This update is lot faster than even I imagined.
11. Old Friends, New Rivals and Team Rocket! Part II
"Apparently he's lost," James said flicking his hair a bit.
The red-haired guy smirked at this. Judging by the arrogant smile on his face, this guy could be a member of Team Rocket. But he's about the same age as I. I never knew there were trainers my age in Team Rocket.
More than that, my cover's been blown. Well I didn't particularly try hard anyway. Since this had become a face-to-face confrontation, it's better if I ask what's going in my mind.
"Team Rocket," I demanded the trio. "What the hell are you guys up to this time?"
"Hmm?" James raised an eyebrow at this. "I thought we're just running a restaurant." He feigned innocence.
"A restaurant?" I was blank. Well it's true that they weren't doing anything suspicious earlier. Did I jump the gun?
"Absolutely," Meowth said. He shrugged his shoulders, "What else would we do in a place like this?"
"You twerps are really paranoid aren't you?" Jessie seemed like she was genuinely insulted. "We were trying to lead an honest life for a change." She glared, as if demanding an apology.
I guess I did jump the gun. But still, these people have done enough to warrant a suspicion throughout their lives. One can't just simply expect themselves to come back to social life after living a criminal one.
"Cut the crap," the guy behind admonished the trio. "Look," he told me with a condescending tone. "You're right. Team Rocket's doing something fishy." He then spread his lips in a crooked smile, "But I tell you, there's nothing you can do about it."
I frowned at this. This guy whoever he was could be trying to mess with me. "I wonder about it." I said, in a challenging tone. I've stopped these guys more than a hundred times.
"Oh, I am sure," he gave a quick reply. "There's nothing you or anyone for that matter could do to stop Team Rocket." He then scoffed, "Except me of course."
That caught me off guard. I was actually under the delusion that he was a member of Team Rocket. So why would he want he want to stop Team Rocket? He wasn't a member then? Then who the heck was he? "Who are you?" I asked the same, not lowering my tone.
"Me?" He smiled at my question, "Well I am the guy who despises Team Rocket the most. My name's Silver," he said placing his hands inside his pockets, "if you want to remember that is."
"He's Giovanni's son," James said, "He forgets to add that quite often."
Giovanni's son?! I watched the red-haired guy in surprise. Now that he mentioned it, their eyes look scarily similar. No wonder they were giving me some kind of chills every time I looked at them. It's probably true because he didn't deny it, yet.
"Yeah," Silver smirked at James, "I don't find that part particularly memorable."
Looks like Dad and I weren't the only ones with a strange father-son relationship. I could relate to this Silver guy in that fashion, I guess.
My frown relaxed, "So you want to stop Team Rocket?"
The red-haired guy closed his eyes as if to dismiss my comment. "Don't get the wrong idea," he sneered. "I don't need the likes of you to help me. Besides," he said, "You don't even have a clue what you're going up against."
And I don't need to know either. As long as they stay away from the tournament, I don't care what they'd do. "It doesn't matter. I'll just stop them if they try something funny."
Silver laughed at this, as if it were some joke. "Like I said," he said in a low voice. "You don't even have a clue."
"Then what is it?" I demanded. Honestly, this guy's getting on my nerves.
"Its plain simple," his tone mirrored what he said. "You can't touch Team Rocket anymore because they aren't trying anything illegal."
"In fact twerp," the violet-haired James spoke, "It's you who is breaking the law if you meddle unnecessarily with us."
"So," Silver said with a cocky smile, "Little kid," he added that to insult me. "It's better if you just shut your mouth and get the hell away from here." He looked serious when he said the next words. "I and only I will deal with this bunch of incompetent fools."
He's getting on my nerves, but it's better if I stay calm. I shouldn't go out of control, unless I had some secret subconscious wish to be disqualified from the tournament. Team Rocket weren't trying anything dubious for now. Moreover it seems this guy seems to have his own agenda against them. Better step back.
"Fine," I frowned. "But remember I'm not letting this go." I gave them a final warning before leaving the location as the trio watched me disappear with amused looks, because this was the first time I backed out before sending them blasting away.
"Ash!" Gary yelled as his friend appeared from what seemed like an alley connected to the area behind the restaurants.
The raven-haired trainer had a serious look on his face, as evident from the eyebrows that were drawn in a frown and the lips that shaped into a thin line. He appeared to be deep in thought because he looked surprised when Gary called out for him.
Gary waited expecting him to say something, but Ash remained silent evidently still thinking about whatever he had in mind. "What's wrong?" Gary asked.
He didn't say anything for a while. He said at last, "I'm not sure about it but it seems Team Rocket's trying something strange."
Ash didn't look like he was sure about it. It didn't seem like an emergency either because he looked calm about it. "What exactly?" Katie asked, apparently puzzled by Ash's vague reply too.
The trainer shook his head, "I don't know," he frowned when he said so. "They weren't doing anything wrong right now but—"
"You suspect them to do something in the future?" Gary asked. It made sense. That bunch of people weren't the kind one should let free around a major league competition.
"It's better if we contact Officer Jenny then," Katie suggested.
"Or better," Gary said, "Let's inform it to Mr. Goodsho." He was pretty sure the old man would find a way to kick these people out once for all.
Ash seemed to be brightened up by the idea. "Yeah," he said. "That's better." He looked relieved.
