Part CXXV: Preparing to Enter the Ring

"May, Ash, what are you guys doing here?" A familiar voice called out causing them all to turn to it and gape at the person rolling towards them. "I wasn't expecting you lot to be at this."

Ash and the girls just stared as Korrina of all people rolled over to them on her rollerblades, her Lucario next to her out of its Poke Ball. Out of everyone that they had expected to see here, the Shalour Gym leader was not high on that list. True she was a fighting type specialist, but she was also a gym leader so why was she all the way out here at a fighting type tournament and not running her gym.

It was the day of the fighting tournament, and they were all finally ready for it. They'd arrived a week before it was set to start and as soon as the registration was open they'd all registered their Pokémon for it. The rules allowed them to register up to 6 fighting types though if more than a certain number registered there would be play ins prior to the tournament between the same species of Pokémon for that slot with the first to be selected from those trainers with multiple entries.

Thankfully that had not happened all week and the registration was just wrapping up for the late comers. It seemed that there would be 11 trainers entering the tournament with a total of 32 Pokémon competing, all different species but still fighting types which also meant that Korrina's Lucario was not participating in it as Ash's was already registered. Therefore, Ash and Adam weren't the only ones with multiple Pokémon in the competition.

As they had already registered the moment it had opened 3 days ago, Ash, Misty, May, and Serena had waited until the end of the last-minute registration period to come to the special hall where the competition was being held in the town. That way they didn't have to worry about any crowds and could get here just as it was about to start. They'd also checked the place out beforehand and knew that it was impressive.

The town had been holding this special tournament for over 2 decades now and what had started as a simple outdoor ring with the 4 native Kalos fighting types competing in a round robin style tournament had grown into a competition that attracted people from all over the world. To compensate, a large, special, hall had been built that housed 4 rings in a grid pattern in the center of a bowl-shaped arena for the spectators and their Pokémon. It was all official looking so they knew that it was going to be well run.

Other than that, the week in the town had been rather pleasant and relaxing for them. For the most part the four of them worked with their fighting types to prepare for the coming competition while occasionally mingling with Adam and Emily who'd been here for almost 2 weeks as the former of them prepared for the tournament.

Their time together was limited though as they all wanted to do their own things and Adam did have 6 Pokémon to work with, but he and Ash had had a 3 on 3 battle to practice in general, he'd faced the girls as well on separate one on one matches so that all the fighting types present got a chance to battle. At the same time, Misty had had a productive chat with Emily while she was looking after her newly hatched Pokémon.

That talk had been important as Misty's suspicions about the girl had been confirmed and Emily herself had finally accept it as true despite her initial attempts to deny it. Still, the girl wasn't going to act on them yet and to Misty that was her choice to make and supported her with it. She'd be there if Emily needed her but for now the girl was focused on her goal of becoming a Top Coordinator while supporting Adam in his goal as well.

All that was in the past now though as they gathered in the waiting area for the master of ceremonies, the man who'd founded the tournament 23 years ago, to come and go over the rules, have the random draw, and hopefully announce what the special prize was. That last one had been kept close to the vest, so no one knew what it was, but the general rules were well known as they were the same as they'd been in previous years.

Pokémon had to have a fighting type to be allowed to enter and could only use their raw strength and martial skills in the bouts, no moves. Other than that, though the rules hadn't been told to them as they were subject to change as the tournament improved on them from year to year.

It had been while they were waiting when Korrina had spotted May's distinctive pink bike top and rolled over to them. She'd not expected them here as she would have predicted that they'd reached Laverre by now but here they were which was nice as there were a few others around that she'd met before but that would be a surprise for them later. Also, for some reason that brunette who'd randomly challenged her a while back was avoiding her despite being her with that green haired aspiring fighting master that she'd gotten along well with.

"We didn't plan on being here but as we were making our way to Laverre we ran into an old friend of Ash's in the town before this." May explained to Korrina. "She's supposed to be in Alola but she's here on some presentation fair thing to promote the region that her and some Alolans are doing as part of a class project. At that we ran into one of Misty's friends from last year who's a coordinator and the guy she's traveling with. He's a fighting type trainer from Hoenn and told of this."

"Oh, the plain looking, green haired kid from Dewford Town who knows Brawly well." Korrina said knowing exactly who they were talking about. "Likes to mumble a lot and is very analytical in his ways right?"

