Another day, another chapter.

Thanks for reading this, I really do appreciate it!

And on with the show!


The lights in the stadium dimmed as the spotlights grew in intensity, focusing on a large World Coronation Series emblem with eight holes in it.

"Introducing first, from Pallet Town all the way in Kanto, one of the most creative and adaptable battling stars the world has seen, three-time League conference winner, Battle Frontier conqueror, and the first and current Champion of the Alola region... ASH KETCHUM, accompanied by his signature Pikachu!"

Ash and Pikachu emerged on a podium that rose through one of the eight holes in the emblem, and the crowd went wild. Taking in the adulation, Ash scanned the crowd, hoping to see some familiar faces. Upon laying eyes on a quintet of Trainers that consisted of May, Max, Dawn, Chloe, and Serena, his heart soared as he enthusiastically waved in their direction. On his shoulder, Pikachu was looking in the opposite direction and tapped Ash's shoulder, whispering, "Pikapi..."

Ash turned towards where Pikachu was facing and spotted a trio of tackily dressed tourists with a Wobbuffet standing alongside them. "Are they...?" As Pikachu nodded, Ash hesitantly smiled and waved in their direction, also spotting, much to his surprise, Angie standing next to them while energetically waving towards Ash. Smiling much more enthusiastically, Ash flashed a 'peace' sign in her direction before turning back around.

As the cheers died down, Ash turned towards the next spot, anticipating the next announcement.

"From the Village of Dragons, Drayden's greatest disciple and the current Champion of the Unova region, IRIS AMARU!"

Iris emerged on the podium next to Ash and waved to the crowd as well, striking a pose before flashing a half-genuine, half-smug grin at Ash. Ash could only roll his eyes in amusement, guessing that she would've called him a 'little kid' again for whatever reason she could come up with.

Iris' spotlight turned back to a normal intensity as the audience quieted up once more.

"From Kalos, former Lumiose Conference runner-up and up-and-coming Mega Stone researcher, ALAIN KENSHI!"

As Alain's podium emerged onto the stage, he simply smiled and calmly waved to the crowd, though his smile slightly widened upon seeing Mairin and Chespie in the stands. As the applause died down, Alain stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked to his left, as he had a feeling as to who would be next to be introduced.

"Also from Kalos, not only is she the current Champion of said region, but she's also a world-famous actress with films such as My Sweet, Sweet Lady, The Pyroar in Winter, and Holiday in Alto Mare to her name, allow me to introduce... DIANTHA CARNETTE!"

Diantha emerged from the last podium at the front and politely waved to the crowd with the graceful poise of a movie star.

"Hailing from Blackthorn City in Johto, a member of the legendary Dragon Clan and the Grand Champion of the Indigo Plateau, as well as the runner-up for last year's Masters Eight, LANCE IMUGI!"

Lance emerged from one of the three podiums in the middle of the WCS emblem, having shrouded himself with his cape. When his podium stopped moving, he flung his cape outwards, drawing a large amount of applause.

At the front, Iris chuckled, "Show-off."

"From Mossdeep City, renowned stone collector and the current Champion of Hoenn, succeeding Wallace Mikuri, STEVEN STONE!"

As Steven emerged on his podium, he also waved to the crowd, flashing his signature stickpin in the process. Noticing that Alain and Ash were looking up towards him, Steven smiled back.

"Coming up next, from Celestic Town, the bewitching Champion of Sinnoh and the region's celebrated mythkeeper, CYNTHIA SHIRAI!"

The crowd's cheering somehow got even louder as Cynthia's podium emerged onto the stage, and she calmly reapplied her lip gloss before simply staring at the crowd, who seemed to get the message and sobered up, waiting for the last member of the Masters Eight to be revealed.

It might've been a figment of Ash's imagination, but something seemed... off about Cynthia's demeanor, namely that she hadn't smiled once during her introduction.

"And last but certainly not least, our undefeated Champion of Galar and the current Monarch! Ladies and gentlemen... LEON ASTERA!"

As Leon emerged on the highest podium, the crowd came positively unglued as he struck his signature pose, throwing his hat into the air as he did so.

As the lighting in the stadium returned to normal, Wyndon Stadium's roof opened up and the announcer continued, "Now folks, I'm sure you're all excited for the tournament, so let's see what the final bracket will be!"