"Then it's settled," the woman smiled. "I'll contact Mr. Goodsho for you guys," she suggested. "You guys have the Checkup left right?"
Speaking of which, yes they had something important left to do. All participating trainers need to get their Pokémon scanned by a certified league Doctor. It was a latest countermeasure to prevent something like the Pokérus incident from happening.
Ash seems to know its importance pretty well too because he simply nodded. Although it was to be expected, his father was involved in the whole incident after all.
"Thank you Katie," the raven-haired trainer said. He then scratched his hair as he remembered something. "What about the battle?" He asked.
"Richard can go to hell if he wants," Katie said, looking sour at the mention of the guy's name. "You won't like going to the center during the rush hour."
Gary agreed. "We need to get to Indigo," he said. They were assigned to Indigo region so they were to have their Pokémon checked up in the same region's Pokémon center. It was customary to follow that as informed in the rulebook.
"The station's pretty close from here," Katie said, "Just walk south and you'll see the terminal."
"We're indebted to you Katie," Gary smiled. She had been helpful since their arrival in the league. Besides she even took the responsibility of informing Mr. Goodsho about Team Rocket.
She shrugged it off and chuckled, "I'm just doing whatever I can." She looked beautiful when she smiled like that. Certainly, she was a woman men could easily fall for. He turned to Ash, wondering if the raven-haired trainer shared any similar sentiments.
The said guy of course was busy speaking with his Pikachu, apparently commending its performance against Escavalier earlier. "We'll meet the guy again sometime," he said as he placed the rodent on his shoulder. "Let's make sure we win it the next time."
"Pika!" The Pokémon cried in agreement.
"Well then," Ash said as they prepared to bid the woman a farewell. "Let's meet in the opening ceremony, Katie."
"I wouldn't actually count on that," Katie smiled refusing it politely. "Well, let's say it's a pleasure to meet the two of you."
"The pleasure is mine," Gary said brushing his hair for one final time before they parted, walking away in different directions. Katie told him earlier that she had some shopping to do.
Judging by her attitude she seemed to be the reserved type. No wonder she refused Ash's offers to meet again. The woman's shrewd. It's pretty hard to make a woman like that fall for you. Poor Richard, he picked the wrong girl.
The PLA Board Committee:
"Well my friends," Giovanni announced, as he addressed the various board members. "It's time we decide on what we talked about, yesterday. Once Goodsho comes, we shall begin the voting."
Giovanni eyed the people. His main attention was on Scott, the man who owned 14.7% of the shares after the recent adjustment. He was second to Goodsho, in that regard. Giovanni regarded him with more importance because his vote was extremely valuable to him.
Scott was the hardest to convince, as he was mostly on Goodsho's favor. Together they would hold a good 45.5%. It was troublesome to win as long as they stood together. But Giovanni did make his moves well. There was a good chance that Scott would vote him. If only he could find a way to vanquish Goodsho completely.
Speaking of which, the old man was late, he noticed. The rest of the board stood up as the old man came in, along with a blonde man in a business suit.
Now, who was this person? Giovanni mused. He certainly wasn't in the meeting yesterday, was he? He definitely wasn't a board member.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Goodsho said as he sat down. The new person sat in an empty seat beside Goodsho. The person, for some reason shot a smile at Giovanni that made the former Rocket Boss feel irritated. "Let me introduce you," he pointed to the man beside him. "Mr. Harvey McMillan."
The board nodded silently. "As Mr. Giovanni stated yesterday," Goodsho smiled at him, "I'm getting old. Ninety-five is certainly not a small number."
What the hell are you up to old geezer? Giovanni asked silently.
"I'll come to the point," Goodsho said, looking at the impatience in Giovanni's eyes. "Mr. Harvey will henceforth make decisions for me. He'll speak on my behalf in the board meetings. Whatever comes through his lips will be my words. I hope that is clear."
"Is that even legally possible?" Giovanni asked, obviously troubled. He definitely didn't like the smug smile the new face was carrying. The old man was too easy to work with.
"After seeing you standing here," Goodsho said bitterly. "Oh, I think anything is possible."
Giovanni wanted to crush the old man's arrogant face. Only a ton of patience stopped him from doing so.
"In fact it is," the man named Harvey spoke for the first time. "Besides, I only speak for Mr. Goodsho. Things like voting rights still belong to him. The words are mine, the decisions are his."
"Fine," Giovanni grumbled as the man named Harvey continued to smile. "Well, as we have decided yesterday. We shall continue the voting procedure."
"Before that Mr. Giovanni," Harvey said, "I believe a few clarifications for this 'new policy' of yours might be needed."
Giovanni grit his teeth. He knew the pretty blonde guy in suit was specifically appointed to put a brake to his plan. But he wouldn't let some random nobody destroy his plan.
"What do you need?" Giovanni asked after much deliberation.
The station was well, nothing unlike something one would expect from one. There was a big deal of a crowd. The train facilities were free for both participants and the visitors. So there wasn't a queue for a ticket counter like one would expect.
The line was split in three locations, each connected to a different set of escalators. The routes that connected onto the foot-over bridge split into six platforms, each for one other region.
There were too many trains here, I mused. This was indeed a paradise for someone who liked trains like Cilan for example. The thought of Cilan going gaga over the locomotives made me smile.
