I have one of the reviewers saying that they were worried that this story is a love triangle between Ash, Misty and May. Well people, in case you haven't read the description, it is multi shipping. It means we won't have a love triangle, or a love quadrilateral or a pentagon, we'll have a love network that is much much more complex.
15. The night before the match
The Silver region…
It was ten in the morning. Most of the participants of the PWT, Rosenburg Cup were deep immersed in their training sessions. The battle nets were the only place where trained Pokémon were allowed to attack each other, or perform their moves. There were forty thousand trainers and only around hundred nets per region. Luckily the league policy states that only those with a match the next day was allowed to train. The rest could train in the outskirts of Rosenburg forest, but only at their own risk.
Max Maple was no exception to following a strict training regime. The young trainer who was only days away from his eleventh birthday was deep immersed in his training with his father, the gym leader Norman.
His object of training was the gecko Pokémon, Grovyle, while his father had a not-so intimidating Pokémon on his side. The Pokémon Norman used was more like a teddy bear that had unsteady feet. It kept wobbling like a drunkard, unable to stand still. The Pokémon had red spots all over its cream complexion, which were known to be as unique as a human's fingerprints. The Pokémon without a doubt was Spinda.
"Grovyle," Max commanded. "Use Leaf Blade!"
The gecko Pokémon jumped at the wobbling panda, the leaves on its hands were shaped into swords that could cut through a rock if the Pokémon wanted. The Leaf Blade was cut horizontally, in an attempt to slash the Pokémon, but the wobbling panda bent back like a flexible dancer while still maintaining its unsteady dance.
"Don't let it go," Max said, "You have the advantage in close combats!"
The Pokémon repeated another slice, this time with its left hand, but the panda simply spun like a ballerina and got out of the way. The movements repeated, Grovyle kept using the sharp grass type move, but Spinda kept dodging the attack like it was nothing but a minor chore.
Max was getting impatient. Seeing his son's reaction, Norman smiled. "Just because a Pokémon doesn't have notable stats or an intimidating appearance doesn't mean it's easy to defeat."
"Oh yeah?" Max ridiculed. "Jump back and use Energy Ball!"
The grass type jumped back. The leaf on its head shone with a bright green light as a sphere of natural energy shaped in its mouth. The Pokémon spat the attack at the Spinda, which duly jumped over the attack. The Energy Ball struck the ground causing an explosion on the ground behind. Spinda disappeared inside the smoke that appeared after that.
'Damn that thing,' Max cursed.
"Now," Norman's expression stated that he was shifting to the offense. "Spinda, Teeter Dance!"
"Uh oh," Max muttered.
The smoke cleared, and Spinda was found unscathed in the midst of it. The Pokémon swung its arms as it made random motions with its feet, resembling a folk dance of some culture.
"Grovyle, don't look at it!" Max warned. But it was too late. The Spinda's movements mesmerized the grass type and soon the Pokémon started repeating the same movements in its trance.
"Aw man," Max took out his Pokéball. "Return, Grovyle."
The red light sucked the grass type in the midst of its dance. Having ensured that the Pokémon was back inside, Max took a deep sigh. "You went easy on me in the gym battle, didn't you?"
Norman gave a sheepish smile at that.
"Well that's what a Gym leader is supposed to do," a familiar voice responded.
The father and son identified the source immediately. "May!" Max exclaimed, happy to see that his sister actually cared to show up. He wasn't counting on it, actually.
"Well," the brunette smiled. "Thought my little bro needs some help."
Max scoffed at this, "As if I need a coordinator's help."
"Talk back when you actually win something," May quipped.
"Are we going to bicker all day?" Norman asked, "Or are we going to train?" He turned to his daughter, "May, I think you need to put extra effort on training. Your opponent is a favorite remember?"
"It's not like she stands a chance," Max said. "I have a better chance of winning against Green Randall than May with her opponent."
Norman and May exchanged a smile at this. "You don't have a clue how good your sister has become."
"But Dad," May said, "I still can't beat a favorite."
"Nonsense," Norman cut her off. "You are as good as the gym leaders of Hoenn. You have a good chance."
Max blinked at this. His sister was as good as the Hoenn Gym Leaders? He had been away from home for a year while May and his Dad trained together. Although May was a coordinator, she was an excellent battler. In fact, she was superior to Drew and few other coordinators when it comes to battles. It comes from the fact that her early career was severely affected by Ash's battle style.
But even then, her opponent was a giant. Even Hoenn Gym Leaders don't stand a chance against him. If they did, then they would be Hoenn Champions not Gym Leaders. His father was obviously too optimistic.
"But before that," May said, "Did you guys work on Green Randall?"
Max answered confidently, "Of course, sis."
"And?" She asked.
"Green Randall's from Unova," Max started. "He has won the Unova League three years ago on his second try. He concentrates on speed and confuses his opponent with it."
"He's just like Ash then," May concluded.
"No," Norman frowned at her hasty conclusion. "There's quite a difference between concentrating on speed and concentrating on offense."
"Meaning, "Max explained, adjusting his glasses. "Green Randall spends a lot of his Pokémon's training only on speed. Ash on the other hand trains on offense. Speed is only a byproduct for offense."
