Chapter 93: Arrival of the Rivals
After a week of training, it was time for our five heroes to head to Galar. Or rather, make that four…
"Where'd Korrina go? I thought we were going over to the hotel together."
"She said she needed to pick something up at the train station, and would meet up with us later."
Chloe shivered as they stepped out of the train, the cold air of the area chilling her. Eevee whimpered, just as cold.
"I wish I'd known how cold it would be before we left."
Goh smiled, and took his coat off and handed it to her.
"Here, you can take mine."
"Are you sure? I don't want you to get sick for my sake."
"Nah, I'll be fine. Besides, I don't want Eevee to get sick."
Chloe, however, had a better idea, and wrapped one end of the jacket around him and the other around her.
"There, now we can share it!"
Goh smiled, and accepted the gesture. Lillie then turned to Ash with a playful smirk.
"Well, Mister?"
Ash laughed, and happily shared his coat with her, Pikachu even running to her shoulder to give her a nuzzle.
"Better?"
"Much, thank you."
After a few minutes of walking, they found their location, the Hotel Ionia. When they entered, they found a group of punks blocking their way to the check in.
"Hey, what gives! Let us through!"
"Nuh uh! Not until Marnie gets here!"
"Yeah! You want to get to the reception, you have to go through us!"
"Come on, can't we…"
"Go, Zigzagoon!"
"Show them the power of Team Yell, Nickit!"
Ash, realizing that there wasn't any other way out of this, turned to Pikachu.
"Ready, buddy?"
"Pik-"
"Ash, wait! Let us take care of this!"
Ash was stunned by Chloe and Lillie's determination.
"You sure?"
The two girls rolled their eyes.
"Come on, they're just a bunch of weirdos. I think we can handle them."
"Hey!"
Ash shrugged and stepped back, allowing Chloe and Lillie to step forward. The two punks scoffed at their bravery.
"Please! This will be easy."
"Yeah, they're just a bunch of girls! How tough can they be?"
This made Chloe and Lillie seethe in fury.
"Oh, it's on! Go, Yamper!"
"Snowy, I choose you!"
"Bite, Zigzagoon!"
"You too, Nickit!"
"Powder Snow, Snowy!"
"Spark, Yamper!"
The two Dark Type Pokemon tried to charge forward, but were knocked out with a dusting of snow and Yamper's ball of electricity, ending the battle as soon as it had begun. The punks were stunned, while Lillie just smirked.
"Wow, you were right, that was easy."
"Great job, Yamper!" Chloe praised as she gave her teammate a belly rub.
"Yamper!"
The punks were shocked, but quickly resumed blocking the way.
"Hey, we had a deal!"
"Yeah, well the deal's off!"
"Jay, Susan, stop!"
Before anyone else could respond, a black haired girl pushed her way through, looking none too pleased. On her shoulder was a Pokemon that looked a little bit like Pikachu, except half of him was black. The minute the two punks saw her, they began quivering.
"But Marnie, we-"
"No buts! Now go away."
The two grumbled, but slunk away, allowing people to check in once again. The new girl shook her head, and then turned to Ash and his friends.
"I'm sorry about that. They act tough, but they're harmless really. I'm Marnie, and this is my partner Morpeko."
"Morpeko!"
"I'm Ash Ketchum, and this is Pikachu!"
"Pikachu!"
"I'm Goh, and this is Chloe and Lillie."
"Wait a minute, you're Marnie? You're the one they were holding the line up for?!"
Marnie sighed.
"Sorry about that. They're part of Team Yell, and they're sort of my fan club. They're always doing stuff like this. I keep telling them to stop, but they won't listen. They didn't cause too much trouble, did they?"
"Nope!" Ash replied with a smile. "My awesome girlfriend took care of it."
"Hey, what about mine?" Goh butted in, making said girl's blush as Marnie laughed.
"That's good. I'd hate to win just because nobody else could be there."
Marnie's Morpeko then jumped off her shoulder and ran up to Pikachu, nuzzling him. Pikachu laughed and returned the gesture before the two chased each other around for a bit, making everyone smile.
"Looks like Pikachu made a friend."
"You said his name is Morpeko, right? Let's see what we can find out about him."
Goh took out his Pokedex and scanned the new Pokemon.
"Morpeko, the two-sided Pokemon. An Electric and Dark Type. Morpeko satisfies its constant hunger and generates electricity by eating seeds from a pocket-like pouch."
"Wow, cool."
"Come on guys, we still need to check in!"
"Oh, right!"
Once everyone had checked in and had their bags put in their room, they walked off to find the stadium. When they arrived, they found the gym leader Gordie at the entrance, signing autographs and flashing them a goofy smile.