"Something funny?" Gary asked, noticing my smile.
We walked downstairs. "Well, if Cilan were here he would be really crazy. You really need to see him when he's around trains."
"I think I can picture the scene," Gary said looking at something, strangely.
I followed his cue and looked in the same direction, and spotted a certain green-haired man. He was literally trembling with ecstasy.
"The wonderful noise created by the sirens," he closed his eyes in delight. "The rumbling of the tracks when a train approaches the station," he spun around and fell to his knees, "Ah, isn't this just the most beautiful thing in the world? A wonderful vehicle that connects cities and towns along with the hearts of the people in it. That's what I would call a train!"
"And that's what I would call a sommelier," Gary sighed, looking slightly embarrassed. Well it's true that the people around were giving Cilan strange looks but it's actually nice to openly express whatever you feel in your heart. Personally, I like that part of Cilan.
"Cilan!" I waved to the sommelier. The sommelier opened his eyes, identifying the voice.
"Ash," his voice rang in recognition. He hummed in excitement, "Your face gives the taste of a seasoned trainer, brimming with the juice called confidence. And you seem to have grown quite a lot physically too." He jumped on one foot and announced, "What a fantastic taste!"
I scratched my hair sheepishly. "Thank you, Cilan."
"I presume you were enjoying 'tasting' the beauty of these trains?" Gary asked, half-sarcastic.
"Non." Cilan said waving his finger. "I decided to put that for later. I'm on my way to our residence."
"Where were you assigned to?" I asked, excited. It would be really wonderful if all of us stayed close to each other.
"We all registered together, remember?" Gary said, "I bet everyone fell in the same place."
"Really!" I jumped eagerly. "That's awesome."
Cilan and Gary smiled at this. The green-haired sommelier then checked his watch, "It's about time Iris and Misty return," he frowned, "Don't tell me they forgot about me and left to someplace else."
Misty and Iris were here too? It seems a couple of people have come during the time we spent on breakfast, battling Richard and chasing Team Rocket. "Have you completed the Checkup, Cilan?" I asked.
The sommelier scratched his hair at this, "I'm worried about that actually. Misty and Iris don't need to check their Pokémon right now. On the other hand," he smiled helplessly. Yeah, he needs to.
"Then come with us," Gary suggested, "Girls forget everything when they get down to shopping."
Ping-Pong!
"Attention passengers!" A voice rang throughout the station. "The next train to Indigo will be departing in two minutes."
"We gotta go," I ushered the two. The next train won't be here in fifteen minutes or so.
As the train started towards its destination, the Indigo Region, Cilan indulged us by speaking a few things about the railway system in Rosenburg. The system was laid specifically for the tournament, and was apparently Scott's idea. The subway masters Emmet and Ingo, who were reputed for running the famous Nimbasa subway, were put in charge of the system
The train crossed the Central region. Several trees started to move past us as the train slowly entered the Rosenburg forest.
While I was listening to Cilan, my focus was mostly on the forest outside. There were lots of Pokémon from different regions. I saw a group of Slakoth watch the train zoom past them lazily. There were also other Pokémon like Hoot-Hoot that perched in the tree holes. In just two minutes I spotted around twenty different species of Pokémon. Most of them were bug types like Wurmple, Seewaddle while there were a few dangerous ones like Seviper.
"Isn't this just awesome?" I said, looking at the congregation of wildlife from different regions in one place. Rosenburg was certainly the best place in the world for Pokémon trainers.
"It is," Cilan exclaimed. "Nothing can top the railway system run by Emmet and Ingo."
Gary gave Cilan a helpless smile, "I think he was talking about the Pokémon outside."
"Oh," Cilan rubbed his chin. "But still isn't this system just—"
Cilan's words were cut off when the entire train jerked to a stop, causing a couple of standing passengers to stumble.
"Awesome?" Gary asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
A couple of passengers looked through the windows wondering what happened.
"There's smoke coming from the engine side," one of them said.
I exchanged a glance with Cilan. "Let's check it out."
Cilan was both excited and disappointed. Disappointed that the system he had been praising nonstop for the past few minutes failed, excited that he could try doing something to help fix it.
The three young men pushed through the crowd that gathered near the front carriage. The smoke from earlier seemed to be a minor one because there was no trace of it, other than the smell of burnt wires.
"It's nothing serious," a voice that probably belonged to a teenager said. "Just a minor overload issue. Nothing we can't handle. Isn't that right, Sparky?"
"Sparky?" Ash muttered. A smile spread across his face, "Could it be?" He asked his rodent partner.
"Excuse me," the raven-haired trainer apologized as he pushed through the crowd of people. The sommelier and the brown-haired exchanged a confused glance but decided to follow him into the crowd.
Standing amidst the worried passengers was a boy who was of the same age as Ash. It's not just his age, but the way he dressed, the way he had a rodent on his shoulder everything was similar to Ash.
"Ritchie!" Ash exclaimed as he neared the boy.
The boy turned his head towards the trio at the mention of his name. His eyes widened in surprise when they met Ash's. "Ash," the boy and the raven-haired trainer ended up shaking hands with each other. "Long time no see."
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "We'll catch up later though," he said, turning serious. "What's going on?"
Ritchie turned to the engine that seemed to be the source of the black smoke from earlier. "A couple of wires were eaten by some Bidoof or Rattata, not sure which." Those Pokémon must have had a great shock.