"Matchup wise," Norman said, "Green Randall won't be a problem to trainers who tend to have balanced teams. But to people like Ash who concentrates less on defense and more on offense—"
"Green Randall is a nightmare to face," Max completed for his father.
"Wow," May said, having nothing else to say. "He's a Unovan league winner, huh."
"Yeah," Max said. His sister now knows how good of a threat Green Randall was. Truth be told, Max didn't have much hopes to get into the next round. Tobias was impossible to defeat. Ash, Green Randall are hard to beat too. If anything, he had better chances against Casey.
The brunette put a melancholic expression, "Looks like both me and my little brother are going to end up losing in Tier 7."
Norman patted either of the siblings, "The two of you are my children. You might not win against the favorites of your group but you can beat the rest three."
"I could," May said, "But him?" She pointed at Max.
Max and Norman smirked at this. "Well, your little brother has a secret weapon that can beat Green Randall, Ash and Casey."
"What?" Max's sister looked at both of them, incredulous.
Meanwhile, somewhere nearby….
A pink-haired woman, a violet-haired man surrounded a green-haired boy who was in midst of his own training.
"Hi there Soledad," Drew greeted the Kanto-native. He was slightly annoyed to have been disturbed in his training, but he had a fair amount of respect towards Soledad that nullified it completely. "And Harley," he added slowly.
"My, my," Harley clasped his hands. "Don't you have some good manners, sweetheart!"
Both Drew and Soledad ignored the comment, "Guess whom did I just saw in the nets?" She asked.
Drew raised his eyebrow, "Steven Stone?" He asked, with slight sarcasm.
Soledad leaned down and whispered, "May."
Drew put an uncomfortable face at this. "And you disturb my training for that?"
Soledad crossed her arms, "Drew," she teased. "May's going to have a big match day after tomorrow. She's been your moral support in Johto, remember?"
Three years ago Drew, May, Soledad and Harley began their journey throughout Johto together. They were a strange group. They were rivals and friends the same time. Drew always acted like a prick around May, while the brunette was no slouch in retorting back. Harley was an agent of destruction between the two. Whenever May or Drew try pulling a prank on each other, he fuels them and turn it into a great disaster. Soledad was their saving grace, who somehow ended up saving the day. In the end, they became thick friends. They travelled Sinnoh after that and finally participated in the second Wallace Cup in Johto along with Dawn, Zoey, Nando and Kenny.
The tournament ended up with Drew facing Zoey in the finals and him defeating the redhead. He was given the incredible opportunity to face Wallace. May kept cheering him throughout, and was perhaps the energy behind his victory. Granted Wallace wasn't even trying because of his sudden loss of interest in contests, he still won.
And he had to return the favor. Because May will be facing—
"You shouldn't be even thinking about it," Soledad said. "You should be the one cheering her, Drew."
"Or else," Harley said, faking panic. "A certain trainer from Pallet Town will steal the girl from you!"
Drew looked at Harley, disgusted. "Mind your own business, Harley." He turned around and walked away from the duo.
As Drew left, Soledad threw Harley a sore glance, "We were supposed to be subtle."
"But I thought he likes her," Harley said, adjusting his Cacturne hat that was misplaced because of his dancing.
"He's too proud to admit it," Soledad smiled watching the boy vanish.
The Indigo Region…
The sky was turning dark as the dawn turned to dusk. An unusual couple was walking together in the streets. If one were to say it was possible five years ago, almost everyone who knew them would laugh. But now it was reality. It was the ever handsome Gary Oak, and the redhead Misty.
"So, that Aerodactyl ended up destroying everything," Gary said, as the couple walked from the shopping district towards the stadium complex. They had to cross the area to reach the hotel.
"Oh my god," Misty said, taking a lick at the cone Gary bought her earlier. After spending three hours with Gary, she realized Gary knew what exactly a woman likes and acts accordingly. The problem of course was that most of her tastes were different from other women's.
"Brave Bird!" A loud command took their attention towards a practice battle in a net. The couple watched as the Predator Pokémon, Staraptor tucked its wings and dove towards the ground. The red hair on its head was blown back by the force, and a sudden fire shrouded the Pokémon. The Pokémon spread its wings as the fire turned into a blue aura.
The target was the motionless Sceptile that watched its opponent come and strike.
"It's going to be hit," Misty exclaimed, knowing well that the attack would be fatal to Sceptile.
As the bird was about to strike the grass type, the Sceptile disappeared in the last minute, startling the bird Pokémon. The bird Pokémon landed on the ground after suffering through the recoil damage. It turned around and threw a glare at the grass type which now watched the bird, with a cocky smirk on its face.
"What a show off," Gary chuckled. "Just like its trainer."
"Huh," the redhead didn't realize it till then. They were actually watching the training session of a certain raven-haired trainer.
"No matter how many times I see it," Brock who stood behind commented. "Sceptile's speed never ceases to amuse me."
"Hmm," Cilan said spreading his arms. "It vanishes like a magician and pops right where you don't expect it. That's truly a wonderful treat for the onlookers."
"I was actually rooting for Staraptor," Iris said, equally excited. "He was awesome against Snorlax."
