Chapter 5

Reader-

Max and Bonnie will participate yes. Your team's suggestions is good. I likely won't take all of them, but I'll consider them later on.

For Serena, though, I was thinking of her final three to be Meowstic, Magnezone, and Metagross. This is when they finally evolve btw. Although having more is never a bad thing. So long as you're careful of course.

So, combining your vote with the other one that leaves us with...two votes for yes. And nothing for not having Journey into this. Anyone that wants to vote, please do so before Chapter 10. As that is when the poll ends and it's decided if Journey is added here and Ash is the Monarch. Also, if that's the case, then Ash will not be fighting the Agent in chapters 2 and 3. His role will be taken over by someone else and instead, he'll do something at the start of the tournament

Konradoziom- Yeah, we'll likely have most of those return. Some will take longer than others and others very quickly. Not sure if every one of those Pokemon will return though.

Brock

Pewter City Gym

"Brock! There's an envelope for you from the Pokemon League!" Yelled Yolanda, Brock's oldest sister, as she came into the house with the family mail. Upon hearing that, Brock looked up from the stew that he was making and smiled at Yolanda as he brought him a rather big envelope.

"Thanks, Yolanda." Said Brock as he took the envelope, amazed at its size. "Lunch will be ready soon. So, notify everyone and clean up." Yolanda nodded before running off to get everyone to the dinner table. Looking at the envelope in his left hand, Brock was amazed at how thick it was and how heavy it was. It must have a sizable number of documents and papers if it was this thick and heavy. Putting it aside somewhere safe, Brock went to work on the final touches of his stew. As he did so, he thought of the days after he left Pallet Town.

Once he left along with all of Ash's friends, Brock went back home in order to take care of his family. His mother and father, much to Brock's frustration, left him in charge of his siblings while they left to have a vacation all by themselves. They even took his Ludicolo with them to carry their luggage and be a helping hand when they needed it.

Brock loved his parents, he really did, but he absolutely hated that they occasionally left him in charge of his siblings when he was in the Kanto region and they knew in advance. Even when it was inconvenient for him as he was now a Pokemon doctor, they still occasionally forced him to tend to his siblings and take care of them, forcing him to have an odd schedule every now and then at his current place of work. Granted, they couldn't do such things when he was in the other regions for obvious reasons, but when he was in Kanto, well, he had to prepare in advance for a rough time during his time in Kanto.

It frustrated Brock that his parents were irresponsible enough to keep making him the man in charge of his siblings while they went on to have fun by themselves. It wasn't as bad as they had been years before when he first left on his journey with Ash, but it was bad enough that he sometimes wondered if he needed to give them a long and stern talking regarding their parenting. Again.

Sighing as he finished the stew, Brock brought it over to the dinner table, where all the plates and silverware were already placed. Pouring portions to his siblings, Brock thought about his constant flirting with beautiful women around his age and, occasionally, a bit over it.

He didn't tell anyone about this, even his siblings, but his infatuation with women of the opposite sex initially came from a want to give his siblings a responsible, caring, and beautiful woman that they can look up to and give them the motherly love that they desire. Something that their mother failed to do as they grew up. It was why he flirted with so many women in his journey with Ash. They all met his criteria of what he wanted in women as motherly figures for his siblings.

Initially, he was more tactful in his flirtation attempts, but over time he became more…expressional in his love for women. Not that he couldn't help it. With so many lovely women out there, many of whom are perfect as motherly figures for his siblings, it stood to reason he would be so over the top with his flirting and advances with other women. Some would say it would be counterintuitive to be that forceful in expressing his sudden feelings to a woman, but it was actually another test for them. If they can deal with his sudden display of affection for them, then they would be a perfect woman for his siblings, who can be quite a handful. That he won't deny. He would, of course, stop when they were getting a bit too uncomfortable with his flirtation and advances. Brock was many things, but forcing people to accept his love was something he refused to do.

Of course, his friends, Max and Misty and his own Pokemon Croagunk, didn't see it that way and often butted in to stop him from making those women uncomfortable at all. Some were reasonable, Brock won't deny that, but others he cursed because he had a very good shot with them, which were now gone because he never met those women again. As frustrating as he found their constant need to stop his chances of finding love for both him and his siblings, he understood their intentions. It also didn't help he never told them why he was doing it. He could, of course, but he knew that they'll just argue with him and said he needed to be more tactful over doing what he always did. Unfortunately, Brock's hormones and desire to find the perfect woman for his siblings were too much for logic to prevail over his quest to find the ideal woman for his family. Maybe he should lower his standards?