"Hmm," Cilan scratched his chin in his thinking mode. "That could have led to a short circuit. We need to get to the station to fix that though."
"Exactly," Ritchie said, acknowledging Cilan's knowledge. "If we managed to get to Indigo somehow, I've contacted Emmet to send someone."
"Let's push it all the way then!" Ash said fletching his muscles.
Both Ritchie and Cilan smiled at this while Gary hit his head with his palm. "Ash, it's a train. You can't exactly push it."
"You haven't changed much have you?" Ritchie said, as either of them laughed together. "I actually have a plan. I need to borrow your Pikachu for a bit though."
Cilan made a good guess. He could try using the rodent's electricity as the power source. The engines were running fine. It was the source wire that was actually burned to crisp, so the Pokémon's electricity could run them till Indigo at least.
"Will two Pikachu be enough?" Someone among the crowd asked.
Ritchie smirked at this, "For a while, probably."
After that, either rodents were asked to take a wire connected to the engine's main and put it against their cheeks. The locomotive moved once more, albeit at a slower pace than it's usual. A couple of other trainers helped out by sending their own electric types after they were exhausted. Over all, the journey went smooth until Indigo.
"So," Giovanni asked. "You are questioning the authenticity of our items." Giovanni wanted to laugh. He expected the man called Harvey McMillan to put him in some kind of deep trouble, considering how Goodsho appointed him as his spokesperson. But he came up with a simple straight-forward approach, something he was more than prepared for.
"I have brought our engineer for that," Giovanni showed to the man beside him. "Meet Mr. Malcolm, the supervising engineer for the production of all our hold items."
"If you don't mind Mr. Giovanni," Harvey said, "I need to ask Mr. Malcolm a few questions."
"Feel free," Giovanni said, resting on his chair. Victory was assured to be his.
"What's the percentage of defective items in your production unit, Malcolm?" Harvey asked.
Malcolm smiled at this, "I hoped you to ask something else. We are proud to say that our success rate is 99.97%. We are highly efficient, and committed towards work. We worry about the health of the Pokémon. A defective item is something we see upon as a sin."
The rest of the board members smiled at Giovanni, who smiled back positively. Goodsho was sweating profusely. Obviously, the old man's strategy to trust this so-called Harvey failed. 99.97% of successful production, not something that old geezer can fight on.
Giovanni spoke, "As we have clarified your doubts, Mr. Harvey could we move on to the voting?" Even Scott was looking at Giovanni, positively. Yes, he won this.
"I'm not done, actually," Harvey said, a business smile on his face. "0.03% of defective products, you say Malcolm?"
"Yes," the engineer nodded. "Not many industries can achieve that level of efficiency."
"Not many industries need that efficiency," Harvey retorted, pausing everyone's smile. A silence followed instead. "Venerable members," he said turning to the board. "There are a total of 40,000 trainers in this prestigious tournament. Each trainer could on an average have like ten Pokémon. Am I right, Mr. Giovanni?"
Giovanni nodded, "That is indeed close to our own assumption."
"Productions of about four hundred thousand hold items need to be done to run this tournament," Harvey said, "And certainly 0.03% seems like a small value even on such a large scale. Now, my friends just imagine a prestigious final match. Suppose the title favorite Mr. J Valentine, and the champion of Sinnoh, Miss Cynthia have locked horns in a final match with their respective ace Pokémon, Excadrill and Garchomp. Each equipped with these hold items."
Giovanni had a sneaking suspicion of what the man was supposed to say, "And now this 0.03%, it could fall anywhere. Sorry for my language, but probability is a bitch. It could bite us from any direction. Certainly a company with 400,000 units to produce can't test each and every item before sending them out. No mass production unit can guarantee that. Should we afford the whole league's future on this 0.03%?"
"You can't say no to the whole thing because of a mere 0.03%!" Giovanni exclaimed.
"You can't play with probability in a tournament like this," Harvey raised his voice, but not shouting at the same time. "These people have invested millions into this. The whole tournament will be a flop if even one match gets ruined because of your hold items scheme. Even F-1 cars fail on the tracks. There's no guarantee to anything mechanical in this world. There's a heavy chance a hot favorite match could be ruined."
"No, it won't," Giovanni slammed his fist against his desk. "Hold Items supplied for important matches will be specifically tested."
"Does that mean we ignore the rest of the masses?" Harvey asked. "Mr. Scott," he turned to the fat man. "Bias is something you don't like, do you? Isn't that why you set up this mass tournament in the first place?"
Scott nodded, "I have to agree."
How dare that—! Giovanni's face turned red. This damned Harvey keeps reversing the logic and uses it as a weapon. He didn't speak anything. Harvey continued, "If an ordinary trainer whose dreams got crushed specifically because of this sues us, do you even know how much we should be paying him?"
"We could always have a rematch," Giovanni defended.
"Surprise is one of the key elements in Pokémon battles," Harvey argued. "People make specific strategies for specific rounds. Do you think the same person will win when you put a rematch between two trainers of similar battling levels?"
"This is preposterous!" Giovanni yelled. The paper in his hands was crumbled when he curled his fists.
"Mr. Giovanni," Scott spoke, "Calm down. Mr. McMillan's right. We can't ruin our own tournament. Not with an extra policy. Let alone an old one."
