Author's notes: This fanfic might be discontinued after this chapter is posted.
Just kidding! It will still go on even though updates are going to be stale sometimes.
This is based after BW episodes 103 and the first part of episode 104. This is therefore, yet another long chapter, even without the reference list below.
And oh, Kotetsu's English dub name is Cameron. Beginning with this chapter, his English name will be used, so expect name inconsistencies with the earlier chapters featuring him to pop up.
As one probably knew from the English dub, Virgil keeps his Japanese name.
Expect cameos of characters from several anime and manga to pop up in this chapter.
Disclaimer: I only own any of the original characters.
Chapter 26
Tournament Arc IX
Ash, Brendan, Iris, Cilan, Haruhi, Mikuru, Kyon, Itsuki, and Yuki are all on the road as they make their final approach in Vertress City, the venue of the Unova League.
Cilan informed, scanning on his Town Map, "According to the Town Map, we're now approaching Vertress City, and here it is!"
The gang saw a large city with a stadium in it. Ash jumped for joy, exclaiming, "Alright! I'm now getting psyched to win the Unova League!"
Kyon asked Cilan, "What is Vertress City?"
"Don't you have a good idea about Vertress City, Kyon?" Haruhi asked, "This is obviously the venue of the Unova League, duh!"
The nine then proceeded, arriving in front of the city's facade. They noticed the vendors at the stalls selling Pokemon merchandise.
Ash said, "It has been a long while. I wonder what are the opponents that I will be facing off."
Cilan replied, "Every single Trainer here has already gotten eight badges needed to enter the Unova League."
Iris added, "I wonder if you can defeat them all."
"Of course, I would! Let's go!"
"But first, you have to register," added Iris.
Haruhi asked Kyon, "Kyon, would it be fine for you if I joined the Unova League too?"
Kyon thought, "I don't think you have had eight badges with you, right?"
"Well, I just wanted to join, that's all," Haruhi muttered.
The group proceeded their way into the stalls.
Haruhi said to Kyon, "I wonder if there are Stunfisk scooping games in there."
"I don't think there are scooping games in here. And besides, it's not a summer festival," the latter replied.
The group then went to a nearby fountain as Ash spotted a blue-haired girl with a cat-like smile on her face.
"I wonder if I can challenge her," Ash said, later becoming amused at the size of the stadium that he noticed.
"So that's the main stadium, right?"
Cilan replied, "There are a lot of other battlefields in it as well."
"So this is where the fun starts," said Ash.
Mikuru remarked, "That's a very huge stadium."
Kyon thought to himself, "For a stadium that huge, it would be a good spot for the Unova League."
"I'm so psyched, so let's win this!" Ash and Haruhi exclaimed.
"But Haruhi, don't you remember from earlier that we don't have any Pokemon and even the badges needed to enter?" asked Kyon.
Haruhi frowned and said, "You're right, Kyon."
Kyon thought to himself, "I'm having a bad feeling that there's a possibility of a problem going to happen next."
"I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away!"
That voice was none other than Bianca, who just bumped into Ash, sending him crashing into a fountain.
"Ash, are you alright?" asked Iris, approaching him.
Bianca also approached the soaking-wet Ash, fumbling with resentment.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry for that one!" she uttered.
"But that's ironic that you were actually running away," Kyon said sarcastically to Bianca.
A few minutes later, Ash dried up his cap and clothes.
Iris asked Bianca, "So, you also collected eight badges as well?"
"Yeah, and it was right on time," replied the latter, "On the way, I thought that the journey I had was a bit too difficult for me, but I worked very hard for it anyways."
"That's a good one," said both Kyon and Cilan.
Bianca continued, "Joining the Unova League has become my main goal, since I was thinking that all of you will be there too."
She then asked, "Ash, are you still fine?"
"You're seriously asking me that even after you slammed me inadvertently?"
"Didn't I forgive you already, Ash?"
"That girl's very hasty on her use of words," remarked Kyon, referring to Bianca.
The latter replied, "And oh, I have one question. Just who are those six people walking with you?"
When Haruhi, Kyon, Yuki, Mikuru, and Itsuki exchanged introduction with Bianca, the latter asked, "What does the SOS Brigade do?"
"We look for the mysteries that this world has to offer," replied Haruhi, "Something like time travelers, aliens, espers, and among others."
"So that's how you run that brigade of yours."
That voice was none other than Stephan, who showed up in front of the group.
"It's Stephan!" Ash exclaimed, noticing him.
"Looks like we have met again, Ash. Oh, if you got my name wrong, the name's Stephan. Wait, did you finally get to pronounce my name right?"
Ash replied, "Well, yes. Your name's Stephan after all."
"Yes, yes, and three more yeses! You'll get cookies for getting my name right!" Stephan exclaimed.
Stephan immediately approached Haruhi, shook her hand, and said, "Oh, I do know a lot about you and that organization of yours. After all, I have heard that you and Trip both won in the Junior Cup, or at least I could say so myself. I even knew the names of your subordinates without having to ask."
He then proceeded to shake Kyon's hand as well, and said, greeting him, "You call yourself Kyon, right? Because I've heard that you and Haruhi are both participants in the Junior Cup."
"Actually, that's not my real name," Kyon replied, "Wait, how did you know about the Junior Cup?"
"I was supposed to be joining, but it was all too late, so I decided to do some training instead with my Pokemon," Stephan replied, rubbing his nape.
"Let me guess. From Ash just said earlier, your name's Stephen, right?"
Stephan fell on his face and replied, "Kyon, the name's Stephan and I'm just a passing Pokemon Trainer. You must remember that!"
This left Ash, Iris, Brendan, and Cilan laughing.
Stephan went to Brendan and said, "Your name's Brendan, right?"
"Yes," the latter said.
"Are you the sixth member of the group that Haruhi just set up?"
"Technically, no. You see, it's not just me who joined them, but Ash, Iris, and Cilan also got recruited as honorary members just recently, so. . . . . "
"I thought you were the sixth member that Haruhi just recruited in her group," Stephan said, interrupting, "Besides, you were traveling with them."
"Hey, Ash. If only I would show you how well-improved my Pokemon are," added Stephan.
Cilan said, "He sure is becoming confident."
In all of a sudden, Stephan pointed his finger at the sky and said, "Ash, I wonder who's piloting that thing up there."
That was none other than the Klinklang-helicopter maneuvered by Virgil's brother, Davy.
"It's Virgil from the Pokemon Rescue Squad!" exclaimed Iris.
The eleven decided to head off to the jet as it flew down to a safe landing.
When Virgil and his Eevee both disembarked, Davy said, "Do your best, Virgil."
"I'll do my best, brother Davy."
"You are representing the Pokemon Rescue Squad, so make us proud," Davey said, "I guess I'll be heading on now for my next mission. Dad and I will be watching you on TV."
"Expect some good news, brother!"
"Good luck!"
The helicopter flew away as the eleven came to meet up with him again.
"Virgil!" Ash and Iris both exclaimed.
Cilan added, "That was an impressive aerial entrance."
"Looks like it's both Ash and Brendan, as well as the people from the SOS Brigade," said Virgil, "I was just fresh from rescuing some injured Pokemon to the Pokemon Center."
When Virgil noticed Stephan and Bianca, he wondered, "Who are those two with you?"
"They're Stephan and Bianca. We met them for a long time," replied Ash.
Iris added, "To add any further, Stephan's the winner of the Clubsplosion tournament."
Virgil introduced himself to Stephan and Bianca.
"He's from the Pokemon Rescue Squad," Cilan continued explaining.
"Can you imagine his Pokemon? Basically he has an Eevee and all of its evolutionary forms!" exclaimed Iris.
Virgil said, "Now, now, Iris. You don't need to explain my Pokemon to them any further."
Haruhi added, "It's an uncommon sight to see all of Eevee's evolutionary forms at the same time."
"Are you participating using Team Eevee?" asked Ash.
"Yes, of course," Virgil replied, "Have you registered yet?"
"No."
"Well then, let's go and register."
On the way to the Pokemon Center, Ash, Haruhi, and the rest of the group noticed a certain rival of Ash.
"Oh, it's Trip," Ash said, spotting him passing by.
