Ch 69: Victory road.
Ash and the others slowly walked through the diamond filled caverns underneath Kalos.
"This place is beautiful." Serena said in amazement.
"You really live here." Bonnie said.
"Yes, this is my kingdom." Diancie said. As they moved through the underground city they saw dozens of Carbinks alone the pathways.
Alongside the Carbinks were several of the aura Guardians Chairon had sent to protect them in case team flare returned.
"Princess you're back!" One of the Carbinks shouted as he saw the princess.
"It's so nice to be home again." Merrick said.
"It's so nice that this was finally over." Knight said. Eventually Diancie leapt the group to a large diamond citadel above the city.
"This is the royal palace." Diancie said. The exterior was made of pure diamond with multiple colors running through it.
Ash and the other guardians in the group could feel the energy emitting out of it. Standing in front of the door were several Carbink and an aura guardian.
"Welcome home your majesty." The guardian said as he gave a respectful bow. The group walked inside the citadel and into a large chamber with a heart diamond above them.
"Look a heart diamond." Clemont said.
"Yes, it's the one my dad made." Diancie said. The group noticed that the heart diamond was dark and full of cracks. Ash and the other guardians also noticed that the energy in it was nearly gone.
"What's wrong with it?" Bonnie asked.
"It's almost depleted." Another voice said. The group turned and saw an older looking Carbink walking towards them.
"Dace!" Diancie said.
"Who is this?" Serena asked.
"I am Dace, the oldest living Carbink. I am also Diancie's royal advisor. Thank you aura guardians for protecting Diancie." Dace said.
"It was our pleasure." Ash said.
"So Diancie, the time has come for you to replace the heart diamond your father made." Dace said.
Diancie took a deep breath.
"Come on Diancie we know you can do it." Serena said.
"Yes Diancie, the time has come. Fulfill your true potential." Chairon said as he walked up.
"Chiron, Mentor of the aura guardians. I didn't know you were coming here." Dace said.
"I thought I'd come to bring Diancie back." Chairon said.
"It's always good to see you mentor." Korrina said.
Diancie took a deep breath before she closed her eyes and channeled her energy as her diamonds lit up and energy formed in front of her.
"Come on Diancie." Serena said.
"Pika!" Pikachu said trying to encourage her. Diancie opened her eyes and completed her heart Diamond.
"Woah" The group said in amazement. The Heart Diamond was bigger than any she had made for Lysandre, it was even bigger than the one above them.
"It's amazing!" Serena said.
"You've done it princess. Your father would be proud." Dace said.
Diancie smiled as she lifted up the diamond as her father's turned to dust. She then placed the new heart Diamond in its place as the lights in the diamonds got much brighter and held much more energy.
"The heart Diamond has taken effect. It will last for centuries." Dace said.
"Well, with team flare gone then my men won't need to protect the city any more." Chairon said.
"I guess that means we have to leave too." Clemont said. Diancie turned to the group with a sad expression.
"I'm really going to miss you guys." Diancie said.
"We're going to miss you too." Ash said.
"Please come back and see me some time." Diancie said. Serena knelt down next to Diancie and smiled.
"Of course we'll come back." Serena said. Serena slowly got up and walked away with the group as she turned back to Diancie one last time.
""Sigh" I'm going to miss her." Serena said.
"We all are." Korrina said.
"So what's next?" Bonnie said.
"Next is the pokemon league." Red said with excitement.
" Right." Ash said.
"The path to the Kalos league actually isn't far from here. We just need to keep going." Korrina said. After they got out of the caverns , the group stood facing Chairon and the other guardians.
"I wanted to thank you all again for stoping Lysandre. You are worthy of comparison to Vaeron. But we must be going now. I have to return to active duty soon. Oh and Serena, after what happened to your father, I think he's earned some extra leave time." Chairon said.
"Thanks." Serena said. The 2 groups parted was as Ash and the others continued down route 22.
"I still can't believe we were actually turned to stone." Clemont said.
"Yeah I was wondering , what exactly was that like?" Red asked.