Giovanni couldn't hear anymore. More and more board members started to speak after that, each apologizing to him, saying it was a wonderful idea but a risky one nonetheless.
Everything was ruined. All his plans to take over the PLA legally were ruined. His promise to his son was ruined.
But this wasn't over yet. He had more than one plan in his arsenal. The first one was a major blow to him, but he still had many more plans left in his arsenal.
"Fine, I take back this proposal," he said at last. When he looked up, he saw Goodsho smiling at him like a little kid who just got his candy bar. 'Enjoy all you want. You'll definitely pay for every moment you torment me, old geezer.'
Indigo Region, Rosenburg Complex
"Ritchie's just amazing isn't he?" Ash said as he and Gary walked out of the Indigo station.
Gary couldn't help but agree. Ritchie was well, resourceful, for someone their age. He was pretty calm during the whole time he orchestrated the rest of the journey.
They were both alone, once again. Cilan, who said he had a couple of suggestions to give the Subway masters, disappeared along with Ritchie who thought it's better to explain the situation to them.
"I hope Cilan doesn't forget about the Pokémon Checkup," Gary said, partially worried about the strange man. He was definitely an interesting character, but he could be embarrassing if people don't know what he's doing.
"Well," Ash said getting his spirits up. "Let's hurry up and go to our hotel rooms!"
At this, the raven-haired trained began to charge like a wild Tauros. The GPS indicated they were to head straight on the main road, take a right turn on the second street. They finally hit the complex of large buildings lined one after the other.
There were many trainers who were either moving in or taking a casual look around. There were a couple of cars, Gary noted. They were perhaps, renting them from somewhere nearby as cars form outside are disallowed in the main complex. He made a mental note to check the cars sometime.
Ash on the other hand was having his hands full figuring which of the building was their residence. He was furiously jabbing at the smart-device. "Jabbing it doesn't help you, Ash-boy," he couldn't help but say that.
Ash showed the screen to Gary, "I figured it out." Gary was mildly surprised. Well Ash took his time, but he figured how to use the device at last. "We get the hotel with the lake-view," Ash said checking the device. "The Rosenburg Grand, it says."
"Rosenburg Grand?" Gary knew that it was a chain of hotels owned by the Frontier Enterprises. "That's a pretty good one."
Gary examined the name on each board and stopped at the towering building in front of them. "Yep, this is it."
The building was indeed a grand structure that was about twenty-storied. They walked in, pushing the glass doors and inquired about their rooms at the reception. "Mr. Oak and Mr. Ketchum," the receptionist was a petite brunette. They sure pick the right gals, Gary chuckled. "You have booked room 7B, along with Mr. Harrison and Mr. Striation."
"Yep, that's us," Ash said cheerfully.
"Mr. Harrison has already checked in yesterday," she said, "He has left the extra keys with us just in case." She provided them with a key that had a card attached to it. "We hope you enjoy our services during your stay and good luck for the League." She added with a business smile.
"Thanks," Ash smiled back. "By the way, there were a couple of girls who registered with us. I was wondering if they checked in."
The receptionist checked the register. "Um," she said studying the list. "We have a Ms. Waterflower and Ms. Berlitz. They've signed in few minutes ago."
"Looks like Dawn and Misty have checked in," Gary said. Ash nodded, "Let's hurry up then."
After that we have taken the elevator to the seventh floor. The girls' room was locked. They could be somewhere outside.
Our room was one of the most luxurious I've seen throughout my league experience. There were six beds, each provided with their own desk and computers. Not to mention, there was a television, an air conditioner, and a videophone.
The digital clock on my table showed the time to be 13: 00 hours. We better hurry up, or else face the consequences of standing in an absurdly big line.
Luckily for us, the Pokémon Center which was as massive as the one from earlier was pretty close. The crowd was hectic, but a token system was followed much to our sanity.
"If we were a bit earlier," Gary complained, "We could've finished it by now."
Well, it was true that we could have come a bit earlier if I didn't waste my time battling Richard. But, "Not everything goes according to plan," I said, grinning sheepishly. "Besides we have a lot of time, right?"
We still had a solid eleven hours ahead of us. "I suppose," Gary said, slightly convinced.
As we continued to wait, a new batch of people walked out of the checkup room. Surprisingly, they were all familiar faces.
"Hey guys," I waved to the large group. Most of them recognized me immediately. While most of them were pleasant reactions judging by their smiles, some of them weren't.
"Long time no see," the tallest of them, Harrison pulled me in a surprising hug. "Whoa man," he grinned studying me. "You've grown but you look the same."
"Except he looks more confident," Tyson smirked.
"And handsome," Norman added. "Isn't that right, May?"
The brunette was taken by her father's sudden comment. "Dad!" Her face turned pink in embarrassment.
The bespectacled boy adjusted his spectacles as he studied me intensely. He was certainly a lot taller than three years ago. "Yep, a lot more handsome for May."
Well, it seems they were having fun. There were more in the group. The green-haired Drew silently smirked at me. He brushed his hair when our gazes met. It was his style of greeting, I guess. The purple haired Harley however pretended that he didn't know me and simply studied something else.
"I'm surprised all of you are together," I said. Well Tyson and the rest of them were acquaintances, but Harrison was a different case.
