A/N: Again, another update! HOORAY!
ENJOY!
"Welcome back, viewers, to another Johto TV update on the 10th Annual Pokémon Tournament! This just in, it appears that the high winds aren't gonna be the only things to be of concern for Trainers that are heading their way towards Ketchum City! According to meteorologists, they also have to be wary of all the sudden drops in the temperature that seem to be occurring across the world, to the point where nonseasonal snows have been reported, even here in our beloved region! Oh, yes, that's right, folks, I believe it is about time that we bid farewell to the nonseasonal heat that has plagued Johto for the past few weeks!
"Because of the cold and even snowy conditions, all flights to pit-stops in Johto have been canceled due to the heightening risks, and routes to Johto by boat have been set up, with their collective pit-stop being, unanimously, the majestic, scenic, and beautiful Alto Mare! Yes, viewers, please disregard our last statement that traveling by boat would be unsafe! However, due to increasingly unsafe conditions, all transport ships are only cleared for one trip each. So, unless you wanna wait until next year for the Ketchum Month Tournament, you must not be late! In no way possible will the ships turn back for you!
"That shall do for this hour's update! Continue to stay tuned on Johto TV for updates on the widely-anticipated Ketchum Tournament!"
The Virbank Harbor
At Virbank City
The Unova region
"Come on, Mom!" Nate cried as he and Hugh raced towards the Virbank Harbor as fast as they could. "We can't afford to miss the ship!"
"Nate, the ship's only gonna dock in a few minutes!" replied Nate's mother loudly as she and Hugh's family strolled down the walkway, looking after the two ten-year-old boys. She sighed, shook her head, and looked at Hugh's mother. "These two are really excited about this tournament, aren't they, Carla?"
"Tell me about it, Kelly," Carla replied, also shaking her head, smiling. "Hugh's been talking about it for the past four days since he's asked us to come with him. They're acting like little five-year-olds again, freaking out and obsessing over Ash Ketchum." She chuckled. "Only a bit more reckless, now that they're Trainers..."
"Well, who can blame them? He's a hero to them." Kelly looked out into the vast, sparkling sea. "...To all of us."
"Yeah, that's right..."
"Ooh, Mommy, Daddy!" squealed the five-year-old, orange-haired, jubilant girl who was clutching Carla's hand. "Look at that!" She pointed excitedly at the large cruise ship that was slowly docking on the Virbank Harbor as its horn blew, piercing the air with its triumphant, loud call. "That's a very big ship over there!"
"Yes, it's a very big ship, Carrie," the father, Hank, replied, clutching his daughter's unoccupied hand as they and Kelly followed Nate and Hugh on the harbor.
Upon reaching the harbor, the group found that it was already crowded with numerous Trainers, their families, and tourists. Never before had the harbor seen such an attendance in Virbank's history. Nate let out a heavy sigh and slumped his shoulders in a defeated position.
"There's so much people here," he said as his mother approached his side. "What if we're not able to get on board? The ship could get too crowded-"
"Don't worry, Nate," replied Kelly, placing a hand on her son's shoulder in comfort. "This ship can't possibly get overly crowded, otherwise it'd sink into the sea. Besides, I doubt that Arceus will wanna do anything in his power to interfere with my little Nate's dream."
"MOM!" Nate exclaimed, blushing with embarrassment over his mother's doting tone. "Not in front of all these people..."
Hugh and his family all laughed heartily as Nate's cheeks became more florid. In an attempt to escape potential embarrassment, Nate distanced himself from the rest of the group and decided to look into members of the crowd to see if there was anyone else he knew. Finally, after a while, he saw...
"Cheren?"
The Aspertia City Gym Leader glanced in the Trainer's direction. His charcoal-black hair had been cut slightly shorter, and he wore a white shirt with a single red stripe leading up to his collar, a turquoise jacket with black shoulders and pockets, black jeans, and a pair of glasses. Cheren's mouth twitched into a slight smile.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Nate," he said as Nate ran up to him. "I hope your Pokémon journey is progressing well. How many Badges do you have?"
"Five," Nate replied proudly, reaching into his bag, producing a small box, and opening it, revealing a Basic Badge, a Toxic Badge, an Insect Badge, a Bolt Badge, and a Quake Badge. "A lot of effort was put into getting these Badges, but I managed to get through to the end despite all obstacles!"