Ignoring his thoughts about his methods surrounding women, Brock made the final preparations for lunch. As he did so, his various siblings came from all over the house and even from the Gym to eat Brock's delicious food. Due to having to prepare food for a variety of people and their taste palettes, Brock became a cook whose cooking skills can land him a job in a five-star hotel. His ability to make even expired food materials into gourmet meals was astounding and the envy of many chefs. Honestly, if it weren't for the Pewter Gym, Brock could have started his own restaurant and it would have been an instant hit in Pewter City. His siblings and his friends that tasted his cooking would attest to that. Even Cilan and Clemont, Ash's former traveling companions that cooked for him and his other traveling companions, would vouch for his cooking skills. Though they didn't say it surpassed theirs, Brock knew they were impressed with his cooking and sought to improve their own. Cilan less so compared to Clemont.

"Hey now. No pushing. No shoving. There's plenty for everyone." Said Brock as his siblings began taking their seats and trying to get to their food first. Once everyone was seated and eating, Brock began eating his own food. As everyone was eating, Yolanda asked Brock how long he was staying in Kanto.

"For a few more weeks." Said Brock as he swallowed his first helping. "Then after that, I'm heading to Kalos."

"Are you going to participate in the tournament you were talking about, Brock?" Asked Forrest, his younger brother and now head of the Pewter City Gym. "I want to enter, but the Gym needs me."

"Much as I want to in order to travel with Ash again, I can't." Said Brock, much to his disappointment. "Traveling with Ash for five years or so was some of the best years of my life and it helped me grow as a person and find what I wanted to do in life. Traveling with him again would be a thrill to do, but I can't. I have responsibilities now as a Pokemon doctor and I can't leave them. There's too many Pokemon out there that need my help and too few doctors to help them." Perhaps that was a bit of an overstatement, but Brock knew it wouldn't look good on him if he just abandoned his responsibilities as a Pokemon doctor to go traveling with Ash again. He already has people raising eyebrows at him due to his…flirting with beautiful women, he can't allow any more detractions to occur because of his wants. So, much to his disappointment, he can't do anything about it. He supposed he could get an extended leave from the Pokemon doctor's association he's with to do it, but he didn't know how long the tournament would last and journeys were unpredictable on how long they could be. Thus, he couldn't take the risk.

"That's too bad." Said Tilly, Brock's youngest sister. "Would be nice to travel with him again."

"Yeah." Said Brock as he thought of Ash, his best friend, who would no doubt participate in this tournament, with a smile. "It really would." With that, everyone went to eat their lunch in relative peace. His siblings would tease and talk with one another, especially about the tournament that their brother talked about when he returned home. As they talked, Brock thought of Ash and who he would choose to be a part of his team.

Later

Brock

After lunch ended and Brock cleaned up the dishes with the help of Yolanda and Salvadore, another of his brothers, Brock began opening up the envelope sent to him by the Pokemon League in his bedroom. No doubt it was information about the tournament. Though he wondered why they sent him that information given his field of work, Brock nonetheless opened it. His curiosity about the tournament was quite great.

Opening the envelope, Brock saw the contents and was momentarily stunned by how much paper was inside.

Inside the envelope was a good-sized stack of papers and books that nearly reached the width of his forearm. A bit taken aback at this, Brock recovered and got the papers and books out. Upon taking them out, Brock looked them over before noticing a letter amongst them with the seal of the Pokemon League. Taking it out from the stack, Brock began reading it.

"Mr. Boulder. On behalf of the Pokemon League, congratulations are in order for your excellent career choice as a Pokemon doctor. Your talents have not gone unnoticed due to the actions of our president, Charles Goodshow, who has taken an interest in your friend, Ash Ketchum. As a result, this letter is given to you along with documents concerning the current details and ruleset of the tournament in case you decide to participate in this tournament, which you may consider once you read the entirety of the contents of the envelope we sent to you. In case you read this letter first, there is another letter in the envelope from the Pokemon League that concerns the possible conflict between your career and your desire to participate in this tournament. If there are any concerns or questions you have regarding the tournament, please read the entirety of the contents in the envelope before emailing us with the email located at the bottom of his letter. That is all.

From

The Pokemon League

That was what the letter said and Brock was stunned that the Pokemon League noticed him. He could see Ash given all the conferences he participated in over the years, but he never thought they would notice him. He supposed Ash was just that interesting to Goodshow if the League noticed him.