"Yeah that's Adam." Ash said. "He's around here somewhere but came early to see what other fighting types had been entered so he could study them. He geeks out a bit around fighting types."

"I know, the girl with him is clearly keeping him away from me for some reason." Korrina said sounding confused though Misty knew the reason and she couldn't fault Emily's jealousy even if it was more one sided than the times that Misty had had to tangle with the green-eyed monster. "But whatever, I'm so glad you lot are here. Are all of you entering the tournament? I know Ash, May, and Misty have a fighting type but what about you Serena? Do you have one?"

"I do, I have a Pancham." Serena said with a nod. "So, he's entered and ready to go."

"What about you Korrina?" May asked. "Are you entering? I know it can't be Lucario because they're saying that it is 32 different species of Pokémon entering, though some from the same evolutionary line it seems, and Ash has entered his Lucario which means that yours can't be entered."

"I'm entering Machoke and Mienshao into this." Korrina said. "Not Lucario. He won last year so it's not worth his time, he's helping me coach though."

"Lucario." Lucario said with a nod next to her, he was here to make sure that one of his friends and teammates defended their trainer's title in this competition."

"The other two tried and reached the quarters and semis respectively last year so now it's their turn to win." Korrina continued. "All of my grandpa's fighting types have won this over the years, now it is my turn to do that as well."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Ash said with a grin. "Lucario, Hawlucha, and Conkeldurr are all entering for me, and one is going to win while the other two will be runner up and in the semis. That's our goal."

"Please Ash, at least one will lose before then, that's just the laws of averages for you." A new, again familiar voice, said. "And this time I will beat you, I know it."

"Is that my dear brother that I hear?" May asked with a smile as she turned to see Max approaching them with Bonnie and their friend Owen beside him. "As this is the question of the day, what are you doing here? I thought you lot were done with this part of Kalos."

"I'm here for the fighting tournament, obviously." Max said adjusting his glasses as he just shook his head at his sister's obliviousness. "Sometimes I feel like you are trying to play dumb dear sister."

"I didn't know you had any fighting types on you." Ash said surprised. "I take it that that has changed since we saw you at the Canyon."

"You would be correct Ash, in my first battle with Clemont my Quilladin evolved into a Chesnaught." Max said. "And thus added a fighting type upon evolution. We found out about this event after my recent success in Laverre and decided to check it out before heading back to Lumiose for my rematch with Clemont as he beat me on my first attempt."

"Plus, I have a fighting type too who loves a good battle and has been training for a long time." Owen said. "Passimian used to run a pack back home, but he lost to my Linoone despite having multiple advantages over Linoone and decided to join my team to get better. This is the perfect chance for him to show what he's learned with me. Plus, he's not native to this region so he should be a tough challenge for most Pokémon here."

"I remember that Pokémon." Ash said recalling the only time he'd met Max's Galarian companion and all their Pokémon back when they were about to cross the Kalos Canyon, but he wasn't going to forgot all the new Pokémon that he met that day. "The monkey-like one that always has a berry on it, right? It's from that forest near you."

"Correct, the Glimwood Tangle just south of Ballonlea." Owen said with a nod. "The species itself is believed to have originated in Alola, it's officially recognized as an Alolan native species, and there is still has a strong presence there, but colonies exist in the Glimwood Tangle and out in the Forest of Focus on the Isle of Armor in Galar. Few here will have seen him which is an advantage."

"It's a really interesting fighting type for sure." Korrina said recalling it from when this lot were at Shalour with her, and she'd gotten to meet a Passimian for the first time. "One of the few that uses a weapon if I recall."

"Yes he prefers to use a certain kind of berry that is found in the Tangle back home." Owen said with a nod. "I was honored you agreed to a little sparring match against him, it helped to show him what a fighting master could do and got him some good practice even if he wasn't at your Mienshao's level yet."

"It was my pleasure; I love meeting new and interesting fighting types." Korrina said with a smile. "And now Max has a Chesnaught, I can't wait to see it."

"He's entered so you'll get that chance soon enough." Max said. "Ash, let me guess you have your Riolu and Hawlucha in it while May has her Blaziken. Serena has a Pancham if I recall but what about you Misty, do you have a fighting type, I can't remember."

"Yes I caught Machamp the same time Ash caught Hawlucha under similar circumstances." Misty confirmed and Max suddenly remembered the strangeness of seeing Misty with a Machamp on her when they'd last seen her. "He's entered and ready to go."

