It's nice to see the previous chapter getting some love, noticeably a lot of it in fact now that the main star has come. Anyway, I've been looking over the previous reviews and I felt prompted to make some responses public and addressed first here for your information.
So someone asked about Ash's Unova rivals. Considering that it was his most recent major journey until this storyline, there won't be much to talk about them. However, given the qualifications of their performance from the Vertress Conference and the year time skip in which anything could happen, only time will tell if they "have met" the regulations of the Champions League, though I will say that Virgil, Cameron, and Stephen (whoops… Stephan) have a good chance of appearing. The jury's still out on Bianca (who was seen working in Professor Juniper's lab in the Let's Join Hands ending and would have a probable occupation becoming such in the future, just like her game counterpart) and Trip (considering he was Top 128 and did dislike "the boonies" of Kanto, among other things…), only because I have no real need for them right now, but that won't mean that they'd be entirely shunned from the fic. Plus, there are still the rivals from the past that I'd see making an appearance, Paul being one example.
The main purpose for this story so far was to focus on the growths of the main characters featured and some particular ones I feel inclined to expound upon, meaning no fancy aura tricks or a secret criminal organization disrupting the tournament to conquer the world. I know there's a lot of plot and character (re)building, but I promise to make up for the lack of action with some great battling (hopefully…).
And now, we move finally to the topic of Ash himself. Why I chose a year for him? So much can happen in a year. If I had gone to two or more, I feel like I'd be beating the Ponyta dead, in a sense. It'll all be explained later in the plot. As for his newly acquired Pokémon that have yet to be revealed, I'm personally impartial at this point of him having a legendary Pokémon. For a pro, it would show that he's mastered training his Pokémon and has gone up a step. But for a con, it'd feel like cheapening his team after a straight year of training the Pokémon he already has on him. Plus, the legendary Pokémon is Tobias's thing, who will make a future appearance.
Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope these comments have answered your questions so far. If not, just read through this chapter until you reach the review button if you have any more to say to me.
Have fun now!
Where are they? May thought, urgently running down the path the mysterious young man pointed her to. The grand Pokémon Center in front of the larger main stadium for the tournament was dead ahead. Wow, the line looks very long.
True to her inner thought, the line of participating Pokémon Trainers managed to extend a good distance past the front entrance of the Pokémon Center. Graciously maneuvering through the growing line while muttering hasty pardons, the Petalburg City Coordinator managed to slip inside the building. Apparently the extended line was somewhat of an understatement as she viewed how the line from outside had branched off into five more distinctive branches, all leading into a station in charge by five Nurse Joys. However, the line seemed to be moving smoothly as the five Pokémon Nurses were quite efficient in handling each Trainer's registration.
"May, over here!" Max called out. The brunette Coordinator caught the direction of the voice of her younger brother and discovered her little group sitting in the waiting area with a couple more faces sitting with them.
"Where've you been?" Dawn asked as May reached them. "We got worried when we noticed you were gone."
"Which was why the first place we thought you'd try to look for us was at the Pokémon Center," Max continued with a wide grin.
"Thanks for waiting up, gang," May said with a sheepish giggle. "New Island was certainly something that I couldn't pay attention to anything else."
"Apparently you've also overlooked us as well," a young, familiar feminine voice spoke up playfully.
"Yeah, well−Misty?! And Brock?!"
"Nice of you to finally notice us, May," the young Pokémon Doctor chuckled as Misty briefly got up to hug her. "We were just getting to know more of Ash's friends from the Unova region. Have you had a chance to greet them yet?"
"Not formally, no," May admitted, to which two of the aforementioned stood up from their seats and approached her.
"So you're May, Ash's friend from the Hoenn region," the tan-skinned girl with large dark-purple hair began, extended out a friendly hand for May to shake. "I'm Iris from the Village of Dragons." Something began stirring in Iris's hair.
"Ax Axew!" Axew greeted, instantaneously emerging out of her hair.
"And this is my partner-in-crime, Axew."
"And I'm the one and only Cilan of Striaton City, A-Class Pokémon Connoisseur at your service," the taller green-haired man said with a bow of flair. "I'm also one of three tough Gym Leaders with my brothers."
"Incredible," May commented after shaking Cilan's hand. "It's so awesome that you guys were Ash's companions from Unova." From the corner of her eye, she noticed the teenaged girl with the puffy cap that was with them from the start sitting at a far corner, glancing out of the window in boredom. "Hey, wasn't she with you guys on the ship?"
"Doesn't mean she's one of us," Iris interrupted haughtily. "She just 'happened' to be on the same ship as we were on the way to Kanto."