Misty's attention drew away from the conversation. She honestly liked the training that was going on. Ash's Pokémon always had unique personalities. The unusual Samurott from the exhibition match particularly caught her attention. She just didn't like the trainer who was commanding them.
Gary noticed the change in Misty's face. A good thing to do would take her away from there. That's what a perfect gentleman would do. But that would further rift her and Ash apart. Besides, it wasn't like he was committed to her. Gary was in fact not committed to anyone. He was still searching for that one magical girl that would enchant him in her love. Now was not the time to be selfish.
"Let's go watch," he led her, despite her disinterest.
As the couple entered the net, the foursome in the net gave different reactions. Cilan and Brock gave Gary devious smiles, while Iris gave the same to Misty. Ash however, looked indifferent and said, "Hi, guys. Welcome to Operation Tobias."
"Operation Tobias," Gary rolled his eyes. "So how's your confidence level, Ashy-boy."
"Good," he smirked, "Unless you are planning to bring it down."
"Trust me," Gary said, "If you were my opponent. I'd do that."
Gary shifted his attention to the Pokémon behind. Staraptor's Brave Bird was extremely powerful, he judged by the burn marks on the field from when it almost touched the ground. Sceptile's speed…well that was just disturbing.
"So are you using them tomorrow?" Gary asked.
Ash stretched his muscles. He must have not taken a break in hours. "I need to find a way for Staraptor to hit Sceptile. If I do that, he'll be a powerful asset tomorrow."
"What about you guys?" Iris asked, a sly smile on her face. "How did your date go?"
Misty felt her cheeks going red. Iris always knew a way to embarrass her. She looked at Gary for help, who simply snickered at this. "It wasn't a date," he said.
Misty saw the blank expression on Ash's face. He was obviously troubled by something.
Yes, he was jealous. Somewhere in her heart, Misty felt a Butterfree flutter. "But," she said, abruptly clasping Gary's hand. "We're going on one tomorrow."
Iris, Cilan and Brock threw her an incredulous look, obviously stumped by her sudden announcement. Gary on the other hand remained cool and reserved. She expected Ash's face to turn black, but instead it brightened.
"I found a way!" He exclaimed. He turned to his Pokémon. "Staraptor, get into the air. Sceptile, battle position!"
So all this while, while she had made her stupid announcement he had been thinking about his Staraptor?! Misty felt her blood boiling like lava.
Iris took a quick notice of this. "Misty," she tried stopping the lava from erupting. "Tomorrow is his big day. You—"
"It's fine." She said softly, much to everybody's and her own surprise.
But of course, she would definitely burst if she were to stand there any longer. The redhead silently turned around and left the net. She turned back as she felt someone following her. It was Iris. "Don't follow me," she warned before continuing on her way.
Staraptor took its usual position in the air. It glared down at the calm and confident Sceptile with its red eyes. It was obviously frustrated by the fact that it hadn't been able to land a single hit over the past half an hour.
"Staraptor," I encouraged him. "This time you'll hit Sceptile."
Sceptile only smirked at that. I had been saying that again and again to motivate Staraptor, but he kept failing. Sceptile was too fast, like Trip's Serperior.
"Alright," I pointed my finger at Sceptile. "Staraptor, Quick Attack!"
The predator Pokémon shot like a missile towards the ground; it then made a sharp-V and directed itself towards Sceptile.
You are doing great buddy!
Sceptile looked as confident as ever, for he had been dodging Quick Attack and Aerial Ace all day. Staraptor approached the gecko at an incredible speed to hit Sceptile. But the speed was nothing to the grass type. But—
"Combine it with Aerial Ace!"
Just as the missile was about to strike the target, it disappeared, and appeared way above in the air. Staraptor performed the Aerial Ace curve like it always did, except at a monstrous speed. It made its way towards Sceptile once more, except at a lot more than just double the speed.
Sceptile was befuddled by the sudden difference in pace, but it performed its usual dodge by jumping swiftly into the air, effectively dodging Staraptor's attack. Except—
The Aerial Ace curve wasn't complete. The last step, fly through the hoop and hit the target remained. The target was an extremely fast moving one, but at that speed, it didn't matter.
The Aerial Attack hit Sceptile square on its chest, sending the Pokémon flying away. Sceptile landed on the net and fell to the ground, grunting in pain. It bit the twig in its mouth, holding onto it along with its consciousness.
Staraptor landed before it and gave a proud battle cry. "Sceptile, are you okay?" I asked the grass type, who glared at me as if my question was an insult to him.
"Awesome job," I gave Staraptor a high-five. "That special training with Swellow back then did help you out, right?"
Staraptor nodded. Pikachu said something to commend it. Sceptile, who got up to its feet, grumbled something too.
"Did you see that everyone?" I asked, turning around. Brock and Cilan were the only ones left behind. They were both marveled by Staraptor's performance, but more than that, something seemed to be troubling them.
Did I do something wrong?
Near the Hotel Complex…
"Man that was really refreshing!" Morrison exclaimed at the top of his lungs. The redheaded man was accompanied by his new best friends, Stephan who shared similar interests as him. Ritchie, the geek of their group and Cameron, the scatterbrained idiot. Overall they were a lively bunch or so Morrison announced often.
Stephan nodded in agreement. "Nothing beats the sauna. What do you say guys?"
