Jason, Megan, and I disembarked from the ferry that had successfully brought us to Ever Grande City. I had to admit, the city certainly didn't appear to have changed all that much since the days when my dad had participated in the Hoenn League. It still seemed to have that charming coastal city style aesthetic that my dad had described it to have.

"I'll admit, it certainly does feel nice to finally see Ever Grande City in person." I stated.

"I can see what you mean." Jason said as he looked at the buildings around us. "And to think that the actual main city itself is just where all of the businesses and tourist sites are located, with the actual residential areas for the people who live in this area are in the spot where the tournament arena is located."

"It goes to show how humble the residents of Ever Grande must be. They have this big and relatively extravagant city to do big business in while they themselves largely live in more comparatively humble accommodations in another area a short distance away, in which they do all of their smaller scale business yet still also hold the premiere trainer event for their entire region." Megan noted.

"I will admit, though," I stated, "Now that I remember the overall timing, it's honestly kind of a pity that we didn't arrive in time for the torch running for the Sacred Flame."

"Well, at least the Hoenn League didn't have to contend with Team Rocket trying to steal the Sacred Flame this year." said Jason.

"I remember my mom telling me about that little incident. It's almost enough to make me wish that the Team Rocket of those days were still the ones in business, instead of the more powerful and evil incarnation we've currently got." Megan said.

"Well, anyway, Jason and I have each won a Pokemon League tournament. I won back in Kanto and Jason won in Johto." I said, changing the subject.

"It will certainly be interesting to see which of us breaks the tie this tournament." Jason said with a chuckle.

"I already know which one of you I'm cheering for." I heard Megan whisper under her breath.

A quick subtle glance at Jason was enough to determine that he hadn't heard her say this, and I chose to say nothing to Megan about the matter. Now was not the time to draw attention to what I was willing to believe Megan wished to keep private for the time being. And besides, I had a tournament to focus on.

"While we're at it," Megan then said, loud enough for Jason and I both to hear, "Have either of you decided whether or not you'll battle Wallace and the Hoenn Elite Four if you win this year?"

"Well, like I told Amber back at the Grand Festival, I'm considering going up against the Hoenn Elite Four in the event that I win. Granted, I was planning on battling Lance and the Kanto-Johto Elite Four first, just like my dad did...but I suppose making a first attempt at battling the Hoenn Elite Four could be an interesting test." I explained.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Jason agreed. "I mean, battling the Elite Four this relatively early on in our journeys could be an interesting way to test our ability, but even Adam's dad waited until after his second run through the Kanto-Johto League before he even tried battling the Elite Four of those regions, or any of the other Elite Four groups."

"Nothing wrong with following in your father's footsteps, after all." Megan agreed.

"And on that note, we'd best be continuing to where the League site is located. We'd really be wise to not risk running out of time to register." I suggested.

Half an hour later, we arrived at the main building in the plaza and made our way to the registry desk, our badges and Pokedexes already getting drawn out, ready for examining and scanning. The woman at the registration desk nodded her head as she scanned our badges and Pokedexes.

"Good to see that you've arrived in time to register." she said before handing us back our badges and Pokedexes once they'd finished getting scanned, with our room keys getting handed to us alongside them. "Any of you need a refresher on how the Hoenn League operates?"

"My dad's kept me up to date on the matter." I said. "I'll explain it for my friends if they have any questions."

"Enjoy your stay, then. And best of luck in this year's tournament."

We then departed from the main building to head over to where we'd be staying, alongside all of the other combatants and guests for this year's tournament. As we walked down the path that would lead to said building, Megan and Jason looked towards me.

"Is there anything that we should know about the Hoenn League that's any different from what you've told me about the Kanto and Johto Leagues? I mean, I know my mom and uncle attended as guests during the time that your dad competed in the Hoenn League, but I never really felt the need to ask them to go into any detail on how the Hoenn League operated when they told us those stories." Megan inquired.

"I'd also like to know if there's anything that I should be aware of." said Jason. "I mean, I know my dad competed in the Hoenn League at least once, but he's not really been keeping himself up-to-date since he took over as Kanto's Pokemon Professor."