Goodshow. The Pokemon League president. An eccentric man. A bit odd, but a good man with great integrity. Brock had met him several times during his time at the Pewter City Gym and though he was a bit put off by his eccentric personality, Brock respected the man for his love of Pokemon and desire to create a world where Pokemon and humans from the various regions and live in perfect harmony with one another. It was a shame that Ash never got to know Goodshow as much as he and Misty, he would have undoubtedly liked the old man.

Thinking about Ash, Brock sighed before going over the other contents of the envelope. Looking over the contents, Brock could see there were several papers concerning the date the tournament will officially start and other dates of various important festivals and some mini-tournaments that will be held during the entirety of the actual main event. In addition, Brock saw a book of good width that contained, no doubt, rules and regulations concerning the tournament, as well as another letter from the League.

Putting all the contents on his bedroom desk, Brock decided to go over the rulebook first. The letter can be put on hold for later and the papers with the dates can be done last. If he decided to participate in the tournament, they'll be important later, but right now, he was still unsure if he can without damaging his career as a Pokemon doctor. So, may as well read up on the rules to see if they can change his mind.

"Okay, so let's find out what the rules and regulations are." Thought Brock as he opened the book and began reading. Truth be told, the rules and regulations of the tournament were of great curiosity to Brock as with most of his friends. From what he knew, this tournament would be quite different from the Pokemon Leagues and Pokemon Contests throughout the regions. That's already abundantly clear with the fact that it's multiple trainers against a single Gatekeeper and the rule concerning the best two out of three to acquire the various Gate cards held by the Gatekeepers. But they didn't know much more than that and it left them having questions. What if teams had multiple coordinators and they participate in the Contest portion to get a point? Would that give them an unfair advantage? What prevents people from just ganging up on the Gatekeeper through sheer numbers in order to win the battle portion? Would the battle portion actually matter if people just win the coordinator and performer portion of their facilities or did teams have to actually beat them first in order to qualify for their Gate card? If so, what happens if a team wins all three?

So many questions for this tournament popped up in Brock's mind and no doubt all of Ash's friends as they thought about the tournament. Thus, Brock was very curious about the tournament and its rules. So, he was relieved to see the rulebook was fairly extensive.

"Okay, here are the first rules." Thought Brock as he read the qualifications for participating in the tournament. "In order to participate in this tournament, trainers must have at least eight gym badges from any of the regions to register freely or have at least five contests ribbons if they're a coordinator solely instead. If they don't have either, then they must be vouched by someone who has the requirements in order to participate and they must be on the same team as well. Performers will be given an exception if they focus solely on being performers prior to the tournament start, though will need to find teams with the requirements or else be automatically disqualified from the tournament. Okay, so Bonnie and Max need either their siblings or someone with eight badges or five ribbons to vouch for them if they want to participate. Shouldn't be hard. Ash will be there if May or Clemont can't be there for them. And Serena will be fine. Ash will be there for her and if he isn't, which I seriously doubt, plenty of teams will want at least one performer on their team as performances aren't really done outside of Kalos. Coordinators can pull it off, I think, but I believe having an actual Performer will be ideal." With that thought done, Brock continued to read about any additional qualifications.

"Trainers must have at least three Pokemon if they desire to participate as well. However, it's strongly encouraged for trainers to have more than that, both for all aspects of the tournament and acquiring their Gate Cards. This is to both throw the Gate Keepers off and keep them on their toes as well as rival teams during the various mini-tournaments held during the cross-regional tournament along with the contest and performer portions." Thought Brock as he read the rules. "Fair and reasonable requirements. Plus, I'm sure the tournament will allow us to catch Pokemon during that time. They'd be crazy to disallow that. Really fair rules so far. I'm actually considering going to participate." With that, Brock continued to read, growing more and more fascinated with the rules and the various explanations for them. It took several hours, but Brock finished the rule book and he had to say he loved the rules and regulations within. There were some he was a bit off and critical about, but overall he believed they were a fine ruleset and those things he was critical about can easily be dealt with during the course of the tournament and weren't really issues that can break the tournament itself.

