Greetings, Mgunnels3 here, and welcome back to Ash's Unova Journey My Version. Before we begin, I do want to address a review recently. Ash should've gotten an invite, and while some might argue that he's on a journey and was out of reach, it was also something I just remembered. I will admit it could have been better planning on my end, and even writers make mistakes even with the planning of writing. Lastly, please, I do want more reviews. I do take criticism well, and I know that this story went through a lot of changes lately, but it's still the same story, and the reviews are few and far between lately, but no, I'm not ending this story now, and planning on seeing it to the end. Let's get this exhibition match going, shall we?
Chapter 81: An exhibition match
"Human Speech"
"Pokemon Speech"
Ash and his friends were waiting in the audience while the hour was coming up for the exhibition battle was about to start. Ash was curious about who else would be in this tournament, given that he had seen almost all his rivals in the past regions here.
"Man, this hour is going by slowly. I'm eager to participate in this tournament," Ash said, showing some impatience, but left it be though Misty and Brock nodded.
"No argument there, Ash, a massive tournament here, and we're getting a battle between a champion and an Elite Four Member who was a former frontier brain. That is something," Misty said as Ash nodded.
"Does anyone know what Caitlin use's, given that most members of the Elite Four usually use a certain typing," May asked the group.
"If I recall correctly, she's the newest member of the Elite Four, but from what I've heard, she's a Psychic type user like Anabel here in the PWT," Brock told May just from what he heard from other folks here in Unova.
"She is indeed Brock, given that she is the owner of one of the family members of Solosis," Zorua said in her human form as Ash forgot about that. "Ash, I told you that months ago when we met him," Zorua told Ash.
"Sorry about that, Akela?" Ash said to Zorua, who nodded as Dawn and the others were informed about what was going on with Zorua during the time before the PWT, so they knew to call her that name until further notice as Ash was a bit upset upon realizing something.
"Huh? What is it, Ash?" Misty asked Ash, who sighed.
"I know that I am going to sound a bit of a jerk here, but all these invites and all that well, I," Ash said, calming down to pause as every one of Ash's friends understood where Ash was going.
"You think that you being the champion's advisor's son, as well as your achievements, would've gotten you one, is what you were thinking, Ash?" Misty said to Ash, who nodded. "Look, I don't blame you for thinking that, Ash," Misty said to Ash, who was surprised by this.
"I have to agree with Misty on this one, Ash, even Misty was given one given that she is a member of the Elite 6, and with your history as well, Ash, yeah, no one blames you for studying about this. And you beat Paul and were the only one who beat two of Tobias's Pokemon and won the Orange league that should've gotten you one," Brock said to Ash, who nodded.
"Look, while I do agree with you guys, there's nothing I can do about it, and we were gone as well, but I thought that they would've contacted me when I talked to them or that it didn't come to them during that time," Ash said as the group knew what Ash meant. "And I can't let this get me; we are taking part in this already, and even if we got one, I still would've been fine taking part in this regardless," Ash said.
"Ash is right, and we can't make a scene about it anyway 'cause it might get us kicked out of the tournament before it even begins," Brock said to everyone who nodded.
The hour was over as the audience turned to the center stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, we want to turn our attention to today's two special guests for this exhibition battle," the announcer said as both trainers walked towards the battlefield.
"First trainer is someone who shouldn't let your guard down as she is widely known for being the strongest trainer in Sinnoh, the champion Cynthia," the announcer said as Cynthia was at the trainer's box.
"Second, she's the newest member of our Elite Four and is a former member of the Sinnoh Battle Frontier, Don't let her appearance fool you. She is stronger than she looks, the Psychic type user of the Elite Four, Caitlin," the announcement said as Caitlin walked over to the battlefield.
"Been a while, Caitlin. Never thought we would be battling again in these circumstances, but a battle is a battle," Cynthia said to Caitlin, who nodded.
"Sure has Cynthia, and agreed this battle will be one in a long time since I left Sinnoh," Caitlin said to Cynthia as the two were ready to battle.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, this battle will be a 3v3 battle, and the battle ends when either side losses all three Pokemon of their own, as this was requested by Caitlin herself," the announcer said to the audience, who was surprised by this usually were 1v1 battles, but the changes were enough lately. "Now, let out your Pokemon, and we can begin this match, you two?"