"It was weird, after it happened I was in this white plain alone. I stayed there until a there was another flash of light and that's when I woke up and saw you." Serena said.
"Same here." Clemont said.
"Hey Red, Ash. Could we see them again?" Korrina asked.
"Alright." Red said as he and Ash took out the golden scales that Reduka had given them.
"Those scales have similar energy as the tears of Reduka. It's amazing." Korrina said.
"Why did Reduka give you them?" Bonnie asked.
"I'm not sure, I think it was because we stopped Lysandre." Red said.
"I'm still not sure what these do. Perhaps they're just tokens of his gratitude. Though we owe him more. He did bring everyone back to life." Ash said as he took Serena's hand.
"Wait a minute you said that the rocket officers helped you break into the tower right?" Korrina said.
"Yeah." Ash said.
"What happened to them?" Korrina asked.
"Daniel said they got away. I assume they fled back to Kanto." Ash said.
"I still can't believe they're alive." Serena said.
"Well we don't have to worry about them, or team flare anymore. Now we can focus on the pokemon league." Red said.
"I wonder what kind of trainers will be at the pokemon league."Clemont said.
"They'll probably be different than the ones at the Grand festival." Serena said.
"Whoever they are, they must be good. Winning 8 gym battles sure wasn't easy. " Ash said.
"I wonder if any other aura guardians will be in the pokemon league?" Red asked.
"I'm sure other guardians have competed in the past. It's just they usually don't advertise that they are guardians." Korrina said.
A few hours later the group was much further down route 22.
"So how much further till we get there?" Bonnie asked.
"Well according to the map we should be reaching a path that runs perpendicular to route 22 and north. This path is called victory road and leads right to the location of the Kalos league." Red said.
"Victory road, is the path of victory. It's the long path to the Kalos league." Korrina said.
"Wait what's that?" Serena said as she saw what looked like a large road and path ahead of them. The group rushed over to the path and saw it ran north.
"Wait is this?" Ash asked.
"It has to be." Red said. The group looked down he path and saw there was a building blocking the path.
"What's that building?" Serena asked.
"I'm not sure. I haven't been to the pokemon league for a long time." Korrina said. The group slowly walked into the building and saw several men and women wearing red and green jackets.
" Uh excuse me, what's this building?" Ash asked one of the men.
"Oh, this is the toll building to the victory road. Since the pokemon league starts in a few days anyone who wants to go there has to pay to get in. That is unless you're competing." She said.
"We're competing." Red said.
"Oh well head over to the counter and you can gain entry.". Ash and the others walked over to the counter where they saw a man and woman in the same jackets.
"Welcome to the victory road entrance. We have entry passes for 8 Kuros a person and car rentals for 50 Kuros a day." The man said.
"We have 8 badges." Ash said.
"Very well we'll need to see them." He said. Ash and Red took out their badge cases and showed the man their badges.
"I see." He said before reaching down and taking out a pair of blue passes.
"Challenger passes, here you are." He said handing them to Ash and Red.
"Now the rest of you." He started before Korrina and Clemont took out their gym leader ids.
"Gym leaders I see. Very well you may enter. Now as I was saying for you young lady, I can offer you admission for 80 Kuros or if you have a family member in the military."
"My dad is a Colonel in the army." Serena said as she took out a picture of her and her dad with Alex in his service dress.
"Very well , you may enter as well. Now if any of you are 16 we have car rentals."
"No thanks we can walk." Ash said.
"Alright follow me." He said as he stepped out from behind the counter. They followed him to a door where he used a keycard to open it.
"Welcome to Victory road.". The path was massive and looked similar to route 22 at first, but as they looked farther down they could see the terrain changed rapidly.
"Woah." Ash and Red said.
"Pika." Pikachu said just as amazed.
"Good luck you two." The man said before he went back inside.
"Well we better get moving, we still have a long way to go." Red said. As the group went down victory road they noticed after each mile the terrain changed slightly. At first it would be like route 22, then it changed to a series of streams and rivers with waterfalls coming down on the sides. Then it would change to a rocky path.
"Guys, can we take a break. I'm exhausted." Serena said.
"Yeah, me too." Clemont said.