"Well, there are a couple of things about the Hoenn League that are different from the ones in Kanto and Johto. Remember how the Kanto League worked to whittle the contestants down the top 16 in its first round and the Johto League whittled its contestants down to the top 48 over the course of its first round? Well, for the Hoenn League, the first round is designed to merely whittle the contestants down to the top 256." I began explaining.

"Wow, that's definitely a big number." said Megan.

"Certainly higher than the minimum number of top trainers to whittle the contestants down to in the first round than back in Kanto and Johto." Jason added.

"But regardless, the first round of the Hoenn League has the same general purpose as the ones from Kanto and Johto. But there's a twist." I continued.

"A twist?" Megan asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, unlike in the Kanto and Johto Leagues, the first round of the Hoenn League isn't even truly considered part of the main tournament." I said.

"What?!" Megan yelled in surprise.

"But you and I registered and everything, fair and square." said Jason.

"In Hoenn, the registration process that's done for those who arrive with the complete Hoenn gym badge set is just a formality. They don't fully set the League contestants' registrations in stone unless they win the first round and successfully make it into the top 256. And with that in mind, while the Kanto and Johto Leagues view their multi-day first round as just as much of a part of the main tournament as the rest of the rounds, the Hoenn League views its multi-day first round as merely a threshold gate designed as a final test to determine who among the 'technically' registered combatants is well and truly ready for 'full' Hoenn League registry, and capable of competing in the main tournament, with every round that follows after the first round being what they consider the true main tournament." I explained.

"So we went through all of the hard work of getting the badges we needed and underwent the formal registrations for the Hoenn League, yet if we don't make it past the first round, they'll be treating it as if we never even actually made it into the League at all?" Jason asked.

"Exactly." I stated. "It's hardly fair, I know. But that's just how they do things in Hoenn, I guess. But that's all the more motivation we'll need to bring our best, right?"

"That's one way to put it." Jason grumbled, clearly miffed at how he and I now had this extra thing to do to be considered fully qualified for the Hoenn League that hadn't been a requirement for the Kanto and Johto Leagues.

"Would the people who lose in the Hoenn League's first round have to win their Hoenn gym badges all over again in the next cycle in order to get another chance?" Megan asked.

"No, my dad never had to do that for any Pokemon League tournament that he competed in more than once. Same thing goes for my mom and her ribbons when she competed in Grand Festivals more than once." I reassured Megan.

"That's good to hear. And I already knew about ribbons being good for future Grand Festivals of their respective regions, since my mom and dad told me about them when they competed in those tournaments again." Megan replied.

"Regardless, the main point is that Jason and I, plus all of the other trainers currently registered for the Hoenn League - even if only on a technicality right now - need to win the one-on-one battles of this first round in order to get our registrations fully set in stone and qualify for the actual main tournament. And for what it's worth, we only need to win once over the course of the next few days in order to be considered qualified."

"It still sounds like awfully high stakes, though." Megan said nervously. "Win and you're in, lose and you're out."

"Yeah." Jason grumbled. "No pressure."

"Don't worry, Jason." I said while placing a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "So long as you and I are careful and act wisely, we should be able to get our registrations fully set in stone."

Jason let out a slight chuckle and said, "Those who truly believe in their dream never stop chasing it, right?"

"Glad that you remember that." Megan said. "And besides, worrying too much about this little hurdle won't have any guarantee of making your chances at getting over it any higher."

"Exactly. So let's not let the fear of potentially losing the first round stop us from giving it our all!" I declared.

I then thought to myself some more as we walked, then spoke again.

"Losing in the first round of the Hoenn League would be even more humiliating than my dad's loss in the quarterfinals during his first run through the Hoenn League." I admitted.

"Making it to the quarterfinals is pretty respectable." Megan said with an eyebrow raised.

"His embarrassment has more to do with HOW his dad lost in the quarterfinals at that time." Jason explained. "I trust that your mom mentioned that particular detail to you?"

"Oh!" Megan exclaimed as realization struck, and she nodded her head. "Okay, fair enough. Now that I remember that particular detail, I can see what you mean, Adam."

