It took a week for the gang to go from Palmpona to New Bark Town. When they got there, they met with Professor Elm again, and then went in the Pokémon Center where Ash, Serena and Leaf registered for the Silver Conference.
They stayed in the Pokémon Center for the rest of that day, and then next morning, they all went to Mt. Silver, where they will train for the next two months.
Before they went up the Mt. Silver, the gang bought some Evolution Stones and Items, as they planned to evolve some of the Pokémon they have, after the training was done, and before they come back from the mountain.
The training was long and very hard, as Ash trained his Pokémon like crazy, while the others followed him after they saw how hard he works, and didn't want their Pokémon to stay too far behind.
During those two months of hard training, several Pokémon of each of them have evolved, and some were evolved with evolution stones or items that they bought before.
Misty's Sealeo evolved into Walrein, which was not so surprising, as he was relatively strong once she got him on the Pokémon Swap Meet, and at Mt. Silver it was like being home for him, as he is a part Ice Type.
Besides Sealeo, Misty's Totodile evolved into Croconaw, and her Clauncher evolved into Clawitzer. After the training was over, Misty thought that her Seadra is ready to evolve, so she gave her Dragon Scale, and she evolved into Kingdra.
Brock's Kabuto and Anorith, which he got all the way back in Grampa Canyon, have finally evolved into Kabutops and Armaldo.
Besides the two of them, his newly acquired Pokémon, Aron and Roggenrola have also evolved into Larion and Boldore.
After those evolutions, Misty and Brock now have the least amount of unevolved Pokémon among the gang.
Out of all unevolved Pokémon that Ash has, only his Axew has evolved into Fraxure during training, and none other.
On the other hand, Leaf and Serena have done quite well in their training, and many of their Pokémon have evolved, either from training or with evolution stones and items.
Leaf's Phanpy evolved into Donphan, Piloswine into Mamoswine, Chikorita into Bayleaf, Larimar into Pupitar and Trapinch into Vibrava. Her Eevee has also evolved into Umbreon.
She also gave one stone and one item to Jigglypuff and Sneasel, who then evolved into Wigglytuff and Weavile.
As for Serena's Pokémon, her Croconaw evolved into Feraligatr, Dragonair into Dragonite, Psyduck into Golduck, Galarian Ponyta into Galarian Rapidash, and finally she gave Ice Stone to her Alolan Vulpix who then evolved into Alolan Ninetales.
All in all, some would say that Leaf and Serena did the best during the training, and Ash the poorest, but that's to be seen during the Silver Conference.
They finished the training about a week before the start of the Silver Conference, and then came down from the mountain, and went toward Silver Town, where the competition would be held.
As they were making their way toward Silver Town, the gang saw a bunch of people standing in front of some huge gate, and were looking like they are waiting for something.
"What's going on there," Brock asked?
"I don't know," Ash replied. "Something must have happened, or they are waiting for something."
"Well, then let's go and see." Misty suggested, and the others agreed, so they all approached to the group of people, and Ash asked one of the guys who were standing there.
"Excuse me, but what's going on here?"
"Oh, you haven't heard about it," one of the guys said. "It's the Torch."
"What, Torch?" Serena asked.
"The Johto League Silver Conference, Torch." Another guy added, and the gang smiled.
"Is that so," Ash asked? "So, it starting from here."
"Yeah, this is a Ho-Oh shrine, and the torch starts its way to the Silver Conference from here." Said the second guy.
"Then I guess we can stay here and see it," Ash said, and everyone agreed, so they stayed in line, and waited for the torch runner to come out from the shrine.
XXX
It's been a while since the gang arrived in front of the Ho-Oh shrine, but there was still no sign that the torch runner will appear from inside of it, and some people in the crowd are starting to get nervous, and some even a little angry at all the waiting.
"I wonder what's going on," Leaf said. "That Torch runner should have come out by now."
"I agree with you," Brock said.
"Maybe something happened, and he can't." Serena said.
"We can't do anything but wait and see." Ash said, and the others knew he is right, so they waited.
Just few moments later, the gate opened, and some guy stood at the entrance and said how some problems came up, and there will still be some time before the torch runner arrives.
This of course made many people who were waiting, groan, and start complaining.
Then, two trainers, a guy and a girl came running from inside of the shrine, with the guy carrying his Poliwhirl on his back, and the girl had few Poke Balls in her hands, and then they started yelling at the guy who opened the door, asking things like, how they are supposed to train with the danger inside, and the girl said how they shouldn't put their Pokémon in danger right before the start of the Silver Conference.
Then they both turned and run to the Pokémon Center, while the guy from the shrine tried to stop them, but was unsuccessful.
"Guess those trainers are going to enter Silver Conference as well," Leaf commented.
"Yeah, I guess so." Ash added.
"Are all of you going to enter Silver Conference as well?" The guy asked them after he heard their comments.
"Serena, Leaf and I are going to enter." Ash said, while showing at Serena and Leaf.
"Well then, can I ask you for a big favor," the guy asked, and Ash and the others nodded? "I have already asked many trainers, but they have all failed and ran away. I have no idea what else to do."
"Then tell us what's going on." Ash said, but then, a new voice was heard from behind the gang.
"So, it seems you have a problem here, but don't worry, I'll be happy to help you out." He said, and the gang looked at him, and saw a guy probably a year or two older than Brock, and there was a Houndoom next to him.
"Who are you?" Asked the guy from the Ho-Oh shrine.
"My name is Harrison, and I'm a Pokémon Trainer from Littleroot Town in Hoenn Region." Harrison introduced himself, and then asked the gang. "What about the rest of you."
"My name is Ash, and these are my friends, Misty, Serena, Leaf and Brock." Ash said, and motioned towards each of his girlfriends and friends.
