Training and league starts

It has been five months since Ash left Pallet Town and went on Mt. