Unlike his first time around, Ash will enter the arena for his round-of-16 match with the utmost confidence. His Pokemon were ready, he was ready, and they were prepared. This match was theirs to lose, no matter how capable a trainer Ritchie was.
Ritchie on the other hand was nervous. Ash could see the slight tremor on the boy beside him.
"No matter what happens, we will be friends and we will give it our all," Ash said in an attempt to soothe Ritchie.
"Yeah. We will give it our all" Ritchie nodded. Ash wasn't sure if he was able to calm the boy at all.
The two entered the arena together to the roar of the crowd. Hundreds of people had come to watch the battle, more than there were for the preliminaries. The competition was heating up after all.
Ash and Ritchie shook hands before going to their respective ends of the battlefield, a plain field with nothing specific on it to give it a 'type'.
The referee called for the battle to begin and both trainers sent their Pokemon out at the same time, Ritchie sending out Happy the Butterfree and Ash his Raticate.
Ritchie called for Sleep Powder immediately and Raticate dug underground at Ash's word. Raticate dug out and hit Happy from right under it. Raticate dug down again and popped out to hit his opponent before digging underground once more. Like a mole, Raticate kept popping in and out of the battle with Dig, landing hit after hit until a strong Whirlwind pushed him back. Happy used Psybeam and Raticate barely dodged the move with Quick Attack. But the next Psybeam blasted him off his feet and sent him rolling. Sleep Powder followed and Raticate found himself put to sleep. A combination of Whirlwind and Psybeam went on to knock Raticate out.
"Ladies and gentlemen Ash Ketchum has just faced his first loss in the Pokemon League!" the commentator declared, the crowd roaring in excitement. The crowd was only there for a good match, their support could sway from one trainer to another very easily. Ash was not disturbed by it one bit.
He called Raticate back with a small smile and sent in his next Pokemon, Zubat.
Immediately Zubat began to glow right when the battle began. He vanished, appearing behind Happy with an outstretched wing as Happy fell from the air. Zubat grew in size and morphed before the light faded and he finished his evolution to Golbat.
"And he brings it back right away with a swift kill! The battle is back at a stalemate!" the crowd roared to the announcer's words.
Somewhere in a mansion deep in the forest, a man watched on the television and smiled.
Ritchie called back his Pokemon and sent out Sparky the Pikachu.
Ash called Golbat back and sent out Dugtrio.
Dugtrio immediately dug underground the moment the battle was called. But unlike Raticate, she did not pop out of the ground to land what was Super Effective damage on the opponent. Instead, Sparky was left to look around frantically so it could dodge the attack when it came. The ground began to shake and Sparky's ears perked up. Suddenly the ground below the Pokemon shattered upwards. Sparky was slammed into by the shattered shards (which looked more like spikes) and was sent flying up. It crashed back down just as Dugtrio made her reappearance, knocked out.
"That was a powerful Earthquake from Dugtrio! Dare say it might be the strongest I've seen!"
Ash sweatdropped while the crowd roared. The commentator was surely exaggerating.
Ritchie called Sparky back and sent his last Pokemon out, Zippo the Charmander.
Dugtrio dug underground immediately when the battle began, but unlike Sparky, Zippo launched its attack as well. The Flamethrower was blasted into the hole Dugtrio dug. The plan was simple, attack and force out Dugtrio. But Dugtrio did not surface no matter how much fire Zippo poured into the hole. Eventually, the ground beneath Zippo shattered as it did with Sparky, except all the fire that it had been sheeting broke out through the crevices. A whole pillar of fire shot out, blasting Zippo back into Ritchie's arms, knocked out. Dugtrio surfaced then, knocked out as well.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! With that double knockout, Ash is the only trainer with a battle-ready Pokemon. The winner and our second-quarter finalist is Ash Ketchum!"
Ash soaked in the cheers and the thrill surrounding him. He'd done it, he'd taken the first step into changing the outcome of his future. This was proof enough that he could change things, that he could be champion this time!
"Congratulations Ash."
Ritchie held out his hand and Ash shook it firmly. The boy was sad, he could see it plainly. Ash remembered feeling exactly that.
-x-
As Ash had remembered how it felt losing in the top 16, he made sure that Ritchie was not alone in his sulking.
Ash kept his 'new' friend close and watched the rest of the matches from the stands. Some people Ash recognized, like the girl who beat Gary and to his great shock, A.J. Did he make it this far the last time? But most he did not recognize, and one he felt as if something was off about. It was a person who wore a hood that covered them completely.
Finally came the day when the lottery for the Top 8 would be held. Ash woke early that morning, or rather he had not slept at all. He was too excited to sleep. He was going to find out who he'd be battling now! This was completely new territory for the boy who had not been this far before, not in the Indigo League at least.
He brushed his teeth, had a fast breakfast that almost made him pass out when he choked on it and ran straight to the registration center with James and Brock trailing after him.
All seven other trainers had come before him, each with a different aura to them. Had Ash been a novice, he'd feel intimidated.
"Ash!"
The Pallet trainer turned to find to find A.J. rushing to him. The boy stopped right in front of Ash and smirked.
"I've been following your battles. Your little streak may have come to an end, but all your Pokemon are very strong. Not bad" the boy complimented with a smirk. "But now you can't use your switching tactics, now you have to power through the whole thing."
"Don't worry. My Pokemon can handle it" Ash boasted with a smirk, Pikachu's cheeks sparking to add weight to his trainer's words.
"Can the contestants please gather?" the attendant called and both Ash and A.J. walked up. "Please choose a Pokeball from here. Each contains a number that would decide your order and opponents."
Ash swiped a Pokeball before anyone else could, the number seven shining in black on top of it. He handed it back to the attendant, who updated Ash as the second to last.
One by one the other spots filled in as the other trainers handed their Pokeballs over. Melissa was paired up against Assunta, their battle being the first battle. The hooded mystery person was the battle after theirs. Ash's was at the last as he'd already known, and his opponent was…
"I will not lose this time," A.J. said to his round-of-eight opponent.
"Neither will I" Ash replied with a grin.