Cynthia raises her Pokeball. "I must say, Caitlin, I'm impressed that you requested a 3v3 battle, but don't think that will make things easy for you; Lucario come on out," Cynthia sent out her first Pokemon, who was her loyal Pokemon and one of the Pokemon she is known for having as Caitlin smirks and pulled out her Pokeball.
"Sigilyth, come on out," Caitlin sent out her first Pokemon. Both stared at each other as they were ready for this match.
Ash's Pokemon were watching the entire tournament and the exhibition match. The living room was large enough for many larger ones to be in without issues. Ash's Riolu was in front, seeing his older brother in the match, and knew his trainer was infamously strong as the ref for the tournament was ready to judge the match.
"Now let this tournament exhibition match begin," the ref announced as Cynthia and Caitlin were ready.
"Now, Lucario use Dark Pulse," Cynthia commands her Pokemon, who fired the attack at the Psychic/Flying type.
"Air Slash, let's go, Sigilyth, and then use Psybeam," Caitlin commanded her Pokemon, who fired the Air Slash, destroying the Dark Pulse, and the Psybeam was heading towards Lucario.
"Aura Sphere now, Lucario, and then use Dragon Pulse," Cynthia commanded her Pokemon, who launched the two attacks at Sigilyth, hitting it.
"Mirror Coat now," Caitlin commanded her Pokemon, who sent the Dragon Pulse right back at Lucario, hitting him and returning him to Cynthia as Caitlin smiled. "Now, Air Slash."
Both Cynthia and Lucario smirk. "Now use Bullet Punch charge right in Lucario and then use Dark Pulse," Cynthia commanded her Pokemon, who was punching the air and got closer. Everyone was surprised, given that Air Slash has its side effects Ash's Riolu, who was watching it, smirked as Lucario managed to slam a Dark Pulse right into Sigilyth, sending it back and knocking it out.
"Sigilyth is unable to battle Lucario wins," the ref announced. Everyone was surprised by this though most knew what was happening: Dragonite, Riolu, Latias, and Zorua.
"Lucario's Inner Focus ability is being utilized to its fullest," Zorua told Ash and the others who turned to her. "You said that he's the son of the village elder. He's showing why Cynthia's Lucario is who he is," Zorua said, crossing her arms as Ash nodded.
"Yeah, and I can see why many Lucario/Riolu looks up to him a lot, and if I had to take a guess, our Riolu knew about this as well, but right now, this match has just begun," Ash said to the group who nodded as they see Caitlin returned her Sigilyth to its ball.
"Not bad, Caitlin; you're doing much better than our last battle years ago," Cynthia said to Caitlin, who remained focused on getting back into this battle as she pulled out a Pokeball.
"Reuncilus, come on out," Caitlin sent out her next Pokemon, which Ash and his friends recognized instantly as Zorua smirked, knowing who she was. "Now, use Trick Room," Caitlin commanded her Pokemon, who used the move.
"Given that Runcilus aren't fast, that should be useful for them," Brock said to Ash and the group, who nodded.
"Use Dark Pulse and Bullet Punch," Cynthia commanded her Pokemon, who charged at the Psychic type with the same combo through the cause of the Trick Room. It was making Lucario harder to run at the Pokemon.
"Now use Psychic stop him, Reuncilus," Caitlin commanded her Pokemon, who used the attack, stopping Lucario before it could use the combo attack. "End this with Focus Blast," Caitlin commanded, who fired the attack at Lucario, knocking it out, which surprised everyone, much to Cythia's dismay.
"Lucario is unable to battle Reuncilus wins, and the match is tied, with both sides having two Pokemon each," the ref announced as Cynthia returned her Lucario to its ball.
"This match is exceptional compared to other exhibition matches this year. The question on everyone's mind is, which Pokemon will Cynthia choose next?" the announcer said.