For starters, in the contest portions, teams can have as many coordinators as they want for it, even those that only dabble in it for fun or are new to it, but only a maximum of two coordinators for each team can get past the Performance stage. This is so teams can't just win a point to qualify for their gate card through sheer numbers instead of talent. The same was said for the Showcase and battle portions for getting a Gate Card. A maximum of five trainers of each team can battle a Gate Keeper at a time, so as to, once again, make a team win through sheer numbers, and only two performers of each team can participate at a Showcase at a time. Brock approved of this as winning through sheer numbers was not the way a Pokemon trainer team should win the tournament. They should win through their skills and the bonds they made with each other and their Pokemon.

Brock was, of course, a little concerned with how the tournament was allowing teams to have as many members as they wanted. When he read that part, he was concerned with people just forming one mega team to trump the others and win through sheer numbers. That was one of his critiques on the tournament. One which, thankfully, got addressed when he went deeper into the rule book. There were others, of course, like no restrictions on using held items or substitutions prevention from the Gatekeepers, but Brock was sure that there was a reason for that. At least he hoped so.

Honestly, the rules were very airtight in many regards and Brock was excited about the tournament. Alas, he still couldn't participate due to his job as a Pokemon doctor, but the Pokemon League said that will be addressed in the other letter from the envelope.

Hoping, but not hoping too much, Brock grabbed the other letter and read it. What he found stunned him greatly. Although a part of him thought it was too good to be true, another part of him was hopeful that he now had a chance to travel with his best friend again.

Meanwhile

Kalos

Serena

"Mom, I want to participate in this tournament." Said Serena as she talked with her mother after they eat dinner. "I think this will be a great opportunity for me if I enter. Make some new friends and get to catch a bunch of new Pokemon. Not to mention it'll help me get better as a Performer if I participate in the Performer portion of the tournament."

Serena, sometime after returning home to Kalos, received an envelope from the Pokemon league concerning the tournament. The envelope contained dates of various events during the duration of the tournament, when it will start, the rules and regulations concerning the tournament, and additional information that surprised both Serena and her mother Grace. And now they were discussing the tournament after the dishes were cleaned and dinner was over.

"I don't doubt that honey and I approve of you participating in the tournament, but I have to ask, are you only going to participate in the Contest and Performer portions?" Asked Grace as she looked at her daughter seriously. "Are you not going to help in the battle portion of the tournament? From what I've read about the battle portion so far, it's going to be the most difficult part of this tournament. These Gatekeepers. I don't think they're like the Gym Leaders of any of the regions. I think they're something more. Maybe Elite Four or even Champion level if they're willing to let up to five people face one of them at a time."

"And you think I can help?" Asked Serena in surprise. Her mother knew that Pokemon battling wasn't her thing. She can do them competently, yes, but she was a Performer and Contest spectacular person first and foremost. She trains her Pokemon to look good and perform their moves to be as beautiful and graceful as possible, but battling wasn't their forte. She knew that, and yet she wanted her to actually participate in the battle portions of the tournament.

"Why not?" Asked Grace as she looked at her daughter. "As you said, this is a great opportunity for you to make new friends, catch new Pokemon, explore the various regions, and even learn some important life lessons for you. However, just because you can do Contests and Showcases well, doesn't mean you can't do the battle portions as well. Serena, this may surprise you, but battling can sometimes help form bonds between people and Pokemon better than Showcases and Contests can. Trust me, I've seen what can happen when people and their Pokemon are in battles. And besides, it can really help assure me that you can fight off anything that comes after you and your Pokemon."

"But mom." Said Serena as she whined to her mother. "I can fight against any wild Pokemon or trainer that gives me trouble well enough. I've done it before when I was traveling with Ash and more so when I had to leave him. I don't need to participate in the battling portion when others could do it better, right?"

"True, but you never know when you need to do so." Said Grace as she looked at her daughter. "I won't force you to do it if you don't want, but think about it Serena. Being a trainer is more than just doing Contests and Showcases. Besides," Grace then let a sly smirk at her daughter. "Wouldn't you like to be closer to Ash and impress him with your battling skills? I'm sure he would pick you more out of the other performers if he knew just how much better you are to the other performers when it comes to battling." Serena blushed at the mention of her blatant crush on one of the most oblivious people in the world and before she could protest, Grace left for her room, leaving Serena mortified and silently cursing her mother.

Meanwhile

Dawn

Sinnoh

"You really are okay with me going, mom?" Asked Dawn as she looked at her mother, Johanna, who just smiled.