"I also have a Conkeldurr that has really come a long way since I caught him that day with Hawlucha, you haven't met him yet as he was back home being socialized before returning to my side." Ash said. "He's in this as well. He won me the Plant Badge against Ramos recently so this is the next bonding exercise we have planned together."

"Ah you did beat Ramos and I take it you beat Korrina then as well." Max said. "Just as I would expect from you Ash."

"Correct and Riolu evolved into Lucario when we faced Korrina's Lucario so he's ready for this as well." Ash said. "I have 3 fighting types in this tournament and 5 badges so far."

"Damn I'm still behind." Max said. "I have 4 badges, but I do have the Fairy Badge from Laverre which you don't have yet."

"No, we are heading there next." Ash said. "Ran into Iris and her new friends along the way, long story we can tell you later, and found out about this from another friend we ran into there. Couldn't resist coming once we heard about it."

"Plus, it slows us down which we kinda needed." May added. "That way we can reach Laverre in time for the Contest there so long as we hit that fire festival that is supposed to be between here and there."

"We're going to that as well." Bonnie said happily. "We passed it being prepared on the way here after we left Laverre and decided to hit it up so that my Litwick and Fennekin can have some fun."

"And it is a chance for my new Simisear to really test herself as well." Max said. "I take it all of you will all be there as well."

"Heading there right after this." Serena confirmed. "You should come with us if you are heading that way as well."

"We can't, not right away." Bonnie said shaking her head and for the first time they all noticed that she had a band-aid covering he left ear. "We are staying here for a few days after the tournament before we head out to the town where the festival is."

"That would be my fault." Owen said sounding apologetic. "There's a merchant around here that apparently has the some Galarian sweets that are necessary to evolve my Milcery into an Alcremie, so I want to get them so that she has some options when she's ready to evolve. My Linoone finally evolved into Obstagoon the other night when we were attacked in the Wetlands just before we went to bed, so I want to be ready for the others."

"Woah an Obstagoon, I'd love to face it." Ash said Waverly. "As well as you Passimian in fact as I didn't face it before but now that I've faced a Turtonator and a Togedemaru I want to see what a Passimian is like to face as well."

"Sure, what about another three on three after the tournament before you head to the village for the fire festival, and we go sweet hunting." Owen said. "I'd like to see that Conkeldurr in action and anything else new that you may have as well. I'm going to save the last one of mine for a surprise though."

"I can bring in my Sigilyph and Dunsparce or use my Sliggoo if you'd like." Ash said. "All are new since we last met."

"Save some for me." Max said. "Chesnaught and Scolipede just evolved, the latter after carrying me against Valerie thanks to his poison type, and I recently caught a Simisear, so I want to test them against you as well."

"Any will work for me." Ash said with a grin. "I'll take them all on if you want."

"Bonnie, why do you have a band-aid on your ear?" Serena asked as the guys talked a little worried for her friend and adoptive little sister. "That's new. I hope you're ok."

"Oh, I'm fine." Bonnie said with a wide smile clearly not bothered by the band-aid at all. "Great in fact as I found so many potential women for Clemont to marry in Laverre. This is a small price to pay for setting my big brother up."

"Um what?" Serena asked confused.

"Bonnie is referring to what is now known as the Laverre Incident." Max said with a sigh. "And when we get back to Lumiose we're going to have to tell Clemont that he's basically banned from the city thanks to Bonnie's actions. She is actually banned from Laverre for at least a year because of her antics, the city council passed a resolution and everything."

"It's such a shame that none of them understand romance." Bonnie said with a shrug clearly not shameful or remorseful about her ban. "So many beautiful women were there, how could I not proposed to all of them for Clemont. Alas Max kept preventing me and it got to the point where their lovely Officer Jenny had to pick me up and take me to the city council were they banned me from setting foot within the city limits for a full year. Thankfully it was after Max's battle with Valerie but I'm sure one of them stuck and a girl is on her way to Clemont right now."

"That doesn't sound good." Serena said. "And Clemont will not be happy with you Bonnie."

"It was all for his own good." Bonnie said defensively. "I was being the best little sister possible for him."

"He won't see it that way." May said with a sigh. "I take it that you did what you did to Brock to her Max, you do have the experience after all."

"Yeah and she resisted with Valerie hence the injury." Max said. "I'm going to ask Clemont for a backup Aipom arm when we get back to Lumiose so that I can use it on her as she's more slippery than Brock ever was."