Up on the big display, the headshots representing each member of the Masters Eight began to spin in a circle as the randomizer did its work. Once it was done, everyone in the arena looked to the big screen.

On the left side of the bracket was Leon versus Alain and Lance versus Diantha, while on the right side was Iris versus Cynthia and Ash versus Steven. Ash frowned, realizing that not only would he probably not fight either Lance or Alain, but that it would be impossible to battle Cynthia in the finals.

"However... there is one more announcement we have to make. Based on feedback from the participants in last year's Masters Eight, we've decided that, for the first time, we will host a stakes-free round robin before the final bracket, so that you can see as many different matchups as possible! Each member of the Masters Eight can choose up to four other participants in the bracket to face in this round robin."

The crowd went wild, and Ash tried—and failed—to hide his elation, as he realized exactly what that meant.

"That concludes the opening ceremony of the Masters Eight! Challengers, please submit your round robin picks to the Nurse Joy in Wyndon Stadium's lobby before the end of the day!"

Ash ran to the back as the crowd started to disperse, knowing exactly who he was going to pick.


"Alright, done!" Ash showed the sheet he had filled out to Pikachu, who pondered the choices his Trainer had made.

Ash had written down that he wanted to face Alain, Lance, and Diantha so far. Pikachu nodded, saying, "Pika," in approval, as he knew more than anything else that both he and Ash both wanted to face Leon in the finals if they couldn't face Cynthia there. Speaking of Cynthia, Ash tapped the pencil to his chin, wondering who he should pick between Cynthia or Iris.

Man, I want to be able to face both, but I don't want to disrespect one or the other... if I beat Steven in the final bracket, who do I think will win between Iris and Cynthia? Arceus, this is hard... Ash thought to himself. Looking at Pikachu, he asked, "What do you think, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu took the pencil and tried to write 'Iris' to the best of his ability.

Laughing, Ash said, "You're the boss," erasing Pikachu's messy attempt at writing Iris' name and properly writing her name in the final slot. Pikachu pointed him the way towards Nurse Joy's counter, and Ash turned in his form before running out of the stadium. As he wandered around the exterior, Ash felt his Rotom Phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, seeing that he had a text from Dawn.

Blitz 'n' Berlitz: Hey Ash, what do you say to hanging out with May, Max, Serena, and I for a bit? Chloe couldn't stay because she said she had things to do, but we won't keep you for too long since you've got a match to prepare for tomorrow!


Dawn turned back to Serena and the Maple siblings once she had sent the text to Ash. "So, a round robin, huh?"

Giggling, Serena said, "If it's anything like how the Manalo Conference opening looked on TV, it should be a lot of fun."

"Uh, I don't think that's gonna be how they're going to open up the biggest tournament of the year," Max replied. "For all we know, it could be a whole bunch of battles between each of the eight."

"That could be good for making sure we don't have any missed matchups, y'know," May said, while in the middle of eating a bowl of ramen. "If I were Ash, I'd probably be upset at not being able to battle everyone in the bracket."

Serena nodded and took a sip of her Leppa Berry juice. "Do you think it'll be a good idea for him to come see us today? I checked the schedule for the Masters Eight and there's a full break day in the middle of the round robin."

"No need to worry, Serena, we're only going to keep him around for about a half hour." Winking towards the honey-blonde, Dawn continued, "Maybe we'll give you two some time to catch up properly later in the week, May told me that you didn't get a lot of time with Ash the last time you two met in Hoenn."

Blushing, Serena said, "That's true... we haven't really had a chance to talk since we split ways in the Lumiose Airport-"

"Which was where you kissed him?" May finished. Serena squeaked with embarrassment as she nodded.

"Ash and Serena sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes-"

"MAX!"

Max's song died in his throat under the stares of the three girls, and he sheepishly said, "Sorry."

At that moment, Dawn's phone buzzed, and she checked the device, seeing that it was a message from Ash.

Gotta Ketchum All: Sure! Where are you guys?

Dawn texted back, We're at the food court in Wyndon Stadium, you know how May is.

Gotta Ketchum All: How many bowls of ramen has she gone through?

Behind Dawn, Serena and Max stifled some giggles as they watched May finish her third bowl of ramen.

Holding back a snicker of her own, Dawn replied, She's eaten enough, if you ask me. How soon can you get to the food court?

Gotta Ketchum All: 3 minutes, I'll be over quick!