Ritchie forced a smile, "Yeah." He wasn't in fact fond of sitting with in the steam, half naked, along with Stephan and Morrison. It only got worse when they started slapping each other's backs.
"The five of us," Morrison announced. "We must call ourselves, the five wonders of the world."
"That sounds great," Stephan said fletching his muscles. Ritchie sighed, wondering if he could find a way out.
"But," Cameron asked. "How the heck are we five?"
Morrison frowned at this, "What do you mean? You, me, Stephan, Ritchie and Ash. That's five of us."
Morrison then realized something. If Ash belonged to their group, shouldn't they be hanging out with him? "We have to find Ash!" Morrison announced.
"But how do we do that?" Cameron asked, scratching his hair. "He could be training anywhere."
The five of them fell into deep thought as they tried figuring out a way to find their 'missing' friend. At that moment, Cameron spotted a certain redhead walking towards the hotel complex.
"Hey," Cameron exclaimed. "Isn't that the girl who hangs out with Ash?"
"Yeah," Morrison scratched his hair. "But I don't know her name. Anyone?"
Stephan shrugged. Then they shifted to Cameron who shook his head. They finally moved to Ritchie who simply blinked. "What?"
"You go to the girl," Morrison pointed at her. "You know her, don't you?"
Ritchie turned his attention to Misty. Even from the distance he spotted that the redhead had a frown on her face, and a pursed lip. Misty was in a bad mood, and like everybody who knew her, Ritchie knew it was a bad idea to talk to her when she was mad.
"I can't," he said. "It's not safe."
Facing an enraged Tyranitar was much better for his health.
"Aw man," Stephan rubbed his forehead. "I can't believe one of us is scared to go to talk to a girl!"
"Not cool at all," Morrison folded his arms. "You need to have some spine, dude. How can you call yourself a man?"
They could insult all they want, but he would not do it.
Meanwhile Cameron performed his infamous headband stretch to get his brain into working condition. "I know," Cameron had a coy smile. "Ritchie has a crush on her."
"What?" Ritchie exclaimed at the ridiculous assumption.
"Aha!" Stephan snapped his fingers. He slapped Ritchie on his back that was already sore from the slaps in the sauna. "A guy should never hide his feelings!"
Despite Ritchie's efforts to escape in vain, Morrison and Stephan caught him by his shoulders and dragged him all the way towards the redhead.
"NO!"
Misty was mildly surprised when Ritchie abruptly landed in front of her, without any prior explanations at all.
"Ritchie?" She was surprised, and found three more behind him. She identified all three of them as Ash's friends. She wanted to make a sour face, but they had nothing to do with what was going between him and her. So she faked a smile.
"Hey," Ritchie said getting up to his feet. He dusted his pant and his hat before wearing it.
"Hi," she said.
There was some silence for some time. Ritchie gave her an uncomfortable chuckle. He turned back, but the three men gave him a strange glare. For a moment, she thought they were his bullies. But then, the concept of bullies seemed ridiculous to her, especially because they were all sixteen.
"Well," Ritchie scratched his hair as Misty impatiently watched. "Misty, you look beautiful today."
He said it.
He said it. He said it.
He said it. He said it. He said it.
Ritchie wanted to smash his head against the wall. He wanted to jump under a truck. He wanted to dive into the ocean and drown. He wanted to put a hole in the imaginary ship he sailed on.
He had absolutely no intention of telling something like that. But his friends misunderstood him and threw them in front of her. He could have cleared the misunderstanding by telling them he didn't like her that way. But that would piss Misty off. He could have walked away with just a hi, but his friends didn't allow him to do so. And so, he did the only thing he was left to do.
Misty, to his surprise didn't get angry. She was surprised by his comment. In fact so surprised that her hands unconsciously moved towards her face. "I," she blushed. "Thanks," she gave him an uncomfortable smile.
To a woman who was suffering from constant inferiority complex thanks to a certain raven-haired boy, Ritchie jumping in and suddenly complementing her out of the blue was more than awe-striking.
She always tried to avoid doing feminine actions as she grew up watching her sisters doing it all the time and was disgusted by them. But she was one of the sensational sisters, and there was a lot of girlishness inside her even if she wanted to hide it. Of course it made her feel disgusted at herself.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I, uh…"
"It's okay," she said. "I have to go." She walked past the shocked Ritchie. At that moment, Misty was embarrassed enough to disappear from the face of earth.
"I'm going to kill you Ash Ketchum," she muttered. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have reacted like that at all.
Ritchie's jaws were wide open like a Feraligatr's.
Did Misty Waterflower blush at his comment? He expected a slap on the face, or in the worst case, a kick in the groin. Instead, she blushed.
Even Stephan, Morrison and Cameron were awestruck. "T-That was…" Stephan trailed off.
"A positive response," Cameron said, as if it were a monumental achievement. "She likes Ritchie!"
"You oaf!" Stephan slapped Ritchie on the back, much to the trainer's agony. "She likes you!
Ritchie knew it was a misunderstanding. But there was no way the people around him would be accepting that.
"Guys," Cameron said. "Let's celebrate this moment today. We'll camp outside in my tent."
"That's a great idea," Morrison's face brightened. "I'm going to bring some snacks and drinks."