I nodded my head in agreement and began my explanation.

"The official story is that my dad's Pikachu had gotten himself so exhausted in his prior battle against Tyson's Metagross that his subsequent clash against Tyson's Meowth ended up being a fair amount less one-sided in Pikachu's favor then it would have otherwise been. And even then, Tyson's Meowth was still only able to just barely outlast my dad's Pikachu by sheer luck.

"But I personally don't believe that. Granted, I'd understand it if my dad's Pikachu was too exhausted to even move after his battle with Metagross. That would make sense. But no, my dad's Pikachu was still able to properly fight despite being otherwise exhausted from battling Metagross. And sure, Tyson's Meowth was demonstrably stronger than Team Rocket's Meowth, but that's hardly a high bar to clear! And even then, with the level that my dad's Pikachu was at, even one of the strongest Meowths in the world should have been easily defeated by my dad's Pikachu, even in the fairly exhausted state that he was in. I mean, that's what conventional wisdom would indicate, right? Nothing about his loss to Meowth makes any sense realistically!

"Look, my dad and I both appreciate how that particular loss helped get it through his head about how over-reliant he'd become on his Pokemon's abilities alone, and was in desperate need of starting to incorporate proper strategy into his battles. But nonetheless, you can understand why his battle against Tyson in his first Hoenn League run is one that my dad feels he still reasonably should have won, right?" I finished explaining.

"No argument from me." said Jason.

Megan nodded and added, "I suppose it will remain a mystery as to just how things truly ended up unfolding the way that they did."

Just then, a flash of seemingly familiar red hair caught my attention out of the corner of my eye and I abruptly turned my head in that direction in time to see an unknown boy who looked an awful lot like Trevor talking with a blonde girl his age that he was walking and holding hands with. However, I noticed the boy's eyes and realized that this boy had a different eye color, which led me to also register how this boy's voice sounded different from Trevor's, too. Jason and Megan also looked towards the boy in question before directing sympathetic looks at me.

"You thought that that was Trevor for a moment." Jason stated. "Didn't you?"

"That obvious, huh?" I said, sighing.

"You must really regret failing to save him." Megan said.

"Yeah. Not to mention for unwittingly ensuring his loss by robbing my dad of the chance to try to help save him for me. He really should have been here. He was making good progress in getting all of the gym badges when we last saw him. If he hadn't died, he'd probably be right here and raring to set his registration for this League in stone alongside us, like he should have been."

"I really do feel bad for Nikki, now that you've reminded me of what happened to Trevor." Megan said in a sad tone. "I wonder how Nikki and her parents are doing right now?"

"Good question. I hope they're handling okay." Jason replied.

We continued until we reached the lodgings. And while we were still feeling somewhat sad about Trevor when we first arrived, our sad facial expressions were swiftly replaced with joyous surprise at the sight of two familiar people that we knew. One of them a girl with dirty blonde hair and the other was a boy with dark burgundy hair.

"Well, if it isn't Chris and Laura!" I said with a proud smile.

Hearing me, Tyson's son and Liza's daughter turned their heads towards us.

"Nice to see that you've made it here as well." said Laura.

"We were just starting to wonder if you'd ever show up." Chris added.

"Good to see that you've made it, too." said Jason. "Especially after what happened to Trevor."

"Yeah, we heard about that." said Laura, a sad look on her face. "Really sad, what happened to him."

"Agreed. I was honestly kinda looking forward to possibly battling him." Chris added.

"All the more reason to really give it your best effort." said Megan. "After all, you'll now all be battling just as much in his honor as you will for your own ambitions."

"And on a brighter note, how have things been on your ends? We haven't seen you two since our encounter with Team Rocket." I inquired.

"Pretty good." Chris stated with a nod of his head. "Surprisingly, Laura and I ended up not really encountering Team Rocket all that often after we parted ways with you guys."

"Still had plenty of exciting stuff to go through, though." Laura stated. "And we caught some pretty cool Pokemon. Not to mention that were among the people who saw Team Rocket's brief hijacking of the airwaves for their attempt at controlling Groudon and Kyogre."

"But enough of that memory." Jason said. "You said that you caught some really cool Pokemon. Dare I ask which ones?"

"And spoil the surprise?" Chris asked, grinning in amusement.

"Not gonna happen." Laura added.

"Well, then you'd best hope that you make it through the unexpected sudden death round that the Hoenn League will be opening up with over the next few days." said Megan. "Because I know that Adam and Jason won't appreciate being kept in suspense over your new Pokemon if they end up not even being able to see them in action over the course of this tournament!"

"Got that right." said Jason.

"Too true." I agreed.

"Don't forget that we'll be holding you two to your own promise to make it to the main tournament as well." said Chris.

"Especially considering who we've currently got posthumously counting on us to make it there together." Laura added, referring to Trevor.


The very next morning after breakfast, I still couldn't help but feel more than a little tense as I stood alongside all of the other contestants to watch the screen in the main building's lobby for the moment when the battle scheduling for the next few days would appear and show us who'd be battling who on which day. And as it would soon turn out, I wasn't proving particularly good at hiding how tense and stressed out I was starting to get.

"Dude," Jason said, a concerned and amused tone to his voice, "I know that I was less than amused yesterday, after what you told me about this League's first round, but seriously, please try to relax."

"Jason's right." Megan added. "Like you yourself said, you and Jason just need to try your best."

"I know, I know. It's just that the whole thing feels a lot more...real, now that it's practically right in front of us." I explained with a sigh.

"Good morning, everyone!" a voice announced.

In a flash, we all looked back to the screen.

"Sorry if you've been kept waiting longer than you'd consider ideal, but have no fear! Now the suspense shall be broken as we allow you to see who and when you'll be battling this week!"

We all watched as various trainers got their faces shown on the screen alongside whoever they'd be matched up against, as well as the date and time that their battles would occur.

As it would ultimately turn out, my battle would be happening later that afternoon, while Jason's would be occurring the next morning. Chris and Laura's battles would be happening with relatively similar scheduling, with Chris's unfolding tomorrow afternoon and Laura's unfolding this evening.

"Well, good luck, Adam." said Megan. She then looked to Jason, Chris, and Laura. "All of you."


"At this time, our next one-on-one sudden death battle shall begin between Adam Ketchum from Pallet Town and his opponent Evelyn from New Bark Town. Both trainers shall use only one Pokemon each with no changes allowed. The first trainer to have their Pokemon faint loses. Begin!"

I nodded my head, with my bright-blue-haired opponent doing the same.

Hopefully, I've got the right Pokemon on my team today. I thought to myself, remembering just how much careful thought I'd put into getting my Pokemon roster rearranged for today.

"Blastoise, I choose you!"

"Go, Nidoqueen!"

Both Pokemon materialized, roaring in unison once they'd fully come into view. Nidoqueen was a Ground and Poison Pokemon, which meant that Blastoise had a type advantage as a Water Pokemon. But even so, I'd need to avoid getting too comfortable.

"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump! Now!" Blastoise pointed his cannons at Nidoqueen and unleashed the blast of high-powered water.

"Nidoqueen, deflect that with Fury Swipes! Then follow up with Crunch!" Snarling, Nidoqueen started rapidly swinging her clawed hands in various directions, masterfully diverting the water away.

"Stop blasting and be ready to defend yourself with Skull Bash!" Blastoise stopped his Hydro Pump and Nidoqueen roared and rushed forward with her teeth at the ready for Crunch. But Blastoise was equally quick to react, lunging headfirst at the charging Nidoqueen just in time for his Skull Bash to ram right into her chest!

Evelyn winced as Nidoqueen was sent skidding to a halt back to her starting position, wincing in pain as she ended up brought down on one knee from the Skull Bash's impact.

"Don't worry, Nidoqueen! This is just the beginning! Retaliate with Earth Power!" she yelled. Snarling in rage, Nidoqueen raised her right claw, her body now glowing with yellow energy. Then she slammed her claw down on the arena floor, causing glowing gold cracks to appear on the floor that extended in Blastoise's direction.

"Dodge that! Then retaliate with Rapid Spin!" Blastoise moved aside just in time to avoid the eruption of golden power that erupted from the area where he'd been standing. And as soon as the Earth Power missed him, he retracted into his shell before sending himself spinning right at Nidoqueen for Rapid Spin.

"Nidoqueen, another Earth Power! Now!" Evelyn cried.

"Oh, come on!" I yelled, now feeling quite confident. "You're making this too easy! Blastoise, use Skull Bash to evade that and strike Nidoqueen!"

Blastoise did as asked, charging towards Nidoqueen while completely avoiding this second Earth Power.

"Now, Nidoqueen! Use Toxic!" Nidoqueen spewed out a blast of purple liquid that hit Blastoise right in the face, throwing off his concentration and causing him to come crashing to the arena floor. And worse yet, as he got back up to his feet, it soon became clear that he'd been poisoned!

"Nidoqueen, let's keep our momentum going! Use Fury Swipes!" With a roar of triumph, Nidoqueen swiftly lunged at Blastoise with Fury Swipes, sending him staggering back with a roar as the vicious claw swipes struck at him again and again.

"And I've got more where that came from! Nidoqueen, use Superpower!" Snarling, Nidoqueen slammed her clawed hands on the ground, her entire body glowing with a light blue aura as she yanked a large boulder out from the arena floor before tossing the boulder straight at Blastoise.

"Hydro Pump! Now!" I screamed, desperate to get back on track. Blastoise fired off another Hydro Pump just in time to halt the Superpower and send it flying right back at Nidoqueen.

"Dodge that!" Evelyn yelled in fright. But it was too late, and Nidoqueen cried out in pain and rage as she was sent skidding into the arena wall behind her trainer by the combined impact of Hydro Pump and her own Superpower attack!

"Talk about a turnaround, everyone!" yelled the announcer.

"Oh, we'll see who's laughing at the end!" Evelyn yelled, looking at Nidoqueen as she got back to her feet and roared in rage.

"Nidoqueen, use Fury Swipes! Now!" Nidoqueen lunged at Blastoise for another Fury Swipes with a mighty roar of rage.

"Blastoise, use Skull Bash!"

"NO!"

Nidoqueen howled in pain as Blastoise rammed his head against her chest a second time with Skull Bash. And while he tensed up from another moment of the poison in him acting up, I was not about to give up yet! I had to finish this before the poison sapped all of his energy!

"Just fight through it a little longer." I said. "We can still do this!"

"We'll see about that! Nidoqueen, use Superpower!"

"Block and retaliate with Hydro Pump mixed with Rapid Spin!"

Nidoqueen was sent flying with a pained howl as the rapidly spinning jets of water crashed mercilessly into her. Once the attack ended, Nidoqueen collapsed.

"Nidoqueen is unable to battle! Blastoise wins! The winner is Adam Ketchum!"


"I knew that you could do it!" Megan said with a smile as Laura and I sat alongside her in the audience the next day, ready to watch Jason's battle.

"Thanks. I'll admit, that moment where Blastoise got poisoned by Toxic certainly got me worried for a moment. But I was able to get things turned around." I replied.

"I know the feeling." Laura said. "That jerk that I was up against yesterday really had me owned in the first half. If it hadn't been for him choosing to be petty and unwittingly use a move that gave my Pokemon a serious benefit through her ability, I would've probably been out of the tournament right now."

"Here's hoping that Jason and Chris will still be joining you two in the main tournament." said Megan.

We then all looked down at the battlefield, where a determined Jason and an equally determined dark-skinned and golden-haired boy in a distinctly Unova clothing line were standing tall, ready to begin their battle.

"At this time, let us begin our next sudden death one-on-one battle today between Jason Oak from Pallet Town and Samuel from Nimbasa City! Both trainers shall use only one Pokemon each, no changes allowed. The first trainer to have their Pokemon faint loses. Begin!"

"Machamp, I need you now!"

"Conkeldurr, bring the noise!"

In a flash, both Pokemon materialized into view, with Machamp flexing his heavily muscled arms while Conkeldurr clapped its concrete pillars together like cymbals.

"Alright, Machamp! Time to start with a bang! Use Brick Break!" Jason yelled. Machamp rushed at Conkeldurr with his upper right hand drawn back in preparation for the attack. But as it would soon turn out, Samuel had been expecting something like that!

"Conkeldurr, throw that cocky Machamp off of his game with Stone Edge! Then follow up with Superpower!" Samuel yelled. Machamp soon found himself stumbling back with a surprise yell as he got hit in the face with Stone Edge...and was utterly helpless to do anything to avoid getting sent flying by a subsequent direct hit from Superpower.

But Machamp quickly got back on his feet, with Jason equally quick to retool his strategy.

"We can still salvage this, Machamp!" Jason shouted.

"We'll see about that! Conkeldurr, use Hammer Arm!" Samuel shouted. Conkeldurr rushed at Machamp, his right arm already drawing back for the Hammer Arm.

"You shouldn't have done that! Machamp, use Vital Throw!" Conkeldurr was sent stumbling off-balance after getting clotheslined by Machamp's lower right arm before then getting lifted off of the arena floor from the force at which the arm was moving, and was spun through the air in a circle before then being sent flying right back to its starting position.

"So far, things are looking pretty evenly matched, folks." the announcer stated.

"Conkeldurr, use Focus Punch! Now!" Conkeldurr's left fist and the concrete pipe held in that hand's grasp both glowed with light blue energy as it drew back in preparation for the Focus Punch, then charged at Machamp.

"Dodge that, Machamp! Then retaliate with Seismic Toss!" Machamp moved just in time to dodge the Focus Punch before very abruptly grabbing onto Conkeldurr, who had just enough time to snarl in surprise before Machamp jumped into the air with it in his clutches, spun around in a circle three times in mid-air, and hurled it back down to the arena floor with enough force for it to bounce three times before finally coming to a painful-sounding skidding halt.

"Wow!" yelled the announcer. "That HAD to have hurt!"

"You sure you don't wanna give up?" Jason asked.

"Never." Samuel growled as Conkeldurr managed, with visibly pained effort, to get back to its feet.

"We can still do this! Throw him off with Stone Edge! Then immediately follow up with another Focus Punch!"

"Machamp, deflect with Brick Break! Then lunge in with a Low Kick!"

Machamp successfully used Brick Break on the Stone Edge projectiles that got closest to him before then lunging with Low Kick, which successfully slammed right into Conkeldurr's stomach and caused him to snarl in surprise and pain as he lost the focus he needed for his Focus Punch and fell flat on his back, his heavy weight further heightening the impact of his landing.

Samuel shook his head, teeth gritted in rage as he watched Conkeldurr start to work laboriously to get back on his feet, despite being in clear pain...but was ultimately unable to do so.

"Conkeldurr is unable to battle! Machamp wins! The winner is Jason Oak!"


That evening, once all of the battles for that day had ended and we'd all met back up at the restaurant we'd made arrangements to have tonight's dinner at...

"I never doubted any of you for a second." Megan said confidently.

"And your faith was well rewarded." Laura said, chuckling. "Especially where Chris's battle was concerned."

"No kidding," Chris muttered before shaking his head in amusement. "Honestly, I'm not sure if I should be amused or insulted at how easy my opponent ended up being today."

"Well, for what it's worth," Jason stated, "I'm just thankful that we all made it into the main tournament, and that all of the hard work that we put in to getting our badges to even qualify for the initial registration hasn't ended up being a waste of time."

"Which makes it all the better that we've won the first round and don't have to worry about it anymore." I stated. "And at the very least, we now get the rest of the week to rest up before the top 256 are fully set in stone and we begin the next round."

None of us disagreed with that. Megan then grabbed her nearby drinking glass and raised it up.

"Let's have a toast to a fun tournament!" she declared.

Chuckling, we all quickly grabbed our glasses and engaged in the suggested toast. Regardless of how things unfolded over the remainder of the tournament, there was no denying that we were well and truly off to a good start.

Author's Note: The Hoenn Pokemon League has begun and Adam and Jason reunite with Chris and Laura. All four of them pass the first challenge successfully, but the tournament is just getting started!

Find out how they'll fare in the next round in the next chapter of Pokemon NG!