"Caitlin is showing why she's a former member of the Sinnoh Battle Frontier, that's for sure," Ash said to the group, who nodded. "She is also participating in the tournament. This will pose a challenging task for the majority of the competitors." Ash said.
"Considering your difficulties with the Kanto ones, particularly those participating in the tournament, it's uncertain how well you would have performed against them," Max said to Ash, who nodded as Brock spoke up.
"Given that Ash barely managed to do well against Barry's father in the Twinleaf tournament two years ago, you might be able to do well against him this time if you face him again," Brock said to Ash, who had a not sure look on his face which everyone noticed this. "Ash, don't feel down about this. Remember, this doesn't detract from your victory against the Kanto ones." Brock said to Ash, who nodded.
"Glaceon, come on out," Cynthia sent out her next Pokemon, which Ash and his friends were surprised that she owns one. "Now, Shadow Ball and Ice Beam combo, let's go, Glaceon," Cynthia commanded her Pokemon, who used both moves sending it at Reuncilus.
"Use Focus Blast and Shadow Ball," Caitlin commanded her Pokemon, who fired the attack as one hit the combo and sent straight towards Glaceon.
"Mirror Coat, now, Glaceon, time to get things our way," Cynthia commanded her Pokemon, who used the move sending the move back at Reuncilus. "Now Blizzard," Cynthia commanded her Pokemon, who fired the attack towards the Mirror coat Shadow Ball.
"Shadow Ball, Focus Blast stop it," Caitlin commanded as the two attacks hit each other, causing an explosion sending both Pokemon to the wall shattering the Trick Room, and knocking both out without a second thought.
"Glaceon and Reuniclus are both unable to battle the battle are now down to one Pokemon each on both sides," the ref announced as both Cynthia and Caitlin returned their Pokemon to their balls.
"Man, this Exhibition battle may feel like a regular battle, but these two are just having fun and battling as if it was normal," Ash said to the group, who nodded. "The battle just started not long ago, and yet this is near the end soon," Ash said.
"Humph, it seems like this battle is near its end, Cynthia, and yet it feels different from our last one," Caitlin said, to which Cynthia nodded. "You know what Pokemon is next, and this time, we won't go down easily; Gothitelle, come on out," Caitlin sent out her last Pokemon, a tall Pokemon that Ash hadn't seen so far and scanned.
"Well, it seems like you've raised her a lot better than before just by the looks of Gothitelle, but you know what I have left now, and like you, she won't be easy to beat either, Garchomp. Come on out," Cynthia sent out her last Pokemon, who let out a roar as both the two Pokemon were glaring each other down, ready to face each other down and get this rivalry going.
"Let's get this going, Gothitelle. Use Energy Ball now," Caitlin commanded her Pokemon, who fired the attack right at Garchomp, who blocked it with her claws, sending Garchomp sliding towards Cynthia. "Now use Psychic," Caitlin commanded her Pokemon, who used the attack at Garchomp.
"Dodge it and then use Dragon Rush and Poison Jab," Cynthia commanded her Pokemon, who barely dodged the attack and charged at Gothitelle. The Dragon Rush hit Gothitelle, but the Psychic managed to stop the Poison Jab before it could land a hit on the Psychic type.
"Now, use Energy Ball," Caitlin commanded her Pokemon, who fired the attack at Garchomp again, given that it was one of the few moves it knew that could damage the Ground/Dragon type as it did some significant damage on her.
Latias and Dragonite were watching this from afar and were impressed by how well this battle was so far, as both knew Cynthia's Garchomp pretty well. "What do you think, Latias? You think that Garchomp is going to make it through this fight?" Dragonite asked Latias, who narrowed her eyes on the battlefield.
"Not sure, given we both have met and ran into Garchomp in the past before meeting Ash. It's tough to call on who would win this match," Latias said to Dragonite. "I'm upset that Cynthia isn't taking part in this. I will admit she probably would give both of us a run for our money and worthy of my time," Latias said as Dragonite nodded in agreement.
"Agreed, but I think it's fairness given that she isn't this region's champion, but that can't be helped, and she would've seen both of us coming in battle anyway," Dragonite said as Latias sighed and nodded.