"Yeah," Stephan exclaimed. "Ash can't join us because of his match. But this is Ritchie's day!"
"Yay!" Cameron jumped. "And guess what? Today's when they light the fireworks!"
According to the official PWT catalogue, every Tuesday was declared as the fireworks day. Beginning from twelve in the night, the fireworks will last for around ten minutes. They'll be fired in each of the stadiums of the five regions simultaneously.
As the rest of the three have immersed deep into their plans for the night, Ritchie couldn't help but feel bad for himself.
He had no say in it after all.
In the Rose-Red region…
"Four more hours till the fireworks," Harvey said as he checked his watch. "Although," he turned to face his two guests. "I believe that's not the reason we're here to talk about."
The blonde Cynthia put a dissatisfied face. Goodsho, who also wore a similar expression, shook his head. They were all in Harvey's office in the PLA HQ.
"Cynthia told me something of importance today," Goodsho said.
Harvey looked at the blonde at this. The champion maintained her frown. Harvey turned to the old man, "We have a match with fifteen thousand tickets sold out in just fifteen minutes, tomorrow. We have an incredible display of fireworks, in four hours. We have seven important opening matches and eighty hundred and forty eight important guests to deal with. I don't see anything else that's important right now."
"You have a clever of speaking Harvey," Goodsho said. "But I am actually serious about it."
"You've tampered with the matchups to pit Ash against Tobias," Cynthia said, "It'd turn into a serious matter if it gets out."
"If it gets out," Harvey repeated. "And pray tell me how people will see the difference between a random selection and a selection."
"It's ethically wrong," Cynthia argued.
"If I am partial to a particular player," Harvey said. "I'm not. I'm just putting interesting matchups."
"We still consider it a wrong thing to do," Goodsho spoke this time, giving Harvey a clear message that he was dissatisfied as well.
Harvey took a deep breath. "Fifteen thousand tickets," he said to the old man and then turned to Cynthia. "Fifteen minutes. For a tier 7 battle. We are flourishing and no one is harmed."
"Mr. Harvey," Goodsho suddenly stood up. His face was red, filled with anger. "This is a sport. Not a business."
"Tell that to your board members who have invested millions into your project," Harvey said, raising his voice equally. "Tell that to Giovanni. He'll be really glad to hear you. He might even hug you for a change."
Goodsho looked at Harvey, disgusted. "I know I shouldn't have trusted you."
"If you hadn't," Harvey argued. "You'd be hosting a long tournament with empty stadiums. People will wait and wait till an interesting match comes. By the time you get one, half your audience will be gone!"
Goodsho remained silent. Harvey's words were slowly getting to him. But it wasn't just Harvey who noticed this. "He's manipulating you," the Champion warned.
Harvey rolled his eyes. He spread his arms, "I can't be more transparent. I was honest with you, Cynthia. I told you even when I didn't had any need to. Because I trust you, and I trust that what I am doing is not wrong."
Cynthia looked away from his eyes, unwilling to give him a response.
"I appreciate what you're doing," Goodsho spoke after a long silence. "But, from now on I'll handle the matchups."
Harvey wanted to argue, but knew there was no way he could. The good part was that the old man didn't sack him abruptly. "Alright," he sighed. "But if this tournament turns into utter shit," he added as a warning. "Don't blame me."
Ever Grande, the PLA guest house.
"To, what do I owe this honor?" The burly man wearing a blue Hawaii shirt asked. The man sitting before him was stern, and carried a deep frown on his face.
"I'm here to talk about that match with Benga," the Pyramid King, Brandon said with a commanding voice that was contrastingly soft at that moment.
"Oh," Scott was surprised. "Look, Brandon, you don't need to give me any—"
"I don't need to," Brandon cut him off. He spoke like a dutiful soldier, "But I have to."
Scott shook his head and smiled. He knew the kind of person Brandon was. He didn't like owing anything to anyone. It was true Brandon losing to Benga so easily was an embarrassment to Scott's frontier. But it was just an unfortunate event.
"The truth was," Brandon took a deep breath. "I felt insulted by the position I was given in the battle. My battle spirit was crushed the moment I was given the chance to fight."
"It was my fault," Scott smiled weakly. "I should've consulted you first. That man Harvey was too compelling."
"I take your apology," he smiled. "But," the frowned returned to his face, "What's more disturbing was Benga's battle style."
"I know," Scott nodded, "Reckless and extremely offensive."
"He doesn't make even an ounce of a thought," Brandon said. "He's like a brutal animal with just intent to kill the prey."
Scott knew this. Brandon's Regirock was by far, the most defensive Pokémon in the entire tournament. If something like that couldn't stand up against that Garchomp for more than three rounds of moves, then nothing else can.
"I'm uncomfortable with the kid's style," the frontier brain said. "If he continues that, one of his Pokémon will pay for him severely. Just like his grandfather."
The mention of the Unovan Champion reminded Scott of the bitter incident he faced in the last Champion's League. Alder's battle style was more like Benga's back then. The old man paid for it dearly when one of his Pokémon's brutal head on attacks misfired and ended up killing it.
"We need to have a word with his grandfather," Scott said.
