"We're on the road~!" Ash sang. "To Vi-ri-di-an ci-ty…"

"Ash," Misty said firmly. "You're a good friend. But if you keep singing that I'll hit you until you either stop or improve."

"Uh… sorry," Ash replied. "I'm just excited?"

He shugged. "I mean, it's my first Pokémon League!"

Misty shook her head. "No it's not."

"Really?" Ash asked. "Are you sure you're not remembering wrong? I demand written proof!"

Brock snorted.

"Anyway, it's certainly the first one in a long while," Ash relented.

"It's my first," Riolu said, raising a paw. "Does that count?"

"Hey, at least you get to do them once a year," Brock said. "Officially qualified gym leaders aren't allowed to challenge the Elite Four of the region if they qualified against the same Elite Four."

"Wow, that's… harsh," Ash admitted.

"Well, it means exactly the same Elite Four, not just the regional one," Brock explained. "So Misty and I couldn't do a Gym Challenge in Kanto or Johto until they replace someone, but if it was… say, if Bruno got replaced by someone else, we could give it a go even though Lorelei, Lance and Agatha wouldn't have changed."

"That's actually interesting," Riolu said. "Why is that?"

"I think it dates back to the Unification," Brock frowned. "Mostly it's because otherwise all the gym leaders would be spending all their time challenging one another all the time and nobody would get anything done…"

"Yeah, I can see that," Ash nodded. "So, does that mean they take care about when they change Elite Four members?"

"Probably," Brock agreed.

A shadow flashed overhead.

Ash dropped into a slight crouch, then relaxed when he saw it was just a Pokémon trainer with too much enthusiasm.

"Hi!" he waved. "Are you heading to the Pokémon League as well?"

"I am!" the trainer agreed. "Do you want a practice battle?"

Ash frowned. "You're… not going to insist on any weird rules, right? Like the loser having to give up all their badges?"

"What?" the trainer asked. "No! Who would do that?"

"Sorry," Ash shrugged. "I've met some weird trainers in the past… though, now I think about it, you do sound familiar…"

"I do?" the trainer asked, eagerly. "I'm Otoshi!"

Ash, Brock and Misty exchanged glances.

"Uh…" Brock began, then shook his head. "No, nothing."

"Doesn't ring a bell," Misty agreed.

"Figures," Otoshi said, waving his hand. "People only know me as a voice actor anyway… I voiced an anime character for a couple of years, but then they'd nearly caught up with the manga so I went on a League Challenge. That should let them build up a lead again."

"Oh, now I know where I've heard you before!" Brock said, snapping his fingers. "That character who's… some kind of youkai, right? Mixed with a canine Pokémon?"

"That's the one!" Otoshi agreed.

Ash flipped Dexter open for context, then looked up at Otoshi.

Back down at the screen.

Held Dexter up to compare.

"...did they base the character design off you too?"

"Maybe," Otoshi said, shrugging. "I know they didn't use my hair colour… shall we get on with that battle?"

"Sure," Ash agreed. "What do you think, Pikachu? One each?"

"I can do that!" Otoshi held up a Pokéball. "A nice warm-up! Marowak, come on out!"

Pikachu bounded forwards, and used Magnet Rise to avoid any earthquakes.

"Hah!" he said. "Not much a Ground-type can do against me now, Maro-"

WAK!

The side effect of Magnet Rise is that it also means the user is not actually in contact with the ground. This means that 'friction' and 'gravity' barely apply in terms of staying in one place when, say, hit by a large club.

"Ow…" Pikachu mumbled, from a small crater in the bark of a tree.

Ash hurried over to pry him loose. "That's what you get for underestimating people, Pikachu. Remember, we're dealing with the Pokémon League, now, most trainers have beaten eight gyms."

"Okay, okay, I get the point, now make the world stop spinning," Pikachu asked, flopping backwards onto the grass.

"I guess that was a wake-up call we both needed," Ash decided.

"Shouldn't it be everyone has beaten eight gyms?" Otoshi asked. "And, was it even a good idea to send a Pikachu against a Marowak at all?"

"He's got Fighting moves too," Ash said. "And… other tricks."

He shrugged. "And there's places like Pokémon Tech and the exam course… so some trainers won't have eight badges. Still."

"I guess," Otoshi agreed. "Well, nice meeting you – and I hope to see you at the League!"