"So you have collected all eight badges as well," Trip said to Ash.
"Well, of course," responded the latter, "Trip, I'm gonna win it this time."
"Don't lose before challenging me."
"Same with you."
"Well then, I'm off."
Trip then went away, leaving Kyon confused.
The latter wondered, asking Ash, "Wasn't he the kid who participated in the bento battle in Humilau City with his Serperior?"
"Yes," Ash explained, "You see, Trip and I became rivals ever since the day I arrived in the Unova region."
On the other hand, Iris mumbled, "Trip sure has changed a bit."
As the group entered inside the Pokemon Center, Nurse Joy announced in a desk, "Please show your badges here and have your Pokedex scanned right here."
Alongside Nurse Joy was a certain surgeon with several stitched-up scars on his face.
Kyon approached him and asked, "Do you work here?"
"Yes."
"Oh, if you want to know him, his name is Kuro'o Hazama. He used to be an unlicensed surgeon, but he is now working to become a licensed Pokemon doctor," added Nurse Joy, "Oh, it looks like Ash is going to start registering."
Ash opened his badge case and showed it to Nurse Joy. He then proceeded to scan his Pokedex in a scanner, fully completing his registration in the Unova League.
"Alright, Ash. You're now registered. Do your best," Nurse Joy said as Ash begins getting fired up.
"That won't take a while just now!" Ash exclaimed.
Bianca, Stephan, and Virgil also did the same, fully registering themselves in the Unova League.
The bored Haruhi suddenly fished out something from her pockets. It was a badge case and a Pokedex.
Kyon gasped in shock and thought to himself, "That. . . . . . that can't be right. It was just taking place right now!"
Brendan was eyeing at Haruhi when that happened. He thought to himself, "I think I can see the ending."
Nurse Joy said to Haruhi, "You also got all eight badges too? You can register along as well by scanning your Pokedex right here."
Haruhi wondered and thought, "I didn't expect that a badge case and a Pokedex would be there in my pockets. Oh well."
She then proceeded to have herself registered.
After the registration, the group then headed on an uphill route to the living quarters.
"Ash, where's the room that is assigned to you?" asked Kyon.
"It's at the third floor of the first building."
"Same goes for me too!" added Bianca.
Haruhi said, "I decided that the SOS Brigade will sleep in two rooms, one for us girls and the other for Kyon and Itsuki."
Kyon thought, "I don't think I'm going to sleep with Koizumi."
"We must rest today," Virgil said to Stephan, "In fact, we have to prepare for tomorrow's tournament."
"I agree with you," replied Stephan, "Besides, I want to enjoy and relax at the sauna and have a good night's sleep!"
"Geez, you do like to live a fancy lifestyle," Iris remarked to Stephan.
"What gives? It gives me the relaxation that I need!"
Kyon, Itsuki, Mikuru, and Haruhi all noticed a built-up tent in the trees.
Haruhi muttered, "There are Trainers who reside in tents too?"
"They must be very hyped," added Ash, eventually spotting a Riolu showing up from the tent.
"That was a Riolu," he said, "That means. . . . . "
A certain Pokemon Trainer wearing a headband also went out of the tent, appearing to have awoken from his sleep.
"It's Cameron!" Ash exclaimed, approaching him.
Kyon thought to himself, "The kid that we met in Humilau City."
"Oh, if it isn't Ash. You should've arrived on time," Cameron said, "Besides, I was here for three days."
"I get it now," Ash responded, "It would be a bad idea to show up late."
"That's the reason why I camped here just to wait for the start of the tournament," Cameron replied, laughing cheerfully.
"After all, I'm starting to become punctual, right?"
Brendan asked, "Don't they assign you a room in the living quarters if you register?"
"Register? I thought that was a new Pokemon or something."
Kyon asked, "Cameron, you haven't registered yet? To do so, you need to sign up to join the Unova League."
The latter replied, "Someone should've told me that in the first place, Kyon."
"What have you been doing here for the past three days?" Ash ranted.
That was when an announcement was heard from the sirens from afar.
"Attention to all Pokemon Trainers. The official registration for the Vertress City Unova League is now closed."
Ash and Kyon were both exasperated.
"Cameron, where are your badges?" the former asked.
"I have them right here in my pockets."
"Now hurry up! Let's head for this way!" Ash said, attempting to drag Cameron along. But Cameron stopped him.
"What's up with you?"
"You can't enter the tournament if you're not registered!" Ash replied.
"I'm in despair! I haven't registered, so I'm in despair!"
Ash dragged Cameron all the way back to the Pokemon Center to have him registered at the last minute.
A few minutes later:
The rest of the group eventually caught up as they saw Ash and Cameron leave the Pokemon Center.
Itsuki asked, "So, how did everything go?"
Ash replied, "We managed to persuade Nurse Joy to let Cameron register."
"That's great!" Bianca responded.
Ash gladly said to Cameron, "It's just that you came here for the tournament but forgetting to register."
He then continued to explain to Stephan, Bianca, and Virgil, "Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce the three of you to him. He's Cameron. He may be a decent battler, but he's also scatterbrained."
"That was embarrassing," Cameron said.
"Nice to meet you," Bianca and Stephan both said in unison.
"Oh, there's one more thing that I have to tell you, Ash," Cameron said.
"What is it?"
"Let's see, . . . . . . What was that again?" Cameron muttered. While in a thinking pose, he then pulled his headband and released it back.
"Oh, that's right! Ash, I've been preparing for a secret weapon that I'll use in the tournament."
"Secret weapon? What is it?"
"It won't be the way it is if I tell it to you though, so look forward to it!"
There was a sudden sound that looked like a rumbling stomach.
"Uh, I guess it's lunch time for me," said Ash, rubbing his nape.
"We should go to the stalls to look for some snacks," said Stephan.
Haruhi suddenly had an idea popped up.
"I have an idea. We will start looking for the mysteries of this world while we feed ourselves some lunch at the stalls!" she exclaimed.
"Mysteries of this world?" asked Virgil.
"Yes, that's right, Virgil. This is one of the main things the SOS Brigade does. Since we haven't received any messages about reports of strange phenomena, that is when we start to look for them ourselves."
"Now there goes the plan to look for strange things that never seem to exist," Kyon thought in the midst of Haruhi's explanation.
Haruhi asked, "Because there aren't any toothpicks that we can find, is there anyone of you who has an idea of how to form groups?"
"I got some toothpicks right here," Brendan replied, pulling out a small box of toothpicks from his knapsack.
"Now, we have to divide into groups of three," said Haruhi.
Kyon responded, "But we could get lost when we look out into those stalls. It's not that they wouldn't be crowded with people or anything."
"You're right," Haruhi frowned and said, "Looks like we'll have to divide into groups of six instead."
Confused about the situation, Stephan interrupted and asked, "Hold on a second. Why are we grouping ourselves into groups of six?"
Haruhi replied, "Because you already mentioned to have known the SOS Brigade and it main goal, you may have guessed why we divided ourselves into groups."
"Oh, I forgot."
When everyone pulled out their toothpicks from Haruhi, the latter stared at the others and the toothpick they each selected.
Haruhi concluded, "I guess we now have our groupings. If you find any strange phenomena that you can find, alert me by. . . . . . . Oh wait, not everyone has a mobile phone, right?"
"I have a Xtransceiver here," said Bianca.
"Same goes with me too," said Virgil.
"Alright, that's settled," Haruhi concluded, "If either both of you have managed to look for strange phenomena, alert yourselves using the Xtransceivers worn on your wrist."
Kyon thought, noticing Mikuru and eventually, to Brendan, "Too bad Miss Asahina didn't get the same colored tip as me, but at least Haruhi isn't going to think that we're going out on a date or something."
"Kyon, are you paying attention?" Haruhi exclaimed, "You may not have shared the same selected colored toothpick as Mikuru's, but if you're just spending lunch without looking for strange mysteries, you're still going to suffer!"
She then added, "I want to make sure you're all on time when we meet again at the Pokemon Center in the afternoon."
The group went to make a visit to the stalls, with Ash, Kyon, Brendan, Bianca, Cameron, and Stephan heading for a separate direction from Haruhi, Itsuki, Mikuru, Yuki, Iris, Cilan, and Virgil.