"Nice to meet you all," Harrison said, and then looked at the other guy. "Now, let's hear what the problem is.
"Well, you see, we already have the Torch ready, and the runners are all ready, but we can't get to the Flame to light the torch, and that's the problem." The guy said, and showed the gang and Harrison the torch and the runners who were seating and waiting.
"Why?" Harrison asked.
The guy then said that the shrine was named after the ancient legend of Ho-Oh, and explained the legend of how there was a war long time ago in which people and Pokémon fought, and many were injured. When it was over, the lake dried up, turning the entire place turned to wasteland and all life was gone.
That's when Ho-Oh arrived and unleashed the flames that burned down everything, including the weapons used in the war, and finally putting a stop on the war.
After Ho-Oh was finished, there was nothing left, and the life could no longer exist on that place.
But like a miracle, from the ashes of the burned land, plant life started growing back, the lake was reformed, and the people stopped fighting, and worked together from then on.
It is said that one flame of Ho-Oh stayed preserved, and since then is called the Sacred Flame.
It has been preserved for generations, and it is from that flame that the torch was lighted before the start of Silver Conference.
The gang listened and most of them were amazed by the story as they never heard about it and never knew it.
Ash did know it though, as Aura Guardians and Pokémon Rangers are taught many stories and legends, as they need to know them to be able to do their job better.
"Ok, then what's the problem, why can't you light the flame?" Ash asked, and the guy started explaining.
"There is a shrine on top of these stairs," he started explaining, while pointing at the stairs not far from where they were all standing. "The problem is, that there is a wild Sneasel that lives there in the shrine."
"Sneasel you say," Harrison said, looking excited. "I heard there are wild Sneasel on Mt. Silver, and I've wanted to catch one of them for a long time. This might be my chance."
"That Sneasel is quite territorial, as has been attacking everyone who approaches the shrine," the guy said. "We've tried to stop it many times, but everyone has come back injured, and to make things worse, that Sneasel has been joined by Machop and Machoke."
"That sounds like a big problem." Misty commented.
"It is," the guy confirmed. "I've been asking many trainers to help us out, but they have all returned defeated and hurt, both them and their Pokémon."
After they heard the problem, everyone decided to help out, deal with that Sneasel and bring the Sacred Flame.
And so, the gang plus Harrison went up the stairs to deal with the problem.
After a while of climbing the stairs, the gang finally reached the top, and just as they set for on the land outside of the stairs, Machoke swinged its arm, almost hitting Serena, who was the first to reach the top. She was only saved from being hit by Ash who pulled her backwards toward him, and Machoke missed her head because of that.
"Damn, that was a close one." Brock commented after he saw Serena almost being hit.
"Yeah, too close," Ash said, and looked at Serena. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine, Ash," she said. "Thanks for saving me."
"Don't worry about it." Ash said, and then he looked at Machoke, and saw it standing in front of them along with Machop.
"So those are Machop and Machoke that have been working with Sneasel," Leaf said. "I wonder where Sneasel is."
"It's probably here somewhere," Brock said. "We should be careful, as it might suddenly attack."
"Don't worry Brock," Misty said, and took one of her Pokémon Ball. "I'll deal with this. Come on out, Corsola!"
Corsola came out if her Poke Ball, and Misty immediately told her to use Spike Cannon on Machoke.
Harrison decided to help, and he told his Houndoom to use Flamethrower and he did.
Both Pokémon fired their attacks, which landed on their opponents, and caused them some damage.
"Ash, why don't you go and get the Sacred Flame, while we hold them here?" Harrison said to Ash, who shrugged and went ahead, while the others stayed behind.
Few moments later, Ash arrived in front of Ho-Oh shrine. He opened the door and inside it he saw the Sacred Flame.
He was about to go inside and take it, but felt Sneasel coming toward him, and was about to hit him, but Ash moved away and dodged the attack.
"So, you are the Sneasel that's been causing trouble here," Ash said, and Sneasel said to him.
"This is my turf, and you are not welcome here!"
"Sorry, but I came to take the Sacred Flame or the Silver Conference won't start. Stopping you from causing trouble is just a bonus." Ash said, and took one of his Poke Balls, and released his Fennekin.
"Use Flamethrower!" Ash said, and Fennekin fired a powerful Flamethrower at Sneasel, but Sneasel jumped in the air, and came back down in front of Fennekin.
Sneasel then looked to the side, and pointed toward something, and Fennekin looked at it, and then Sneasel swinged its claw at Fennekin to hit him, but Fennekin just moved backwards away from the claw, without even looking at Sneasel, which surprised it.
"You didn't really think a simple Feint attack would work on my Pokémon, did you?" Ash asked, and Sneasel got angry.
Back with the others, Corsola used Tackle Attack to finish off Machoke, and Houndoom used Flamethrower to defeat Machop.
"That was quick." Brock commented, and everyone agreed.
"Let's go to the shrine and see how Ash is doing." Harrison said, and everyone run toward the shrine.
When they got there, they saw Sneasel dodge another Flamethrower from Fennekin, and then prepared Shadow Ball and fired it at Fennekin, who was able to dodge it as well.
"Fennekin, use Fire Blast!" Ash said.
Fennekin fired his most powerful fire attack, but again Sneasel jumped away, though just barely, but the to its surprise, Fennekin run at it with Flame Charge, and hit it straight on, which sent Sneasel flying backwards almost all the way to the shrine entrance, where it fell on the ground.
"Finish it off with Fire Spin!" Ash said, and Fennekin fired his final attack in this battle, which hit Sneasel, who then passed out from its injuries.
"I see you already finished your battle against Sneasel, Ash." Harrison said, and Ash nodded. Ash then thanked his Fennekin for a nice battle, and returned him in his Poke Ball.