"Well we all took the same plane from Hoenn," Max said. "I suppose you should've figured the connection out." He said, giving me a cocky grin.
So, even Max wants to put up a cold war against me? I guess that's what you should expect from a tournament of this level. "Max, I'm looking forward to see your progress."
Max said confidently, "Obviously. I've made the best strategy to beat you, Ash."
"That's interesting," I smiled, he sure seems confident. "So, have you guys finished your checkup process?"
"It was a pain," Norman said, "But I guess we did complete it without a hassle." His attention then shifted to Gary, "I heard from my daughter. I hope she wasn't a big burden to your wallet."
"Dad!" May was furiously mad. Wow, they were indeed a strange pair of father and daughter.
"I was just kidding, pumpkin," Norman said, obviously enjoying it.
"Well," Gary chuckled. "She definitely wasn't a burden. We had a good time."
"You need not lie you know," Max said, adjusting his glasses again. Seriously, does he keep doing that?
"MAX!" The Pokémon center exploded with the screams of a certain brunette. Boy, they were sure a lively bunch. I wish my Dad and Mom were here too. As much as I hate his ridiculous remarks, my Dad knows how to keep things lively.
I wonder what they were doing now. Probably watching some articles related to the world tournament in the television.
I was so deep in thought about my Mom and Dad that I didn't realize I was staring at May while I did so.
"Look, Ash's spacing out on you!" Max said, pulling a last minute defense against a smack from his sister.
Well that startled both of us. We ended up staring at each other awkwardly. When she realized the inherent meaning behind his words, she ended up blushing.
Gary rolled his eyes. One year has certainly matured Ash a bit. While he's still hopeless, he at least understands now when people were make romantic implications in front of him. He was worse one year ago.
"I was just thinking about my Dad," he defended himself, much to the brunette's sanity. Although Gary had to accept, May had grown in the right areas in the one year course. She was transforming slowly into a woman that would attract men.
Gary constantly critiqued the woman around him silently in his mind. While he eyed most of them, he didn't go far with anyone. He basically liked to keep his options open. Even if he was the polar opposite of Ash women-wise, both of them were equally detached from a romantic relationship.
"I think it's better if we leave," the green haired Drew looked impatient. This guy obviously disliked the way things were going on here.
"Yeah," Gary said, "I heard there're a couple of shopping malls in the main stadium region."
"Shopping malls?" May's eyes were suddenly lit up. "I suppose we should be going there, then?"
Both Norman and Max groaned at the same time. The brunette pulled her father and sibling, "Well, in that case we'll meet you guys later."
"Yeah," Ash said, "Let's gather at the main stadium before the opening ceremony."
"Sure thing, man!" Tyson exclaimed before the group left.
Two hours after the Hoenn Crew left, our turn finally came. There were a total of twenty five doctors in this center. So, there were enough doctors to complete the checkup really fast.
We were ushered into the room by a Blissey. The checkup room was in fact a huge hall, bigger than a Pokémon stadium itself. There were about twenty five equally huge tents. A Blissey or an Audino stood outside each one of them and showed the trainers into the tent. The purpose of the tent was to maintain the secrecy of the trainer's Pokémon. That way one could hide the Pokémon he possessed.
"Number 21," A Nurse Joy showed Gary to the last room. "Number 22," she showed me to the next tent.
As I approached the tent, I realized the ceiling was much higher, perhaps to accommodate enormous Pokémon like Steelix.
"Well Pikachu," I said to the rodent. "Let's hope you don't shock the doctor." I walked in through as the Blissey lifted the cloth for me.
I entered, expecting some strange guy wearing a white coat, or a Nurse Joy carrying a smile. Instead, I met with a familiar squint-eyed guy.
We stared at each other silently in surprise. "Whoa," those were the first words that came through Brock's mouth.
To be honest, I was more startled than ever. In that lab coat he seemed like a completely different person. His hair was longer than the usual. He wore an orange shirt under his coat and green cargo pants to match up with that.
"Brock," I shook my head in disbelief. "Never thought I'd see you here of all places."
"Well," he shrugged, "Where else would you see a Doctor in training?"
"I don't know," I chuckled. "You look a lot cooler in that."
"Speak for yourselves," Brock laughed. "Are you planning to swoop all the young maidens n Rosenburg?"
Well he obviously knows the answer to that. As much as Brock was controlled by hormones, I was oblivious to them.
Brock sat behind a small desk that had a computer, a pen stand, a couple of papers and a printer. He had a couple of medical equipment in hand too. "So," I asked taking the other seat that was obviously meant for me. "How do we do this?"
"You let me worry about that," Brock said, "Just write the list of Pokémon you want to be entering here," he showed me a sheet that had fifty boxes. "I will validate them in your Pokédex to see if you really have them and then contact your storage."
"You mean Oak?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said as he typed something into his computer. "I've already sent a request call. The P.L.A official will call him on your behalf and request a mass transfer. Then I'll cross-verify the ID in the Pokédex and check your Pokémon."
That actually sounded a lot complex although Brock spoke as if it were something simple. "Well, I guess I'll just sit and watch the physical examination?"
"You need to complete the list first," he pointed to the empty sheet of paper. "You can cross check with your Pokédex and see if you missed anyone out."
