Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon.
AN: Thanks for reviewing and for giving me OCs. As of right now, I don't need any more. To make up for the short chapter last time, I've made this chapter very long. There won't be any battles, but friends will reunite. That's all I'm going to say for now.
Chapter Twenty Four
Jackie was resting in his suite on the ferry. Gowly had been adamant about monitoring Ash regardless of his location. Jackie's orders were pretty clear: follow Ash and keep him safe until the end of the Cup. It seemed simple enough. He had been doing it for months at this point. What were a few more days? With that thought, Jackie decided to nap the rest of the ride. They would be arriving at Pokémon Isle within a few hours.
-Line Break-
After several days on the ferry, Ash and Brock had finally arrived on Pokémon Isle. The island was big with various restaurants and hotels set up everywhere. In the center of the island, Pokémon League Tower dominated everyone's view. As the tallest structure in the world, it could be seen from any point on Pokémon Isle. Harder to see, but also massive, the Battle Coliseum was situated on one side of League Tower. On the other side of the Tower, there was a large pokémon center. Ash and Brock were making their way to that pokémon center, which also served as the registration center.
Along the way, Ash spotted a ton of trainers. Some, like him, were heading towards the pokémon center to register. Others had already registered and were heading towards their hotel suites. A third group of trainers were exploring the island. Few had ever visited Pokémon Isle before. It had never hosted a tournament, and the only building on the island was League Tower, not exactly a vacation destination. Ash would also occasionally spot a member of the elite four. It was hard to talk to them though, because they were usually surrounded by mobs of fans.
Eventually, Ash reached the pokémon center. Unfortunately, there was a huge line. So, he and Brock took their spot in the queue. Pikachu was getting bored, so Ash pulled out a bottle of ketchup to keep the electric mouse occupied. This action overjoyed Pikachu, who let out a satisfied, "chaa."
After several boring minutes, it was finally Ash's turn at the registration desk. The attendant was, of course, Nurse Joy.
"Hello and welcome to the Commissioner's Cup. Would you like to register?"
"You bet! Here are all my coins!" Ash handed over the ten coins. Nurse Joy deposited them in a small machine which scanned them. After the machine's light flashed green, Joy removed the coins and handed them back to Ash.
"Ok. Here are your coins back. And this is your iDex." Joy handed Ash a hand-held machine. "The Commissioner will explain more at the opening ceremony, but this device is your key to your hotel room and the locker room for battles. It will also have a schedule of your matches, which will be determined once everyone has registered. Don't lose it!"
"Got it. Is there anything else?"
"Your room is located in the electric hotel. There are 18 hotels here. Each one is styled after a certain type. Your room has two beds, so one guest can stay with you. Your room number is 21."
"Well, Brocko, looks like you get a room. What about my mom and Prof. Oak?"
"All professors get their own room. Your mother will probably room with him."
"Ok. Is that everything?"
"Indeed. If you need anything, the iDex has a help option, and each hotel has a league representative manning the front desk at all times. Opening ceremonies are tonight so be in the Coliseum before six. Good luck!"
"Thanks!"
The duo and Pikachu then left the Center and headed towards the electric hotel. The iDex had a map feature, so Brock took the device since Ash had a horrible sense of direction. As Ash was walking, he recognized some trainers from old tournaments like Harrison and Ritchie. I'm going to have to beat them this time around. Ash thought to himself. They were tough before, and they've probably gotten tougher. But I know that my team and I have also gotten tougher. We may have lost before, but I know that we'll win this time. I have a gut feeling about this.
Before long, Ash and co. arrived at their hotel. After dropping off their stuff, the group decided to get lunch and explore the island. There was a ramon place nearby, so that's where Ash and Brock went. When they got there, they spotted a familiar pair of siblings.
"Hey May and Max!" Ash shouted as he ran over to the eating siblings.
"Hi Ash!" They returned the greeting together.
"Are you ready to be beat by me, Ash?" A confident Max inquired.
"I think you'll be the one losing." Ash replied.
"Can we just focus on the food for now?!" May cried out in frustration when she saw that her noodles were getting cold.
Ash and Brock sat down at the table, and ordered their food. May, in the meantime, ordered seconds. The quartet then ate in silence. Or, rather, didn't speak because Ash and May made a lot of noise eating. When everyone finished, the group explored the island together.
As the group was walking, Ash was suddenly hit by a giant mallet.
"What's the big idea not looking for me?" A furious Misty demanded of Ash.
"Oh. Hi Mist." Ash spoke from his prone position on the ground. "We were, uhh, just looking for you?" Ash made the statement seem more like a question.
"Oh." Misty didn't notice the question in Ash's voice. "Ok then."
After catching up the group continued to explore the island. It turned out that Misty was in the Water Hotel, and she left her sisters in charge of the gym. May and Max were in the normal hotel. May had come to support her brother, and Misty came to enjoy the battles. Their hotels were relatively close together, so everyone agreed that they would meet up every morning and spend the day together.
