Ash spent the better part of the day roaming about Ayers Island, drinking in the sights. Around every corner was another fascinating Trainer, ready to boast of their exploits in battle; another mysterious Pokémon for him to observe, and collect information with his Pokédex, freshly updated by Professor Oak back in Pallet Town during his last stop-over; another quaint shop hocking its Pokémon merchandise. By the time the sun had begun to set low in the afternoon sky, he had done enough tourist-shopping to last him a year, clutching a bag full of keepsakes and gifts for his friends back home.

"I still can't believe how big this place is…!" Ash mused aloud, feeling a pinch in his neck as he craned it upwards for what must have been the millionth time that day; still, the buildings towered above him, and the occasional flock of bird Pokémon flitted between them with a flurry of loud chirps.

"Pi pika-chu," said Pikachu, his ears now pinned down by a colourful hachimaki, depicting a Gengar and a Nidorino facing each other either side of a Master Ball. "Pii pika?"

"The time?" Ash repeated blankly, looking around for a clock. "Uh, I don't know. Probably four o'clock… why?" he asked, and Pikachu replied by sneaking down his front and pulling the Pokédex out of his trouser pocket, tapping his tail against the front cover.

Suddenly, Ash realised what Pikachu was getting at, and his eyes widened with shock. "Oh no!" he cried, snatching the Pokédex and whirling around wildly. "I forgot to confirm that I'm participating! Come on, Pikachu, we need to get to the Pokémon Center!" he said loudly, dashing off down the street at full pace. After streaming through three city blocks and running down an alleyway, he quickly realised that, not only did he not have completed his registration… he didn't even know where the Pokémon Center was.

'Where could it be?' he thought desperately, his mind racing. 'It would have to be somewhere busy… somewhere everyone can get to it easily… maybe it's near that big stadium in the middle of the island?' Deciding to try his luck with the stadium, he set off at full tilt once again, dashing out of the alley—

CRASH!

—And straight into something very large, and very hard.

"Ouch!" groaned Ash, crashing onto the hard cobblestones at his feet. Clutching at his aching head, he looked up to see that he'd run straight into a giant, blue rock adorned with large shards of orange crystals. Amazed that he hadn't seen it before, he clambered to his feet and dusted himself off, but not before the rock suddenly sprang to life, sprouting four stubby legs and turning around to show a pair of orange-yellow eyes and, from what he could tell, a very sour expression.

"Whoa! It's a Pokémon!" Ash exclaimed, fetching his Pokédex once more and training it on the strange creature.

"Gigalith, the Compressed Pokémon, is a Rock-type Pokémon and the final evolution of Roggenrola and Boldore," buzzed the Pokédex in its electronic voice, as a rotating image of the Gigalith appeared on-screen. "Its orange crystals can absorb solar energy, which is magnified internally and then fired from its mouth. These energy-based attacks are capable of blowing a mountain apart. A Gigalith's internal core is highly valued by poachers for its ability to compress energy for use in fuel apparatuses."

"Can I help you?" asked a male voice behind Ash, and he swung around to see a tall man dressed in an immaculate black suit, looking crossly at him and Pikachu, but Ash couldn't see his face underneath the fancy-looking hat he wore. "That's my Gigalith you just bumped into," he added. "I hope you don't just go charging into Pokémon like you're one yourself, you know."

"S-Sorry!" said Ash quickly, waving his hands apologetically. "So, this is your Pokémon?" he asked, eager to change the subject. "I've never seen a Gigalith before…!"

The man scoffed. "I don't really expect you to have. Otherwise, you wouldn't have scanned it with that Pokédex of yours," he observed, pointing at the machine in Ash's hand, but his finger drifted, almost immediately, to Pikachu, who was just now climbing back onto his Trainer. "Oh, I recognise you now," he said softly. "You're that young Ketchum boy who's getting into trouble with all the Pokémon back in your homeland."

"Huh—?"

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Ketchum-boy, but I must be off," the man interrupted, recalling his Gigalith to its Poké Ball and walking off down the street, leaving Ash dumbfounded.

"What just happened?" he asked Pikachu, who seemed none the wiser, and could only offer an unhelpful shrug in reply. Before they could dwell on it any longer, though, Ash remembered the reason he'd bumped into the Gigalith so hastily. "Oh, right! The Pokémon Center!"

With the sun disappearing beneath the ocean far out to the west, Ash was beginning to get desperate. His search for the Pokémon Center had taken him to the huge stadium in the middle of Ayers Island – which, in the meantime, he'd learnt was called World's Peak Stadium – before circling back to the harbour, and then on a beeline to the apartment blocks, but none had yielded the red-topped building which he'd been so fervently looking for. Distraught and exhausted, he collapsed against a wall on some nondescript street that looked like all the rest.

