, Feraligator, Sceptile, Snorlax, and Garchomp.
So, after a 2 and a half month long journey of training, sparring, and, most of all, putting up with Gary ("Hey!"), they arrived at a port in Hoenn that would take them to the fabled Legend Island.
Here's a funny story about that journey. It only took that long because Ash had gotten a discount map from a seedy website on the Deep Web that took them in a huge circle for nearly a month. Gary was wondering what was taking, so long so he looked at the map. It was then that he realized that Ash was leading them to oblivion and proceeded to promptly strangle. After finally letting Ash have his neck back, they were given a much better map by an Officer Jenny and proceeded to actually get to the Tournament.
When they board their boat, they see many a familiar face, like Richie, Harrison, Jeanette, Tyson, Morrison, Paul and Trip.. Also, just as the boat begins to leave, someone can be seen running toward the boat like a man possessed. Ash, who's standing near the entrance, gets comically run over by the man.
"Hey! Watch it…", but before Ash could finish, he got a good look at the man. He was crazy looking. He had a giant afro, a bright, gold, disco jumpsuit and crazy sunglasses.
"Oh! Sorry 'bout that. I didn't want to miss the ferry and couldn't stop even if I wanted to. I'm Miror B. Are you headed for the tournament?"
"What's it to you, you freak?" Gary said.
"I just wanted to see if he was a competitor. Butt out, boy!"
"Guys!" Ash yelled. "It's fine Gary. It was an accident. Let's just put it behind us."
"Mmm… okay, I guess."
"Anyway, I'm Ash, Miror B. Are you in the tournament too?"
"Well, not exactly."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm one of the World Champs vassals. I almost forgot about the tournament, due to my participating in a dance festival in the next town over, so I had to sprint over to catch a boat."
"Oh! So you're like Crawford. Are you as strong as him?"
"Crawford! I hate that man! He's such a stick in the mud! He always refuses to dance with me and my Ludicolo! Ugh! But no, I'm the newest vassal, so he's stronger than me."
"Where the heck did the champ find you?" asked Gary.
"Well, you little nosebleed, I come from the Orre region. I was originally an Admin of an evil organization, but when it was defeated by a young trainer, Wes, I became a wanderer. During my travels, I met him at an old desert outpost/restaurant. He trained me in the art of the battle, and now, I'm a world class trainer. Let the music play!"
All of a sudden, salsa music plays throughout the boat, and a Ludicolo comes out to dance to the sick beats with Miror; however, everyone covers their ears, and Gary stomps on the boom box and ruins Miror B's fun.
After that fiasco, everyone tells Ash and Gary what they've been doing. Richie had gone to Hoenn and then Johto after losing in the Indigo League, and although he did win the Johto conference, he lost to Karen of the Elite Four. Harrison had gone to Sinnoh and then Kanto after the Johto League and lost to Agatha before reaching Lance. Morrison tried 2 more times at Hoenn and won the last time, but he ultimately lost to Drake. Jeanette just got invited because she's a good friend of another of the vassals, and Paul devoted himself to retrain his Pokémon. Trip was invited because he was thought to "have great potential."
After a couple day trip, which involved a couple of unexpectedly crazy hijinks from Paul and Trip, such as getting everyone to kick Ash nonstop for a whole day, they arrived at the island.
"Well everybody, let's go!" Ash yelled.
(Meanwhile, at the champ's HQ) "Ahh. The tournament's finally gonna get started. This's gonna be fun, eh Crawford?"
"Yes it will be, Master."
"Stop calling me that! I'm not some old sensei! Call me by my name, Crawford."
"Okay, Allister."
"Better! Now, let's spar."
What challenges will Ash face in the tourney? Who else is there? And, who are this mysterious champion and the rest of his vassals? Find out in the next installment of The World Champ.