"Come on you two, we're so close to the pokemon league!" Bonnie said.
"Actually we're not. We've still got a lot of miles to go and it's already 6:30." Red said.
"We still have another 2 days before the Kalos league starts. Why don't we camp out here for tonight and head out first thing in the morning." Ash said.
"I'm ok with that." Korrina said.
"Awe." Bonnie said. Several minutes later they reached the end of the rocky terrain and back to a grassy terrain.
"This looks like a good spot." Ash said.
"Yes away from those rocks." Serena said. It took them a few minutes but the group set up their tents and started making dinner.
"So what pokemon are you guys going to use in round 1?" Serena asked.
"I don't know, it depends on what field we get first." Red said.
"Field?" Serena asked.
"The Kalos league works differently than the Grand festival Serena. You see each trainer starts out by battling their first four matches in 4 different smaller stadiums each with a different field on it. It could be water, ice, grass, or rock." Korrina said.
"Only after a trainers wins at all 4 stadiums do they enter the victory tournament in the main stadium." Clemont said.
"You guys have to win 4 battles just to make it to the main stadium." Serena said.
"It won't be easy. We'll be going up against some of the best trainers in Kalos." Red said.
"Well we've been training hard for this. We can take on any challenger." Ash said.
"Pika!".
"Hey I just realized something. If you two both want to win the Kalos league, doesn't that mean at some point you'll have to face each other." Bonnie said.
Hearing that was like a rock hitting in both brother's stomachs. It had occurred to them, and the other 3 that they hadn't thought about that particular detail yet.
"Well uh." Ash said sweat dropping.
"I guess we do." Red said also sweat dropping. After dinner the two boys sat alone from the others staring at the stars thinking about that.
"Just look at them." Serena said.
"I know, it mustn't be easy. The thought about having to beat your own brother." Korrina said.
"I know, I remember when I thought I might have to knock Shauna out of the Grand festival, and she's not even my sister." Serena said.
"Well I'm sure when the time comes they'll both be ready, Ash is a big boy he can take loosing." Korrina said.
"Yeah I suppose he, wait! What makes you think Red is going to win?" Serena said with anger.
"Oh come on Serena we both know what I'm talking about. Ash is good, but Red is the better trainer."
"Why? Because he's your boyfriend?" Serena asked.
"Well." Korrina said.
"I say Ash is going to win." Serena said.
"Oh it's cute that you think that." Korrina said.
"Well how about a bet. I say Ash wins." Serena said.
"And what happens when Red wins?" Korrina asked.
"When Ash wins, you have to wear one of my dresses for an entire day." Serena said. Korrina gave a crescent face at the thought of that.
"Ok, and when Red wins you will have to wear one of my helmets for 3 days." Korrina said.
"What?" Serena said dreading the thought of what that would do to her hair.
"Well do we have a bet?" Korrina asked.
"Oh we have a bet." Serena said. Meanwhile Ash stared up at the sky with Pikachu beside him.
Ash had battled Red before, plenty of times. But he never thought about knocking him out of the Kalos league. Taking away the goal they had both been after for so long.
A few yards away, Red was thinking about the same thing. Winning a pokemon league had been his dream since he was a child. But at the same time it had also been Ash's. Which meant he couldn't achieve his dream without stepping on his brother's.
Both sighed. Later that night Ash was staring at the ceiling of his tent with pikachu sleeping behind his head and Serena asleep next to him with her arm around his shoulders and her head resting against his chest.
"I guess this is something I should have realized a long time ago. If I win, then Red has to lose. I don't want him to lose, but I don't want to lose either. But then again I can't just think about myself. Then again I also have to think about my pokemon, all the hard work they've put in to training for this. Then again I also have to think about how hard Red's pokemon have trained. Oh I'm just going around in circles." Ash said to himself as he rubbed his temples.
He wanted to get up and stare some more at the stars, but he risked waking Serena and Pikachu. That is when Ash felt a strange sensation. He carefully reached into his bag and took out the golden scale Reduka gave him.
He stared at it for a minute before realizing it was emitting wisdom into him.