"Darn it…" he muttered, gulping down air as his shoulders shook. This couldn't be how it was to happen; his journey to Ayers Island couldn't have run its course, not when it had only just begun. Could it?

Ash pounded a fist against his leg, fighting emotion as he tried to think of some other way to find the needle that was the Pokémon Center, within the labyrinthine haystack of the island. But just when he thought he was foregone to never find it, his ears picked up a hint of conversation.

"—emon Center is this way, right?"

"Yeah, I checked with a gal who signed up there a few hours ago."

"Let's hurry up, then—"

Scarcely able to believe his luck, Ash clumsily pushed himself off the wall and began to run towards the source of the conversation – a pair of adults walking away from him towards a large intersection. "Hey!" he cried out, feet flying over the pavement. "You two! Wait up a second, please!"

The two strangers heard him, and turned around in confusion, wondering what the red-faced and panting boy could possibly want with them. When Ash finally reached them, he doubled over as a stitch flared up in his sides, and it took him a while to recover his breath and for the pain to subside. All the while, the adults remained puzzled, looking uncomfortably between each other and Ash, as he regained his composure and stood up.

"I'm sorry to bother you…" he said unflappably, with Pikachu looking on sheepishly from atop his shoulder, "but I just heard that you were heading for the Pokémon Center?"

"That's right…" said one of them, a man who was clearly wondering where the conversation was heading.

Ash breathed a sigh of relief. "Could you tell me how to get there? I've been looking for it all day, you see, and I'm meant to be participating in the t—"

"Oh, you're a competitor?" piped up the other adult, a young woman. "Why didn't you say so? We were worried you had some sinister motive for chasing after us," she added with a giggle. Ignoring Ash's incredulous look, she continued, "you'll want to continue down this road, and take the second left, then keep going straight. You can't miss it."

"Second left, then straight," Ash repeated, making sure he'd heard correctly. "Thank you so much! You're a lifesaver!" he cheered, bowing his head in gratitude before setting off yet again. "Can you imagine our luck?" he asked Pikachu, as they tore down the street, leaving all comers in their wake.

"Chu pika!"

"There it is!" Ash yelled triumphantly, punching the air as the all-too-familiar red roof of the Pokémon Center came into view. It was at the end of the street which he'd been running down for the past ten minutes, and he'd never been so relieved to find such a building in his memory, almost falling through the doors as they opened to give him entry. Like a man who'd run through the desert, he dragged himself through the lobby on his aching feet, gaining the attention of a few bemused onlookers as he went.

Eventually, after many a dramatic groan and shuffle, he slumped over the main counter, where he was greeted by an unfazed and ever-smiling member of the Nurse Joy family.

"Hello, and welcome to our Pokémon Center!" she said warmly, with a slight tilt of the head as Ash struggled to prop himself up on his elbows. "Are you here to heal your Pokémon, or to register for the World Pokémon Championships tournament?"

"I'm here to—register," Ash wheezed.

Joy nodded politely and showed him the palm of her hand. "Could I see your invitation, please?" she inquired.

It took a moment for Ash to comprehend what she was talking about, but the message got through in the end. Gesturing for her to wait, he slipped his bag off and heaved it onto the counter, unzipping the front pocket and rummaging through it. He soon found what he was looking for; a gold-embossed envelope with an equally well-decorated letter that looked like it had been stuffed hastily back inside.

"Here you go!" he said cheerfully, handing her the letter.

Joy took it with another sweet smile, and scanned it for his name. "Mr Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town," she read out, eyes flicking back to him, and he nodded reassuringly. "May I have your Pokédex, please? We need the Trainer configuration data recorded inside to verify your identity and formally register you in the tournament."

"Oh—right," he said, producing the Pokédex.

"According to this letter, you are eligible for entry in the Singles division only. Shall I register you in the Singles division?" she asked routinely.

Ash was taken aback by the question; he didn't know that there was more than one division. "Singles only?" he repeated dully.

"Yes. Trainers are invited to participate in one, or more, of the three Trainer disciplines – Singles, in which two Trainers battle their Pokémon one-on-one; Doubles, where two Trainers battle two-on-two; and Tag Team, where two pairs battle two-on-two," Joy explained.

Ash sighed, finally understanding. "I see… yeah, Singles division only, that'll be fine," he said.

With another smile, Joy took his Pokédex and inserted it into a machine slot hidden from view underneath the counter. The computer monitor next to her lit up, with various graphics flashing or moving about, and a few seconds later a picture of Ash's face appeared, along with his basic biographical details. Turning towards the screen, Joy entered a few commands on the keyboard below, and the words 'REGISTRATION COMPLETE – SINGLES DIVISION' popped up, superimposed.

"There we go, all done," said Joy, as the Pokédex popped out from the slot with a small click. "You are now registered in the Singles division of the World Pokémon Championships, Mr Ketchum," she announced, and Ash blew a deep breath of relief as his Pokédex was returned.