"You lot are no fun." Bonnie pouted. "I'm just doing what any little sister would for her geeky and socially awkward big bro."

"Dedenne." Dedenne agreed from Bonnie's purse.

"So, what have your three been up to since we last saw you?" May asked shifting the conversation from Clemont's humiliation to what the other group had actually been up to. "You were on your way to Geosenge I recall and then it was back to Lumiose as Max had 3 badges but needed to check out Geosenge first. Did you find what you needed there?"

"No Gardevoirite alas." Max said with a shake of his head. "It was a bust of a trip for me but still worth it in the end."

"That's because I got a stone that I might need later." Bonnie said brightly. "I haven't caught anything new as of yet and none of mine have evolved but both Litwick and Flabébé's evolved forms require a stone, so I got one of the ones that I would need for them in Geosenge as they had it on sale. The other I couldn't find unfortunately but it is nice to have one on me for when the time comes."

"That was why it wasn't a waste of a trip." Max said. "And we saw the still cracked Pokémon Center there. How much force did you use there Ash? We heard the story but seeing that there was still damage was a lot. Now I understand why the girls got hurt."

"I didn't mean it and when I faced an Alolan the other day and Mega Evolved Charizard again I was more reserved." Ash said though the girls all just gave him a look that clearly showed that he'd not been too reserved when he'd done it. "But yeah I did use a lot in that battle. Thank Arceus that Mega Alakazam is light or else that might have been worse."

"True it could have been." Misty said as May and Serena nodded in agreement, it had been painful enough with Mega Alakazam, they didn't want to think how much worse it could have been. "So, after Geosenge did you head back to Lumiose?"

"Pretty much as directly as possible." Owen confirmed. "Max wanted to try and see how he stacked up with 3 badges against Clemont. Unfortunately, he lost, albeit barely."

"It was close, but his Luxray was just a shade too quick for Chesnaught and got to him first in the final match." Max said. "So rather than wait there we headed to the Wetlands for training and up to Laverre so I could get a fourth badge. That's how I caught Simisear and from there we learned of the fire festival and this tournament and like Ash we couldn't resist entering it."

"After this we're going to go back to Coumarine and then cut to Lumiose along the road between the two cities as it is fastest." Bonnie said. "Then Max can face Clemont again before we move on."

"We haven't decided the route from there but I'm leaning Santalune rather than Dendemille as it has a gym there." Max said. "We can hit Snowbelle and Anistar from there but it's all up in the air right now as we're not that focused too far in advance just yet."

"And we're hoping to make the Wallace Cup so that is a factor in our plans as well." Owen said. "But we know that we will get the gyms done before the Conference even if we have to hurry between places."

"What about you Bonnie?" May asked the girl she'd gotten to know well from the year before. "Are you still undetermined on what you want to do?"

"Yup still don't have a clue." Bonnie said with a nod. "I've been in a few Contests, no wins but one finals loss to Miette of all people, and two Showcases with one reaching the freestyle round but I'm still not sure if they're actually for me. I just love Pokémon and caring for them but breeding also isn't for me. I help Owen but the technical side of what he does is not something I think I could do full time."

"How about grooming?" Serena suggested. "You always liked that Bonnie, and you certainly have talent in it."

"True I did, and I am good at it." Bonnie said thinking one what Serena had said. "I think I need to travel more though, see other regions and what not to really get a feel for what my path in life is. I'm hoping to stick with Max wherever he goes next though, he's fun to travel with."

"I'd be honored, this year has been a lot of fun with you guys." Max said. "I'm thinking Kanto and Johto for my next two regions as they are connected and nearer home for me. That and I've been to Kanto before, so I know it well."

"I'll go wherever." Bonnie said. "I just want to have fun and meet as many Pokémon as possible."

"That's sometimes what is needed." Ash said. "Brock did that with me for a few years before finally finding his calling as a Pokémon doctor. We traveled through four regions together before he realized where his path led so it takes time for some people."

"I think that may be the case for me." Bonnie said. "I want to experience as much as possible before I come to a decision on what I want in life."

"Sounds like a good plan and your still only 10, you have plenty of time." Serena said smiling at Bonnie. "Don't rush it and find what is best for you."

"I won't." Bonnie said with a bob of her head.

"What about you Owen?" May asked turning to the oldest member of the group. "Sticking with my little bro, heading home, or going off on your own once Max is done with Kalos?"