Silver Region…
The intense training session between Max, May and Norman finally ended at eight, when Norman decided it was time to give Max's Pokémon a rest for the next day.
"Okay," May said as she tucked all her Pokéball in the correct order. "I'm more than tired. I'll need some dinner to heal me."
"Glutton," Max teased.
"Shut up nerd," May retorted. "Don't get cocky because your secret weapon beat my Blaziken. I bet something like Ash's Charizard will beat it."
"If Max uses it well," Norman said confidently, "It could even defeat Darkrai."
'If', May didn't say aloud. She didn't want to be a halting stop for her father's overriding optimism.
"So," May said as she prepared to leave, "Mom's coming tomorrow?"
"To cheer her prodigy," Norman patted his son, "Yes."
"Prodigy," May rolled her eyes, teasing Max who stuck his tongue out in reply.
May smiled at this. "Let's meet tomorrow then," she said, extending a hand for Max.
Delighted that his sister had finally acknowledged him as her equal, Max moved forward to shake his hands with her. Except May moved her hand swiftly and hit him on the nose with the flick of her finger. "Not in the next ten years."
"Ow," Max held his nose. "I'm going to get you for that."
May stuck her tongue at this and ran away as their father chuckled.
As she headed out of the net, she bumped into three men. "Sorry," she apologized at first, but when she noticed them, "Oh, it's you guys." One was the tall Harrison; the second was the brown-haired Tyson and lastly the blue-haired Vincent, the guy with an enormous Venusaur.
"Hay May," Tyson greeted. "We were actually searching for you."
"Me?" May asked. Why would they search for her?
"Drew told you were here," Vincent said before inwardly clicking his tongue.
Drew? How did Drew knew she was here? If he did, why didn't he meet her? "Ah," she nodded, putting the questions for later. "So what can I do?"
"Actually it's simple," Tyson said. "Just tell Ash best of luck on our behalf. Tell him we'll be rooting for him tomorrow."
The tall guy Harrison simply smiled. They weren't acquainted. "Okay," she said, a small smile on her face. "I'll make sure Ash gets his message."
When she left the three, her thoughts shifted to Drew again. If Drew knew she was here, why didn't he talk to her? Maybe because she was with her father, she realized. Her father even suspected Ash. Somehow it made her smile.
"Ash will never hit on a girl," she chuckled to herself. Drew on the other hand…
Vertress Region…
Two hyper blonde men were frantically exclaiming at each other in the Vertress Region. This of course, shouldn't be confused with some kind of argument. The hyper blondes were in fact battling each other in the training nets.
One was the son, Barry. The second was the father, Palmer.
"Empoleon," Barry snapped his fingers, excitement flowed in his veins instead of blood. "Drill Peck!"
The father was equally pumped, "Dragonite," he mimicked a boxer. "Use Dragon Rush!"
The Emperor Pokémon twisted about itself with a speed akin to a grinder. The Pokémon's beak acted like a sharp drill that was meant to pierce the opponent. The heavy weight dragon on the other hand shrouded itself in a blue dragon-like aura and attacked the incoming penguin.
The attacks collided with a big bang, and the ensuing smoke covered the entire field. The Emperor Pokémon was hurled out of the smoke, but it managed to balance itself to a steady position before it landed on the ground. The Dragon, on the other hand landed perfectly, it carried a heavy smirk on its face.
"You're cool Dad," Barry jumped, "Just like always. Now let's practice more and more!"
Palmer laughed heartily, proud of his son's battle spirit. "That's good and all, but we need some rest."
Barry's shoulders slumped at this, disappointed. "Aw, man." He scratched his hair, "I guess you're right."
They were training for four hours already. Barry was feeling exhausted, but it didn't matter as some of his Pokémon weren't. Either Pokémon heaved a sigh in relief and sat down in their places. Palmer took a seat on the stands nearby. He took a bottle of water and sipped it slowly.
"I've been meaning to ask," Barry said, as he settled down beside his father. "How did you lose to that Darkrai? You're supposed to be the unbeatable Palmer."
"Yeah I know," Palmer sighed. His son should know he wasn't invincible by now. Barry had in fact surpassed his father himself. But the boy still clung to the fact that his father was unbeatable. It was funny how naïve his sixteen year old son was. "Well, I made a tactical error."
"Tactical error?" Barry asked.
"The whole battle," Palmer said, folding his arms. "I've been trying to attack Darkrai from long range, expecting that it was dangerous to attack it from up close."
"But you were wrong?" Barry guessed. "If you had used extreme speed from the start—"
"I wouldn't guarantee that I'd have won," he said. "But Darkrai seems like it's more dangerous at a close range, although it's just the opposite."
So, if Ash wants to win against Darkrai, he needs something that can hit with good speed. But even his Sceptile's Quick Attack back in the Sinnoh League and Dragonite's Extremespeed were dodged with ease. They had to find a way to deal with Darkrai's battle intuition.
"I wonder how he's going to do that," Barry wondered. "I guess we'll know tomorrow morning."
Later that night…
Gary couldn't sleep well that night. His mind was being constantly boggled with the same question: What the heck was he going to in his date with Misty tomorrow? She obviously announced the date so that she could take revenge on Ash, but the shrimp was far from noticing it.
