The sun broke through the treetops that surrounded the Vertress stadiums. Ash slowly woke up as did his Pokémon. He returned most of them and stretched, as did Raichu.
"What's on the itinerary today buddy," Ash mused out loud. Raichu merely yawned and settled at Ash's feet.
"Well, I figure we should get some sort of training in. We should maybe see if a hotel room is available. It seems Vertress City has really sprung up since we were last here."
Raichu nodded in agreement. Ash petted Raichu and began to make his way to a clearing.
"Alright, so we have a couple days until Preliminaries start. That'll last three days so we can expect a heavy load in front of us buddy."
Raichu nodded, he was eager to train and make himself known again.
"Since we don't know exactly how many battles we'll be in, which I should have found out, we'll just train everyone?" Ash simply questioned rather than stated. It had been a while since he had participated in any battle with people, especially in a tournament.
Ash had also decided that some Pokémon would stay at Tohjo Falls to keep guard. He brought most of his powerhouses with him, granted he considered all of them to be powerhouses, but he needed some to watch over home.
"Alright everyone, come on out!" Ash said as he released everyone. His party all roared in delight of being out in the open. "Attention. We are here at Vertress conference. This is where the tournament is taking place. Now, most of you, hopefully all of you will battle. Find a partner and being training sessions. This is no different than home. Break!"
As soon as the words left Ash's lips, everyone found a partner. Raichu jumped into his shoulder and looked as everyone began sparring.
"Just like old times." There was a smile on Ash's face. He enjoyed the outdoors. Heck, it was his home for the past five years. Something felt off though, he felt like he was being watched.
Raichu felt the same thing as electricity began to crackle from his cheeks. The air grew still. "Be careful," Ash whispered.
After thirty seconds, a couple Pidove flew from the trees. Ash and Raichu relaxed. "That was odd."
Their relief was cut short as a Tyranitar came rampaging through the forest. Launching several Hyperbeams and Stone Edges. Ash and Raichu ducked down as Ash's party came to the scene.
"No need, Heracross you can do this on your own!" Ash yelled above the noise. Heracross nodded and began to assault the rogue Tyranitar.
Ash began to return his Pokémon, keeping a few out to help protect the wild Pokémon that were fleeing. Ash saw Heracross land a swift Close Combat with a Focus Punch to fell the Tyranitar. Ash breathed a quick sigh of relief.
"A little overkill with the Focus Punch don't you think?" Ash said as he fed Heracross a pokéblock. Heracross smiled and gobbled the treat. "Good work buddy, you were quick and thankfully your strength far outmatched this wild one."
Ash walked up to the fainted Tyranitar. Raichu hopped on his shoulder. The two surveyed the damage. "This is one powerful Tyranitar." Raichu nodded with a smile. "Hmm, let's see something."
Ash pulled out a Pokéball and tapped the Tyranitar. The Pokéball wiggled, and dinged for a successful capture.
"Heracross, return. Let's go to the Pokémon Center."
Ash waited in the lounge area near the entrance, reading a magazine. Raichu was napping next to him on the seat. "These journalists are crazy," Ash muttered as he placed the magazine on the glass table in front of him. He leaned back and took a deep breath in and out.
"I'll have to see what the deal with that Tyranitar is," he spoke to himself. Ash closed his eyes and relaxed. It was odd to him. Here he was, Ash Ketchum, long thought dead, sitting in a very busy Pokémon center for a tournament that the whole world would see.
"You seem relaxed there buddy."
Ash opened his eyes and smiled. "Hello Scott, care to join me?"
Scott smiled and sat on the bench across from Ash. "Adjusting to civilization well I see," Scott mused.
Ash have a half smile. "I suppose. It's just weird to me really. Being here, with only you and Paul to call my friends."
Scott leaned back as Raichu woke up and went over to Scott. He chuckled and scratched Raichu behind the ears. "Anabel has been asking about you, Tom." Scott gave a slight smirk.
Ash merely sunk down in his seat a little bit. "I had a feeling she would. Do any of the other Frontier Brains knkw I'm here? It'd be nice to have more companions."
Scott laughed a little. "They're all here. You can meet them if you want. One catch: you have to be Ash, not Tom, okay?"
Aha sighed in defeat. A ding rang out, signaling that his Pokémon were ready. "Fine, but can we do it tomorrow? I have a newly caught Pokémon that I need to get acquainted with."