Dawn reacted with a thumbs-up and tucked her phone away, saying to the other three Trainers present, "He'll be here soon!"

"Hey guys!"

The four Trainers looked over to where the voice had come from, seeing someone with a Pikachu on their shoulder running their way. Skidding to a stop, Ash came to their table, Pikachu bounding towards Serena and nuzzling her.

Dawn first gave Ash a hug followed by their signature high-five, while the Maple siblings both gave him a hug, Ash giving Max a fist bump afterwards. Last was Serena, who ran towards Ash and gave him a hug, which Ash reciprocated in full. Setting her on the ground, Ash had a slight blush on his face as he said, "It's nice to see you again, Serena, I didn't expect you to be here."

"Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world, Ash! I promised you on the harbor that I'd support you as much as I could."

May, Dawn, and Max exchanged smug looks as Ash and Serena blushed, the Pokémon Performer scratching at Pikachu's ears before he hopped back onto Ash's shoulder. Breaking the silence, May asked, "So Ash, do you know who you're planning on facing in the round robin?"

"Yeah! We know for sure that we want to face Leon in the finals, so we chose everyone else on his side of the bracket, which made it easy to fill in three of the slots. Since I'm battling Steven in the first round, I didn't pick him, which left Cynthia and Iris. That one was hard because I want to face both of them, but I don't know who'll win between the two of them in the final bracket."

"So who did you pick, Ash?" Max asked.

"I left it up to Pikachu, and he chose Iris. So," Ash said, giving Pikachu a playful noogie, "if Iris wins and I don't get to face Cynthia, I know who to blame," Pikachu laughing on Ash's shoulder in response.

"When do you think you'll know the full schedule for the week, Ash?" May inquired as she popped one of the chocolates Serena had given her into her mouth. After a few seconds of chewing, she turned to Serena and asked, "Dark chocolate?" Serena nodded, and May lightly punched her shoulder, saying, "You know us really well, don't you?"

Bashfully, Serena said, "Well, given that I traveled with Ash for about a year or so, I got to know a lot more about food than I ever needed to know, but it all worked out for the best, didn't it?"

After a small round of laughter, Ash answered May's question with, "I'll know the round robin schedule when Leon actually manages to find his way back to the front lobby."

Pikachu swiped at Ash's face, as if to remind him that his sense of direction was just as bad, if not worse than Leon's.

"You got me there, buddy." Ash's Rotom Phone buzzed and he checked the notification. "Oh, the schedule actually just got uploaded! Let's see..." Swiping up, Ash continued, "I'm facing Iris at noon tomorrow, it looks like. Second match of the day." Thinking about it for a second, Ash muttered, "Georgia's gonna have a field day with this match..."

Dawn said, "I think we should let you think about who to use for that match, we don't want to take away from your training time too much." Giving him a hug, Dawn said, "Good luck, we'll always be rooting for you!"

May also gave him a hug and ran after Dawn, though not before quickly buying a snack from a concession stand.

Max was next, giving Ash another hug, but before he could leave, Ash asked, "So Max, how's your journey going? I heard from May that your Ralts evolved into Kirlia a while back."

"Yeah, actually! I also got another new Pokémon besides the four I first met, want to see?" Ash nodded as Max took out a Level Ball and clicked it, releasing a small mushroom-shaped Pokémon. "I traded a Solrock for this Pokémon, the person said it was a... Nacli? Apparently, it's a Rock-type from Paldea."

Ash took out his Pokédex and scanned the new Pokémon.

Nacli, the Rock Salt Pokémon. This Paldean Rock-type's body is composed mostly out of salt, making it and its evolutionary relatives popular partner Pokémon in the culinary industry. Wherever it roams, it leaves a trail of salt, which is constantly replenished and regenerated by Nacli's body.

"That's pretty cool, Max, have you used it in any battles so far?"

"No, but I do plan on training him with Dad for a while when the Masters Eight is over." Ash nodded, and Max recalled Nacli, saying, "Good luck in the round robin!" as he ran after Dawn and his sister.

Last up was Serena, and she gave Ash a hug much like Dawn and May had. Once she broke the hug, she gave his hands a reassuring squeeze as she whispered, "Good luck and do your best," giving him and Pikachu another hug before joining the others.

Once the four of them were gone, Ash and Pikachu began the walk back to their hotel room.