"Ladies, please! I only have two arms!"
"Oh my gosh, he's so cute!"
Once everyone had gotten their fill, they left, leaving Gordie all alone.
"The ladies love me."
"Hey, aren't you the Gym Leader of this town!"
Gordie flashed a smile.
"The one and only! Do you want an autograph as well?"
"Actually, I'm here for the battle festival."
Gordie scoffed.
"Well, don't get your hopes up, kid. I'm going to win!"
Just then, Melony popped up from behind her son and gave him a big hug.
"That's right! And no one can beat my darling son!"
"MOM!" Gordie whined as he shoved her off of him and stormed off. "You're embarrassing me in front of my opponents!"
"Gordie, come back! I'm sorry!"
The quartet watched the two awkwardly before making their way into the stadium. Once inside, they felt much better as the warmth of the building spread through them.
"Ah, much better!"
"Come on, I need to get registered."
Ash then approached the reception desk and handed them his invitation. Once they ran it through the computer, he was directed to the locker room.
"Go in there, the opening ceremonies will begin soon. Your friends can stay with you until then, but once things get started they need to go to the stands."
"Great, thanks."
Once inside, they found a few other competitors waiting for the competition to start.
"Wow, they all look so strong."
But Ash wasn't worried.
"That's just the way we like it, huh buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
"Ash, is that you?"
Coming towards them was Bea, with Alister peeking out from behind her leg.
"Hey, Bea! Are you ready for the competition?"
"Ready to win!"
Ash then turned to Alister.
"Are you here to cheer on your big sister?"
"Actually…I'm competing as well."
Ash smiled, and offered him a handshake.
"Well then, good luck!"
Allister shied away.
"Um, thanks. You too."
Bea sighed, and shook her head.
"Sorry, he's really shy. It took me weeks to convince him to compete."
"Ah, don't worry about it! I'm sure he'll do great."
"By the way, is Korrina with you? She said she was coming with you guys."
"She said she had to pick something up on her way here. How di-"
"Beabykins!"
Before Ash could finish his question, he was pushed out of the way as korrina raced past him, flinging her arms around the other girl.
"I'm so sorry, they didn't have the kind of truffles you like! I got some others, but…"
Bea chuckled, gently pushing the other girl off of her with a smile.
"Don't worry, I'm sure whatever you picked out for me will taste great."
"You…you're not mad?"
"Of course not! Now, why don't we enjoy these treats with our friends?"
Everyone just stared in shock, leaving the two girls confused.
"What?"
"You…you're friends?"
"Yeah?"
"What made you think we weren't?"
"Clemont said you crushed her in a battle!"
Korrina pouted in frustration.
"So I vented to him about how frustrated I was that I lost! That doesn't mean I hate her!"
Bea chuckled.
"I didn't know I got you so worked up."
"Well, it didn't help that you wouldn't remember my name! But I got you the second time!"
Before anything else could be said, the loud speaker came on with an announcement.
"Attention, competitors. The opening ceremonies are about to begin. Please make your way to the arena."
"Guess that's our cue. Come on guys, let's get going!"
"Good luck, Ash!"
Once all of the competitors had filed into the stadium, the opening ceremonies could begin. Chairman Rose stepped to the podium to begin his speech.
"Welcome, one and all, to the annual Ultra Class Battle Festival! When Charles Goodshow and I first created the World Coronation Series five years ago, we could only hope that it would become as big as it is today. Now we have competitors of all levels from all over the world competing to be the very best! Thank you all for making our dream a reality, and battle to your heart's content!"
The crowd went wild as the chairman covered his ears in an attempt to block out the noise.
"Now, if you'll all turn your attention to the monitor, you'll see the bracket for the first round."
The screen flashed, and showed off the bracket. Ash scanned it for a minute, before finding his picture next to…
"Hey, looks like you're my opponent in the first round, Allister!"
The smaller boy flinched, but accepted the handshake.
"Best of luck!"
"Um…yeah, you too."
Bea pumped her fist, her first match was against Marnie.
"Alright, I can't wait!"
Marnie smiled at her enthusiasm.
"I also look forward to it."
Then, from the stands…
"Go Marnie!"
"Pulverize her!"
Marnie just sweatdropped at her fan club's cheering.
"Ignore them, please."
Gordie smirked when he saw he was going to face his mother.
"Ha! This will be easy! I know all of your tricks."
Melony smirked, and pulled him into a big hug.
"Oh, I'm sure you do, my smart little man!"
"MOM! What did I say about smothering me in front of other people!"
"Sorry!"
"The competition will begin tomorrow! I wish all sixteen of our competitors the best of luck in their battles!"