"It's all yours if you want to catch it, Harrison." Ash said, and Harrison was surprised.
"Don't you want to catch it?" Harrison asked.
"No, not really," Ash said. "Besides, you said you wanted a Sneasel, and here is one just waiting to be captured."
Harrison nodded, and took one empty Poke Ball and threw it at unconscious Sneasel, and captured if few moments later.
After that was over, Ash took the torch he was given by the guy from the shrine, and lighted it up. Then, along with the others, he carried it back down the stairs and handed it over to the guy.
"I want to thank you all for your help in getting the Sacred Flame, and getting rid of that Sneasel," the guy thanked the gang.
"It's fine, we are glad we could help." Harrison said.
"We have also decided to hire Machop and Machoke here as a protector's of the shrine and the Sacred Flame." The guy added, and everyone saw the two Pokémon standing to the side.
"That's great." Misty said.
Just then, they heard a noise, and saw a torch runner start his run toward the Silver Town, where the Silver Conference will be held in about a week.
Standing to the side, and watching as the runner was going away, Harrison asked Ash if he was entering the Silver Conference, and Ash nodded, but also said Serena and Leaf are also entering.
"That's great, because I'm entering as well," Harrison said, and surprised everyone. "Looks like the next time we see each other; it will be at the Silver Conference stadium."
And with those last word, Harrison walked away, while the gang stayed back.
"I guess we have another opponent to beat in this tournament," Leaf commented, and Serena nodded.
"I wasn't expecting him to be in the tournament as well." Serena said.
"Now that I think about it, he did say that he is a Pokémon Trainer from Hoenn Region, and there was really no other reason for him to be here if he is not entering the Silver Conference." Ash said.
"I guess you are right." Leaf said, and they all continued their journey toward Silver Town.
Ash and the others arrived in Silver Town the next day, after which they spent the next few days resting for the tournament.
Two days before the start of the Silver Conference starts, Amber and her friends arrived in Silver Town, and as soon as Amber saw Ash, she run at him and hugged him, as well as give him a big kiss on the cheek.
"Well, I guess you really missed me a lot, haven't you, Amber?" Ash asked, after Amber hugged and kissed him.
"Of course I did, we haven't seen each other since that Bug Type Pokémon tournament." Amber said, after she let go of Ash.
Ash smiled, and then asked her to tell him about her journey, and Amber agreed. So Ash and the gang, along with Amber and her friends Marina, Macy and Casey went to the park where they all set and talked about their journey and about all the places and Pokémon they have seen.
"So, you did go to Alto Mare," Ash commented, and Amber confirmed.
"Yeah, after Azalea Town, we went there," Amber said with a smile, but then she grew serious. "There was a problem there, though."
"What problem?" He asked.
"Well, there were these two women who nearly brought destruction to Alto Mare, and caused the death of Latios." Amber said sadly, and Ash actually choked on his own spit once he heard this, while his friends were all wide eyed.
"Explain!" Ash growled, after he calmed down a little.
Amber then started explaining how they arrived on Alto Mare, about the race in which they participated, about her saving a girl called Bianca who she later learned is actually Latias in disguise.
Then she explained about the two sisters using Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare and the Soul Dew, and were trying to use it to control the Alto Mare, and then later even the world, but it failed, and caused a tidal wave to appear that would have drowned the city if not for Latios who used all of his powers to save the city, but it also caused him to die, which created another Soul Dew to be created, and is now in Alto Mare protecting it.
"And then what happened next?" Ash asked.
"The two sisters who caused all of that were arrested, and then the next day, two other Latios and Latias appeared and became protectors of Alto Mare."
"What about the Latias that was there in the first place?" Serena asked.
That's when Amber smiled, took one of her Poke Balls, and released a Pokémon inside of it.
Ash and his friends all had wide eyes as they saw Latias.
"You caught her." Ash said.
"Yes, I did," Amber said, while patting Latias, who was happy to see her.
"Latias, these are my brother Ash, and his friends, Misty, Brock, Leaf and Serena." Amber introduced Ash and the others to her Latias, who came in front of them, and looked at them for a little, then smiled and nodded at them all.
She then transformed into a girl around Ash's age, with red hair, green shirt and white skirt.
This of course surprise al those who haven't seen it before.
"Yeah, she can do that," Amber said. "Unfortunately, she can't speak human language."
"Maybe she could one day if we ever discover why some of my Pokémon Mega Evolved without the stones, and learned human language." Ash said, and Amber though about it and nodded.
"Maybe." She said.
"Ok, but how did you end up catching Latias?" Serena asked, and Amber and Latias smiled.
"Well, with two new Latias and Latios coming to be protectors of Alto Mare, Latias decided to leave, and wanted to come with me, as we became good friends." Amber explained.
"Ok, I can understand that," Ash nodded, but then narrowed his eyes. "Did something else happened that I need to know about?"
"No, besides that, nothing else happened that's dangerous," Amber said. "Though we did take this Larvitar to the preservation area here on Mt. Silver and reunited it with his mother."
"How did a Larvitar from the Pokémon preserve ended up outside of it?" Brock asked.
"He was taken by some poachers while still an egg, but ended up lost, and Professor Elm asked us to take it to Mt. Silver after we came in New Bark Town on the way here," Amber said. "He was still an egg when we got him, but hatched on the way, and then we had some trouble with him, as he was scared of everything because of what he experienced while still an egg. He had deep trauma, and it took a while and a help from some Unown that we run into, to finally heal his mind."
"That must have been some adventure." Leaf said, and Amber nodded.
"Yeah it was," Amber said. "Once we got the preservation area, we run into the poachers who took Larvitar in the first place, but we disposed of them, and they were all arrested, and Larvitar was finally reunited with his mother."