Bianca and Stephan are later shown eating tacos, with Stephan wondering and asking him, "Where did you two get those?"
"Those tacos at the booth that Bianca and I just visited are very delicious!" Stephan remarked, proceeding to chow down.
"Where did you two get some delicious tacos?" Brendan asked.
"Taco Aizen," Bianca replied.
While the six strolled along in the crowded stalls while looking for strange mysteries that Haruhi was also looking for, Ash accidentally bumped himself with a girl as the two both stumbled down.
"Sorry about that," Ash muttered.
"That's fine," the girl replied.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Ash, and this is my partner, Pikachu."
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Tamako Kitashirakawa," the girl said, introducing herself, "If you're hungry, you can buy rice cakes at our booth."
Cameron, Stephan, Bianca, Brendan, and Kyon all noticed Ash with the passing-by girl. The latter said, approaching him, "You're not supposed to talk to strangers like that!"
"But she's friendly, and I just bumped into her for no reason!" Ash replied, "Oh, by the way. Say hello to my little friend, Tamako Kitashirakawa!"
"Uh, hello there," Kyon muttered, waving his hand slightly.
At the booth where Tamako's family have set up, Ash, Brendan, Cameron, and Kyon purchased some rice cakes.
That was when Tamako's father started arguing with someone from another booth that was facing them, with Ash and Kyon wondering what was going on.
"I'm trying to tell you this for so long. Your store isn't that good enough, and because of that, your booth goes along with it as well!"
"Your business should learn to keep up with the modern and current trends of nowadays!"
"But rice cakes are rice cakes, darn it! Learn to pay respect to the true spirit of making traditional rice cakes!"
"Tamako, what's with the ruckus?" Kyon asked her.
"My dad has been arguing yet again with the father of my childhood friend, Ooji Mochizou."
Suddenly, a Togekiss is shown, perching itself on top of the booth's sign.
"So, you've got new customers," the Togekiss said without moving its mouth.
"That Pokemon can talk?!" Kyon muttered in aghast, much to the surprise of Cameron, Stephan, and Bianca.
"Yes, you've heard me, young man," said the Togekiss, "I can talk, but I don't do mouth flaps very often."
Cameron remarked, "I wonder who's that Pokemon."
Ash replied, "That's a Togekiss."
"Gah! You already know that Pokemon, Ash?"
The Togekiss explained to Cameron, "He knows that I'm a Togekiss because it's pretty clear that he has traveled to a faraway region called Sinnoh, where this species of Pokemon is native to. It's a rare sight to see one here in the Unova region though."
Stephan said to the Togekiss sarcastically, "I would never expect that a Pokemon can talk."
"Enough of that! I must introduce to all of you my name!"
Kyon muttered, "Does that Pokemon even come with its own name?"
"Young man, of course even though I am a Pokemon, I still have a full name," the Togekiss replied in a bossy tone, perching on top of the sobbing Tamako's head, "My name is . . . . . . . . . Dela Mochimazui."
Ash, Bianca, Stephan, Kyon, Brendan, and Cameron all dropped their sweats.
"Do you hate rice cakes?" Cameron asked Dela.
"Young boy. . . . " Dela replied, tucking its wings, "It's not that I would hate rice cakes just because my name is interpreted that they really taste very bad!"
"Now, allow me to explain how I came here. Would that be fine to you six?"
"Uh, there's no need to explain that to us. We will be going now," said both Bianca and Cameron.
"Let's go there at my place. We might find the strange things that Haruhi is looking for," said Brendan.
The six went to Brendan's old vacation home, which was not far from the stadiums.
"How much money did you pay for a vacation home like this?" asked Kyon.
"Well, it was actually lent over to me since the original owner of this vacation home decided to sell it."
Kyon noticed that the wall beside the main door had an electronic lock beside it as well as its own virtual computer keyboard.
Brendan pushed the buttons 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
"That has got to be the most ridiculous password ever to be set in a luggage," Kyon remarked.
"But that's not all," Brendan replied.
Kyon noticed how he later pushed the buttons in the keyboard.
Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A
The main entrance door was then opened.
"I know that! That was the Konami Code that he just typed in!" Cameron exclaimed.
Kyon had a deadpan look in his face and thought, "There's no way Cameron would actually be a closet gamer."
The group entered the living room as they started to take a rest at the comfy sofas.
"Nothing amazing happens here. Everything here is ordinary," Brendan said, describing the entire house, "Even though this house looks a bit fancy as what all of you can think of, it sometimes carries a terrible curse."
"That's bad," replied Kyon.
"But it's got free drinks!"
"That's good," answered Bianca.
"The drinks are also cursed."
"That's bad," Kyon said.
"But the drinks are actually berry juices!"
"That's good," Cameron replied.
"The berry juices taste like Sadaharu Inui's vegetable juice."
"That's bad," said Kyon, "But what can go wrong if they taste like that vegetable juice?"
"You already know why people are getting grossed out for drinking it."
"Ugh," muttered Kyon, "So that explains why you said that they are cursed."
"Let's start checking this place up for the mysterious things that Haruhi is looking for," Bianca said.
Kyon thought to himself, "Bianca's starting to lose her sanity."
A young woman in a maid outfit suddenly showed up beside Brendan.
"Hello there. I was just a passing-by maid."
"No way!" Kyon muttered.
"Kyon, do you know her?" asked Stephan.
The former explained, "Uh, you see, her name's Sonou Mori, and I just met her when the SOS Brigade decided to visit an island villa owned by Koizumi's distant relative."
Brendan asked, "If you know Sonou Mori, do you know Arakawa as well? He's here too."
"Mr. Arakawa is also here?" Kyon deadpanned and thought, "I wonder why are they here in the Pokemon world and what are they up to now?"
"Would all of you like something to drink?"
Stephan replied to Sonou Mori, "Sure, I would like a Soda Pop."
Brendan said to Kyon, "While Ash and the others tour around, we'll do the same thing in the attic."
The two went upstairs, eventually heading for the attic.
"Is it me or are you trying to tell me something?" Kyon ranted.
"I have something that might be of convenience to you."
Brendan pulled out a box from a nearby cabinet and showed to Kyon a colorful scrapbook.
"Here it is."
Brendan showed out a scrapbook to Kyon.
"Mabinogion? What's that?" muttered the latter.
"It's just like the one that Mori Summer just wrote."
"That has got to be the most nonsense name for a scrapbook," Kyon said.
"But it doesn't contain a lot of philosophical rants like the original one. Instead, you will see data for every well known Pokemon in existence."
"I see," thought Kyon.
"I can let you keep it, since you may not know if you have encountered a rare Pokemon."
"But I don't want to keep a scrapbook like that," Kyon replied, "People would think I got eighth-grade syndrome or something."
"Pi-ka! Pi-ka! Pi-ka!"
Ash's Pikachu showed up, dancing while clanking a pair of castanets.
"Pikachu? Where did you get those?" Kyon asked.
Brendan said, "Those are Fami's castanets. Apparently, Pikachu took them from one of the boxes."
Ash entered the attic and said, "I wonder where's Pikachu."
When he noticed the Electric-type mouse Pokemon, dancing with a pair of castanets, he said, "Oh, there you are. But where did you get those?"
Brendan replied, "Pikachu just went here to look for something interesting to play with."
Suddenly, he had an idea sprung up.
"Oh, Ash and Pikachu, I have an idea. Let's dance away with those castanets like what Yui Hirasawa did!"
Kyon facepalmed.
"Untan! Untan!" Brendan chanted as he, Ash, and his Pikachu danced along, clanking castanets.
"Uh, what did we just chant?" Ash asked.
"Like what I told you, the chant that-"
"Brendan, Ash does not watch anime," Kyon said, interrupting him.
"Pikachu, what do you say? Let's go get some treats from Sonou Mori!"
Ash and his Pikachu left the room.
"As what I was asking to you a while ago, what's the reason why you have been gathering me here?" Kyon asked.
"If you've been wondering lately about what just happened in the Pokemon Center, that's the reason. And also, I'm going to give you a little piece of trivia about me."
"So, it's about you and Suzumiya. I get your point."