"There's no need for that." I could remember that much. Alright, so what were my Pokémon's names again? After a while, I completed the list without checking the Pokédex.
I'm glad I remembered all of them.
"The list looks pretty heavy," Brock said as he read the names. "How did you evolve Haunter?" He asked.
"Sabrina took his ownership temporarily," I said. She thought I wouldn't return back for Haunter. "So he evolved when I traded him with that Ralts I had to catch for her." Oh, that was a pain. They keep teleporting, don't they?
"Sabrina huh," Brock remembered the name with a certain dread. Well she did turn them into dolls. "So 37 Pokémon. Your list is the same size as Paul's."
'Paul?!'
"He was here?" I asked, eagerness taking over me. "When?"
"A few rounds earlier," Brock said, "Although, unlike you almost all of his Pokémon were fully evolved. In fact most people have fully evolved Pokémon."
"Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Bayleef, Quilava and Corphish," I counted, "Those are the only ones. I didn't want to force them to evolve."
"I think that's better than evolving against their wishes," Brock said as he sorted the list through my Pokédex. Well it wasn't necessary. Brock knew most of my Pokémon. But a formality is a formality. "Even Paul has an unevolved Pokémon."
"Really?" Now that was quite a surprise. "Which Pokémon was that?"
"It's strictly confidential," Brock said, "Sorry, Ash but it's in the agreement. If I just reveal then it'd destroy the point of putting all these tents," he said pointing to the enormous curtains around.
"I understand." Moreover, isn't it fun discovering the hard way?
Once he finished the list, Brock sent a mail to Oak's ranch. A request call was made. Few minutes later a Blissey came in, pushing a tray filled with Pokéball. I recognized they were mine, thanks to Feraligatr's Pokéball.
The checkup didn't take much time. Brock scanned each Pokémon with a strange device and noted something in his computer every time.
"And done," he said once he was done with Krookodile, the last Pokémon I caught.
"So, did all of them pass?" I asked. It was a moot question, why would any of my Pokémon fail.
"With flying colors," Brock said finally taking rest after continuous examination and typing. "Seriously, this work is tiring." He said wiping the sweat off his face.
"Seems so," I agreed. Poor Brock, he had many more trainers to handle after I leave. "So, should I be returning these to Oak's?"
"No," Brock said, "You get to keep six. The rest will stay in the League ranch. Don't worry I'll be the ones in charge of your Pokémon."
"That's a life-saver." Seriously, anyone would be paranoid if they were to leave their Pokémon under some stranger's care. But if it's Brock, there's nothing to worry at all. Like Dawn says, no need to worry. "I'm counting on you, Brock."
"It's my training project," Brock smiled, "I will definitely not screw it up."
Well now that the checkup has been done, the last thing left for me to do was go to the main stadium and meet all of my friends.
Meanwhile, in the Rosenburg's main stadium region also known as the 'Rose-Red' region…
The shopping malls were hopelessly full. The escalators, elevators, stairs name them, each and every one of them was stuffed with people. If you were to visit this place, it's a better idea to put an eye on your wallet.
"Like I said, those people are going to break up anytime!" Iris argued over the heap of gifts she carried.
"Are you blind or what?" Misty retorted, "They were holding hands and touching each other. Why would they break up?"
Apparently, their discussion was about a random couple they spotted on their way out. Iris argued that they were about to break up anytime soon, while Misty maintained that they had a wonderful relationship going on.
"No need to worry!" The girls heard a distant voice somewhere. They looked around, as the source was quite familiar. Their eyes halted on a certain blunette, who stood attractive amongst the crowd.
"She sure knows how to dress," Misty muttered. Dawn was wearing a perfectly blue dress that matched her eyes and hair. She wore a white hat, decorated with a blue ribbon. Misty' dress consisted of a simple shirt over a short, which looked bland in comparison with Dawn. Iris was another story completely. Her dress obviously belongs with the tribal.
Walking alongside her was a red-haired girl similar to her, and yet another girl whom she identified from the list of important people as Candice of Snowpoint.
Following them closely were a group of men. One of them looked like he was high as he kept jumping all the way as he kept yapping in a purple-haired guy's ears who looked quite indifferent to it. There was a chubby brown haired guy behind them, followed by someone who looked like Max multiplied in creepiness and added with age. Walking alongside the strange group was a blue-haired guy and a tall black-haired guy that carried a harp for some odd reason.
"Dawn's friends?" Iris asked.
"Could be her stalkers," Misty muttered before the girls ended up into peals of laughter. The Max-like guy certainly looked like one.
"Messing with people's love-lives already?" Another familiar voice approached the duo from behind.
"May!" The girls exclaimed when they spotted a certain foxy lady standing behind them, her mouth stuffed with food and her hands carrying some more.
"What are you girls up to?" May asked, obviously expecting something mischievous.
"Watching Dawn and her st—" Iris paused when she saw a couple of guys follow May. She exchanged a glance with Misty.
The girls had a silent conversation. 'She has stalkers too.' Iris said with a simple cunning smile.
Misty who understood that couldn't help but giggle. May was obviously troubled by this, "I hope you aren't taking the wrong meaning out of this." She pointed to the man who was alongside Max, "My Dad's here. I don't want him to hear all that mischievous stuff."
"Spoilsport," Iris pouted, faking anger. "Well let's attack Dawn then!" The three girls decided picking on the youngest.