Scott nodded and took his leave. Ash stood up and walked to the counter, retrieving his healed Pokémon. Ash and Raichu walked the distance back to their clearing, away from people.
"Well Raichu, let's meet our newest member shall we?" Raichu nodded and began to build up electricity in case Tyranitar went wild again.
"Tyranitar lets go!"
The large rock type appeared in front of Ash. It had a calm look on it's face as it took in it's surroundings.
Ash calmly approached the giant. "Hey buddy, I'm your newish trainer. I caught you because you were in a frenzy." Tyranitar looked away as Ash spoke calmly to it. He approached closer. "If you want to be released, I can release you. Or, you can stay with me and train with my group. We are very powerful."
Tyranitar seemed to ponder the question. It had enjoyed a life of being free, but wanted to get stronger. It was aware of it's strength, as it had taken down many of previous trainers Pokemon. But, this young man's Pokémon had defeated it in two moves. Tyranitar liked the idea of being able to do that.
Tyranitar flashed a smile and nodded. Ash grinned and rubbed the rock types stomach gently. "Good! Glad to have you aboard the team!" Ash said cheerfully as Raichu joined in.
Ash pulled out Dexter to analyze Tyranitar.
Suddenly, Raichu's fur spiked up. Ash could sense something too. People were coming.
"Tyranitar, I'm going to need you to return, okay? I promise I'll take you out later and you'll be able to meet the rest of my pokemon."
Tyranitar nodded and Ash returned it. Raichu was on high alert, Ash was too.
Ash realized who it was.
"Oh no Raichu, they're here."
Raichu gave a puzzled look for half a second and then realized. Raichu grew a worried face.
"It should be okay buddy. We look different. I'm scarred and wear different clothes and my hair is longer. You're evolved and they would never believe that you evolved."
Raichu relaxed a little bit, but both were on edge. The two made themselves hidden. Fortunately our dynamic duo went unnoticed by their former entourage.
"That was close, a little too close for my comfort. Let's keep our guard up." Raichu nodded in agreement.
The two set up camp for the night and slept, with Noctowl keeping watch for the night. The shiny owl enjoyed staying up late and through the night. On days of training or battle Ash had her rest a full 24 hours beforehand. Noctowl are nocturnal but she liked the day time too.
A twig breaking caused Noctowl to turn her head sharply. She used a Foresight attack to see what was out there but saw nothing. Noctowl resumed scanning the area normally and keeping an ear for anything. The bright full moon illuminated what the small fire did not. The small lake nearby gave a perfect reflection from the moon as the still air cooled. Unova in the middle of summer was not one to be trifled with too much.
Noctowl remained alone as a light snoring could be heard from Ash's tent. She felt happy as she remembered the good times the two had had. The hard fought battles and intense training was brutal at the time but she felt stronger than ever and was thankful for that.
A branch fell off of a tree and Noctowl silently gave a quick fly over with a Foresight to see if anything was amiss. After ten minutes of covering she landed in a different tree that formed the circular clearing.
The rest of the night was uneventful. As dawn broke, Noctowl happily reported (as best as possible) nothing of concern happened. Ash thanked her, gave her a pokeblock, and returned her to her Pokeball to rest.
Ash stretched and removed his clothes and swam in the lake for a few minutes to freshen up and wake up. Raichu slumped near a tree still sleepy.
After a few minutes Ash got out and dried off as best as he could by the fire. He got dressed and stretched once more. Raichu yawned and started to move, feeling much more alert.
"Two days buddy, two days until we make a mark here. What we do until then, I have no idea."
Raichu nodded and smiled. He liked the idea of that, making their mark. Showing everyone how strong they truly are.
Ash slumped his backpack over his shoulders and put out the fire. Today was going to be a good day. He could feel it in his system.
He pulled out his Pokédex and saw it was 7:20 in the morning. "Well, looks like we got up a little later than normal buddy. That's okay, with all the battling we're gonna do we'll need the extra rest in the days to come."
Raichu nodded and felt relieved. Finally some more rest. Ash smiled at his friend and decided to explore the surrounding area. Vertress city was quite large, not as large as Castelia, but definitely in the upper echelon of size. Ash felt his stomach grumble and decided it was as good as a time as any to get some food.
AN: Figured I'd leave it off here. I'm so so sorry for not updating sooner. Life has been crazy lately. I will start updating sooner I do promise. I want to finish this story and my other Pokemon story Kindred Spirits. I am working on the next chapter for that story. Hopefully you all are staying safe, healthy, and happy. I will see you all on the next one!