"I used to be an ordinary human like you, until I took a certain hit in the knee."
Kyon was in a deadpan look in his face.
"Actually, that's how I can sum up about myself, and that's for starters," replied Brendan.
Kyon said, "O-k, if you aren't an ordinary person, tell me who you really are."
"If I mentioned to you that I am a slider, would you be surprised?"
Kyon was starting to become in shock when Brendan said those words.
"He is a slider?" Kyon thought to himself.
"You may have realized about my identity, but a full explanation of myself as a slider might be a bit too complex for you to understand, unless if you are getting the idea about theoretical physics," said Brendan, "For now, I will tell you the basics."
"They sure rhymed," Kyon said.
"Well, unintentionally yes. Shall I continue?"
"Sliders are. . . . . well, you may have probably guessed it, entities who travel between dimensions. It so happens that there's a certain TV series about them, although what differentiates between us and the entities from the show is that we don't wait for 29 years in order to slide again in case we miss out on a portal to another dimension. Instead, the powers of a slider that has traveled to another universe will recharge very slowly, and it can even take an entire year or two," he continued.
"O-k," muttered Kyon as he stood up, facing Brendan, "Jumping to different dimensions looks a lot more like time travel."
"Time travel? Time travelling and jumping to different dimensions beyond our own may look the same, but they're like . . . . . two different things."
"What is it?"
"It gets complicated if I explain about the whole thing though, but I do see the similarities between them."
The usually deadpan Kyon sighed and muttered, "What do you sliders want with Haruhi anyways? I'm sure that if you are indeed a slider, Suzumiya is likely involved."
"I was here because of that certain time when Haruhi started her quest to look for aliens, time travelers, espers, and sliders, but ironically, I'm not a student at the same school as you and Haruhi herself. I don't think that was coincidence, but it's nice knowing you anyways."
Brendan added, "Another reason why I came is because I just wanted to make sure Haruhi isn't bored. Obvious much? Yes, this is the case with Itsuki, Mikuru, and Yuki as well. You might have guessed from them that they wanted to make sure the real world isn't going to end up in ruins very soon."
"There has got to be something else that you need to explain as well which may involve sliders," Kyon said.
"Well, yes. Another thing that I have to tell you is that this dimension is one of the parallel versions of the real world. For instance, the Unova region is one of the alternate versions of New York."
"Then that means we're in an alternate version of America," Kyon concluded.
"Yes, that's right. In America!" Brendan exclaimed after making a short pause, "Now, where do you and Haruhi reside in in the real world?"
"Nishinomiya, and it's in Japan."
"Nishinomiya, right?" Brendan asked, later concluding, "In this dimension, it's located somewhere in the Johto region."
"But that would mean we have a long way to go," Kyon said in a worried tone.
"Actually, that won't be necessary."
"I think that was Homura's line," Kyon said, "Now, can you describe to me what your dimension looks like."
Brendan answered, "I'm in the same dimension as you, but I don't live in the same place as you. It's not that I would be in another if I have to exist in the real thing, don't I?"
Kyon reacted with a deadpan look in his face. He then asked, "Do sliders like you have a faction?"
"Yes, I forgot to tell you that I am a member of an organization of sliders called the Seleção," Brendan explained.
"That has got to be like the one from Eden of the East," Kyon said.
"We have no relation to them, actually."
"Um, yeah," replied Kyon, "Now, if you do call yourself a slider, show me your powers right away."
"I'm sorry, Kyon. I'm afraid I can't do that."
"But why?"
"They only work in certain conditions. However, it would be an honor to give you a demo of my powers once the time comes that they are needed."
"Now, do you have any idea about what happened earlier in the Pokemon Center?"
"Yeah, that's right. Haruhi obviously wanted to join the Unova League, and because of that, her powers activated."
"He also knew about it," said Kyon, "The only thing that is missing is closed space."
"I have another question to tell you," Brendan said to Kyon, "Didn't you and Haruhi end up getting trapped in a closed space at one point?"
"It traumatizes me when you let me recall about what happened," Kyon replied, "But how did you know all that?"
"I've been hearing of all those recent incidents of closed space in which Haruhi is involved. And that's why I've become omniscient about them."
"O-kay," Kyon said. He asked, "Do you really have a lot of Pokemon with you? It's like you've been lending a lot of Pokemon to me and Haruhi the most."
"Actually, she has been playing the Pokemon games for a while, and because of that, some of the Pokemon that she has in one of the games that she played are with me."
"If you have your own Pokemon, how can you tell which one is yours and which one is Haruhi's?"
"The PC is able to sort them according to their Trainer. I'll show it to you."
The two then went downstairs, making a beeline for Brendan's bedroom.
Inside, there was a bed fit for one person, a desk, and a PC with a Poke Ball transfer machine beside the window pane.
"That looks like a computer beside the window," Kyon said, describing the PC.
"Yes, but don't think of it as just a typical PC. I call it, the Navi."
"Navi?"
"Have you gotten any idea about those computers in Serial Experiments Lain? I named this PC after them."
After making a short pause, Brendan added, "Oh, and speaking of that anime, if Haruhi were to be a deity, it's going to be like what happened in its last episode. But it wouldn't be satisfying to you if that happened."
Brendan then opened the PC and explained, "Oh, to explain any further about the PC, it is a form of technology used for storing Pokemon and items."
"O-k, but does it really sort out your Pokemon and the Pokemon Haruhi has actually obtained?"
Kyon noticed two tabs on the PC's screen as Brendan clicked the mouse on one of them.
"Kyon, this is the storage tab for Haruhi's Pokemon," Brendan discussed to Kyon, "Here, you will find some of the Pokemon that Haruhi caught ever since Haruhi started playing the Pokemon games."
He then proceeded to click the mouse over a tab on the screen showing two Pokemon, an Electivire and a Yanmega.
"These are two of the Pokemon that I had on hand but are actually owned by Haruhi," he then said.
"Then that means some of the Pokemon that you have are actually Haruhi's the whole time!"
"Yes."
Kyon was startled.
"Uh, ok. Was that also caused by her powers?"
"No. Actually, those are the Pokemon that Haruhi has caught in the games. Or maybe in this case, alternate reality based after them."
"Isn't that supposed to be like breaking the fourth wall?"
"Of course the fourth wall is literally broken!" Brendan replied, "The reason for that is because Haruhi is making the unreal real thanks to her powers. Or in other words, she's making the impossible possible."
Kyon sighed and asked, "I also have another question to tell you. What's with the whole business of Pokemon battling anyways?"
"You just don't pay attention to Haruhi about the whole thing," Brendan said and sighed, "Alright, I'm going to give you an overview of a typical Pokemon trainer's journey. The first thing to do before your journey begins is to obtain a starter Pokemon from the Professor of the assigned region."
"Starter Pokemon?"
"Yes, those are the Pokemon you obviously start off with. You don't have to encounter them in the wild. But before you leave though, you'll need to have six Poke Balls and a Badge Case from the Professor."
"Then, what's next?" Kyon asked, wondering.
"While you progress, you have to get more Pokemon."
"If I have to get a lot of Pokemon, can I have to use all of them for every battle?"
"No. You can only bring a maximum of six Pokemon with you. Pick the ones that are well-performed in battles."
"The next step?"
"To update the progress of your journey, deal with the 8 Gyms by having a battle with the Gym Leaders in proper order. Once you beat them, you are one step ahead in entering the Pokemon League."
"You mean something like that tournament going on right now?"
"Yes, and the first rule to winning the Pokemon League is to be polite, be an efficient Pokemon Trainer, and have a plan to defeat every opponent you meet in the battlefield."
Kyon deadpanned and asked, "Does this have to be like that when one goes to a new region?"
"Yes, and it's like, history repeated by itself!" Brendan exclaimed, "Whenever Ash visits a new region, he tries to get all eight badges and compete in the Pokemon League, and when it's all over, the cycle goes back to the start!"
"O-k. . . . . " muttered Kyon, "You're probably omniscient about Ash and his record as a Pokemon Trainer."
"Oh, I think we must end this conversation for now. You wouldn't want to be ranted over by Haruhi for not showing up on time."
"Thanks for reminding me that," Kyon replied. He asked, "Do you really need to rest here for tonight?"