"I guess Red would be just as upset if I lost as if he did. He wants me to give everything I have. Well I'm going to do it. If I have to beat anyone to win the pokemon league I'm glad it's my brother. It's the only way I'll have known I earned it." Ash said.
In Red's tent he was having a similar dilemma.
"Well, I can't just think about myself. Then again I have to think about my pokemon too. Then again I also have to think about Ash's pokemon." Red said. That was when Red felt an energy emitting from his bag.
"Huh." He said as he reached in and pulled out the scale Reduka gave him. As soon as he held it he felt as if wisdom was being given to him.
"Huh, I guess Ash wouldn't want me to lose either. I have to fight with everything I have. If I can beat Ash, I'll have earned the win." Red said.
The next morning Ash and the others woke up and packed up their stuff after having some breakfast.
"Alright we've still got plenty of distance between us and the Kalos league so let's get moving." Ash said. Moments later they group heard something behind them.
"Huh? Did you guys hear that too?" Serena asked.
Moments later they saw dozens of cars rushing down the road towards the Kalos league.
"What's going on?" Bonnie asked.
"I guess those people are off to the Pokemon league too." Ash said.
"Are we the only ones walking?" Clemont said sweat dropping.
"So my Skarmory slashes the Gogoat with Arial ace thenand hurls him into the ground. After that the battle was over." The group heard. They turned to the other side of the road and saw a pair of trainers walking towards the Kalos league.
"Well I got my Eight badge from Lumoise city. It sure wasn't easy, but me and Chesnaught beat the leader." The other trainer said.
"I guess not." Korrina said. After the group continued down victory road they started to come across more trainers on the path.
"Wow look at them all." Clemont said.
"There are more people here than at the Grand Festival, and we aren't even there yet." Serena said.
After another mile they noticed that several cars and RV's had parked along side the road with dozens of people waiting alongside the road.
"What's going on there?" Red asked. The group approached the crowd and walked up to a man close to them.
"Excuse us, but what's going on here?" Ash asked.
"You mean you don't know. The torch bearer will be coming through here any minute now." The man said.
"That's right the torch bearer!" Korrina said.
"The torch bearer?" Serena said confused.
"You see Serena, every pokemon league is started off by igniting the ceremonial flame with fire from the legendary fire bird Moltres." Clemont said.
"Really? That's amazing,but wait where do they get a Moltres flame?" Serena asked. Korrina dn Clemont sweat dropped .
"I don't know."
"Look here he comes!" A woman shouted. The group turned and saw a man running down the road with a torch in his hands and a van behind him. As he got closer the group noticed the man had many scars on his body and a metal right lower leg below his knee.
"Woah what happened to that man?" Bonnie asked.
"That's Sergeant Meyers of the Kalos army. He lost his leg in combat, despite that he worked hard to earn his place as a torch bearer." The same man said.
"Wow, that's inspiring." Serena said. The crowd cheered as the man reached them then stopped in the center of the crowd. The bus stopped behind him as an officer Jenny, an army captain, and an older man wearing a green baseball cap and a long white beard came out.
"Outstanding Sergeant Meyers." The old man said.
"It has been an honor to carry the torch this far." The man said as he handed it to the old man.
"Now we just need to wait until the next bearer arrives." Jenny said. That was when the army captain got a call on his phone.
"This is captain Dueval. Yes, I understand. Uh Mr. President, we have a bit of a problem.".
"What's wrong captain?" The old man asked.
"It seems the other van with the other torch bearers got a flat tire and are stuck miles back in the other direction.".
"What? But we still have a long way till the Kalos league and the sergeant can't carry it any further." The old man said.
"It sounds like there's a problem." Ash said. Bonnie had an idea and ran over to the old man.
"Excuse me sir, if you need people to run. My friends can." Bonnie said.
"What?" The old man said.
"Bonnie!" Clemont shouted as he and the others rushed over to her.
"We're sorry, about that Mr. uh." Clemont started.
"I'm President Charles Goodshow. I am the master of ceremonies of all pokemon leagues. Are any of you competitors in the pokemon league?" Charles asked.