"Not sure yet." Owen admitted. "I'll decide nearer the time. I'm certainly enjoying Kalos and spending time with Max and Bonnie though so if they will have me I'll stick around."

"Of course." Max said as Bonnie nodded. "You're more than welcome to stay with us."

Before anyone could say anything else there was a loud buzzer sound and they all looked towards it to see that there was now a raised platform near the entrance to the arena. On it was an older gentleman in a loose-fitting robe that looked like it was made for a martial artist only something a little more formal. It was clear though that he was the person in charge of this thing.

"Thank you all for coming." The man said in a strong voice that carried to the whole room. "I am the founder of this tournament, and this year is looking to be the biggest yet so I can't wait to see all the fighting types here. We have Pokémon considered native to 7 different regions represented, the most ever making this really special. However, before it starts, I will go over the full rules. We had to wait for the numbers to be exact and with 32 Pokémon competing we now know what rules are needed and the number of bouts that will be occurring at a time."

The man paused to let his words sink in. Ash was eager and excited for this, as was everyone around him but they had to wait for the founder to finish going over the rules before the first round could begin, well that and the draw that had yet to happen as well.

"With this number of Pokémon, there will be 4 bouts at a time for the first round of the tournament so that there are four slates that will ensure that everything goes smoothly." The man said. "To further break it up, we will have two slates before and two after lunch and this will be the format for the first round, the sweet sixteen, and the elite eight as we call them."

That made sense to Ash. They couldn't let them know the schedule until they knew how many Pokémon were competing but now that they did they could do so. It also explained why there had been four rings set up when Ash had first checked the arena out. Four bouts at a time would make the first round go pretty smoothly for sure.

"As you know, we only have a round a day so that Nurse Joy can work on all the Pokémon and that they can rest up as this is a physically draining competition." The man continued. "Due to this and the numbers we have we have adjusted accordingly hence the four bouts at a time to start off."

There was another pause as the man took a breath. The gathered trainers just nodded at this as they all understood the reasoning for it and patiently waited for the next part of the rules.

"We will continue the multiple bouts tomorrow as well." The man said when he was ready to continue. "However, it will be two at a time rather than four so as to keep it at four slates throughout the day. From the quarterfinals onwards it will be one bout at time so that all can watch the top 8, then top 4, and lastly the championship match one by one."

That made sense to Ash given the numbers involved. There were a lot of Pokémon to get through so having it set up that there would be multiple bouts in the earlier rounds made sense. Now all they needed were the general rules for the competition.

"This will also affect the judging for the rounds." The man said. "We have four judges for this; me, Nurse Joy, and two past champions who have come back to help out. For the first round today, there will only be one judge per bout as we have four going on at a time. For the last 16 it will be two with the average of the scores the judges give being taken to produce the final score. The quarters and semis will feature 3 judges while all 4 of us will judge the final. Again, averages will be used for the later rounds."

"What about the scoring system." Someone from the crowd yelled out. "How will that work?"

"I'm getting to that." The man said with a chuckle. "The scoring is simple, your Pokémon gets a point for every clean hit it lands on its opponent, and they are added up so that the most points, or higher average after the first round, wins. As you know, the Pokémon are to use their raw fighting power and skills only, no moves. If a move is used then that Pokémon will be automatically disqualified, and the win give to the other. Understood?"

The gathered people nodded at that. It made sense to have a rule like that in place. If it was a true test of raw fighting power then a move would be cheating and as such the Pokémon using it should be disqualified.

"Also, if a Pokémon uses too much force or is too aggressive it can be disqualified at the judge's discretion though this ruling can be appealed." The man said, again a fair rule to prevent injury to Pokémon while having a check just in case a judge was wrong. "And all judges have either a psychic, flying, or fairy type Pokémon on them that knows at least two super effective moves just in case they are needed to end a bout early. Now there is one more rule to go over that we couldn't address until we saw the Pokémon in the tournament. Items will be prohibited."

"What do you mean?" Another trainer called out. "What constitutes an item?"

"Some fighting types are known to care and use an item when they are out." The man explained. "In this competition we have at least three that are known for it. Conkeldurrs carry concrete pillars, Gurdurrs steel beams, and Passimians, a first appearance of this Alolan native species in out tournament though the one that has been entered is actually from Galar, are known to use hard berries when they fight. All three Pokémon are registered in the competition, so I ask their trainers to make sure their items aren't present for their bouts."