"No, I'm fine sleeping with you and Itsuki in the living quarters."
As the sun started to set, Ash, Brendan, Kyon, Bianca, Cameron, and Stephan went back to the Pokemon Center, where Haruhi and the remaining others waited.
Haruhi said to Kyon, "It's a good thing you and the group went back just in time. Have you spotted anything strange?"
"None so far. How about you, Haruhi?"
Haruhi didn't say a word.
"It's not that strange things would show up that easily, do they?" Kyon added.
"Whatever," Haruhi muttered, "I'm still going to review on how you behave."
The group spent some dinner at the living quarters.
Later on, Brendan, Kyon, Cameron, and Stephan are relaxing at the sauna, with towelettes placed behind their necks.
"Can we go now?" Cameron asked Stephan.
"No, no, not yet," the latter replied, folding his arms, "We still have a long way to go."
When Cameron noticed Brendan and Kyon leaving the sauna, he asked, "But why are they leaving right now?"
"They went here first!"
Cameron sighed as he and Stephan were the only ones left in the sauna.
In the lobby of the Pokemon Center, Ash went to the PC Storage to contact Professor Juniper.
When everyone went to their respective rooms for a good night's sleep, Kyon was in bed in one of the rooms, along with Itsuki and Brendan. He couldn't sleep.
"Kyon, you haven't slept?" asked Brendan.
"Well, you see, I have a bad feeling that Haruhi would cause any trouble if she loses in the Unova League."
Brendan said, "Don't jump to the conclusions just yet. It's not all the time that another closed space would happen, right?"
The next day was the big day for all Pokemon Trainers including Ash, the Unova League Tournament.
All the trainers gathered on the battlefield on the main arena as a helicopter is seen hovering past the stadium.
Much to the surprise of all the Trainers, Freddy O'Martian showed up from the helicopter, descending down to the arena with a parachute.
"Greetings to everyone! This is Freddy 'The Scoop' O'Martian, getting ready to roll!" Freddy O'Martian announced on his microphone, "And so, it is of my great honor to welcome you all to the Unova League!"
The participating Trainers standing in the battlefield jumped for joy.
O'Martian added, "If everyone will please turn their attention to the flame cauldron, Vertress City's very own Officer Jenny will be lighting up the flame, in which it will signal the start of the Unova League."
An Officer Jenny is shown lighting up the flame cauldron on one side of the stadium as it started bursting into flames.
"Before we move on to our round of sixteen, there will be preliminary matches. The Trainers who will win those preliminary matches will move on to the main events."
"Preliminaries?" Ash thought to himself.
O'Martian continued, "In the preliminary round, only one Pokemon will be used in the battle. And now, we will be revealing our first match-ups for this tournament."
The screen showed the cards featuring the participating trainers to be shuffled, eventually revealing the first match-ups.
Among all the other match-ups on the screen, one of the revealed pairings for the green field were between Ash and Trip.
In the same field was also the match-up between Haruhi and Yuri. On the purple field, one of the match-ups were between Stephan and Ladonia.
On the yellow field, one of the battles are between Bianca and Louise and Sasaki and a random Pokemon Trainer named Sasshi.
Virgil was to battle a Pokemon Trainer named Arumi in the blue field, and lastly, Cameron was to challenge Tamako Kitashirakawa on the red field.
On the bleachers, Kyon gasped when he noticed Haruhi's card pitted up with Yuri Nakamura's card on the screen.
"Why does Haruhi have to face off again against Miss Nakamura?"
"That's fine, as long as Haruhi has to do better and win the tournament," Brendan said, surprising Kyon as he sat beside him.
The latter said, "I thought you were participating in the Unova League too."
"I didn't register, since I already joined the Unova League before."
Kyon added, noticing Sasaki's card on the screen, "I never expected that Sasaki would also be joining the tournament as well."
"I wonder who's my first opponent," Haruhi said, pointing her finger on the screen.
Yuri Nakamura prodded her from behind and said, "I'm setting my eyes at winning the Unova League, so prepare to lose!"
Sasaki was behind Haruhi, eventually noticing her.
Stephan pointed at the screen, noticing his card pitted up with Ladonia's card, saying, "So that's my first opponent, huh? I just can't wait to win this!"
"Hmm, I wonder who's my first opponent," Ash thought, "There I am!"
But when he noticed the screen, he said, "I'm up against Trip."
"I'm looking forward to it, Ash," Trip added, showing up as he and Ash confronted themselves.
The former then went off.
"If I lose to Trip again, there's no way that I can get to the main rounds," Ash thought, "Pikachu, let's win this!"
The first match to take place in the purple field was between Stephan and Ladonia.
"Stunfisk, use Mud Bomb!"
"Zebstrika, dodge that!"
Stephan's Zebstrika avoided all of Ladonia's Stunfisk's barrage of Mud Bombs.
"It's our turn. Now use Stomp."
Zebstrika attempted to stomp off Stunfisk with its two front feet but it was also avoided.
"Use Dig!"
Stunfisk burrowed into the ground as Stephan was thinking of a way for Zebstrika to dodge Dig.
The former emerged from the ground, tackling Zebstrika for a good hit.
Stephan exclaimed, "Zebstrika!"
"Use Dig again!"
Stunfisk burrowed on the ground once again, forcing Stephan to think of a strategy.
"Use Stomp!"
Much to Ladonia's surprise, Zebstrika stomped its hind feet, hitting Stunfisk as it emerged from the ground to strike and knocking it away.
"Alright, finish it off with Giga Impact!"
Stunfisk was hit by Zebstrika's Giga Impact and was subsequently knocked out as a result.
"Now that's more I like it," said Stephan.
O'Martian announced, "The first match of the green field ends with a victory attained by Stephan!"
"Alright!" Stephan exclaimed.
The first match of the yellow field is between Bianca and Louise de la Valliere.
"Emboar, use Flamethrower!"
"Swoobat, dodge it and use Heart Stamp!"
"Block it!"
Swoobat avoided Emboar's Flamethrower. However, as Swoobat charged, its Heart Stamp was blocked by Emboar's palm.
"Use Flamethrower again!"
Emboar hit Swoobat dead-on with a Flamethrower, causing the latter to get knocked away.
"Try to get up, Swoobat!"
Swoobat was still able to get up.
"Now use Psychic!"
Emboar was being lifted up in the air by Swoobat's Psychic, eventually being sent down by the attack.
"Don't give up just yet, Emboar!" Bianca shouted.
"Make sure it won't fight back, Swoobat! Use Aerial Ace!"
"Block it with Arm Thrust!"
The two attacks collided. Luckily, both Pokemon were still able to get up.
In the blue field, the battle was between Virgil's Leafeon and a Pokemon Trainer named Arumi and her Crustle.
"Leafeon, Energy Ball!"
Leafeon started the battle by landing the first hit with an Energy Ball.
"Crustle, use Rock Wrecker!"
The two moves exploded as they collided.
"Use Rock Wrecker again!"
In the red field, Cameron's Ferrothorn is seen battling Tamako's Eelektross.
"Ferrothorn, Pin Missile!"
Ferrothorn made the first move as Eelektross took the first hit in return.
"Use Dragon Claw!"
Eelektross retaliated back with a Dragon Claw, knocking Ferrothorn away.
"Why do you have to get hit from a Dragon Claw like that?" Cameron asked to the worried Ferrothorn.
"I'll make the next move. Eelektross, use Thunderbolt!"
"Dodge it!"
Ferrothorn cleared away from Eelektross' attack.
"Use Metal Claw!"
The former attacked away once again, but it got avoided.
"Use Dragon Claw!"
Ferrothorn cleared away from Eelektross' next attack, but it only got knocked away in the process.
"Why does it have to be like this, Ferrothorn?"
"I think I'm getting the idea," said Tamako.
The first match of the green field between Ash and Trip has also commenced. Iris, Cilan, Brendan, Haruhi, and the rest of the SOS Brigade were at the bleachers, watching the battle.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
Iris and Cilan were both confident that Pikachu's attack would hit. But Trip's Serperior got away from the attack.
O'Martian announced, "It looks like Serperior got away from Pikachu's next move once again!"