"Well, here we are," Ash said. "Indigo Plateau."

"You know, it used to be Quartz Plateau," Brock said. "It's a huge fault block of metamorphic quartzite. It stands out because it's much stronger than anything else between the mountains on either side, so it resists weathering, and…"

He tailed off.

"What?" he asked. "I do know quite a lot about this sort of thing!"

"You lost us," Ash said. "I think it was when you said the word fault?"

"Kids," Brock grumbled.

"You're a teenager as well!" Ash protested.

"And you're not one yet," Brock countered. "Anyway. They changed the name to Indigo when they were trying to make all the Leagues associated with a colour. You know, like Orange and Silver."

"...what about that one in Sinnoh?" Misty asked. "And isn't Hoenn the Ever Grande?"

"I didn't say who the they were," Brock replied, folding his arms. "Or that they succeeded. Or that it hadn't been changed back."

"So… they had a really cool idea, changed one name, and got bored," Riolu said. "Well done them."

He frowned. "Wait. Can you hear something?"

"Yeah," Ash agreed.

He looked behind them. "Oh, right – guys, the torch procession is coming through!"

The friends quickly got to the side of the road, and watched as a runner with the torch went past – along with a couple of cars acting as chase and support vehicles.

Ash smiled. "I remember when the Rockets stole that."

"You mean tried to, right?" Misty asked. "You turned up with it and gave it to me."

"I mean, actually stole it," Ash replied. "The guy on that car… Goodshow, right? He had a lantern with a spare flame, and we lit another torch from it."

He frowned, shading his eyes and looking up. "Uh… yeah! Moltres is following the torch. I guess either they're curious or they do it every time."

Misty looked up as well. "Where?"

Ash pointed, but that didn't seem to help much.

"How did you even see that?" Brock said, eventually picking out a tiny dot.

"Aura," Ash explained. "They're bright, but more importantly there's nothing else to see when I close my eyes."

"...yeah, that'd do it," Misty agreed.

Once they actually reached the Indigo Conference, Ash headed straight for the registration desk.

"Good afternoon," the administrator said, an obvious member of the Joy clan. "You're here to register?"

She tutted. "It's the last day for registering, you should probably have been here sooner."

"That… would have been a good idea, yeah," Ash said, with a weak smile. "Better than not making it at all, right?"

"True," she said. "Now… your badges?"

Ash opened his jacket and counted them off. "Boulder, Cascade, Thunder, Marsh, Rainbow, Soul, Volcano, Earth."

"Oh!" the Joy said. "Is that… yes, those are Marsh and Volcano badges. We don't see those a lot here any more… in fact, most people go to Chubu or Sevii instead of staying in Kanto."

"Yeah, about that," Brock interrupted. "Miss lovely-"

Misty gently reminded him to stay focused, which involved Goldeen.

"-ah, that is, Nurse Joy… what happened to the Indigo League's regular gym inspections? I was Gym Leader for years and didn't see one, then we found that Cerulean sometimes didn't bother with battles, Saffron's leader had become mentally unstable years ago and the Cinnabar Gym had all but closed down entirely."

"That's… somewhat worrying," Joy admitted, deciding to ignore the first bit of what Brock had tried to say. "You're a Gym Leader?"

"Brock," Brock introduced himself, holding up his special Boulder Badge. "Pewter Gym Leader, though I'm on sabbatical at the moment. My father was the previous gym leader and he's taken the gym over again."

"I see," Joy said. "So… how did your friend get those badges anyway?"

"I cured Sabrina!" Ash said, proudly. "And, uh… solved dozens and dozens of riddles for Blaine, starting with where the gym was at all. I think that man needs someone to tell him when he's overdoing it…"

The Joy paused halfway through typing in Ash's information, and looked more closely. "...wait… oh, I recognize you now!"

Ash looked hopeful.

"You're the one who destroyed Cerulean Gym!"

"It was partly Misty's fault!" Ash defended himself. "How else was I supposed to fight a Chinchou with an Electric type?"

Then he looked at Misty's expression.

"I mean… oops, yeah, that was me," he amended. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, there isn't," Joy told him. "You're registered to compete. Your first preliminary is against trainer Quinn, ten AM on the second day after the opening ceremony. Report to the Grass field."

"Thank you," Ash said, taking the paperwork. "Entry number… two hundred and fifty five."