"That makes sense." Owen said to Ash. "If this is to test raw power then an item would be an unfair advantage even if that is how the Pokémon fights as the item is often incorporated into moves. Passimian and I have worked on that outcome, so I think he's ready for it."

"I know that Conkeldurr can fight without them." Ash said. "Though we mainly focused on his core as that is his strength. If we get past the first round we'll adapt for tomorrow though just to be safe."

"Also, Mega Evolution is banned and as such any Pokémon with a Mega Stone must remove it for the competition." The man said getting their attention again. "This does mean that a Pokémon like Mega Lopunny that is believed to add a fighting type upon evolution is not allowed. If the Lucario, Blaziken, Medicham, Gallade, and Heracross trainers could ensure that any Mega Stones they may have are removed before they enter the ring that would be great and avoid unnecessary delays."

"Well, I wasn't expecting on actually being allowed to use it." May said. "I'll take his belt off once this is over."

"Yeah I did that last year for Lucario." Korrina said as Lucario nodded from her side. "It is for the best though, Mega Evolution would be an unfair advantage especially as many don't have the required materials."

"Other than that, the rules are straightforward." The man said getting their attention again and shutting up the few side conversations that had started. "Each bout will consist of 3 periods that will last for 3 minutes with a minute break between the rounds. If a Pokémon is knocked down to the floor of the, and the other Pokémon must retreat when this happens, for a period of 10 straight seconds then that is considered a knockout and the Pokémon who is still standing wins and advances. That is, it for the rules."

"What about the prize?" Someone asked. "What is it?"

"Ah yes that." The man said with a grin. "We have a special one for you. This is a one-off prize as it is not something we can offer any other year, but it is confirmed to be in good order and after searching we can confirm that it does need a trainer, so we are offering it as a prize. However, to keep the surprise, we will not be revealing it until it is given to the winning trainer and his or her Pokémon."

That got the crowd muttering at it. Nothing got people more fired up then a mystery prize and now everyone was eager to try and win the tournament to see what it was.

"It will be a fitting prize for the winner, I am sure of that." The man said grinning at the crowd knowing he'd really fired them up. "In addition, there will be medals for the top 4 Pokémon as well as is tradition and the winning Pokémon will be pictured and added to our Hall of Champions."

Ash and his companions had visited that hall to see the past winners a few days ago. The hall only had the year and Pokémon who won, nothing about their trainer unless it was the same species in which it was noted if they were different. That was why they'd not realized the reigning Lucario that won the year before was Korrina's. Well, that and they'd been taken by the 5 straight pictures of the same purple and black Hawlucha that was the winningest Pokémon in the history of the tournament.

"Alright, that is all the housekeeping so now onto the draw." The man said as a screen behind him suddenly lit up in preparation for displaying the bracket. "We've randomized it as best we can, but we have made it so that the 5 trainers with multiple Pokémon entered will not have any of their Pokémon face off against each other in the first round."

"What if two of mine are going at the same time?" A familiar voice called out and Ash noticed that it was Adam speaking from near the front. "I have 6 in this so I will have at least two going at the same time at least once in the first round."

"Ah yes we have considered that and made sure that trainers with three or more can't have more than two Pokémon per slate." The man answered. "And seeing as there are more than 11 people here I am assuming that many of you are here supporting friends who have entered the tournament. As such, if you have a friend who has not entered a Pokémon, you can designate them as your stand in as a coach for one of your Pokémon in that slate. Does that work?"

"It does." Adam said and Misty knew that Emily was now officially drafted into helping him.

"Bonnie, can you do that for me if I need it?" Ash asked the small blonde girl. "You're the only one here without a Pokémon in the tournament."

"Same for me." Korrina added. "Just in case my two ended up in the same slate that is."

"Of course, I'd be honored." Bonnie said with a wide smile on her face. "And I can look after Pikachu if you like while you're coaching Ash. Same with Piplup for Misty."

"If Pikachu wants it, sure." Ash said.

"Pikachu." Pikachu said happily and nodded.

"Piplup." Piplup added his own agreement, the little girl knew just how to brush his magnificent feathers after all, so he wasn't going to turn down an opportunity for a really good grooming. "Pip, Piplup."

"Piplup says yes as well." Misty said.

"And here is the draw." The man said and suddenly their eyes went to the screen behind him to see a 32 Pokémon bracket with 8 pairs on each side so that it all came into the center where the final was and with the number 1-16 next to each pair. "Please take a moment to find your Pokémon, we begin with the first four bouts, numbers 1-4 on the screen, in half an hour."