"Even though that Iron Tail missed, Pikachu's still keeping its guard," Iris said.
"Enough of letting up. Pikachu, Electro Ball!"
Ash Pikachu prepares an Electro Ball, Iris, Kyon, and Cilan were all confident that it would finally hit.
"Uh, would it work?" Mikuru asked, referring to Electro Ball.
Unfortunately, Serperior once again avoided it. The spectators in the bleachers were astounded, as well as Ash.
O'Martian narrated, "Serperior is avoiding all of Pikachu's moves! What is Ash going to do?"
"Use Wrap!"
Serperior latched at Pikachu with its tail, strangling it, much to Ash's surprise.
"Serperior suddenly used Wrap in response for dodging all of Pikachu's moves!" O'Martian exclaimed on his microphone, "No wonder it becomes formidable!"
Kyon asked Yuki, "Miss Nagato, what was that move Serperior is using at Pikachu?"
"Wrap."
"Wrap?"
"Yes," Yuki answered, "Wrap is a Normal-type move that enables the Pokemon to wrap the opponent for four to five turns."
"If Serperior uses Wrap in a way that makes Pikachu look uncomfortable, that's no good," commented Kyon.
Cilan added, "I agree."
Meanwhile, in the other stadiums:
The match in the yellow field continued with Louise's Swoobat struggling to attack Bianca's Emboar.
"Emboar, use Flamethrower!"
Emboar's attack hit Swoobat, sending it knocked away.
"Finish it off with Arm Thrust!"
Unable to do anything, Swoobat was knocked out after the attack.
"That can't be!"
The referee announced, "Swoobat is unable to battle. Emboar wins, and the victory goes to Bianca!"
Bianca jumped for joy as she was now able to move on to the next round.
Meanwhile. . . .
"So as Team Eevee plays - Unlimited Leaf Blade Works!"
Virgil's Leafeon hit Arumi's Crustle with Leaf Blade multiple times, eventually managing to knock it out.
"No!" Arumi yelled.
The referee announced, "Crustle is unable to battle. Leafeon wins, and the winner of this match is Virgil!"
Virgil managed to proceed to the next round as a result.
In the red field, Cameron's Ferrothorn was shown still battling with Tamako's Eelektross.
"Eelektross, use Crush Claw!"
Eelektross landed another hit on Ferrothorn.
"Why is it that you keep on taking a hit if it's Crush Claw?" Cameron ranted.
On the bright side of things, Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs was activated, injuring Eelektross in the process.
"Alright, use Pin Missile!"
The attack landed on Eelektross' mouth, knocking it out standing up.
"Oh dear," Tamako muttered.
The referee announced, "Eelektross is unable to battle. Ferrothorn wins, and the winner of this match is Cameron!"
"Alright, Ferrothorn!" Cameron exclaimed.
The first match of the green field has still continued, with Ash's Pikachu still affected and strangled by Trip's Serperior's Wrap.
"More winners have been announced in the other stadiums," O'Martian announced, "In the green field's case, will the sliding scale of victory point over to Ash, or will it point over to Trip?"
"Pikachu, hang in there. . . . . . " muttered Kyon and Cilan.
"I don't know if Pikachu is going to win this battle," added the nervous Mikuru.
"Hey, there's Iris and Cilan!" a familiar voice said.
It was Stephan, along with Cameron and Bianca.
"Have you all made it?" Kyon asked.
"Yeah, all of us moved on to the next round," replied Stephan, eventually looking at the battlefield.
"Ash's not having a pure time," he said.
Brendan replied, "Everyone's a noble mind."
"Can it with the Zeta Gundam reference?"
"Sorry about that, Kyon," Brendan answered.
Cilan explained, "Pikachu can't get out of Serperior's Wrap, and I don't think that the situation would taste very well."
Cameron said, "Ash, if you want to be a Pokemon Master, don't lose out right now in the preliminaries!"
"If only there was a way for Pikachu to get out of Wrap," he then thought, pulling and releasing out his headband.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Cameron.
"Are you alright, Cameron?" Bianca asked.
On the arena battlefield, Pikachu is still strangled by Serperior's Wrap and is having a hard time getting out.
"Pikachu, hang on in there!"
"Perhaps we must end this," said Trip, "Serperior, slam Pikachu down to the ground!"
Ash thought, "It would be bad if that happens. . . . . "
"Pikachu, open up your eyes!"
Pikachu managed to wake up. But when Ash noticed Pikachu's tail, he had an idea thought up.
"Use Iron Tail downward!"
Just when Pikachu was about to get slammed down, it released itself from Serperior by slamming the ground with an Iron Tail.
"Pikachu managed to get out of Serperior's Wrap by slamming down an Iron Tail!" O'Martian announced.
"That was good," remarked Kyon.
"Follow it up with another Iron Tail!"
"Intercept it with Dragon Tail!"
Serperior and Pikachu collided their attacks. But the latter was knocked away.
"Pikachu's Iron Tail failed to stand up to Serperior's Dragon Tail!" O'Martian exclaimed on his microphone.
"All of that just won't work," Trip taunted to Ash.
The latter thought, "If only there was a way to deal with Serperior's Dragon Tail. . . . . . . "
Kyon also thought, "Pikachu might have been knocked out already from the constant damage caused by Wrap."
"It's not the best time to jump to conclusions though," added Itsuki.
Pikachu was struggling to get up, charging its cheeks with electricity. That was when Ash started to have another idea.
"Pikachu, combine Iron Tail with Electro Ball!"
Pikachu's tail glowed silver, and at the same time, it formed a yellow ball of electricity from its tail.
"That wouldn't work either," said Trip, "Serperior, use Dragon Tail!"
An explosion was created after Serperior's Dragon Tail collided with the combination of Pikachu's Iron Tail and Electro Ball.
"I can't look now. . . . . " Mikuru muttered, covering her eyes with her fingers.
When the smoke cleared, Pikachu was shown knocked away. However, it actually got up.
"But what about my Serperior?" asked Trip.
Trip's Serperior still stood, but it was unfortunately knocked unconscious.
"Serperior is unable to battle," the referee announced, "Pikachu wins, and the winner is Ash!"
"Alright, Pikachu! We did it!" Ash exclaimed.
"The tables have been turned quickly as the combination of Electro Ball and Iron Tail has managed to defeat Serperior!" O'Martian exclaimed on his microphone.
Trip, surprised for his apparent defeat, muttered, "Serperior lost. . . . . "
Mikuru was still nervous, covering her eyes with her fingers.
"Miss Asahina, Ash won. You can look now," Kyon said, calming Mikuru down.
"No wonder Ash is filled with a lot of unexpected flavors," Cilan remarked.
"Yeah," Kyon replied, "If Ash lost, he would have suffered terribly to Trip after all those losses to him."
"I'm so getting fired up!" Cameron said.
"Me too," Stephan added.
Cilan and Iris suddenly left the bleachers. Stephan asked, "I wonder where are you two going?"
"To eat some lunch with Ash," Iris replied.
"Sure, go ahead," Bianca said.
Haruhi also left the bleachers, with Kyon wondering where she headed for.
"I wonder where did Haruhi just head off to," the latter thought to himself.
A few minutes later. . . . .
O'Martian announced, "Alright, folks! Please head back to your seats because the next match in the green field is about to begin!"
Brendan said, "I just forgot to tell you that I once again checked the data for Yuri Nakamura and her Pokemon and the possible one that she might use right now."
"Good," replied Kyon, "What's the next match going to be?"
"Haruhi and Yuri."
"Oh, great. Miss Nakamura and Suzumiya are to be battling out right now," the deadpanned Kyon replied, "But wouldn't she use the same Pokemon like last time? I think that was Shedinja."
"Actually, Yurippe's become unpredictable since then, and because of that, it's hard to tell what's her signature Pokemon."
"If Brendan were to be mentioning that Miss Nakamura became unpredictable, it would be complicated to think of a great strategy," Kyon thought sarcastically.
In the battlefield, Yuri and Haruhi were present on both sides.
"Let's see how much you have improved since our last battle," taunted Yuri.
"Bring it on," replied Haruhi.
The referee exclaimed, "Let the battle begin!"
"Reuniclus, operation start!"