Dawn was having a nice time. Candice and Zoey were definitely wonderful company and protected her from creepy Conway and…poor Kenny.
She constantly looked back to Paul, who was having a hard time keeping up with Barry's irrational rants. "You're my best buddy, Paul!" Barry exclaimed. "I mean, we guys are destined to be bitter rivals and friends at the same time. I bet the both of us won't battle each other till the climatic finals. And then we will have the biggest showdown of them all and—"
Barry's words took her to the strange relation Paul and Ash had. Paul's attitude towards Ash was definitely good, but there was a fine gap between them. Paul couldn't obviously see a rival and a friend in the same person. No one in the world could, expect maybe Ash.
The blue-haired guy Vincent walked forward to meet with her. "You know if this guy Barry keeps blabbering in Paul's ears," he whispered. "I'm afraid Paul could snap anytime soon."
Vincent was Paul's first rival. She met him when Ash's Tauros battled Paul's Torterra. She remembered him having an enormous Venusaur. Something that would put May's Venusaur to shame.
"Well, yes," Zoey said. "I'm surprised he endured this long."
"Well you could say thanks to that guy's harp," Candice pointed to Nando who followed them closely. They all have taken the same plane from Sinnoh. Except for Vincent who was from Kanto. Vincent joined them later as he wanted to meet up with Paul. "That harp soothes your nerves right?" Candice asked.
"Don't tell me you're going to hit on Nando!" Zoey exclaimed.
"Of course I d—" Candice paused. "That's not a bad idea."
At that point Nando approached them. He played with the strings on his harp, "Is something wrong?" He asked, with a melodious voice.
"Nothing much," Candice replied, not failing to blush. "Just wondering which mall we should go next."
"Isn't there something more productive to do?" Apparently Paul who listened to what she said asked, somewhat begrudgingly. "I could've at least had a good sleep." He grumbled.
"Yeah, man!" Barry jumped. "I'm getting tired of all this shopping."
"Are you?" Dawn wondered. "Maybe we should do something else for a change." Much as she was annoyed by Barry, they really did a lot of shopping today. Coming from her, it was indeed a lot. "What would you guys suggest?" She asked the last two boys left in their group.
"Well there's something I want to do," Conway adjusted his glasses. "But we can't do it in public, can we?" He said with a cunning grin that was creepy. Forget it! Why did she ask that pervert in the first place?
"Sometimes I wonder if he has a death wish," Zoey whispered into Candice's ears. Yep, he did.
"I have an idea," a tired looking Kenny said. "Why don't we take a little rest somewhere?"
"Tired already?" Barry was somehow startled by this. "Oh, that's 'cos you're too chubby dude!" Barry started pulling Kenny's cheeks.
"Does anyone have a plan?" Paul asked, annoyed to be standing in such a crowded street in the first place.
"No need to worry!" Dawn exclaimed, planning to take the situation under her care. But at that time she didn't realize she caught the attention of three women from the nearby shopping mall.
"Dawn!" Three voices exclaimed at once. The blunette suddenly found herself immersed amidst the hugs of her three friends.
"Misty, Iris, May!" Dawn exclaimed, slapping her palm against each of theirs. "Where's Ash?" She asked, expecting the raven-haired as the three girls seemed to be together.
"Oh," May said with a foxy smile as Misty and Iris giggled. "You meet the three of us and the first thing you ask is about—"
"Shut up," Dawn said, mockingly as she blushed. "You girls are always like this."
"Always like what?" Zoey asked, with her own cunning smile. Oh, everyone hates her! Dawn thought.
"Zoey," May said as she hugged the redhead. At that point the male group following May joined them. "Never thought you'd be here." May knew about Zoey's distaste to Pokémon battles. The redhead shrugged at this.
"Hey May," the older man said, "Mind introducing us to your friends?"
The next five minutes were spent on introduction. May's brother showed a profound interest when he spoke with Paul. The latter was somewhat happy as he saved himself from Barry.
Harrison, Tyson and Vincent became immediate friends while Barry chose Norman and Nando as his next brain-eating target. Kenny and Conway continued to speak amongst themselves as they made private jokes on their favorite girl. Drew and Harvey remained detached from the group. Although, she knew the latter was only so because he preferred speaking with women than men.
"I think we should all go to the main stadium," May's dad announced. "Ash told he'll be there after his checkup."
At the mention of Ash's name, Dawn unconsciously looked at Paul to check his reaction. At the same time the rest of the girls threw their smiles at Dawn.
"I sense a love triangle," Iris giggled, which was echoed with the giggles of the rest of the females.
"You girls are nasty!"
Over already? Yeah, sadly I have already reached a word count of 8275. So, I have to break this off as a chapter. Most of the crew is set to meet. But there are a couple of other people (mostly the Unova crew), once they join we are all set.
The opening ceremony will most likely be in the next chapter along with the league matchups.
Oh, and you guys certainly expected a lot to happen with Ash and Silver, right? Haha, just wait, we have a lot of time for him!
And uh, yeah poor Dawn! Being the youngest can be painful sometimes :x
A little spoiler: In the next chapter, Ash will do something that could get him disqualified :3
Oh and if you are wondering about my new OC, Harvey McMillan-well let's say he could be Ash's ticket to uncover few truths. That's the point of his existence.