"Yes, Ash and I." Red said.
"Well it seems the rest of our torch bearers can't make it. We have another 20 miles and need 4 more people to run. I don't suppose any of you might consider doing it." Charles asked.
"You want us to carry the Moltres torch to the pokemon league!" Ash said in disbelief. The thought of bearing the eternal flame of Moltres, the very symbol of the pokemon league and everything it stood for was almost overwhelming.
"Please, I know it's a lot to ask but."
"Of course we'll do it! Red almost shouted.
"Splendid. You can change into running cloths in our van. Which of you will be running?" Charles asked.
"Red and I for sure." Ash said.
"I'd love to." Korrina said.
"And my brother!" Bonnie said.
"What!? No not me!" Clemont said shaking his head.
"I can do it." Serena said.
"Excellent." Charles said.
Several minutes later Ash and the others had changed into their running cloths. Everyone but Korrina had gotten into the van. Korrina stood in front of the van with the Moltres torch in her left hand.
"Alright here we go." She said before she started running down the road. As she ran the crowd cheered her on and the van stayed close behind.
"You've got this Korrina go!" Red shouted from an open window. After 5 miles the van stopped as Korrina slowly walked over to Serena and handed her the torch.
"Good luck." Korrina said.
Serena took a deep breath before she started running with the van close behind her.
"Go Serena!" Ash shouted.
"Pika!". Serena kept her pace as she ran down victory road and people on the sides of the road cheered her on. After another few miles she stopped as Red got out of the van and took the torch from her.
"Good luck Red." Serena said. Red started running with the van close behind.
"Let's go Red!" Korrina shouted. Red ran down the road feeling the energy of the Moltres flame. Red could tell from the energy emitted by flame that it was no normal fire.
Five miles later Red stopped as Ash got out of the van and walked over to him.
"Alright Ash, you're about to hold the spirit of the pokemon league in your hands. Are you ready?" Red asked.
"I was born ready." Ash said as he took the torch. Red walked into the van as Pikachu leapt down from Ash's shoulder and ran beside him.
"Go Ash! Go Pikachu!" Serena shouted. Ash ran for 4 and a half miles before he saw something ahead of him. There was a town or village at the base of the area with a large castle like stadium in the center with 4 smaller stadiums around it.
"It's the Kalos league!" Red shouted.
"Indeed, we're made it." Charles said. Seeing the Kalos league revitalized Ash, he felt like he could run another hundred miles. Ash and Pikachu increased their pace as they got closer to a large crowd of people around a large pool of water in front of the main castle stadium.
Ash's eyes widened as he saw 5 people standing in front of the water. One was a thin looking man with light skin, blue eyes, light blonde hair , and a white chef like uniform on with a blue/ yellow pennant and scarf in front of his neck.
The next one was a woman with long black hair, green eyes, and wore a maroon shirt and skirt , with a necklace made of large talons, earnings made of large talons, bracelets made of talons, and shoes made of talks.
The next was a tall and muscular looking man with dull brown hair and blue eyes, wearing full knights armor with gold streaks on them.
The next person was none other than Malva, and the last one in the center was Diantha.
"Dainty? Malta? Who are those others?" Serena asked.
"It's the Kalos elite four." Charles said. Ash and Pikachu stopped in front of Diantha with a look of great surprise.
"Well look who's delivering the torch." Diantha said.
"So good to see you again." Malva said. Ash couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there seemed to be a hint of contempt in Malva's voice.
"Allow me to introduce you to the Kalos elite four. Siebold." Diantha said pointing to the blonde man.
"Pleasure to meet you." Siebold said with a respectful bow.
"Drains." Diantha said pointing to the woman with talons on her cloths.
"Hello young man." She said waving her arms.
"Wikstrom." Diantha said pointing to the man in armor.
"It is an honor." He said as he gave a respectful bow.
"And apparently you already know Malva." Diantha said.
"I know him." Malva said.
"As for the rest of you, this is Ash Ketchum." Diantha said.
Ash handed Diantha the torch before she turned back to him.