Yuri summoned a Reuniclus.
"Yanmega, let's go!"
Haruhi, on the other hand, sent out a Yanmega.
Bianca remarked, "Haruhi's got the advantage."
"What did you just say?" muttered Kyon.
Stephan explained, "You see, Bianca's explaining the fact that Bug-types like Yanmega have a type advantage over Psychic-type Pokemon like Beheeyem."
"Time for the first move," Haruhi said, "Yanmega, use Air Slash!"
"Reuniclus, dodge it."
Yuri's Reuniclus managed to get away from Yanmega's Air Slash.
"If that don't work, use more Air Slash!"
Yanmega fired another Air Slash, but Reuniclus still got away.
The former raised its speed with its Speed Boost.
O'Martian announced, "It looks like Reuniclus is getting away from Yanmega's attacks!"
"Let's get on with it! Yanmega, Aerial Ace!"
Yanmega soared away with its attack, finally hitting Reuniclus.
"Alright!" Stephan exclaimed.
But the latter was still able to get up.
"Now it's my turn," said Yuri, "Use Flash Cannon!"
"Get away, Yanmega!"
The Ogre Darner Pokemon cleared away from Reuniclus's Flash Cannon, raising its agility even further with Speed Boost.
Yuri was not amused.
"Haruhi's Yanmega raised its speed with its Speed Boost ability! What would Yuri Nakamura do?" O'Martian announced.
"Use Bug Buzz!"
Yanmega let out a loud buzzing sound with its attack, effectively hitting Reuniclus.
"Reuniclus is badly affected by an effective move called Bug Buzz!" O'Martian exclaimed on his microphone.
Yuri was in shock to see her Reuniclus get hurt by the attack. Fortunately, the Multiplying Pokemon managed to get up.
"That Bug Buzz is effective, alright," Yuri thought, "Reuniclus, use Recover!"
The Multiplying Pokemon glowed in a white aura as it was fully recovered of the health that was lost.
"Miss Nakamura is good at this game," thought Kyon.
"Yanmega, use Air Slash!"
"Dodge it."
Yanmega's attack was avoided, however, it continued to activate its Speed Boost.
"That Yanmega of hers is starting to activate Speed Boost every now and then," Yuri thought, "Of course!"
She suddenly had an idea in her mind.
"Reuniclus, Trick Room!"
"Trick Room?" Kyon thought.
Reuniclus's eyes glowed red as it formed colorful transparent walls and a ceiling all over the battlefield.
"What kind of move was that?" Haruhi asked.
"Haruhi, this is Trick Room," Yuri explained, "Even if it won't last longer, I recommend that you keep that in mind about this move."
Bianca commented, "This is the first time I have ever seen that move."
"Me too," added Kyon.
"I'm suspecting that Yuri is trying to turn everything around using Trick Room," Brendan replied, much to the surprise of Kyon, Bianca, Cameron, and Stephan.
"Yanmega, use Air Slash!"
"Reuniclus, Thunder!"
Reuniclus struck first, knocking Yanmega away with its attack.
"Reuniclus quickly retaliates with a very effective move!" O'Martian exclaimed on his microphone.
"I never expected that Reuniclus would move so quickly," said Haruhi.
Yuri replied to Haruhi, "Your Yanmega has gotten a decent flying speed only because of its superb ability called Speed Boost. That's why I let Reuniclus use this move called Trick Room to my advantage."
Kyon, Bianca, Stephan, and Cameron all gasped.
"Just as planned," Brendan muttered.
"Or maybe, not as planned. No wonder the data is a lie!" Kyon exclaimed, berating Brendan, "We can't always have all the nice things!"
"No strategy is a perfect one, Kyon!" Brendan replied, pointing his finger to Kyon, "Even if you have already checked out the data for a Trainer and his Pokemon, you'll expect some surprises to pop up!"
Yuri continued to explain to Haruhi, "You see, Trick Room is a move that enables the slowest Pokemon to move first and the fastest one to move last. Since Reuniclus is slower compared to your Yanmega, it becomes useful in our favor, of course."
"So that explains how fast your Reuniclus is," Haruhi concluded, "Yanmega, use Bug Buzz!"
"Use Flash Cannon!"
Reuniclus disappeared and appeared again behind Yanmega, hitting it first with Flash Cannon and knocking it away.
Kyon wondered and thought, "If Haruhi's battle has begun, I wonder if Sasaki's match has already started as well."
Meanwhile:
Following Bianca's victory, the next match of the yellow field, which was between Sasaki and a Pokemon Trainer named Sasshi, was taking place.
"Starmie, use Ice Beam!"
Sasaki's Starmie made the first move as it hit Sasshi's Jellicent.
"Jellicent, Energy Ball!"
"Dodge it."
Starmie avoided Jellicent's Energy Ball.
"Use Will-O-Wisp!"
Starmie was hit by Jellicent's Will-O-Wisp, and was subsequently burned.
"Starmie, hang on and use Thunderbolt!"
Starmie fired the Electric-type move at Jellicent, forcing the latter to struggle to get up.
"Let's finish this up with Hydro Pump!"
Starmie blasted out its attack at the weakened Jellicent, knocking it out.
The referee announced, "Jellicent is unable to battle. Starmie wins, and the winner is Sasaki!"
Sasaki has managed to proceed to the next round as a result.
Back in the green field, Haruhi's Yanmega and Yuri's Reuniclus were still in an intense battle as the latter's Trick Room was still in effect.
O'Martian narrated, "Trick Room is still in effect, and will Haruhi be able to find a way for her Yanmega to get past it?"
"No matter what I do to command Yanmega, Reuniclus will go first," Haruhi thought, "But I'm not letting Trick Room get in our way."
"Yanmega, use Double Team."
"Oh no, you don't! Reuniclus, use Thunder!"
Reuniclus struck first once again using Thunder, but that was when Yanmega started creating multiple clones of itself all around the battlefield.
"Reuniclus cannot tell which one of them is the real Yanmega!" O'Martian exclaimed.
"That's impossible!" Yuri exclaimed.
"Your Reuniclus is now fast, but how can it tell if one of them is the real Yanmega?" Haruhi taunted, much to Yuri's dismay.
"Reuniclus, use Flash Cannon!"
Once again, Reuniclus fired its attack first, hitting all of Yanmega's clones. But it failed to hit the real Yanmega since it activated Speed Boost again to dodge.
Trick Room was still under effect.
"Yanmega, use Air Slash!"
"Reuniclus, Flash Cannon one more time!"
Once again, Reuniclus struck first by going behind Yanmega, but at the last minute, Haruhi instructed, "Use Detect."
"Detect?"
Much to Yuri's surprise, Yanmega got away from a quick firing of Flash Cannon.
"Despite the effects of Trick Room, Haruhi managed to make use of quick thinking by instructing Yanmega to use Detect!" O'Martian exclaimed.
Bianca said, "Wow, Haruhi's starting to become good at this."
"The outcome would definitely lean over to Haruhi for the win," added Stephan.
"Gah! What kind of move was that? Even with Trick Room on our side, Yanmega still got away from all of Reuniclus's moves!" Yuri thought.
Yanmega continued to activate its Speed Boost.
"Use Flash Cannon once more!"
"Dodge by using Aerial Ace!"
Reuniclus struck Yanmega again by using Flash Cannon. However, the latter hung on and retaliated with Aerial Ace, knocking Reuniclus away.
Yanmega's Speed Boost was activated once more.
"Reuniclus, Thunder!"
"Detect, then use Bug Buzz!"
Once again, Reuniclus's attack took the first hit, however, it was avoided quickly as Yanmega got away using its Detect.
In return, the latter released its Bug Buzz, hurting Reuniclus with buzzing sound waves.
"No!" Yuri screamed as Reuniclus eventually got knocked unconscious.
"Reuniclus is unable to battle. Yanmega wins, and the winner is Haruhi Suzumiya!" the referee announced.
Haruhi is now able to move on to the next round.
"That was an intense battle, folks. Despite the effects of Trick Room, Yanmega still managed to overcome it and defeat Reuniclus!" O'Martian announced.
Yuri mumbled, "Not as planned. . . . . "
The audience cheered for joy as the match came to a close.