"You know, Dragonite, you're more like my brother than I was earlier just by those statements alone," Latias said to Dragonite, who was taken aback by this and nodded as we returned to the battlefield.
"Now use Draco Meteor," Cynthia commanded her Pokemon, who fired the attack at Gothitelle. She was barely dodging the attacks as one of the meteors was heading straight toward her and turned to Caitlin and nodded, who nodded back.
"This is what I was waiting for. Use Mirror Coat Gothitelle," Caitlin said. This caught not only Cynthia and Garchomp off guard but Latias and Dragonite as the meteor was sent back at Garchomp, hitting her before Garchomp could react. "I had a feeling that you would have that move up your sleeve Cynthia, so we planned on saving it for the best of the best," Caitlin said to Cynthia, who nodded.
Gothitelle and Garchomp were exhausted from all this as this battle lasted longer than their last match against each other, and everyone could tell that as well.
"Time to end this use Giga Impact and Dragon Rush, Garchomp," Cynthia commanded her Pokemon, who charged at Gothitelle with both attacks.
"Energy Ball and Hyper Beam, now Gohtitelle, end this," Caitlin commanded her Pokemon, who fired the two attacks at Garchomp, charging at her as the two attacks collided. The collision caused a massive explosion covering the battlefield, which didn't die for a while.
Everyone wondered who would win Latias's eyes glowed blue to help her see who won this fight better. Her capabilities had grown since she last used it, which Dragonite noticed. "Anything, Latias; you know that I'm not good at keeping things in the dark," Dragonite said to Latias, who stopped.
"Ugh, the explosion is too thin for my sight to pick up; why do those two have to use that, sorry Dragonite," Latias said to Dragonite, who sighed, knowing that was obvious even without her capabilities and experience from her family training.
The smoke finally clears, revealing that Garchomp and Gothitelle were knocked out, surprising everyone, including Caitlin and Cynthia.
"Garchomp and Gothitelle are both unable to battle the exhibition match ends in a draw," the ref announced as the crowd was both surprised and cheered after the shock was over.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, this battle was much better than last year. Here's hoping that the rest of the tournament's battles will flow just as well," the announcer said to everyone as Caitlin walked over to Gothitelle and praised her. As they noticed, Cynthia did the same thing and walked towards the two.
"Well, that battle ended differently than what I expected, but that was a fun match, Cynthia," Caitlin said to Cynthia, who nodded as Caitlin held out her hand for a handshake, as did Gothitelle as both Cynthia and Garchomp accepted it.
"Next time will be different now that this match ends in a draw, Caitlin," Cynthia said to Caitlin, who sighed and nodded. "Best of luck in the tournament, given that many trainers are planning around you now," Cynthia said, which Caitlin brushed off and nodded as the group head into the locker room.
"Now, with the exhibition match now over, ladies and gentlemen, we can begin the Pokemon World Tournament," the announcer said as the screen cleared and showed a bunch of trainer slots for the first batch of trainers. "This will be the first round matches for this batch of trainers," as the screen swapped around and revealed the trainers and not all of Ash's rivals were in that batch; however, Ash noticed that he was in the first match against Bianca of all people which Ash was surprised, but felt terrible for Bianca for being the first trainer he's up against in the tournament.
"There will be a 30-minute break, and the first match will be Ash vs. Bianca in the first match of. The tournament, remember, these will be a 3v3 battle," the announcer said to the audience. Ash sighed as each of Ash's friends with him so far was in the batch with him, namely Misty and Max, who were up against different trainers. Ash got up and headed his way toward the battlefield from the stands.
With the exhibition match over, Ash faces off against one of his Unova Rivals for the PWT. What else is in store for our heroes in this tournament? As the PWT officially begins.
Stay Tuned.
Done and done. This chapter was fun to write. I have a lot planned for this tournament, and each chapter will have two battles for Ash and his friends for the first round only and only the crucial matches when it calls for it. So the battle orders will be Ash, Misty, Max, Brock, May, and Dawn for the following few chapters, and then we'll continue from that point onwards. We have more rivals showing up, and if you want to see some matches, let me know in the reviews. That said, see you next time.