You're lucky you weren't much later. They only allow two hundred and fifty six entrants.

"Huh?" Ash asked. "Why?"

...it's a round number for computers, Dexter said.

"Well, I guess we've got a day to look around before it's time," Ash shrugged, as they walked away from the counter. "I wonder if Ritchie's here yet?"

"Oh, that kid who was basically a clone of you?" Brock asked.

"Yeah, not the only one but he's the closest," Ash said. "One of the others had a Pikachu, too, that was in the Orange Islands… his mom thought I was him…"

More evidence for your hypothesis that the universe is playing a joke on you.

"That's not a hypowhatever," Ash denied. "That's solid fact. Arceus was betting on my reactions, Dexter… plus the whole, prophecy thing…"

That evening, an image appeared in front of Ash: a Voltorb.

"Ivysaur," Ash decided.

The image shifted, and now it was a Venomoth.

"Charizard."

Inadvisable. Charizard's surprise value means you should save him for later in the tournament.

"I guess, yeah," Ash agreed. "Then… Pikachu."

Pikachu would win, but not without being affected by a powder move.

Dexter's projection changed again, switching to a Mr. Mime.

"Tough," Ash admitted. "...Riolu?"

You would probably win, Dexter said. But be careful which cards you show so early in the tournament. If other trainers know about Riolu's Dark Pulse or Shadow Claw, it could affect their later decisions.

"Yeah, that's the Pokémon League for you," Ash agreed, stretching. "That was why I had so much trouble with Tobias, especially… I had no idea what his team was, apart from that Darkrai."

And then he had a Latios as well, yes, Dexter agreed. Though by then you had an advantage of your own, with all the Pokémon you could call on from other regions.

"We probably should have done that at Vertress," Pikachu said.

"I know, yeah," Ash agreed. "But I don't mind that one as much, Cameron actually had to fight for it… but, yeah, end simulations, please, I don't think they're working for me."

He frowned. "...oh, and can you contact Butterfree? I don't need him yet, but I might call on him in a couple of days."

Certainly.

The next morning, Ash and everyone else who'd entered the Pokémon League this year stood on the field of the main stadium as the opening ceremony played itself out around them.

Normally, there would be sixteen rows of sixteen columns, with one person missing. The trainer carrying the torch into the stadium wasn't able to wait in the middle of the field at the same time, so there would be two hundred and fifty-five trainers standing on the field.

...but normal didn't apply this year. There were two hundred and fifty-six trainers, or fifty-seven depending on how you counted a certain Meowth. The Team Rocket Trio had entered as a group, and anyone who might have stopped them hadn't noticed in time.

An important-looking man stepped up to the microphone first. "I hereby declare open the three hundred and ninety ninth Indigo League in this era of the united Islands. I would also like to say-"

"That's enough," Mr. Goodshow interrupted, tapping him on the shoulder. "The speech doesn't keep going after that."

"Fine, then," the man grumbled, and walked off in a huff.

"And, now," Mr. Goodshow continued. "The flame is to be lit! This flame, from Moltres itself, symbolizes the virtues of the competition!"

"Huh," Ash said, quietly. "Remember the Moltres we met in Shamouti, Pikachu?"

"Yeah," Pikachu agreed, speaking softly as well. "I wonder what kind of virtue it is where they try to set you on fire."

"Probably friendship," Ash decided. "Charizard does it sometimes. You do it too, only with electricity."

"...fair."

The last of the torch bearers stepped forwards, and Ash turned to see who it was.

Then blinked.

It was Gary, and Ash wondered if he'd taken his car for some of the trip.

Ash's old friend walked up to the steps, and began to ascend to the main bowl – when, suddenly, Moltres flew low over the arena wall.

Gary stopped, staring upwards, and Moltres hovered for a long moment before alighting on the rim of the bowl.

It nodded, just slightly.

Recovering his wits, Gary ascended as one of the announcers wondered aloud whether the personal appearance by Moltres was a good sign that it'd be a particularly fired-up competition.

At the top, Gary bowed, then touched the torch to the kindling in the bowl.

Then Moltres ignited the whole bowl at once with a Flamethrower, sending it flashing to life with a dull whump.

Seemingly satisfied, Moltres spread their wings, and was gone in a whirl of air and smoke.

For a few seconds, everyone was silent.

Then someone remembered to start the fireworks display, and a rainbow of colours sparked up over the main stadium before changing to a deep indigo colour.