Eventually, the group ran into another familiar face: Dawn.
"What are you doing here?" Ash inquired.
"My, umm, boyfriend is participating, so I'm here to support him."
"Boyfriend?" May asked.
"Me." A deep voice said. The owner of that voice was approaching the group.
"Paul!" Ash and Brock shouted together.
"You're dating Paul?" Brock asked as he turned back to Dawn.
"Yeah. We traveled together in Kanto. I participated in contests, and he challenged the Kanto Battle Frontier. And then things happened."
Throughout this, Ash had remained silent, staring at Paul. Eventually, his gave broke out into a grin as he hugged Paul, who was shocked.
"It's nice to see you again Paul!"
"Yeah yeah. Just don't hug me again."
"How'd your run at the Battle Frontier go? Did you beat Brandon?
"It took me three tries, but I finally beat him."
"That's great to hear!"
"Yeah. Now I'm here to finish that challenge."
"What?" The group inquired.
"Didn't you guys know?" Dawn spoke up. "Before he became Commissioner, Gowly was a frontier brain. The Battle Coliseum is his former battle facility."
"That's so cool." Max said.
Suddenly, three iDexes started ringing. Ash picked his up, as Paul and Max did the same.
"Opening ceremonies start in thirty minutes. Please enter the Coliseum."
This message was written on the screens of the devices. Without further ado, the large group made their way to the Coliseum.
-Line Break-
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Commissioner's Cup!" An announcer said through the speakers. By this point, all competitors and spectators were seated in the stands of the Battle Coliseum. Ash and co. had managed to grab some pretty good seats closer to the bottom row than the top row. The announcer continued, "It is my great honor to welcome the Master of Ceremonies! Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to the former Coliseum Emperor, Kanto Champion, and current Commissioner of the Pokémon League, Gowly!"
All of a sudden, a giant Salamence flew over the Coliseum. As the dragon flying type approached the center of the field, a man jumped off the pokémon's back. Landing on his knees, the man stood up and waved to the crowd. He then pulled out a microphone from his jacket as the crowd applauded.
"Thank you!" Gowly boomed into his microphone. "It brings me nothing but joy to see so many people here! Now then, on to the logistics. All competitors have an iDex. If you lose yours, you're pretty much out of the tournament. Those devices tell you who you'll be battling, where you'll he battling, and when you'll be battling. So don't lose them. Anyways, there are 256 competitors here, making this one of the largest tournament ever. So, I will now explain stage one of the tournament. There will be 64 blocks; each block will have four competitors. You will battle the other three competitors. A win gets you three points. A draw gets you one point. A loss gets you zero points. Once everyone has battled, the person with the most points in each block will move on to the next round. I'll explain the next round when we get there. Now, all block battles will take place in League Tower, which is that giant structure over there." Gowly pointed at the tower. "Again, your iDex will tell the room, the time, the date, and your opponent. Don't be late! Being late qualifies as a forfeit. I emphasize because there are a lot of trainers here. There will be hundreds of battles taking place at this tournament. We want to be as efficient as possible. That also means that not everyone will participate in the last battle of the block battles. If that last battle will not affect the winner of the block, it won't be held. You can, however, battle the person in a training room for fun. Each hotel has a training room. These block battles will take several days starting tomorrow. You will also get your assigned block and battling schedule tomorrow morning. If you have questions at any time, the iDex has a help feature, and each hotel has a league rep, who will be more than happy to assist now. Now then, is everyone ready for the battles of their lives?"
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. The sound was deafening, and the champions in the stands had to cover their ears.
"That's what I like to hear!" Gowly appeared unfazed by the noise. "Good luck to everyone! And now, I have a treat for everyone. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the Champion of the Sinnoh Region and my Deputy Commissioner! Please welcome Cynthia!"
The Sinnoh champ entered the Coliseum through the trainer opening and stood at a trainer box. She was dressed in her usual attire of a long black, fur coat. Attached to the coat was a small microphone so that everyone in the stands could hear her commands. As Cynthia entered, Gowly walked over to the other trainer box, where an attendant stood waiting. The attendant took Gowly's microphone and outfitted him with a microphone similar to Cynthia's.
Speaking into his new microphone, Gowly said, "We will now have an exhibition match! Take it away ref!"
As the referee stepped up to his box, both Gowly and Cynthia took out a pokéball. The duo fingered their respective pokéballs while the referee was also set up with a microphone. When the ref was ready, he raised his flags and announced the rules of the battle.
"This will be a one on one exhibition battle between Commissioner Gowly and Champion Cynthia. There will be no time limit, and the battle will end when one side is out of usable pokémon. Begin!"
AN: Sorry to leave this on a cliffhanger. Next chapter will have Gowly's and Cynthia's battle. The first battles of the Cup will also be starting. Please keep reviewing. I would love nothing more than constructive criticism. Please tell me what you think about the characters and the story.