"By the way, I meant to congratulate you and your brother for stopping Lysandre. I can only imagine getting to meet Reduka." Diantha said via aura message.
"It was an experience like none other." Ash said back.
Diantha turned to the crowd and tv cameras.
"With the Moltres flame, the pokemon league can begin first thing tomorrow morning!" Diantha shouted. The crowd began a loud applause as Diantha and the elite four stepped into the castle stadium.
Ash was soon joined by the others as they stepped out of the van.
"Wow, the elite four!" Clemont said.
"Now that the torch has arrived safely I can show you to your accommodations. All trainers competing in the Kalos league are each given a condo in the nearby village. Just head inside the registration building and you'll be given the keys to your Condos." Charles said.
Several minutes later Ash and the others were inside the registration building waiting in line for registration. After a few minutes they were one away from the front.
"Alright miss Stone, you're registered." The woman behind the counter said. The young woman turned around and saw the group in front of her.
The girl looked slightly older than Korrina and had long black hair with brown eyes and light skin. She wore a grey sweatshirt with blue shorts.
"Sorry , need to get through. Wait a minute I know you, you're Korrina the gym leader of Shalour city. We battled a few months ago." The girl said. Ash and the others noticed the girl's accent was more Johto.
"Hey I do remember you, Alice Stone right." Korrina said.
"That's right, I've got my 8 badges and I'm ready to win the Kalos league. So what are you doing at the pokemon league?" Alice asked.
"Well, I'm here to support my boyfriend Red and his brother Ash." Korrina said.
"Pleasure to meet you." Red said.
"Nice to meet you too Red. You don't sound like you're from Kalos." Alice said.
" We're not, we're from Kanto." Ash said.
"Well how about that, I'm from out of Kalos too. If you guys are as good as Korrina, then you should be a good challenge. I'll see you on the battlefield." Alice said as she walked off.
Ash and Red walked up to the counter and showed the woman their blue passes.
"Very well, you two are registered for the Kalos league. Head down here tomorrow morning for your first match ups. Plus the opening ceremony starts at 10:00 tonight." The woman said as she handed Ash and Red each a key.
"Your condos are near the lake in this area." The woman said as she showed them a map of the area around the village.
"Let's head to the condos and unpack." Ash said. The group made their way to the condos overlooking a small lake.
The condos were made of wood and looked like they were in prime condition.
"Looks like I have condo 3c." Ash said.
"I have 4d." Red said.
"Wait who are we staying with brother?" Bonnie said.
"You can stay with us." Ash said.
"Alright let's unpack quick then get something to eat." Red said.
Ash and Red walked over to their condo door when another person stepped up to the door.
He looked about 16 with short lightly spiked brown hair . He was fairly tall with an athletic build and had blue eyes.
"Wait this is condo 3b right?" The young man asked.
"No this is 3c." Ash said.
"Woah, sorry about that man." He said as he backed up.
"It's no problem, I'm Ash and this is my girlfriend Serena." Ash said extending his hand.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Raiko Young." Raiko said as he shook Ash's hand.
Ash could tell from his accent that Raiko was from Jhoto.
"So you're from Jhoto?" Ash said.
"Yeah from Blackthorn city. No offense but I'd rather head to my condo. I need to work on my strategies." Raiko said.
"Oh alright." Ash said. Before Raiko walked off.
"Well at least he was polite. Sort of." Serena said sweat dropping.
Ash noticed that Raiko had a very active aura and also felt a familiar energy around him. Inside the condo Ash let out each of his pokemon and gave them all their dinner while Serena was doing the same with hers.
"I can't believe you got to meet all of the elite four." Serena said.
"I know, but there was something about Malva. She didn't seem happy to see me.". Ash said.
"I've actually been wondering about Malva. She seemed to be awe-fully close to Lysandre. Do you think she knew about him?" Serena asked.
"I'm not sure, but there was always something about her that did't seem right. We should keep an eye on her." Ash said. A few minutes later they left the condo and met with the rest of the group outside.
Ash noticed that Chalres was with the group.
"Charles?" Ash said as he and Serena walked over to them.
"Oh hello Ash, Serena. I came to offer you a tour of the village." Charles said.