They continued to talk for a long time, until it was already close to night, when they all went to the hotel where they were staying, and had dinner, after which everybody went to bed to rest.
XXX
The next day, Garry arrived in Silver Town. Jimmy and Jackson also arrived, and everyone was reunited, and were all now ready for the tournament to star, which should be the tomorrow, with the Trainer Screening, where all trainers who participate have to battle one-on-one, and win three battles that way before they can advance to the real tournament.
The day of the tournament has finally arrived, and Ash is currently on one of the fields where he is to face against a trainer called Salvador from Cherrygrove City, in his first of three matches he has to win to advance.
Currently Ash's match is only being watched by Brock and Serena, as Leaf and Amber have their match's at the same time, and Misty went to watch Leaf's match, while Amber is being watched by her friends who don't have the match's at the same time.
Ash chose Quilava as his Pokémon, while Salvador chose Furret, and the match started.
It took a bit of trying on Ash's part, but he was ultimately able to win his match, though it was a tiny bit harder than he expected, as Furret kept using Dig and Quick Attack to evade Quilava's attacks.
After that match, Ash had two more matches in which he used Phanpy to defeat Machoke, and Fennekin to defeat Exeggutor.
After that was done, and Ash passed into the next round, he reunited with the others, and discovered that they have all passed the screening rounds.
The next day, the opening ceremony is held on the biggest stadium in Silver Town. The torch runner came and lighted the sacred flame of Ho-Oh, thus officially starting the Silver Conference.
XXX
After a good night sleep, Ash and the gang, along with his sister and her friends as well as Jimmy and Jackson went to the Pokémon Center to check on who they will be battling in the next round of the Silver Conference.
"So, how is this round working?" Leaf asked, as she didn't know the rules for the next round.
"There will be three trainers in each group, and they battle against each other," Ash started explaining, and everyone listened to make sure they didn't miss something. "If you win, you get three points, and if you lose, you get zero. A tie gives both trainers one point. At the end of all battles, the trainers with the most points go to top 16."
"I see," Leaf said. "So, it would be best to win both battles to make sure I go to the next round, because even one tie can end my participation in the Silver Conference."
"Yeah, that's right." Ash said.
"What happens if two or all three trainers have equal amount of points?" Macy was the one who asked.
"Then they all fight again." Ash said, and Macy and the others nodded.
They arrived in the Pokémon Center hall, and looked at the big screen where they can see the groups already made, and their pictures along with the pictures of the trainers they will fight.
"Well, would you look at that," Ash said, and everyone looked at him. "I guess I'm in the same group with Macy and Jackson."
The others then looked back at the screen, and saw that Ash was telling the truth, as there were the pictures of Ash, Macy and Jackson in group H.
"Oh crap." Jackson said, and fell down on his knees, sulking.
"Why are you sulking Jackson," Macy asked his? "Are you already giving up?"
Jackson looked at Macy along with the others, and then he got up. "You don't really think we can defeat someone who is clearly a champion level trainer, do you? Remember that we've been only trainers for about a year, and Ash has been for quite longer than that."
"Maybe we can, maybe we can't, but that doesn't mean we have to give up," Macy said. "I will try my best to win, and if I lose, then I'll be happy because I lost to a much better trainer, but at least I will try to win. What about you?"
"I..." Jackson tried to say, but there was nothing that came to his mind. He knew that he was acting disgraceful because he was practically giving up just like that, but he felt so small in Ash's presence, and he knew that there was no way to win. He is just not that good of a trainer, and has much less experience then Ash.
"She's right you know," Ash said, and Jackson looked at him. "Here is an advice from me. NEVER give up, no matter how small your chances look. Give it your all, try your best, and even if you fail, you will feel good because you knew you did your best, and you won't have any regrets."
Jackson thought about it for a few moments, before he sighed, then smiled and got a determined look on his face. "You are right, Ash, in fact, both of you are right, I shouldn't act like this."
"That's the spirit, Jackson," Jimmy suddenly said. "We can do this; we can battle and we can win this for sure. Isn't that why we trained so hard since we became trainers?"
"That's right." Jackson confirmed.
"Ok, now that that's settled, let's see where the rest of us are." Serena said, and everyone looked back at the screen.
They saw that all of them are in different groups, and not with each other. Though Casey got a hard one, as she is in the same group as Gary, and will have to try her best to even have a chance to win.
Later that day, Ash was in his hotel room with his friends, and were on the computer where they are looking at the Pokémon that their next opponents have. They are making plans on which Pokémon they should use.
"So, Ash, which Pokémon are you going to use?" Brock asked, while they were looking at the list of Macy's Pokémon.
"Well, Macy mostly has Fire Type Pokémon, so I can go with some Water Types, but she does have few other Types as well," Ash said.
"Since she has so many Fire Types, she obviously prefers them, so she will probably use at least two of them, and the third one can be some other type," Brock said. "If I have to guess, she will use that Electabuzz, since she expects her opponents to use all Water Type Pokémon against her Fire Type's."
"You're probably right," Ash said, and then though for a moment, and chose three Pokémon he will use for the battle against Macy.
"You sure about that team," Serena asked? "They didn't have many battles, and only trained so much training."
"That's why I chose then," Ash said. "They need more battle to get more experience, and as much as I respect Macy, she will most likely be easier to defeat then some trainers in the later stages of the tournament."
"I guess you are right about that," Leaf said, and after Ash was finished with picking his Pokémon for the battle against Macy; Serena and Leaf were next, and they chose their Pokémon for their battles.
XXX
Ash and Macy were at the stadium where they will have their battle. Brock, Misty, Serena, Leaf, Amber and her friends are already on their seats, and are watching the match.
The announcer has already announced their match, and said this is the first match of the group H. The computer has chosen Macy to be the one to choose her first Pokémon, and then Ash will go second.