"Impressive." Cheren's smile widened slightly. "I see that I've taught you well."
"You did, Cheren, very well indeed. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher than you." Nate smiled proudly at his former teacher as he closed his Badge box and put it away in his bag. "So, are you gonna participate in the Ketchum Month Tournament?"
"Well, I am on my way to Ketchum City, but not to take part in the tournament. I guess I can just spectate, though."
"So, why're you going to Ketchum City, then?"
A strange, dark expression suddenly flooded Cheren's face. "That's highly confidential, Nate."
Nate recognized the mood immediately and replied, "Oh. Sorry."
The expression on Cheren's face disappeared in a flash, and he smiled again. "Do not worry about it, Nate." He examined his former pupil. "So, you are on your way to Johto to participate in the Ketchum Month Tournament, huh? That's supposed to be one of the highest-profile Pokémon battle tournaments. Are you up for it, Nate?"
"You betcha!" Nate raised a fist in the air determinedly. "My lifelong dream has always been to be just like Ash Ketchum!"
"Yeah. That's quite a dream." However, the same dark expression returned to Cheren's face; this time, Nate didn't notice it. Just then, a voice broke through the many conversations of the rest of the crowd, and a girl with brown hair styled into two pigtail buns edged her way towards the two.
"Cheren, oh my Arceus, Cheren, you're here!" Rosa squealed as she reached Cheren and Nate. "Are you gonna take part in the tournament too?"
"You're participating in the tournament too?" asked Nate in utter shock. Whenever it came to Cheren, he often competed with Rosa for his approval of one of them over the other; both were former students of his at the Trainers' School, with Nate classifying him as his favorite teacher, and Rosa developing a schoolgirl crush on him.
Indeed, Rosa finally registered his presence and shot a nasty glare at him. "Well, DUH!" she replied, crossing her arms and smirking at him coolly. "With all of the news going on about it, I thought I'd give it a shot. Sounds like a really enticing challenge!"
However, Nate's eyes widened as a realization hit him. "Wait a minute...when we were traveling...and I had to go get water from that lake near Floccesy Town..." Rosa chuckled at that last sentence. Nate gasped and pointed at her angrily. "You went through my stuff while I was gone, weren't you?! And you saw that flyer! No wonder why you seemed to be straightening out my stuff while I was getting back! You went through my STUFF!"
"Well, I had to find out about the tournament somewhere," Rosa said, winking craftily. "Thanks," she added in a whisper. Nate blushed with embarrassment and began to stutter incomprehensibly, just as Kelly, Hugh, and his family arrived on the scene.
"What's going on?" asked Kelly.
"Nothing, Ms. Brown," Cheren replied, calmly and effortlessly stepping between Nate and Rosa before they could argue. "Just a friendly reunion."
Rosa's smirk widened, and with one last passing glance at Nate, she walked off.
"See you soon, Nate," she said as she disappeared into the crowd. Nate clenched his teeth in embarrassment, as Kelly approached his side.
"Well, well, it looks like my little Nate's met up with his girlfriend again!" Kelly exclaimed teasingly.
Nate's cheeks reddened severely; Kelly, familiar with his on-and-off rivalry with Rosa, always liked to call them a couple. It always got on his nerves.
"Mom..." he groaned as Hugh roared with laughter.
Cheren smiled slightly and turned his back on the group. "Well, I gotta go."
"You're leaving?" asked Nate.
"The ship doesn't leave in another two hours, Nate. You honestly expect me to spend all that time waiting?" Nate laughed nervously as Cheren flashed a quick smile at him and left, calling out as he did so, "I recommend getting some Bearticone; it's supposed to good around this time of the year."
"Ooh, Bearticone!" exclaimed Carrie, hopping up and down excitedly. "I LOVE Bearticone! Can we buy some, Mommy and Daddy? Please, please, please?"
"Are you sure, Carrie?" Hugh asked, ruffling his sister's hair. "It's quite a bit colder today; you don't wanna get a serious brain freeze."
"Brain freeze?"
Hugh smiled. "Yeah, the Bearticone will freeze your brain really badly. I had a friend once who had that kind of thing, man, that was bad."
Carrie frowned. "That doesn't really scare me, Hugh," she said boldly, standing firmly on her two feet.