He didn't like to be the object of her revenge with Ash. They were good friends, and her reasons for getting mad at Ash could be explained only by terrible luck on his part. He had to make up their friendship again. But first, he had to cancel his date with Misty.
He looked at the clock, the time was 11:45 PM. Yes, it was too early for him to sleep. But he had to get up early to receive his grandfather in the airport. Apparently, the old Professor was planning to pay his visit.
He shifted his position and found Ash's bed empty, much to his surprise.
"He must have gone to watch the stars again," Brock mumbled. Apparently, he wasn't the only one not asleep.
"I guess," Gary muttered. Yeah, he always did that before an important league match.
Dawn got up around at the same time. She tried going to sleep but she couldn't. She was more than excited for Ash's rematch against Tobias. Tomorrow would be a test to all the incredible hard work he had done in the whole year.
She prepared her pink cheerleader dress, along with the other accessories that came with it. She'd make sure Ash would have all the moral support he needed.
An idea crossed her mind all of sudden. She knew how Ash always liked to gaze the stars before a big match to inspire himself. Maybe she could spend some time with him and boost his confidence. It was a fair thing to do, consider how he always cheered for her back in Sinnoh.
She looked around and noticed the rest three girls were all asleep, and covered in their sheets. She silently giggled to itself as she placed a pillow underneath hers. Nobody would know she was gone even if they were to get up. If they catch her while she was going out or coming in, she'd simply say she needed some water and the bottle in the room was empty. But to make her story solid, she needed to empty it.
She walked towards the bottle that lay on the table. To her luck, it was indeed empty. She pumped her fists without making much noise before taking the empty bottle with her.
Knowing Ash, the perfect spot would be the clearing by the lake. She walked from the hotel's porch to the way that led to the lake. She looked back because she wanted to make sure no one else was following her. After making sure no one was behind her back, she moved from the pathway into the line of trees, to make sure she wasn't spotted by anyone else who happened to watch her go in that direction.
She crossed the line of trees and finally found her way towards the clearing that stood before the lake. Much to her happiness, the raven-haired boy was indeed sitting by the water body, his Pikachu by his side.
She prepared to take a step out of the bushes when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulders.
Dawn was terrified by the sudden presence, she opened her mouth to scream, but a hand covered her lips, and a familiar long-haired girl shushed her into silence.
"Iris," Dawn muttered, taking a deep breath to calm her heart beat.
There was a devious smirk on her face, "What are you doing here?" The dragon trainer asked.
Dawn's eyes immediately went for the bottle, but she then realized it wouldn't exactly work as a reason over here. Iris rolled her eyes when she saw the bottle. "Zoey and the others wanted me to wish Ash some good luck," Dawn said as her last line of defense.
"Aw," Iris pinched her cheek as if she was a cute little baby. "You deserve extra points for innocence."
Dawn sighed. There was no convincing Iris. Even if she liked it or not, she was part of the so-called who loves Ash the most race and now had an extra point.
"Guess who else is here," Iris said, pointing to a distant tree.
Dawn's eyes widened in surprise when she identified a redhead among the trees. The two girls then slowly snuck their way towards Misty. The redhead who saw them approach from a distance groaned.
"So you tucked your pillow underneath the blanket too?" Dawn asked, realizing how unoriginal and still workable, the idea was.
Misty pursed her lips. "Okay, I know I hate him right now," she muttered, "But I know how badly he wants to win tomorrow. I simply didn't want to be the reason for him to lose."
Iris raised her eyebrows. "I didn't ask."
"You were going to," Misty hissed.
"So," Iris said. "I was planning on attacking first. But since all three of us had dared to come this far, we need to decide who goes, because only one of us can go right now."
As Iris spoke, both Misty and Dawn turned in Ash's direction. They froze immediately.
"We may not need to worry about that," Misty muttered.
A few seconds ago…
Ash lay on the green carpet of nature, feeling the cool breeze as he enjoyed the still, silent night and the starry sky.
"It's beautiful," he said, watching the glittering stars that reminded him of the badges he worked hard to collect. They were symbols of his progress and achievement.
"Pikachu," the rodent muttered, as it lay in a similar pose beside the trainer.
"Watching this," he said to the rodent. "Reminds me of all those times we did this."
"Pika, Pika," the rodent agreed. Ash turned to the Pokémon and brushed its yellow fur.
"Onix to Garbodor," he said, "You and the others always stood by my side. If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't be half the trainer I am."
Tomorrow, he was going to face Tobias, the strongest opponent he had ever faced in his life. He and his Pokémon need to surpass the standards they set for themselves to defeat him. He was confident that his Pokémon could pull that feat off. It's just that, somewhere in the depths of his heart, there was some kind of fear that could have stemmed from his previous showdown.
"Pi," the rodent's ears wobbled when it heard something.
"What is it?" He asked, turning behind, and found—
A brunette was standing behind him, a sheepish smile on her face. "May?" The raven-haired trainer was mildly surprised.
"I'm sorry to disturb," she said. "But I just wanted to have a talk with you."
Ash smiled at that, "It's okay," he said, smiling to invite her to his little paradise.
The brunette took the invitation and settled down beside him. Her sapphire eyes shone in happiness for some reason, he didn't know. "Tomorrow's your big day," she said as she sat down. "But I can't come and watch your battle."