"Of course, Dawn." Said Johanna as she looked at her daughter, who just finished reading the papers that the League sent over to their house. "You've more than proved that you can make your own decisions. Besides, from the sounds of things from these documents, this will be the perfect opportunity for you to be with your old friends or make some new ones. After all, if you can't be friends with those on your team, then you're likely doomed to fail and lag behind the other teams that understand this. Whether you go make a team with new people or with your old friends, it doesn't matter to me, so long as you make good with your team, their Pokemon, and your own. Maybe even some new Pokemon while you're out there." Upon hearing all that, Dawn smiled at her mom.

"No need to worry Mom!" Said Dawn with a confident smile on her face. "I know who I want for my team and if they aren't available, I'll be able to make friends with who I make a team with. No matter how they are!" Johanna just laughed a bit before nodding at her daughter.

"Then I wish you the best of luck, Dawn." Said Johanna with a smile. "The tournament will start, according to the flier, within a few weeks. That should give you ample time to prepare for it." Dawn just nodded before heading to her room to prepare and read up more on the tournament while her mother just looked at her daughter with a smile, happy for her.

Meanwhile

Max and May

"Do I have to?" May whined as she looked at her mother Caroline, who smiled at her daughter. Max, meanwhile, just snickered at her while their dad, Norman, held out Max's traveling bag as well as badge case and Pokeballs. "Max is a big boy now. He can handle going by himself."

"That may be true, but what kind of big sister would you be if you let him go alone when you were available to escort him to Professor Birch's lab?" Said Caroline with a smile. She was basically guilt-tripping May into doing it. And it was working.

Sighing, May nodded to her mother's request. She had wanted to spend time with Solidad regarding the tournament the League was planning to host in a few weeks and what to do and who they wanted to have on their teams.

May, of course, wanted her former traveling companions and Dawn, but Solidad convinced her that, in case they were unavailable, which she doubted for most of them, she had to expand her search. And that was what she wanted to discuss with her friend. Now, however, she was forced to attend to her brother, who was going to Professor Birch to get his starter Pokemon.

"And that's not all, May. We're going to Cerosi Town in order to pick up Ralts. Remember?" Asked Max as he looked at his sister, who just sighed.

"Of course, you're going to drag me into that." Said May with a sigh, unsure if she should be proud or dissatisfied that her brother remembered the promise he made with a wild Ralts years ago. "Alright, let's get this over with. The sooner I get to speak with Solidad about the tournament, the better."

"You can speak to her while we're at the various Pokemon centers in the region, May." Said Max with a smirk while his dad gave him his starting equipment for his journey as a Pokemon trainer. "No idea why you want to do it in the comforts of home."

"Because it's home!" Yelled May as the two departed, but not before saying goodbye to their parents.

"Take care!" Yelled Caroline with a smile as she waved at her kids with Norman doing the same. Once the two were out of earshot, the two parents looked at each other. "I'm so proud of our children, Norman. They're so much like us when we were their age, you know."

"Don't I know it." Said Norman with a small smile on his face. "Hopefully they'll do even better than us, Caroline. Truth be told, I'm kind of jealous that Max gets to start his journey with an amazing tournament that involves all the regions on the horizon. No doubt he'll participate. His sister will no doubt vouch for him so he can participate. That is if Ash doesn't for him." Caroline simply laughed at that. She and Norman knew how much their children wanted to travel with their former traveling companion Ash. They talked about him constantly and always watched him compete in the various Leagues whenever they got the chance. When he won the Alola League, they asked them if they can have a celebratory dinner in Ash's honor, showing how much they loved him. The parents, of course, agreed. After everything Ash did for their children and the impact he had on their growth as people, how couldn't they? Heck, they considered Ash a second son with all the good things he's done for their family and the Hoenn region as a whole.

"Same here, Norman." Said Caroline. "Though I wish the best of luck to them and hope they win it. Speaking of the tournament, you're not participating in it? The League is allowing Gym Leaders to participate in it along with the Battle Frontier of the various regions."

"Much as myself, Flannery, and some of the other Gym Leaders want to, I can't." Said Norman with a smile while scratching his head before getting serious. "There's someone I need to find first and get them back to their Gym. Juan believes he has a lead on where she is and we need to look into it before the trail goes cold."

"I see." Said Caroline as her attitude turned solemn and sad. "Well, I wish you luck in finding her, Norman. It pains me that our last meeting was so awful."

"Same here, Caroline." Said Norman with a sad smile as he remembered that day. "Same here." With that, the two entered their home to begin doing their respective duties, a bit more solemn than they would like.