"I'm not going to go easy on you Ash," Macy said. "So, you better be ready.
"I'm ready, are you?" Asked Ash.
"Oh, I'm ready!" Macy said, and took one of her Poke Ball's.
"Let the match, BEGIN!" The referee said.
"Let's go, Quilava, you are first!" Macy said, and sent her Quilava to battle.
Ash smiled, as he knew that Macy will send Fire Type Pokémon, but he has a surprise for her. "Come on out, Fennekin!" Ash said, and released his Fire Type Pokémon.
"Unbelievable, Ash has chosen Fennekin, which is a Pokémon only see in Kalos Region," the announcer yelled, and the crowed was surprised by seeing Fennekin as they have never seen it before! "I wonder where he got it."
"How did you catch Fennekin, Ash?" Macy asked.
"I got him about two months ago in Palmpona on the Pokémon Swap Meet." Ash said.
"Well then, let's see if your Fire Type can defeat my Fire Type!" Macy said, and so the match started.
"Quilava, start with Tackle attack!" Macy called aid her first move, and her Quilava run at Fennekin to tackle it, but Fennekin dodged.
"Use Scratch, Fennekin!" Ash said.
Fennekin then run at Quilava and scratched it with one of his front paws, leaving a white trail of energy, and Quilava backed away from Fennekin and yelled in pain from the scratch.
"Now use Iron Tail, Fennekin!" Ash said, and Fennekin jumped up and his tail glowed white and hardened and he swinged it at Quilava, but Macy told her Pokémon to dodge, and it did.
"Use Flame Wheel, Quilava!" Macy said, and Quilava started spinning around in the air and its body become engulfed in flames. It then rolled into Fennekin and sent it flying backwards, until he stopped close to Ash.
"Great job, Quilava," Macy said. "Now, let's just keep up the pressure. Use Flamethrower!"
"Counter it with your Flamethrower, Fennekin!" Ash said.
Both Pokémon fired their attacks at the same time, and the two attacks collided, until, after few moments, Quilava's Flamethrower pushed back Fennekin, and hit him head on, which sent Fennekin flying backwards again, and this time, he hit the wall surrounding the field.
"And it looks like Ash's Fennekin is on the ropes, as Macy and her Quilava have gained the advantage in this first match," the announcer said, while the crowd cheered for both trainers.
"Can you get up, Fennekin?" Ash asked his Pokémon, who was trying to stand up, but was struggling.
"It seems that I'll get the lead in this match, Ash," Macy said. "Your Fennekin can barely stand."
Ash smiled, and looked at his Fennekin, who stood up, but his legs were shaking. "Is she right, Fennekin," Ash asked? "Are you done for?"
Fennekin looked at Ash, and then narrowed his eyes at him, and then barked few words that Ash understood as 'yea right', and then Fennekin started glowing, much to everyone's surprise.
Fennekin glowed for a few moments, and then when the glowing stopped, where one stood Fennekin on four legs, now stood Braixen on two legs.
"Wow, your Fennekin evolved." Macy said in ave, as she was looking at Braixen.
"Yeah, he did," Ash said. "Now let's see how your Quilava fares against its counterpart from Kalos Region. Braixen, use Fire Blast!"
"Quilava, dodge and use Aerial Ace!" Macy said.
As soon as Braixen fired a powerful attack from his mouth, Quilava dodged to the side, and then Quilava ignites the flames on its head and back and it jumped into the air. Its body then become surrounded in white streaks and flew through the air toward Braixen.
"Counter it with Iron Tail!" Ash said.
Braixen's tail hardened, and he slammed it right at the incoming Quilava's head. The two attacks caused an explosion that threw both Pokémon backwards.
"Quilava, come on get up, and use Quick Attack!" Macy said.
Quilava managed to get up, and run at Braixen, disappearing and reappearing all over the field while leaving a white trail behind itself, and then tackled Braixen, who was sent flying, but managed to get ahold of himself and turned around in midair, coming back down on his feet.
"Use Fire Spin!" Ash said.
Braixen then fired a huge flame that then dissolved into multiple streams of fire that spin around, and then hit Quilava.
Quilava got up few moments later, but was breathing hard, as it was tired.
The same goes for Braixen, as he was tired as well, and won't last for much longer.
"Quilava, let's go with Flame Wheel!" Macy said.
"Braixen, counter it with Flame Charge!" Ash said.
Both Pokémon got surrounded by fire, and then Quilava started spinning toward Braixen, while Braixen run toward Quilava, and the two clashed at the middle of the field.
It caused a big explosion that sent both Pokémon flying all the way backwards where they flew pass their trainers, fell on the ground, bounced few times, and only stopped when they both hit the wall which was surrounding the field.
Few moments later the referee looked at both Pokémon, and saw they have both passed out, and declared the first battle a tie.
"Damn, and I really thought I had this round in the bag." Macy complained as she returned her Quilava to get some rest.
Ash did the same with his Braixen.
"The first battle ends in a tie, but both Ash and Macy still have two more Pokémon, so let's see how this battle goes from here!" The announcer said, and Ash and Macey took another Poke Ball's and released their Pokémon at the same time.
"Come on out, Ninetales/Prinplup!" Both yelled at the same time.
"And Macy's second Pokémon is another Fire Type, Ninetales, while Ash chose Prinplup, which is a Water Type Pokémon from Sinnoh Region!" The announcer said.
"BEGIN!" The referee said.
"Ninetales, start this off with Quick Attack!" Macy said.
Ninetales then started running toward Prinplup, while disappearing and reappearing all over the place, and when it was close to hit him, Prinplup dodged, by jumping into the air, and Ninetales passed below him.
"Use Bubble Beam, Prinplup!" Ash said.