With that the man ended and left the stage, the other judges following him to set up the arena. Meanwhile Ash and his friends instantly looked at the board trying to find their Pokémon. With 8 of them entered and 16 Pokémon between them thanks to Ash, Adam, and Korrina having multiple entries, it meant that they'd all be busy.

What they weren't expecting was what they saw on the screen. Somehow none of them were facing each other in the first round but with the bracket it did mean that they would be should they advance. That was odd but Ash wasn't complaining, he'd rather wait until later to face his friends. It also meant that four of them were up in the first bouts and that each slot of four would feature four of their Pokémon in it.

The first four up were Ash, Adam, Serena, and Korrina. Lucario was in the first bracket right at the top against a Toxicroak, beneath it was Adam's Hitmonlee against a Hitmonchan followed by Pancham against a Scraggy for Serena and finally Korrina's Mienshao against its pre-evolved form in Mienfoo. That meant that if they all won then Ash and Adam would face off in the second round while Serena and Korrina did as well.

The next four matches again had four of them in it with no multiple Pokémon for one trainer. They were Blaziken against a Throh so May was first up there and would face Adam's Medicham in the next round if it beat a Hitmontop in the 6th match of the first round. However, the big ones that everyone instantly noticed were the 7th and 8th ones. The 7th featured Ash's Conkeldurr against a Sawk while the 8th was Misty's Machamp against a Gallade.

"Well, that is interesting." Misty said when she found Machamp's spot. "Ash, if our Pokémon win then they face off next and it's Machamp v. Conkeldurr, that could be interesting given their history. Well, that and it's another battle for us to have with each other."

"That it will be." Ash said. "And good motivation for Conkeldurr to win against that Sawk."

"Oh yeah those two used to be enemies." Korrina said remembering the story and ignoring the fact that the couple would also be facing each other. "That would be an interesting match."

"Let's focus on our other matches first." Ash said. "Where's Hawlucha?"

They resumed looking and noticed that neither Hawlucha nor Korrina's Machoke were in the third slot of 4. Instead that was where Max and Owen were with Max's Chesnaught facing a Breloom in the 9th matchup and Owen's Passimian drawn against a Gurdurr in the 12th. Between them were two of Adam's Pokémon meaning that Emily would be taking over for one of them and that both Max and Owen would face Adam's Pokémon if all advanced. For Adam he had his Scrafty in the 11th bout against a Machop while his Pangoro faced a…

"What the hell is a Crabominable?" Ash asked as he tried to read the name of the Pokémon that was next to the picture of a white and blue face with a yellow hat thing, at least that he could make out from where he was. "I've never heard of that Pokémon."

"Oh, it's the fighting and ice type that is only found in Alola." Adam said excitedly having come over to them with Emily who was pointedly not looking at Korrina, something that Misty noticed. "I am so excited to be facing one, I can't wait to see what it can do with its natural fighting abilities. Emily, can you stand in as Scrafty's trainer? That should be the easier of the two bouts in that slate."

"I can though he doesn't like me much given how he's ultra-weak to fairy types." Emily said with a hint of worry. "But I will do my best."

"Thanks, you're the best." Adam said causing Emily to blush and Misty smiled knowing that Emily had at least accepted what she felt even if she was locking them away for now. "This is going to be fun though if all mine advance I'll have two facing each other in the last 16."

"What?" Ash asked looking up. "Oh, that could be interesting."

In the last four slots, the last two bouts had two of Adam's Pokémon in it. His starter, Makuhita, was facing its evolved form Hariyama in the 15th bout while the 16th had his Poliwrath against an Emboar. That could be interesting if they advanced but Ash was too busy looking at the 13th and 14th bouts. The 13th had Korrina's Machoke against a Heracross while Ash's Hawlucha was in the 14th against an Infernape so a Pokémon he knew well.

"Your Machoke had better win." Ash said to Korrina. "Hawlucha will want a rematch after he lost to Machoke in our gym battle."

"I intend to, I want to see how good that Hawlucha has become since I last faced it." Korrina said with a grin. "But I think we should head in and get our Pokémon out. It starts soon and once it does this will be hectic."

"Of course, let's go." Ash said as the others cheered, and they headed to the arena.

It was time to start this fighting tournament and see what it was like. Regardless, they all intended to have fun as they prepared to enter the unique Kalos tournament with their eyes on the prize. It was time to enter the ring at last.