"Now, Iris, don't be like that," Cilan said. "Georgia has the same right being here as we do."
"Don't try sugarcoating it any other way, Connoisseur," Georgia spoke up, leaning back on her seat casually. "Personally, a Dragon Buster as I wouldn't be caught dead associating with those close to a Dragon Master. However…" She gave a brief leer towards Iris. "I'm willing to be lenient for you guys since she's not a real Dragon Master yet."
"Ha, such lame excuses can only be thought up by a little kid," Iris scoffed off.
"Really now, that same old song and dance, it only shows how much you haven't grown since our last real battle."
"As if being your same indecisive self is any different than how I am."
"Indecisive?! What do you mean 'indecisive'?"
"Oh, I don't know… Like… *ahem* 'I-I mean, it's not like I consider you anyone s-special to me or anything like that. That's not the reason why I'm helping y-you.' or 'Why are you with that super cool and totally awesome Dragon Master, Ash−N-Not that I care about you'."
"Come on! I do not sound like that, nor did I ever say such things!" Georgia's face faintly blushed red.
"Denial much?"
"More like dealing with a delusional little girl that's scared of a little snowflake glittering in fairy dust."
"What was that?!"
Speaking of same old, same old, Cilan thought as he and the whole group, save it for those two, fell into an awkward silence and each one had the metaphorical drop of sweat sliding down their heads.
Those two are so childish, Misty thought, irritated with the act.
Rivalries… they're as old as time itself, Brock thought with nostalgia warming his senses.
This isn't going to end well, May thought worriedly.
This… is interesting, Max thought, struggling not to grin at the anticipated fight.
Their fights are scarier than Ash and Paul's former rivalry, Dawn thought in amazement.
This has happened in every chapter so far, it's getting older than ripened vintage wine, Cilan thought with an additional mental sigh.
At the same time…
"Thank you for registering for the Champions League New Island Conference," Nurse Joy said with her inherent warm smile present on her face. "Good luck in all your battles!"
"Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy!" the departing Trainer replied, quickly brushing past the next Trainer on line to register.
Speaking of said Trainer, he calmly took his place at the center counter. He came out of the line on the farthest left from the entrance, the closest to the lingering area. While he prepared for his own registration into the tournament, the Pikachu on his shoulder secretly observed the minor commotion coming from the nearby waiting area, the one between two familiar warring young girls.
"Welcome to the New Island Pokémon Center," Nurse Joy began. "Are you here to register for the Champions League?"
"…" the Trainer gave an affirmative nod before showing the kind Nurse a large and rather worn-out looking red Pokédex, as well as his mailed invitation for additional backup.
"Interesting Pokédex model you have there," Nurse Joy commented before inserting the encyclopedic device into her computer. "Oh! Well this is interesting."
"…?"
"Looks like you haven't updated your Trainer ID photo for quite a while now, considering that you look so much different now than this picture," Nurse Joy explained, "but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. This happens often. All you have to do is go down the hallway on my left and you'll find the photo staff taking new photo ID pictures for the competing Trainers. However, given the busy schedules of everyone here and the amount of Pokémon Trainers updating their identifications, your new photo won't be shown on the tournament board until after the first preliminary round. It won't be too long, I promise. Other than that, you're all set to battle now."
"… Mmm," the Trainer gave a short grunt before responding to the Nurse's condolence with a smile.
"Thank you for understanding… and welcome back, Ash."
"… … … Thank you… … Nurse Joy," Ash spoke in a low voice.
Though his eyes were still concealed under both the rim of his cap and its casted shadow, Nurse Joy was able to see his true self shining out in gratitude for the opportunity to take this great tournament by storm. After all, many a Nurse Joy has dealt with all kinds of Pokémon Trainers, and the changes that the Pallet Town Trainer had gone through were of no exception. This Nurse Joy was already well-acquainted with him since he did help her protect the Pokémon of her Pokémon Center in Viridian City when Team Rocket had attacked seven years ago with a Pikachu that recovered from an awful ordeal.
"By the way, there were some young people that were asking me and the other Nurses for you," Nurse Joy said, pointing to the waiting area. "They're worried about you. Do you want to make yourself known to them?"
"…" Ash shook his head with a frown, tugging his cap down further upon his face. "… I can't face them… … Not yet…"
"Oh, dear, I'm sorry to hear. Actually, it's not just them that were asking for you. A couple more Trainers asked me if you had registered, the most recent one being a young lady roughly your age. I believe she was from the Ba−."