The four arenas on different sides of the main one all lit up with smaller fireworks displays, with a leaf, rock, droplet or snowflake traced out in indigo sparks.

"...ah!" Mr. Goodshow said, apparently remembering what he was supposed to be doing. "For those who are first time competitors here, at the Indigo League we tend to have four matches going on at once until the last 32, which are held here."

He indicated the four points of the compass. "The first four matches you will each do will be in one of the four satellite arenas, so those who want to fight in the Indigo stadium will have to show the ability to use terrain as varied as Ice, Rock, Water and Grass, representing the four types of natural landscape."

A pause. "Once everyone remaining has qualified, it's a straight knockout tournament, with the winner facing the Elite Four. I believe Lorelei is the first member this year. Thank you, and I hope to see all of you do the best you can!"

"I just had a thought," Ash said suddenly as they watched Gary's first battle. He was using his Arcanine to melt the ice field, making things easier for his starter when he had to use it.

And making things harder for Arcanine, but the Fire-type didn't seem to mind much.

"What is it?" Misty asked.

"Half the League contestants have some kind of dramatic entrance, from flower blossoms to magic tricks. I'd kind of like to have one as well…" Ash said. "You know, just to see how it feels."

Brock shrugged. "Well, the easy one would be to arrive on Pidgeot. I mean, it does reveal her, but then you're going to do that anyway as she's a better reveal than Charizard this early in the tournament."

"I do like that. And it'd look really impressive, too, given that I'll be wearing the full costume in the arena." Ash had been cutting back on how much he wore the enhanced clothes, recently, mainly because his mother had complained… and then washed them.

Misty chuckled. "You sure your mom will be okay with that?"

"She wanted me to look my best on TV, and that outfit's my best," Ash explained. "It's simple logic."

"Okay, now I'm wondering if you're feeling well," Pikachu said.

"Hey!"

Sir Aaron sighed. "Really? This is the next guy we have to fight?"

He looked down. "Because… am I supposed to think this is encouraging?"

Uematsu Hojo rolled around on the floor. "My back!"

Palkia looked uncertain. "That's… not as impressive as it could be."

"It happens, to old humans, sure," Sir Aaron went on. "But they don't tend to challenge me to a fight."

I'm ever so sorry, a transcendent voice huffed from everywhere at once. I thought I'd add character to them.

"You made the Magoichi of Saica into a time traveller!" Sir Aaron complained. "I'm not very clear on exactly how much of a time traveller, but I'm fairly sure that at least some of those were anachronisms."

He glanced up. "For example, the air support was… not normal."

…You enjoyed the fight, didn't you?

"I suppose, but that's not really the point I'm trying to make. It's more that you seem to be having trouble with the tone."

"I disagree," Palkia said. "For what it's worth. This is awesome a lot of the time."

Aaron gauged his opponent for a moment, and kicked at Hojo.

The old man flinched with the sudden crack of the impact, then stood up slowly and rolled his neck. "Thanks, youngster, you fixed my back! But this is a battle, you know. Fuuma! Get him!"

Nothing.

Hojo looked up. "Fuuma? Where's my ninja gone?"

Palkia shrugged. "If he's the one I think you mean, then Dialga landed on him five minutes ago."

Hojo gulped as he contemplated the pair of ludicrously good swordsmen (or –dragons) in front of him. "Aheh-heh-heh… no hard feelings?"

AN:

Otoshi's character design and voice actor (in some dubs) are carried over from the title character of Inu Yasha. In the original timeline, he had had his badges stolen by Team Rocket and tried to win Ash's to replace them.

Bizzarely, that episode is banned in Korea.

The Kanto gyms are a bit of a shambles in the Anime, aren't they? When you list them all in one go, it really sounds a bit off.

One of the interesting features of the Pokémon world is that their mythology is very present - in this case Moltres. I decided to give Moltres a slightly different reason to be here than the last time (another Team Rocket shenanigan).

The Indigo, Orange and Silver leagues do seem to have a theme in their names - though in the Japanese, Indigo Plateau is instead Quartz plateau. Indigo works well because it's the name of both a colour (Kanto) and a plant (Johto), though with Johto having a different League in the Anime this is less important.

There will probably be mainly battles for the next several chapters. It's what comes of reaching the League.

No major rewrite changes, here or in most of the League to the best of my memory.