"Oh thanks." Serena said.
He lead them to the village just outside the league. The village seemed much like a small town with a few streets, the basic commodities buildings like a market, several clothing stores, some restaurants, and a a few pokemon centers.
"This place is amazing. It has everything" Serena said.
"You'll find the village has everything you'll need. I remember the first time I competed in the Kalos league. I spent the first night exploring every corner of this village." Charles said.
Throughout the village Ash and the others noticed dozens of trainers moving around the village.
"Are you guys still hungry?" Ash asked.
"I'm starving." Serena said.
"Me too." Bonnie said.
"May I suggest a restaurant. It's not far from here, it's called Cote's. I'd come, but I just remembered there is some business I need to take care of." Charles said as he walked off.
"Well let's head to that restaurant." Red said. A few minutes later they reached the restaurant named Cote's.
"Welcome to Cote's." The receptionist said.
"Table for 6 please." Ash said.
"Do you have your id's with you?" The receptionist asked.
Ash and Red showed her their ids.
"Alright since you are competitors in the Kalos league your dinners' are paid for."
"Really, wow." Korrina said. The receptionist lead them to a table and showed them the buffet table.
"Head on up there as much as you want." The receptionist said as she walked off.
"Alright let's head up there." Ash said. As Ash went up to one of the buffet tables Korrina was beside him. As he reached for the last sausage on a plate another hand reached for it as well.
Ash looked up and met eyes with another trainer. The young man looked about 16 with brownish hair, blue eyes, and slightly tanned skin. He also had a very muscular tone to his body like Ash and Red.
"Oh sorry man." He said as he moved his hand away.
"No it's fine you can have it." Ash said.
"No I'm good." The young man said.
"Are you sure?" Ash asked.
"Yeah. Go ahead." Ash noticed the young man had a bit of a Sinnoh accent, as well as a very active aura.
"Thanks, I'm Ash Ketchum."
"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Trent Pheonix. You don't sound like your from Kalos." Trent said.
"I'm not, but you don't sound like your from around here either." Ash said.
"Well I come from Sinnoh. I started my journey there 4 years ago. Since then I made it to the top 8 at the Sinnoh league and the top 4 at the Unova league.".
"Really?" Ash said amazed.
"Yeah earlier this year my cousin told me he was struggling with his journey here in Kalos. So I decided to come out and help him, one thing lead to another and I decided to enter the Kalos league too." Trent said.
As Trent spoke Ash's enhanced eyesight noticed something hidden underneath his sleeves on his wrists. He could also feel the power of a mega evolution stone that was not his own.
"So, how long have you been in the brotherhood?" Ash asked.
"What?" Trent said as he nervously sweat dropped.
"It's ok." Ash said revealing his own hidden blades.
"Well how about that. Nice to see another guardian here." Trent said.
"My brother and his girlfriend are also guardians." Ash said as Trent saw Red and Korrina.
"So would you two happen to be the two hero decedents of Vaeron that saved Kalos?" Trent said.
"Yes." Ash said.
"Well I wish I could have helped, I was at the Shalour city guild and Gurkinn told me and a few others to stay behind in case Flare tried to raid the tower of mastery."
"Hey Ash are there any more sausages?" Korrina asked as she came over and saw Trent.
"Korrina this is Trent from the Sinnoh brotherhood." Ash said.
"Really, nice to meet you. I"m Korrina, the Shalour city gym leader."
"Yes, Gurkinn talked about you when I visited the guild in Shalour city."
"Trent I got my stuff, I'm heading back to the table." Another voice said. Ash and Korrina saw another young man who looked about 14 with light black hair, green eyes, and light skin. He looked a little like Trent, but without the impressive muscle-tone. Ash and Korrina also noticed that unlike Trent, this young man had a Kalos accent.
"Ash, Korrina this is my younger cousin Jason. He's from Santalune city and this is his first time in the pokemon league. Jason this is Ash and Korrina, the gym leader of Shalour city.
"Nice to meet youuu." Jason said as his eyes widened upon seeing Korrina.