"…" Ash held a hand up, signaling for her to stop. "… … Again… thank you…"
This time, he gave another brief nod before heading off to the hall she mentioned early to update his current photo identification. He slid through the other four lines with ease and went along without much problem, not before taking in a very quick observation of a certain former rival of his staring intently at him. As part of the new changes he adapted within his year of training, he didn't attempt to react unless he was actually confronted. However, the staring Trainer didn't brother getting up from his seat and instead allowed him go to renew his photo identification without any trouble.
Back with the group of former companions…
"… Well, we can't complain now that it's stopped," Brock said.
"But it's not really the best alternative in calming those two down," May continued.
"You still have to admit, that girl's got style," Max remarked.
They, along with Dawn and Cilan, still stared upon the inert bodies of Iris and Georgia lying on the waiting room carpet, both sporting comically large bumps on the tops of their heads, Georgia's forming underneath her cap. Iris's Axew was cowering behind a chair while waiting for his Trainer to wake up.
"Misty, I understand that they were getting out of hand, but did you really have to use your mallet of doom on them?" Dawn asked.
"Sorry about that, I guess I did go a bit overboard on them," Misty said with an uncomfortable giggle, mock pounding her head. "Some old habits die hard."
"Quite the power-packed blend of extreme tanginess," Cilan commented. "With all the refreshing coolness of a typical Water-type Pokémon Trainer with the spicy fury of a Fire-type, that's quite a fusion of flavors that takes true risk and bravery to handle."
While the group still watched over Iris and Georgia and conversed about Misty's handiwork on them, Brock felt the impression to look into the decreasing crowd of Trainers in front of registry for the tournament. Out of all the unfamiliar faces, one particular girl with lilac hair stood out wandering about. It was only when she glanced at his direction that she didn't look as lost as before.
"Brock, hey!" she waved and went to the group.
"Anabel, it's great to see you again," Brock greeted back. The others took notice of the approaching Salon Maiden as she quickly shook Brock's hand. May suddenly squealed and leapt onto her for a big hug, much to Anabel's initial shock.
"Anabel! You're here!" May cheered.
"Nice to see you again as well, May," Anabel said with a gentle laugh. "And Max and… a bunch of other people I don't know. My apologies."
"They were all Ash's traveling companions at different times aside from us," Max explained.
The group had then warmly greeted Anabel and had gone over the individual introductions, from learning who was competing in the Champions League to learning more about how the Battle Frontier was allowed by the Pokémon League to promote their facilities and challenges to other competing Trainers. Iris and Georgia had woken up from the ground, much to Anabel's further confusion on why they were "sleeping" on the floor in the first place. When she attempted to inquire about their incident, Misty was quick to change topic. And of course, the inevitable topic of the group's main purpose being together was to emerge as they talked.
"So, seeing all of you guys all together and here at New Island to either compete or watch, where's Ash?" Anabel asked, to which she was met with exchanging glances of uncertainty and sadness.
"You see, some of us asked the Nurse Joys as we first arrived in the Pokémon Center if he had registered for the tournament," Brock began.
"But we all received the same answer," Misty continued.
"No one by that name had registered so far," Cilan said. "But Nurse Joy did say that he was on the invited list of eligible Trainers for the Champions League."
"That's really too bad," Anabel commented with a sad smile. "I was actually looking forward to seeing him as I had a feeling he'd be in a place like this."
"Your emotions aren't too far off, as much as I hate to admit," a new voice spoke up, originating behind Anabel's seat. She and the others glanced at their new visitor.
"Paul!" Dawn yelled.
"Must you announce my appearance like that every time?" Paul inquired.
"You look familiar," Anabel intervened, taking a thorough scan of the Veilstone City Trainer. "Have we met before?"
"No," Paul said, not even looking at the Salon Maiden. "But you have met my brother, Reggie, and battled him before."
"Yes, it's coming back to me now. Reggie was one of the first competitors of the Battle Frontier and one of the first Trainers to challenge me when I joined and became in charge of the Battle Tower."
"Fascinating," Paul brushed off, having something else in mind to share with the group. "Anyway, the one you're looking for, he's not too far off from you. He barely finished registering for the competition before going about his own business."
"What?!" the younger half of the group shouted, jumping to their feet.
"Why didn't you stop him?" Misty asked.
"We're all worried about that kid, he didn't even bother staying in contact with any of us for over a year now," Iris added.
"What he does is none of my business," Paul replied simply with a shrug.
"He's right, you know," a new calm voice intervened. "You can't take out your frustration on a bystander, no matter how much you rationalize your anger when you yourselves know of the greater picture behind."
The whole group then peered on the side opposite from Paul to a chair, whose back was to them. Misty and Brock stood up, having been the only ones from the group to recognize that even tone.