While still in the air, Prinplup fired light blue bubbles from the inside of his beak, which hit Ninetales who just turned around to see where he is.
Ninetales was thrown back a little and received some damage, as it is weak against Water Type attacks, even though this one wasn't very powerful.
"Come on, Ninetales, get ahold of yourself and use Swift!" Macy said.
Ninetales shock its head to clear it out a little, and then fired a storm of yellow stars from its mouth, which hit Prinplup, and caused him about as much damage as he did to Ninetales with that Bubble Beam.
"You Ok, Prinplup?" Ash asked, as his Pokémon was standing up, while shaking his head. One he got up, Prinplup looked at Ash, and then nodded confirming he was fine.
"Good, now use Hydro Pump!" Ash said.
"Counter it with Flamethrower, Ninetales!" Macy said.
As soon as Prinplup blasted a powerful jet of water from his beak at Ninetales, Ninetales countered it with equally powerful Flamethrower, and the two attacks collided with each other in the middle of the field, and started battling against each other to overpower the other attack.
Few moments later, both attacks exploded, and a small shockwave threw both Pokémon backwards toward their trainers, where they fell right in front of them.
Both Pokémon managed to stand up couple of moments later, but they were both starting to get tired.
"Come on Ninetales, use Sunny Day!" Macy said, and Ninetales nodded, and released a white beam of light to the sky, causing the sun to shine brighter.
"Now use Overheat!" Macy said, as she wanted to finish this round right now with her Pokémon's fire attack powered up by Sunny Day.
Ninetales' body glowed red, and it released a large stream of swirling fire from its mouth at Prinplup.
"Prinplup, use Aerial Ace, and mix it with Steel Wing!" Ash said, and Prinplup jumped up in the sky, just before Overheat reached him, then he glowed white, and extended his wings. Then Prinplup started flying toward Ninetales, while at the same time, his wings glowed silver, and hardened.
As soon as he was above Ninetales, he hit it straight on the head with one of his wings, and Ninetales flew backwards from the hit, hitting the ground with its head, hard.
"Oh no, Ninetales!" Macy yelled as she saw her Ninetales practically defeated, as it was hit hard, and then slammed into the ground even harder, and on top of that, it was already tired from the battle and the use of Overheat attack.
"Finish this with Whirlpool, Prinplup!" Ash said.
Prinplup raised his arms and a large whirlpool appears above his head, and then he threw the whirlpool at the Ninetales, who was trying to stand up, but once the whirlpool hit it, it was all over, because Ninetales passed out just few moments after being hit.
"Ninetales is unable to battle, the winner of the second round is Prinplup!" The referee yelled, and the crowd cheered even more, as they liked this battle so far.
"And that's it for the second round, people," the announcer commented! "Ash now has the lead, and has two Pokémon remaining, while Macy only has one. Can she get back in the match, let's wait and see what happens next in this amazing battle!"
Macy returned her Ninetales in its Poke Ball, after she thanked it for the nice battle, and picked her final Pokémon. "Let's see how you deal with this Pokémon, Ash! Come out, Electabuzz!"
Macy's final Pokémon, Electabuzz came out of its Poke Ball, and stood ready to fight.
"It would seem that Macy doesn't only have Fire Type Pokémon, but also has some other," the announcer commented after he and the others saw Macy use another Type besides fire for the first time in this tournament. "What will Ash do now, as Prinplup is a Water Type, and is defiantly tired from the previous battle?"
Ash smiled, and then returned his Prinplup to his Poke Ball, before he then released his third Pokémon for today's battle, which turned out to be Phanpy.
"OH, come on!" Macy yelled as she saw Ash release a Ground Type Pokémon, which means her Electabuzz's Electric Type moves are useless.
"I saw what Pokémon you have on your profile, and I assumed you will use Electabuzz, so I had Phanpy as a part of my team." Ash explained with slight smile on his face, while Macy frowned.
"Well, it doesn't matter, because we will win, even though we are at the disadvantage!" Macy yelled, and Electabuzz nodded, and got ready to battle, which started right after.
"BEGIN!" The referee said.
"Electabuzz, use Swift!" Macy said, at the start of round three of her battle against Ash.
"Phanpy, use Protect!" Ash countered.
Electabuzz fired a bunch of yellow stars from its mouth at Phanpy, but Phanpy created a light-green barrier in front of himself, which protected him from the stars.
"Now use Take Down!' Ash said, and Phanpy run toward Electabuzz at the very high speed, and slammed into it, pushing hit backwards couple of meters and causing it pain in the stomach as that's where Phanpy slammed.
"Electabuzz, use Quick Attack!" Macy said to her Pokémon, who then started running toward Phanpy to tackle him at the high speed.
"Phanpy, use Bulldoze!" Ash said.
Phanpy then stomped on the ground, and created a shock wave, which then went toward the incoming Electabuzz, until it crashed into it, and threw it backwards where it fell on the ground, and rolled for a few meters until it hit the wall.
"Electabuzz, are you OK?' Macy shouted after she saw her Pokémon crush into the wall.
Electabuzz stood up from the ground, though it was covered in bruises, and dirt. It then went back to the field, and again stood ready to continue.
"Use Hyper Beam, Electabuzz!" Macy said, and Electabuzz formed a yellow ball in front of his mouth, and then fired a beam at Phanpy, who easily dodged it.
"Now use Mud-Slap!" Ash said.
Phanpy fired a stream of brown mud from his mouth at Electabuzz, and hit it head on, which caused it a lot of damage.
"Now use Earthquake and then Rollout!" Ash said.
Phanpy got on his hind legs, then brought the front legs down hard, creating an earthquake, which caused Electabuzz, who managed to stand back again, lose his footing, and fall on its knees.