Everyone laughed, Hugh included, just as the blare of the ship's horn blasted through the atmosphere again. In the minute-long frame that the horn roared powerfully over all other sounds, drowning them out, Nate instinctively turned his head towards the crowd. Time suddenly seemed to stand in slow-motion. For some reason, the ten-year-old sensed something...out of place...and he didn't know what... But it had his attention...
Then, he saw it, in the sky.
Five lightning-fast streaks of color...
Nate blinked. He wasn't sure if what he was seeing was actually real. The moment he completed his blink...
It wasn't there anymore...
"Nate?" Kelly asked, suddenly sending time back into normal speeds. "Are you okay?"
Nate blinked, still staring at the place where he saw the masked figure. He shook his head and looked at his mother.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Mom," he replied. "I just thought I saw someone..."
"Well, people are beginning to board the ship. Let's go."
Nate nodded and followed his mother on the boardwalk. However, he cast one last glance at the crowd. He thought he saw a flash of the X-shaped eye markings...
Aboard the cruise ship
In the middle of the ocean
Nate woke up with a sudden jolt, hot beads of sweat dripping down his face. Just minutes ago, he had the dream again...
He had had the same dream for his entire life. In it, he was always flying in the air, through banks of clouds, over a tranquil blue ocean...and he could a distant screech, but he could never see its source in time... For ten years, he never knew what that dream meant...
Nate stood up from his suite bed and entered the bathroom. He switched on the light and looked at himself in the mirror, staring deeply into his own brown eyes.
"What in Arceus's name is your mind hiding from yourself, Nate?" he asked.
Just then, for a split-second, the ten-year-old thought he saw a strange gleam in his eyes... But he thought it was a mere reflection in the mirror.
He left the bathroom, switched off its light, and laid himself back down on his bed. However, he didn't sleep for the rest of the night.
The following morning
After having a full tour of the cruise ship, Nate was in awe at how many locations were crammed into a single passenger ship. There was a couple of Pokémon Centers (one location on each side of the ship), a Trainers' School, a large food court that hosted various restaurants, a small movie theater, and training battlegrounds, among many other locations. Right now, he and Hugh were using one of these battlegrounds, engaging themselves in a three-round Pokémon battle. They were currently on the final round, with Nate defeating Hugh's Unfezant with his Eelektross, and Hugh defeating Nate's Lampent with his Bouffalant.
"Go, Pignite!" shouted Nate, throwing a Poké Ball into the air and summoning the Fire Pig Pokémon, which triumphantly snorted small flames from its nostrils.
"Go, Dewott!" Hugh cried, throwing a Poké Ball into the air and unleashing the Discipline Pokémon, which let out a cry at Pignite.
"Let's make this a battle to remember," Nate said, smiling. "We train for the Ketchum Month Tournament!"
Hugh smirked. "Heh. It's obvious you're gonna lose this memorable battle, Nate. I've got a Dewott, you've got a Pignite. The odds are against you, man."
"Maybe, but I call the first move!" Nate pointed towards Dewott. "Pignite, use Arm Thrust!"
"Dewott, dodge it, then use Water Pulse!" ordered Hugh.
Pignite charged forward, ready to throw a fist, but Dewott managed to dodge the Arm Thrust. It then held out its arms and opened up its mouth, a blue orb of energy appearing over it. Before Nate knew it, Dewott fired the orb, which barreled straight towards Pignite as it recovered from its missed Arm Thrust.
"Pignite, dodge, then use Take Down!" Nate commanded.
The Fire Pig Pokémon nodded and dodged the Water Pulse. It then charged towards Dewott quickly, a golden aura with a white force-field surrounding the front of its head as it continued to speed up. Before Hugh knew it, Pignite rammed into Dewott violently, sending it flying into the air and tumbling onto the stage.
"Dewott!" screamed Hugh.
However, Dewott refused to be defeated; it stood up and cried at Pignite indignantly.
"And to think," Nate said, "Water-types can easily defeat Fire-types. I am beating your Dewott with my Pignite! Pignite, go! Another Take Down, make it powerful!"
Pignite charged towards Dewott again. Once again, the Discipline Pokémon was successfully hit by the attack, and it fell to the ground.
"Dewott!" Hugh cried. "Dewott, get back up! You can do this, Dewott, I know you can! Just get back up!"
To his relief, Dewott stood back up, weakly so, but it still remained determined. It faced down Pignite, panting angrily.
"Pignite, another Take Down!"