"Sabrina! I-We… didn't see you back t-there," Misty stuttered from astonishment of not noticing the presence of the Saffron City Gym Leader casually sitting on the cushy chair, one leg overlapping the other with an open novel face down on her lap.
"Let's just say that we've been taking stealth lessons from Janine," Sabrina said with a hint of a smirk.
"Um, 'we've'?" Dawn repeated. Her answer, whether she realized it or not, came in the form of someone poking her on the shoulder. "May, not now."
"B-But I'm o-over here," May responded, fear having filled her voice for some reason. Dawn picked up on the feeling and cautiously turned around, only to be met with… nothing?
"H-Huh?"
"Dawn…"
"Stop messing with me!" Dawn scolded, abruptly giving a huff and turning face into a very strange face. "Ah…"
"Hau-Hau-Hau!"
"EEK!" Dawn squealed loudly, catching the attention of nearly everyone in the Pokémon Center. Fortunately for her, Brock had already thought ahead and caught her as she tripped backwards from her sudden fright.
"You gave the same exact reaction as Erika did when Haunter snuck up on her last month," Sabrina stated plainly.
"That's not even funny!"
"Don't worry, Dawn," Anabel said, walking up to Haunter. "This one's really friendly and playful. I can tell that it even dislikes fighting and contention."
"Is that your Haunter, Sabrina?" Max asked.
"By a technicality, I never caught it," Sabrina explained. "But we enjoy each other's company and Haunter makes me laugh."
"Hau-ta Haun-ta," Haunter agreed.
"Funny thing is that Ash needed Haunter's help in his Gym Battle against Sabrina," Misty brought up. "Although, he did manage to win in a manner more unconventional than his usual tactics."
"Somehow I know what you're talking about," Paul said, attempting to hide a smirk of amusement.
"What was Ash's battle recipe back then?" Cilan asked.
"He actually made Sabrina laugh herself into defeat," Brock stepped in. Everyone, save it for Misty and Paul, looked at the Doctor with baffled expressions.
"… You're joking," Iris stated.
"Not joking."
Laughter had then ensued from the disbelievers. Brock, Misty, and Sabrina exchanged glances and smiled from the memory, despite the former two having been primary victims turned into dolls back then. At least now they had a good laugh about it and didn't hold it against the Saffron City Gym Leader for her past sins. Anabel was relatively calm and merely smiled along the mirth. Paul kept a smirk to himself.
"Should've figured he would pull a stunt like that just to win," Paul commented. "The only thing more pathetic than defeat by laughter is seeing how much of a fuss you're all making out of it." This certainly stopped the laughter.
"Must you be a wet blanket over everything?" Iris retorted. "We're all just having a little bit of fun. And plus, it's not like Ash's going to care if we laugh at him. That kid isn't even here right now."
"Iris, I wouldn't try to understand Paul right on the spot," Dawn said. "It'll take a while to see where he's coming from."
"Forget him, Iris," Georgia stepped in. "Apparently he's not a Dragon Trainer, therefore not my problem. You, on the other hand−."
"It's his darn attitude that irks me, while we were on the way to New Island!" Iris shouted at her rival, who fell back from the intensity, while the Dragon Girl resumed her fiery glare towards the unaffected Veilstone City Trainer. "Just because some of us aren't competing in this Champions League doesn't give you the right to belittle us as you please. What's your problem anyway?!"
"It seems that I've overstayed my welcome, not that I planned to be here any longer," Paul muttered, turning face. Just before he walked off…
"You still harbor a piece of bitterness, don't you?" Sabrina spoke up suddenly. Everyone then glanced at Paul, who still hadn't budged from his spot. "In spite of the better changes you made since your defeat by Ash's hand, the single goal you have in conquering Pyramid King Brandon has been your primary drive in obtaining power. Now that you're closer to this opportunity once more…"
"I don't remember asking for your opinion," Paul replied back, head slightly turned to her direction.
It was apparent that he was holding back anger; no doubt Sabrina had managed to nail the target. The mood had changed from earlier joy to glum seriousness. The group caught in between glanced back and forth between those two unmoving figures. Even Haunter hid itself, cowering from the contention taking place with its dear psychic friend and the strange young man. Sabrina maintained her neutral expression and stare upon Paul.
"How you take the truth is up to you," Sabrina said. "With my developed and mastered psychic powers, nothing can be kept secret from me for too long. However, my intention wasn't to make you feel the way you are now. I only wish to help."
"'Helping the competition,' is that what this is now?" Paul questioned sardonically. "Just stay out of my way until it's time for us to battle."