Then Phanpy curls himself into a ball and rolled toward Electabuzz with incredible speed and power. Phanpy slammed right into Electabuzz really hard, and Electabuzz flew and hit the wall again, and then fell on the ground.
The referee looked at Electabuzz, and saw it was unconscious, and then declared the winner.
"Electabuzz is unable to continue, the winner is Phanpy, and the winner of the first match of the Group H, is Ash Ketchum!"
The crowd cheered for Ash, and some for Macy, as she battled very well. She has put up a good battle against Ash.
Macy sighed, and returned her Electabuzz, and then walked toward Ash, who also returned his Phanpy.
"Congratulations, Ash, it was a great battle, and you deserved to win." Macy said.
"You did very well as well, Macy," Ash said. "You did a great job training your Pokémon, and should be proud of yourself."
The two then left the field, and reunited to their friends.
XXX
After Ash won his battle against Macy, the others had their battles as well.
Serena, Leaf, Amber, and all the others from a group of Ash's and Amber's friends won their first battles, and a big chance to go to the next round.
The only one who didn't win the battle was Gary, but that was only because he didn't have a battle, and Casey battled against the other trainer in their group and won.
With all the battles for the day over, everyone went to their rooms to rest from all the battling and seating on the bleachers.
The next day, Ash didn't have a battle, but Macy and Jackson did have a match between themselves, and Macy ended up winning that battle, and is now tied with Ash with three points each, and still has hopes to advance to the top 16, but that's only if Jackson wins his battle against Ash, which is highly unlikely. In that case, they would all battle again from the beginning.
Besides Macy, all the others won their battles as well, well, except Casey, who had a free day, as Gary battled and won against the same guy Casey defeated yesterday, so now Gary and Casey are tied as well, and the winner of their battle will go to the next round.
Serena, Leaf, Amber, Marina and Jimmy have already won both of their battles and have advanced to the top 16 regardless of the result of the final matches in their groups.
The day after that, it was time for the final battles in the group stage of the tournament.
Gary and Casey already had their battle, and Gary won, which was not really surprising as he is much more experienced trainer then Casey.
And now, it is time for the battle between Ash and Jackson, and if Ash wins, then he will advance to the Top 16, like most of his other friends, as well as his sister.
The computer decided that Jackson will choose his Pokémon first, followed by Ash.
"Azumarill, come out to battle!" Jackson went and sent his first Pokémon to battle.
"Lapras, you are up!" Ash called his first Pokémon for today's battle, and it was also a Water Type like Jackson's Azumarill.
"Jackson has started the match with Azumarill, and Ash has countered with his own Water Type, Lapras," the announcer said! "Let's see who will come out on top in the mach.
"BEGIN!" The referee said.
"Azumarill, use Water Gun!" Jackson started the match.
"Lapras, counter it with your Water Gun!" Ash said, as he didn't feel like revealing just yet that Lapras has Water Absorb as an ability.
Both Pokémon released a spiral of water from their mouth at one another, and the attacks collided with each other.
Few moments after the two attacks started to push at one another, Lapras's Water Gun pushed back Azumarill's, and hit her in the face, which sent Azumarill flying, until she hit the ground not far behind Jackson.
"Come one Azumarill, get up and use Iron Tail!" Jackson said, and Azumarill got up, with little injuries, mostly few bruises from slamming on the ground.
The ball at the end of Azumarill's tail glowed white and Azumarill jumped in the air, and tried to hit Lapras with it.
"Hyper Beam!" Ash simply said, and Lapras fired a yellow beam from her mouth right at Azumarill who was right in front of her.
Azumarill was hit point blank, and was sent flying all the way to the other side of the field behind Jackson.
"OH, NO, Azumarill!" Jackson yelled after he saw his Pokémon being hit by a very powerful attack.
"It looks like Azumarill is in danger, as Lapras has the upper hand from the very start of the battle," the announcer commented. "It seems like Azumarill is just not strong enough to counter Lapras's moves."
Azumarill tried to stand up and continue to battle, but it seems she's having a hard time, as her legs were shaking, and she was taking deep breaths. It's obvious that she is hurt and tired, and seems she won't be able to continue to battle.
"Azumarill, return!" Jackson said, and returned his Azumarill to rest a little, and decided to use another Pokémon. "Magneton, come to battle!"
"Jackson's has decided to switch his Azumarill, as it is clear that she can't overpower Lapras, and has chosen Magneton as his second Pokémon, which is a good choice, as Electric Type is strong against Water Type!" The announcer commented.
"Lapras, return," Ash said, and returned his Lapras, and then took another of his Poke Balls, and released his second Pokémon. "Come out, Bayleef!"
"And Ash has decided to switch his Lapras for Bayleef to counter Jackson's Magneton!" The announcer commented.
"BEGIN!" The referee said again.
"Magneton, use Tri Attack!" Jackson said.
"Bayleef, Protect!" Ash said.
The three screws on Magneton's body glowed white, and the white energy connected, forming a triangle. Magneton then shoots the white triangle at Bayleef, who rose up a green barrier in front of herself, which stopped Magneton's attack, without receiving any damage.
"Now use Sweet Scent!" Ash said, and Bayleef started waving the leaf on her head and a pink powder come out of it and fell on Magneton, who instantly relaxed.
"Snap out of it, Magneton!" Jackson shouted.
"Use Leech Seed, and then finish it with Energy Ball!" Ash said.
Bayleef then fired multiple seeds from her mouth into the ground and the seeds immediately grew into vines that latch onto Magneton, and drained it of its energy.
When Magneton fell on the ground wrapped in the vines, Bayleef created a light green ball of energy in front of her mouth, and fired it at Magneton, who was hit by it and then flew backwards. Magneton rolled and bounced off the field for a few meters, until it stopped a little behind Jackson.