Brendan said, "I knew that everything would still go according to plan even with all the surprises that Yurippe has dished out."
Kyon thought, "Maybe Brendan's right. If Haruhi and Sasaki were to meet in the battlefield, things will get harder from there."
A few minutes later, Haruhi went out to the Pokemon Center to help recover Yanmega to full health. That was when she saw Yuri, also having her Pokemon recovered to full health.
"It's Yuri."
"Oh, it's Haruhi."
"Are you leaving just now?"
"Yes. I lost to you, and because of that, I have no reason to stay and watch the rest of the tournament."
"But before you leave, I congratulate you for a decent battle."
"But I told you that you won and I lost, so. . . . . "
"Even if you did lose, you still did great."
"I did?"
"Yes, you did."
"I'm still not going to lose out to you someday though."
"In that case, let's do our best," Haruhi said as she shook hands with Yuri Nakamura.
"So, you became friends with her," Kyon mumbled behind Haruhi, surprising her.
"Kyon, you shouldn't gossip around like that! Uh, never mind about that, you see. . . . . "
"Indeed. The two did become good friends, alright," thought Kyon.
He asked, "Miss Nakamura, I wonder where are your friends from the SSS."
"We eventually parted ways with them," Yuri replied as she slowly went past the entrance and left.
"We'll battle again someday!" Haruhi exclaimed.
"Sure, we will," Yuri replied. She then went away with a smile on her face.
"Cynthia once told me those words way back in Sinnoh. When one life meets another life, something will be born."
"Who just said that?" Haruhi asked, wondering who said that.
When she turned around, Ash showed up, along with Iris and Cilan.
"Ash, did you say that line?" asked Haruhi.
"Yes," replied the former.
Cilan nodded and said, "I agree with what Ash just said. The fact that Haruhi and Yuri first encountered themselves in the Junior Cup until all their differences have been settled after their second match a while ago proves that a mutual connection has started between them."
"Oh, by the way, Kyon. Sasaki has also moved on to the next round," Brendan said.
"How did you know that?"
"I checked out the results of the other ongoing matches."
"You have got to be kidding me," Kyon muttered, palming his face.
He then thought, "It would be a problem if Haruhi met Sasaki again, wouldn't she?"
Brendan said to Kyon, "Oh, I've gotten yet another thing to tell you. Ash, Iris, Cilan, Stephan, Virgil, Bianca, Cameron, and I were all thinking of a way to cheer up on Haruhi on her next match."
"What is it?"
"Ash, Iris, Cilan, Cameron, Stephan, Virgil, and Bianca, let's do the chant that I taught to all of you!" Brendan exclaimed, "Altogether now!"
"Moe moe kyun~!" he, Stephan, Bianca, Iris, Ash, Virgil, Cilan, and Cameron all chanted, each forming a heart with both of their fingers.
"Don't even think about making a K-On reference!" Kyon exclaimed in response. He then thought, "These days, Brendan's going to get sued."
Ash, Cameron, Stephan, Haruhi, Sasaki, Virgil, and Bianca have moved on to the next round. Will one of them be able to win the Unova League?
TO BE CONTINUED. . . . . . .
On the next chapter:
While the participating Trainers take a rest for the next round of the Vertress Conference, which is to be scheduled for the next day, Haruhi and the rest of the SOS Brigade members decide to help Iris find her Axew after the latter finds out that it suddenly went missing. Will the five be able to find Axew along with Ash, Brendan, and their friends? Find out on the next chapter of The Best Wishes of Haruhi Suzumiya!
References and cameos in this chapter: For a chapter that is based after the events of 1 and 1/2 episodes, it gets loaded with them.
* Serial Experiments Lain
* TV Tropes: Wild mass guessing is mentioned. The title of the chapter doesn't count, despite the fact that every chapter is named after a trope name.
* The title character of Black Jack makes a cameo appearance with only one spoken line. Apparently, he is now a licensed Pokemon doctor.
* Kamen Rider Decade: "Kyon, the name's Stephan, and I'm just a passing Pokemon Trainer. You must remember that!"
- This one by Sonou Mori: "I was just a passing-by maid."
* Spaceballs: The password used to access the main entrance door is 1-2-3-4-5. It is later proceeded by the Konami Code.
* When Trip's Serperior uses Wrap on Ash's Pikachu, Kyon makes a reference to a certain line in the Sonic Sez segment of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
* The World God Only Knows
* Sliders: Brendan mentions the TV series upon his introduction.
* Eden of the East: The organization of sliders where Brendan is a member of is named the Seleção.
* 2001: A Space Odyssey: "I'm sorry, Kyon. I'm afraid I can't do that."
* Puella Magi Madoka Magica: When Brendan quotes the words "Actually, that won't be necessary", Kyon points out that it was Homura Akemi's line.
* MythBusters: "We can't always have all the nice things!"
* Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series: "In America!"
* Konata from Lucky Star makes a cameo appearance.
* And so is Louise from The Familiar of Zero.
* FLCL: "Nothing amazing happens here. Everything here is ordinary."
* Ash's Pikachu clicks on the castanets in the same fashion as Yui Hirasawa in the first episode of K-On!. Brendan and Ash eventually follow Pikachu's example.
- "Moe moe kyun~!"
* Death Note: The words 'Just as planned' and similar variations to the line are quoted by Kyon, Brendan, and Yuri.
* Portal: "The data is a lie!"
* Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei: Cameron mutters Nozomu Itoshiki's catchphrase.
* Neon Genesis Evangelion
* Fate/stay night: "So, as Team Eevee plays - Unlimited Leaf Blade Works!"
* Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!: The scrapbook Brendan showed to Kyon is named the Mabinogion.
* Bianca and Stephan apparently visited a booth that was named Taco Aizen, referencing the meme of the same name in Bleach.
* Tamako Market: Most of the main characters make cameo appearances.
* Scarface: Ash says the lines "Say hello to my little friend" to Kyon upon introducing Tamako to him.
- Brendan also says the aforementioned line upon introducing Sonou Mori.
* Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi: Two of the participating Trainers are named Sasshi and Arumi.
* The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
* The Simpsons
* Prince of Tennis is given a nod, with Brendan mentioning Sadaharu Inui and his vegetable juice.
- Stephan blatantly quotes a variation of Ryoma Echizen's catchphrase.
* Team Fortress 2: "The first rule to winning the Pokemon League is to be polite, be an efficient Pokemon Trainer, and have a plan to defeat every opponent you meet in the battlefield."
- "If that don't work, use more Air Slash!"
* "Ash's not having a pure time." "Everyone's a noble mind." "Can it with the Zeta Gundam reference already?"
* Brendan makes a Mobile Suit Gundam SEED reference by partially quoting Mu La Flaga's catchphrase.
Author's notes #2:
Trivia #1: Brendan explains to Kyon that in the Pokemon world, Nishinomiya is located somewhere in Johto. It actually references the fact that in the real world, Nishinomiya is located in the Hyogo Prefecture, which in turn is located in Japanese region of Kansai, where the Johto region is patterned after. Ironically, no location in Johto is based and patterned after what would become the main setting of the Haruhi Suzumiya light novels, manga, and anime.
One of the first minor crossovers of this chapter is with the anime Tamako Market.
The question of some people is, what is Tamako Market?
It is an anime that aired recently that focuses on the daily lives of the title character, Tamako Kitashirakawa, the daughter of a mochi maker who does his business at their home. It is one of the most recent works of Kyoto Animation, the studio that worked on the animated adaptations of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-On! and Hyouka, which explains the art style that will remind one of certain characters from those anime adaptations.
Dela's full name in katakana is Dera Mochimazui (or Mochimazzui for that matter). An alternate way to spell it is Dela Mochimazzi. However, due to elaboration, I decided put it as Dela Mochimazui, and as a result, the name has been used in this chapter.
And lastly, if anybody's wondering why Dela is a Togekiss in this chapter, that's also a part of my elaboration.
Trivia #2: The way Freddy O'Martian makes his entrance in the Unova League's opening ceremony will totally remind one of the supposed entrance of James Bond and Queen Elizabeth II (who are actually portrayed by stunt doubles) in the opening of the 2012 London Olympics.