Once again, Pignite charged towards Dewott. However, Hugh seized his chance.
"Dewott, use Aqua Jet on Pignite now!"
A mass of water appeared around Dewott's body, and it shot itself towards the charging Pignite at rocket-fast speeds. Pignite didn't have time to dodge the Aqua Jet; within seconds, Dewott slammed into Pignite's body, sending water and energy flying in all directions, knocking both Nate and Hugh off of their feet. The two Trainers stood up and watched apprehensively as the dust cleared, revealing the stage and the outcome of the round.
Both Pignite and Dewott were still standing, bruises decorating their frames. They were panting heavily, struggling to maintain their strength. Nate and Hugh's breaths were abated as they watched their Pokémon; one of them was bound to collapse in defeat at any moment. But who would it be?
Finally, Pignite collapsed on the ground, squiggly-eyed. Dewott smiled and stood over it, its head triumphantly held high.
"Pignite!" cried Nate.
"Pignite is unable to battle!" a voice cried. Nate and Hugh looked over at the side of the stage and saw that Cheren had assumed the role of referee. "Dewott wins!"
"Well, uh...that last round was kinda quick," Hugh replied as Dewott happily, proudly waddled over to its Trainer. "Is this what you do in every battle nowadays, man? Repeatedly use a move that you find effective against your opponent? That's definitely what you didn't do the last time we battled, and now, you're doing it on all three of the rounds like crazy! If you were battling someone else, the other Trainer would've also caught a pattern and take advantage of it; you know that, right?"
"I was hoping I'd overwhelm Dewott quickly with Pignite..." said Nate, recalling his defeated Pignite. "You did well, buddy..."
"Is that the strategy you intend to use in the tournament, Nate?" Cheren asked, approaching the two Trainers. "If so, I pray to Arceus that the odds are on your side."
"I was thinking that by using powerful moves like Take Down several times, I'd be able to blast my way through the battles."
Cheren shook his head disapprovingly. "NOT the best strategy. This is completely different from the battle style I've observed from you."
Nate bowed his head in shame. "I was thinking that since the Ketchum Month Tournament is a high-profile tournament, I'd have to change my style so I can win it."
"You need to have confidence in your battle style, Nate. There is no need to believe that it won't take you anywhere in the tournament."
"I just...I just wanted to win the tournament..."
"And that apparently has clouded your memory, and your judgment. Remember what I taught you-"
"The battle style defines the Trainer," completed Nate, smiling slightly in remembrance of Cheren's lecture to him. "I remember that."
"Clearly not enough, however," Cheren said sternly. And, without another word, he left the stage, with Nate and Hugh watching him go.
"Wow," remarked Hugh. "Harsh..."
"He was never this stern on me," Nate replied, looking at his friend. "I wonder what's up."
"I doubt today's supposed to be a good day for him." Hugh shrugged dismissively. "I don't know. For now, that was a great battle, man, great battle." He shook Nate's hand formally. "Let's hit the food court, shall we? Winning a battle makes me hungry..."
Nate followed Hugh towards the food court, but stopped for a moment and looked back. Cheren was still walking away towards the suite rooms. There was something about his composure that seemed rather...odd. However, the ten-year-old decided to ignore it and continue following Hugh.
He didn't notice the same five streaks from the Virbank Harbor, which were flying across the sky, miles away...
Later that day
At the ship's swimming pool
Nate rose from under the water, taking in a breath of fresh air. Many people were swimming in the large pool or otherwise milling about at the pool's edge. He then felt water suddenly splash across his face; sputtering and spitting, he looked at the source: Hugh and Carrie, both snickering as they tried to swim away from him.
"Oh, no you don't!" exclaimed Nate, moving his way through the water, towards the siblings. "Come back here, you guys! I've got a surprise!"
"Oh, no!" Carrie cried, pretending to be scared. "Nate is coming to get us, Hugh!"
"Swim, Carrie, swim for your life!" replied Hugh, struggling to not laugh. "I'll hold him off!"
Carrie immediately swam away, while Hugh immediately began splashing water at Nate's direction; Nate retaliated by splashing water of his own. The three all roared with laughter as they continued to play in the pool, while Kelly, Carla, and Hank watched on, all wearing informal summer clothing and sitting on chairs.
"Those kids are having the time of their lives, aren't they?" asked Hank.