The referee saw that Magneton is unconscious, and declared the round over. "Magneton is unable to battle, the winner is Bayleef!"
"It seems that Jackson wasn't able to do much in this round, as Ash's Bayleef was just too much for his Magneton," the announcer commented. "But let's wait and see what Jackson will do next."
"Magneton, return," Jackson returned his Pokémon, and sighed. He returned his Azumarill to battle, and hoped she has recovered enough to do some damage on Bayleef.
"Jackson has retuned his Azumarill to the field, while it seems that Ash will stay with his Bayleef." The announcer said.
"Azumarill, use Blizzard!" Jackson said, and Azumarill released a powerful blizzard from her mouth at Bayleef, who was hit by it, and started to get frost bites all over her body from the Ice Attack.
"Bayleef, stay strong, and use Sunny Day!" Ash said.
Bayleef lifted her head, and then fired a white beam toward the sky, which made the sun shine brighter, and it caused Azumarill's Blizzard to drop in intensity until it disappeared and the ice turned into water as soon as it came out of Azumarill's mouth.
"Now, Solar Beam!" Ash said.
Bayleef lifted the leaf on her head and the leaf started to glow gold as she absorbs sunlight. Then, Bayleef's whole body flashed gold and she fired a white energy beam from her mouth at Azumarill.
"Azumarill, Hydro Pump, quickly!" Jackson said, and Azumarill fired a powerful jet of water from her mouth, which collided with Bayleef's Solar Beam, but was quickly overpowered and pushed back, until Azumarill was hit by the Solar Beam, and thrown backwards where she passed out.
"Azumarill is unable to battle, the winner is Bayleef!" The referee said.
"And Ash's Bayleef defeats another of Jackson's Pokémon, who is now down to only one Pokémon, while Ash still has three Pokémon to use," the announcer commented. "Jackson is in hard situation; will he be able to come back or is this the end for him in this year's Silver Conference?"
Jackson sighed again, and returned his Azumarill, and released his final Pokémon. "Come out, Meganium!"
"I'm staying with Bayleef!" Ash said, and the referee started the battle.
"Meganium, use Razor Leaf!" Jackson said.
"Bayleef, counter it with Leaf Storm!" Ash said.
Meganium swings its head and razor-sharp leaves fly out from the flower on Meganium's neck, and went straight at Bayleef, who rose her head up, and her body became outlined in turquoise energy. Then leaf's appeared all around her, so when she dropped her head back down, and looked toward Meganium, leaves flew at Meganium, like a cyclone, and immediately as it collided with Razor Leaf, it cut through them like a hot knife through butter, and the cyclone slammed into Meganium, causing it some damage.
"Are you OK, Meganium," Jackson asked, and Meganium shock her head, a little then nodded. "Then use Solar Beam!"
"You use Solar Beam as well, Bayleef!" Ash said.
Both Pokémon quickly powered their Solar Beam's because of the Sunny Day, and then fired it at the same time.
Once the two attacks clashed, there was a shock wave, which lifted some dust from the ground, and even made Jackson stumble backwards a little.
After few moments of pushing at one another, during which Bayleef's Solar Beam started to overpower Meganium's, both attacks exploded from the pressure, and the explosion sent both Pokémon sliding backwards a little, until they stopped right in front of their trainers.
"Meganium, use Vine Whip to grab Bayleef, and then slam her into the ground!" Jackson said.
"Bayleef, use Protect!" Ash said, and Bayleef rose the green barrier back up, which stopped Vine Whip from Meganium as it just bounced back. "Now use Leech Seed!"
Bayleef fired seeds into the ground, and once the vines rose from it, they wrapped around Meganium, and started to drain it from its energy.
"Meganium, don't give up," Jackson yelled. "Use Razor Leaf!"
Meganium somehow fired another round of Razor Leaf's and tried to cut Bayleef, but Bayleaf again protected herself with Protect, so it was useless try on Meganium's part.
"Bayleaf, use Energy ball, and swallow it, and then use Solar Beam to finish this battle."
Bayleef quickly created and then swallowed a green ball of energy, and then she started glowing from the influx of power. Then she absorbed the energy from the sun, and powered up another Solar Beam, which she then fired as a huge beam which hit Meganium, who was still wrapped in vines.
The beam swallowed Meganium whole, and caused a big explosion which lifted toward the sky like a pillar, and covered the whole field in dust, which covered the sight of the field, so no one knew what's happening at the time.
"Unbelievable power from Bayleaf, I have never seen something like this," the announcer commented, and the crowd cheered, while they waited for the dust to clear and see if the battle is over, or is Meganium still standing, though everyone doubted that is the case.
About a minute later, the dust has cleared enough so everyone could now see that Meganium was down on the ground, covered in bruises, and completely passed out.
"Meganium is unable to continue, the winner is Bayleef, and the battle goes to Ash Ketchum!" The referee declared the match over.
"And that's it for this battle, people," the announcer said! "Ash Ketchum has defeated his second opponent in the Group H, and is now going to the top 16 of the Silver Conference, while Jackson has finished his participation in the tournament with two losses in the group stage!"
Jackson returned his Meganium, and started walking toward Ash, who has also returned his Bayleaf. "It was an amazing battle from your side, Ash," Jackson said. "So congratulations on the win, and good luck in the next round."
"Thanks Jackson, and good luck to you in the next tournament you compete in." Ash said, and shook hands with Jackson, before they both exited the field.
XXX
As the last day of the group stage of the Silver Conference was over, Ash and his friends are in the Pokémon Center watching at the screen that shows their opponents in top 16 round.
They looked at the screen, and saw that Ash will be battling Harrison in the top 16, while, Serena, Leaf, Gary, Jimmy, Marina and Amber will battle against unknown trainers.
With that out of the way, everyone went to their rooms for the night.