"Thank you so much," he replied graciously, picking up his bag and looping it over his shoulders once more.

"If there's anything else you need, please don't hesitate to ask!" Joy added merrily.

"Pii! Pii pika pika!" squeaked Pikachu excitedly, tugging on Ash's hair.

Ash turned around, curious as to what had gotten the Electric-type so charged up, only for a large arm to come swinging out of nowhere and put him in an almighty headlock, his view now the green tiled floor and a pair of white-and-blue sneakers. Struggling against the grip, Ash tried to wrench himself free, but all too soon the stranger relinquished their grip and pulled him upright. Spots bursting into his eyes, Ash shook his head dazedly, but his jaw fell open when he saw a dark-skinned face and narrow eyes beaming at him.

"How's it going, Ash?" Brock asked.

"Brock?" Ash spluttered, scarcely able to believe his eyes – and yet, somehow, his oldest travelling companion was standing in front of him, real as day. "But—how—what are you doing here?"

"It's good to see you, too," Brock laughed, folding his arms.

Ash felt himself flush with embarrassment. "Sorry…" he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "But I'm just surprised to see you here! Whatever happened to studying to become a Pokémon doctor?" he asked.

"It's actually going pretty well," replied Brock. "My first round of exams is over, so the pressure's been taken off for a little while. Mind you, I've still got to keep up my studies, but I figured that I've got to balance business with pleasure, so to speak, and so—" he raised his hands and looked around, "here I am!"

"That's great!" Ash exclaimed, giving his friend a light tap on the shoulder with his fist. "So—are you the only one who came out this way, or did any of the others manage to make it?"

Brock simply shrugged his shoulders, but his solemn expression left Ash with little doubt.

"Oh…" he muttered, feeling a little crestfallen; it was good enough that Brock had come, but even so, he was a little put out by the fact that it would only be him. Brock seemed to pick up on this, however.

"If it's any consolation, I think I saw a few of your old rivals around…!" he informed Ash, his voice perhaps a little too forcefully cheerful, but the latter didn't seem to notice; instead, his expression quickly changed into one of anticipation.

"Who'd you see?"

Brock thought for a moment, trying to remember the specifics. "Well, there's Gary Oak—"

"Gary? Awesome!"

"—I think I might've seen Paul, but I couldn't be sure—"

"Paul? I suppose, since this is a pretty big tournament and all…"

"—well, he probably doesn't count as a 'rival', per se, but there's no mistaking Tobias and his Darkrai," Brock finished, counting them on his fingers as he went. "So, even if the whole gang couldn't be here, you've still got plenty of potential opponents to look forward to."

"Yeah, you're right!" Ash said confidently, and Brock could tell that he was getting pumped up at the prospect of going toe-to-toe with one of his old foes. Suddenly, his eagerness for battle was cut short by a loud creaking noise that echoed throughout the Pokémon Center, alarming both the young Trainers.

"What was that?" Brock wondered aloud, looking about for the cause.

"I dunno, but whatever it was, it doesn't sound good…!" Ash said worriedly. "Come on, let's go outside," he suggested, and together they headed for the door, walking at first but picking up speed the closer they got; by the time they were actually outside, the two were almost at a full sprint.

The ominous creaking occurred again, this time louder than before, and Brock whirled around in its direction, only to find Ash clutching at his midsection; his stomach had been rumbling.

"Seriously?" he asked sardonically.

Ash erupted into a bout of sheepish laughter. "Sorry 'bout that," he said. "I guess all that time I spent running around, looking for the Pokémon Center… I forgot to get myself something to eat!"

"Pika-chu kaa…" tittered Pikachu, shaking his head at his Trainer.

Another day, another chapter! Maybe a tad unexpected for the old readers, but I did say that I wasn't happy with the old beginning. No roses, either... or archives, but I doubt anyone cares about those.

If you do care about the lack of archives, though, why not let me know? Thoughts, thrills, thirsts and threesomes are all welcome with your reviews! Well, maybe not threesomes; that could be a bit weird.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, is reviewing this one, or will do either of those sometime in the future. Remember, a higher review count invites more people to read; we don't want them missing out! I know I don't, haha.

As for the questions I received, I can provide only the following answers at the present time: for "The Fan Fiction Writer", the story chronologically begins between Ash's journeys in Sinnoh and Unova; and for SSJ04 Mewtwo, Generation V Pokémon will be appearing during the story to some extent.

Chapter 3, "Newsroom Mateship", continues the events of Ash's first day on Ayers Island. But guess what? We get to see one of my favourite characters from OWS - that's right, one of the OCs - plus a brand-new face for all readers, new and old. It'll be released tomorrow, just like this one was released today, to keep WPC Week going strong. We've still got five more days; how awesome is that?

So, until next time... Be sure to review and, as always,

Hay más tiempo que vida!