"Nice to meet you too Trent." Ash said extending his hand. Jason seemed to ignore Ash and only focused on Korrina.
"Korrina, you weren't at the Shalour city gym when my cousin and I had our battle there." Jason said.
"Well several months ago I left the city for other business and had my grandfather take over for me." Korrina said.
"Sssoo, are you competing in the Kalos league too?" Jason asked.
"Actually no, I'm here with my boyfriend. Ash's brother." Korrina said.
"Boyfriend." Jason said sounding disappointed.
"Hey guys, what's going on here?" Red asked as he came over.
"Red, this is Trent and Jason." Ash said.
"Nice to meet you." Red said.
"Nice to meet you Red." Trent said. Jason looked at Red , then looked at Korrina.
"I'll see you in the tournament Red." Jason said as he walked back to his table.
"Uh ok?" Red said sweat dropping.
"Needless to say, he's not an aura guardian. He doesn't even have the 6th sense." Trent said to Ash.
"I see." Ash said. After eating dinner , the group made their way towards the main stadium for the opening ceremony.
"I can't wait wait to see the opening ceremony. It only get's better every year." Korrina said. Just outside the stadium Ash and the others saw a young man leaning against the wall.
He looked about 16 with short black hair, brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin. He had a very uninterested look on his face as the group approached him.
"Another 6 entering to see the opening ceremony I see." He said in a calm tone as they approached. He had a Kalos accent like Korrina, Clemont, and Serena.
"Who are you?" Red asked.
" My name is Will Wood. Which of you are my competitors?" He asked.
"Ash and I." Red said extending his hand.
"Hmp, no thanks. I prefer not to intermingle with my competitors." Will said as he walked into the stadium.
"Well he was certainly, pleasant." Serena said sweat dropping.
"Forget him. Let's go inside." Ash said. Once inside, Korrina, Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena were sitting in the seats of the stadium.
"Just a little longer." Korrina said. Moments later the field in the stadium went dark. It remained unlit for almost a minute before a massive flamethrower shot up from the field and lit up that part of the field.
Moments later the A powerful dragon pulse surrounded the fire forming a combined dragon fire visual.
A few seconds later several red gemstones flew from the ground and surrounded the fire-dragon energy. The light reflected off each gem and colored the area in dazzling lights.
A waterfall then rose up from below and surrounded the display with gleaming water of different colors because of the display inside it.
As if the display weren't beautiful enough. Moments later a powerful moon blast joined the display , filling it up with even more dazzling lights.
"So beautiful!" Serena said with stars in her eyes. The lights soon revealed none other than Diantha and the elite four beside her with their pokemon beside them.
Charles was standing beside Diantha with a microphone in hand.
"Welcome one and all to the Kalos League. We know you have all waited a long time for this and now we are happy to announce the Kalos league's official opening. To ignite the ceremonial Moltres flame is a very special guest." Charles said.
A small light appeared in the sky above the stadium before the sky was lit up with a maelstrom of fire. A massive pokemon flew through the fire using his wings to spin around and force the fire away from him and creating a display in the air.
"What is that?" Clemont said in amazement. Moments later, a colossal Charizard landed on top of the staircase beside the unlit flame holder. A trainer stepped off the Charizard's back with the Moltres flame in hand.
When everyone looked closer they realized it was none other than Daniel Rian.
"Daniel!?" Korrina said very surprised. Daniel lit the torch holder as the stadium lights lit up the rest of the field revealing the hundreds of trainers competing in the Kalos league.
"Look it's Ash and Red!" Serena shouted pointing to a part of the field.
"The Kalos league how now officially begun!" Charles shouted out over the microphone as several fireworks were launched into the sky and the crowd let out an uproar of applause.
Author's note: Yeah the Kalos league has begun. Some of you might have seen your characters in there. But just because you didn't doesn't mean they won't be in it.
I will still accept requests for your trainers so feel free.
The next chapter will be round one of the Kalos league and it will cover Ash and Red.
Note: Because I need to cover them both there won't be any six on six battles. Except maybe at the end, maybe.
So until next time, please review, comment, suggest , or ask.