"Yeah," Kelly replied, smiling as she reminisced. "Just like the good ol' days..."
"Hey, Kelly," said Carla, "you said you and Nate went to Johto once, is that right?"
"Yes, that's right, Carla. I thought I'd take Nate there since he was so obsessed with Ash Ketchum. Since he...passed...there, I thought Nate deserved to see the very region where his hero saved the entire world from doom. Hey, speaking of which..." She reached into her bag and pulled out a Teddiursa plushy toy, whose frame was torn and sewn in several places. "Johto was where we bought Nate's Teddiursa toy. I remember Nate begging me endlessly to buy that thing-"
"MOM!" Nate had seen his mother showing Hugh's parents his childhood toy. "Mom, put that away before anyone else sees it!"
"It's just a toy, Nate," replied Kelly. "It's nothing to freak out about. Besides, I'm only showing this to Hugh's parents, they've already seen it many times before-"
"That's a nice plushy," a voice suddenly said. Nate turned his head and saw Rosa walking towards Kelly; she was wearing a two-piece pink swimsuit with white flower patterns, and in the place of her sports visor was a pair of yellow sunglasses, which she was wearing over her eyes. "Where'd you get that?"
"Johto," Kelly said. "It's Nate's."
Rosa lowered her sunglasses as she looked at Nate, who was now blushing furiously. "Oh, really?"
"Mom..." moaned Nate as he sank into the water, his face fully scarlet.
"Ladies and gentlemen, can we have your attention?"
The voice blared from the ship's loudspeakers, permeating into the atmosphere. Everyone focused their attentions on a large television screen, which showed static for a brief moment before switching to the live recording of a kindly, white-haired man with a large and bushy beard and mustache.
"Hugh, look!" exclaimed Carrie, pointing at the screen. "It's Santa Claus!"
"No, Carrie, it's just the captain of the ship," Hugh corrected.
"Santa also works as a ship captain?"
"SHHHHH!" Nate whispered.
"Passengers of this ship," the captain announced, "it is a pleasure to offer you this luxury transportation while we take you to Alto Mare, your pit-stop to the Johto region! I am pleased to announce that, despite reports of windy and snowy weather around the area, we have seen evidence of the contrary. Because of this, you shall be reaching your a couple of hours earlier than scheduled. Be sure to have fun aboard the ship, and- KKKRRRAAAHHHKKK!"
The screen abruptly switched back to static, and its noise roared out of the loudspeakers, hammering away at everyone's eardrums viciously. Many people immediately covered their ears, some yelling out in pain. Nate screamed out and closed his eyes as he covered his own ears, but he continued to hear the noise of static. Just then, he heard the loud noise stop. The ten-year-old lowered his hands and watched the screen along with everyone else.
The captain was gone. Instead, staring at them was a metallic crimson Pokémon with a saucer-like head that sported two large white eyes and teeth-like markings. Its appearance struck the impression of an insect. For some reason, Nate felt something in his memory click in place, but he didn't know what.
"Hello, humans," the Pokémon said. Though the teeth-like markings, seemingly signifying its mouth, didn't move, Nate and the others could still hear its voice, which seemed to reverberate throughout the corners of their minds instead of their eardrums for some reason. "I am deeply sorry to interrupt your pleasure cruise. The name is Red Genesect, leader of the Genesect Army, and we come before you to advise you all not to attend the Ketchum Month Tournament."
A/N: So, the Genesect Army appears with grave warnings, or so it seems! And we have a CLIFFHANGER! DUN DUN DUN!
I would like to thank the following who reviewed:
iheartphinabella05: Maybe, maybe not. A lot of Pokémon can have yellow eyes. But you'll see soon enough.
random girl (guest reviewer): Stay tuned to find out, then!
Galaxina-the-Seedrian: Yes, yes those are my villains. Those names are just code-names, we'll find out the true name of at least one of them in a later chapter. ;D
Alpha B. A. 7: Here's the next chapter! :D
Bezerker21: The first chapter made you cry? Huh. That IS saying something! And you'll see why Ash's personality changed...
woodland5 (guest reviewer): Maybe, maybe not...
Ship Speculation (guest reviewer): Pieces of my previous fic are still around? :O Yes, I'll admit, I'm a supporter of AdvanceShipping. But I respect other Ash Shippings, so you never know. I plan to be quite unpredictable with my comeback fic...
Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!