In their hotel room, Ash and Pikachu combed through the list of Ash's Pokémon. Giving it a closer look, Ash muttered, "Hmm, let's see... Iris is definitely using Haxorus, Excadrill, and Dragonite, that's three out of six so far... how about Torterra, Garchomp, and Charizard for the first three?" Pikachu nodded. "She's also got a Garchomp of her own that she's probably going to use as well... I think I'll bring along Goodra too," Ash said, writing down his name alongside the other three. "That reminds me, I have to make calls to Keanan and Professor Kukui, I'm also thinking about bringing Lycanroc... and Glalie! Right, can't believe I almost forgot about him."

Ash showed Pikachu the list, which consisted of Torterra, Garchomp, Charizard, Goodra, Lycanroc, and Glalie, and asked, "What do you think, Pikachu?"

Pikachu gave it a bit of thought before flashing a thumbs up, replying, "Pika pikachu!"

Taking four Poké Balls from the shelf in his room, Ash said, "Great, I'll go call Professor Kukui right now then!"

Ash dialed up the video phone in his room, and after a moment, Professor Kukui emerged onto the screen. "Ash, it's good to see you! How are you, keiki?"

"Doing good, Professor Kukui! Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure!"

"Can you transfer the Alola team over to me in Wyndon? I'm planning on using Lycanroc for my first match in the round robin tomorrow."

"Absolutely, Ash! I'll send 'em over when class is over in a few minutes, do you want to say hi to the rest of the class?" Ash enthusiastically nodded, and Kukui moved out of frame to reveal Ash's classmates sitting behind a desk.

"GOOD LUCK TOMORROW, ASH! WE'LL ALL BE ROOTING FOR YOU!"

Chuckling, Ash said, "Thanks guys!"

Coming back into frame, Professor Kukui said, "Good luck, Ash! I'll call the Wyndon Stadium and tell them to page you when I'm sending the team over!" Kukui and the class waved goodbye as he ended the call.

Ash then called Keanan, and after a couple of rings, Keanan answered the call, his Bellsprout resting on his shoulder. "Ah, Ash! Good to see you again, m'boy! What's the occasion?"

"I've got a battle coming up, and I was wondering if I could-"

"Say no more, Ash. I always tell you, I'm happy to lend you Goodra whenever you want to battle with him! I'll send him over right now."

Ash's Dragon-type emerged into the picture and happily waved towards his Trainer. "Hey, Goodra!" Ash called, him and Pikachu waving back.

"Alright Goodra, I'm going to be sending you over to Galar for a week or two, Ash needs your help." Goodra gave a determined nod as Keanan recalled the Dragon Pokémon back into his Poké Ball. "He'll be over there in a few minutes, Ash, be sure to pick him up!"

"Got it, thanks Keanan!" Ash said as he ended the call and ran out of his hotel room. Quickly making his way over to Wyndon Stadium, he asked the Nurse Joy at the counter, "Excuse me, Nurse Joy, but-"

"Paging Trainer Ash Ketch- oh you're here! Here's your Goodra as well as the Pokémon from Professor Kukui, Mr. Ketchum."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy!" Ash said as he ran out of the stadium and towards the training field.

Clicking six of the ten Poké Balls on his person, Ash said, "Alright Goodra, come on out and meet everyone!"

Goodra, Torterra, Charizard, Garchomp, Lycanroc and Glalie all emerged from their capsules and materialized onto the field. Goodra let out a happy cry as he ran towards Ash, scooping his Trainer into an embrace.

Laughing, Ash said, "I missed you too, buddy." Once Goodra let go, Ash wiped some of the excess slime off of him and Pikachu, and he turned towards the rest of his Pokémon and asked, "Alright, are you guys ready to train for tomorrow?"

A cacophony of cries answered his question, and Ash laughed. "Alright, let's get on with it then!"


This is gonna be really fun to write, if I'm being perfectly honest with you. Action has always been my forte in writing above all else.

For the Masters Eight participants without canonical last names (basically everyone except Ash and Steven) I had to improvise a little. Cynthia and Diantha's are derived from their Japanese names, Shirona and Carne, Alain's is derived from his Japanese voice actor, Kenshō Ono, Iris and Lance's are based on dragons from different mythologies, and Leon's is based off the family of plants his Japanese namesake, the dandelion, is part of.

And yes, Diantha's filmography is partially based off of Audrey Hepburn here.

Hope you enjoyed, reviews are always appreciated!

-Krosshair