With those final words, he took off in a cold manner and disappeared into the crowd of registering Pokémon Trainers. The group took a collective breath of relief before looking back towards the Saffron City Gym Leader.
"What was that all about?" Misty brought up.
"Sabrina, do you really know what Paul's problem is?" Max asked.
"I wasn't bluffing when I inferred that I can read into his soul," Sabrina said. "However, that's for Paul to share at his discretion, not for me to go about abusing my power. I can even read into each of your souls as well. Although…" She kept a peculiar gaze on Anabel. "Yours is the most interesting out of this group. I detect a special ability from you."
"You're not far from the truth," Anabel replied. "I'm not a psychic user like you are, but I do have special gifts that have helped me reach into the hearts of Pokémon."
"Among other things you've also kept within your heart," Sabrina concluded with a subtle wink and smile, much to the Salon Maiden's confusion and eventual blushing upon realization. She was quick enough to catch on what Sabrina had implied on what she did keep within her heart. No one else knew otherwise but those two now.
"Haun-ta! Hau Hau Haw!" Haunter cackled, emerging back to Sabrina's side.
"Hey, gang? Can we go get something to eat now?" May proposed, hunched over and holding her stomach. "I don't think my tummy can wait any longer without food."
"We know Ash is here, thanks to Paul," Dawn said. "It'll be a matter of time before any one of us can finally catch him."
"That is an exquisite idea, Dawn," Cilan applauded. "Fortunately for many of you, my brothers and I have been selected to be among great chefs to cook up a great feast for the opening ceremony for Trainer and spectator alike. What perfect timing!"
"Cilan, if you don't mind, I'd like to observe your dishes for myself," Brock requested.
"It's not a problem. Just follow me and everything will be ready fairly soon."
Both Cilan and Brock took their leave. The others saw them off while pondering what their next activity would be while waiting for the food to be ready and for the opening festivities to start.
"Hey! Who wants to have a practice battle with me?" Max openly suggested. "I'm game!"
Later that evening…
"Welcome, all competing Trainers to the second ever Champions League to be hosted!" the voice of the announcer declared, followed by the cheers of the crowd in the large main arena. "Here in the New Island Conference, Pokémon Trainers selected by the Pokémon League have the opportunity to tangle with some of the top Trainers in the world, which also include various Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, and even our renowned Champions."
"YEAH!"
"WOO!"
"GET SOME!"
The audience was filled with Pokémon fans and supporters for the competitors alike. They were, in no doubt, excited that this event was finally coming underway. Over two hundred Trainers stood within the large field surrounded by the arena. One random Trainer was also graciously selected to run the steps carrying the torch that was lit with the sacred flame of the Legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh. The Trainer made it to the top and lit the main holder up, officially igniting the commencement of the New Island Conference and the spirits of the Pokémon fans.
"This time around, we also have something more to look forward to, if you would please, Scott?"
"Testing… testing… is this thing working correctly?" Scott's voice echoed from the speakers, eliciting much laughter from the audience and even from the competing Trainers standing center on the plain dirt battlefield.
"Hi, Scott!" a random child from the audience yelled out.
"How're y'all doing, folks? My name is Scott, owner of the prestigious Battle Frontier. Along with the various powerful Trainers standing on the field are twelve of my own special battlers, the Frontier Brains of Kanto and Sinnoh. Trainers, if you do manage to engage a Frontier Brain in battle at some point during the tournament, know that you'll also have a shot in trying out the Battle Frontier Challenge if you surpass our expectations. Definitely looking forward to this!"
"Thank you, Scott!" the regular announcer's voice took over. "Now with the flame of Ho-Oh burning brightly in both at its special place and hopefully within the eyes of our competitors, we will now see the match-ups for tomorrow's preliminary rounds. Remember that even members of the Elite Four and the Champions are competing as well, so best of luck to all! Many of you Trainers have looked forward to the opportunity to beating the best. Well, now's your chance! The Randomizer is now on!"
Everyone looked up to the large screen, filled with large rows from top to bottom of many faces. Some of the Trainer cards were sadly empty and were replaced with a large question mark as the main picture with their names at the bottom of the card. The names could be barely seen unless one were to watch the process on a smaller and clearer monitor. And so the shuffling began…
And the match-ups for the preliminary rounds have been set.
The longest chapter at this point, but only because of the lengthy author's note in the beginning. Anyway, I'll be a tease once more and leave it there, the first battles will be revealed by the next chapter. At least now, I've gotten the character interactions I wanted/needed. I hope you readers didn't get lost along the way. Anyway… it's time.
Time to measure up how my writing skills are. Please review!
L-ater!