"I know," he said, "You need to support Max."
May took a deep breath and looked at the sky. "To be honest," she said as she watched them. "I am nervous myself."
Ash barely remembered Gary mentioning about her getting some tough opponent. "Who are you facing on 3rd?" He asked.
She narrowed her eyes at this and then sighed, "You must be too nervous with your own matchup."
Ash wasn't exactly nervous. He never liked to say that he was nervous. There was a sort of pride in him that told him he never felt nervous. But the slight insecurity in his heart, maybe it could be nervousness.
"Yeah," he said. "I'm sorry. I didn't notice anyone else's matchup. So," he faced the brunette who was still looking at the stars. "Who is it?"
May curled herself, bringing her chin in contact with her knees. She looked at Ash and said, "Wallace."
Her nervousness made sense, the raven-haired thought. She obviously didn't join the tournament with hopes to win. If it were anyone else, she probably wouldn't care. But it was Wallace. A match with him will also be a test to her coordinator skills.
He closed his eyes and shifted his gaze to the serene lake. "I see," he said.
"How do you think you'll do tomorrow?" May asked.
The trainer smiled at this. "I'm trying to not think about that. I don't like doubting myself."
"You know what," she said, mimicking his action and looked at the reflection of the stars in the water. "I think you'll win tomorrow."
Ash studied the brunette. Her eyes told him she was telling the truth, and not lying to encourage him. "Ever since the day we met," she said, "I always saw you as a confident trainer. You never had doubts of your victory." Her eyes told him they were looking into the past, replaying the journey they had. "No matter what stood before you, you didn't run away. You're brave…" she paused, her face was slightly flushed. "You were my inspiration. You're one of the three men who influenced my life as a trainer." She didn't mention who the other two was.
He opened his mouth to say something. "And," she spoke again, "Seeing you after one year of training with your dad. I realized," she said looking him in the eye, "You're a lot more confident, maybe because you're a lot stronger and you look…" she smiled to herself as she spoke, "A lot more matured."
"M-Mature?"
People around him always liked to call him a kid or a brat. It was perhaps for the first time that he heard someone call him mature. Ash smiled, "Thank you, May," he said softly. He rose up to his feet, and put his hat back on. "Those words meant a lot for me."
Yes, he had a year of training and five years of league experience behind him. He and his Pokémon passed many hurdles to reach the point he was in at the moment, and they were willing to go further up towards the goal.
"I will win. I won't have any doubts," he clenched his fists. "I will win against Tobias, and I'm going to be…" he said with a smirk that only widened, "The very best…"
"Like no one ever was," May added, smiling back at the rejuvenated trainer.
A whistling sound caught their attention. The sky suddenly exploded with a beautiful starry light, and the shape of a Darkrai was created by the sparks that came from the boom.
"The fireworks," Ash muttered as more and more of the fireworks continued to color the dark sky with glittering light. The second shape was that of a Pikachu, then a Latios, and after that a Metagross and a Milotic facing each other.
"Wow," May jumped when she saw that. It was meant to foreshadow a possible face-off between Steven and Wallace, Ash realized. Although, May's reaction must have come from seeing the Milotic.
"I couldn't have said it better," Misty said, a smile on her face as the girls walked back.
"I couldn't hear much," Dawn said, "How did you hear them?"
"Misty has Ekans ears," Iris said, "But I saw the smile on his face," she said dreamily. "Yeah, tomorrow will be great."
"I'm going to cheer Ash," Dawn said, brushing her hair. "And make sure he does his best."
"You might go for the scanty clothing to boost him up," Iris ran her fingers through her now smooth hair. "But I will do it with my special drums."
"Drums?" Misty caught her head. "Tomorrow's going to be a disaster for my ears."
After two chapters of no battles, we'll jump into a series of battle-filled chapters.
Next Chapter!
Ash Ketchum and Tobias face off after two years of gap. Ash is more than determined and confident that he could win against the legendary user.
In the BETA story, Max faces off against Green Randall. Max is an inexperienced trainer who never participated in a league match. But still, he's confident as he has a trump card to beat his opponents.
Green Randall is a former Unova League winner whose specialty lay in the speed department. What kind of threat does he serve to Ash?
More upcoming matches!
May versus Wallace.
How will the Princess of Hoenn face the Water Maestro who is said to paint as good with his Pokémon's attacks as Picasso with his brush?
Paul versus Ash Jr.
Who is Ash Jr., what is his real name?
Gary versus Joey!
The ever confident Gary receives a nasty surprise in the form of a Dynamic Punch.
Stay tuned for more on Road to be a Pokémon Master.
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A bit of advertisement:
While working on my main story, I also have a few side projects. If you are interested in them, do click my profile and access them.
1) When I became a Pokémon Master: A story set in a completely different pace from this one. It is a bit dark and the main characters tend to show a bit of OOCness that was intended to be so.
2) Hikari…Shinji…Satoshi: An AU story, involving a love triangle between Dawn, Paul and Ash.
3) When Geass Twists Fate: A crossover between Fate/Stay Night and Code Geass that focuses on romance.
4) When Paranoia meets Fate: A F/SN fic in an AU world where magic doesn't exist.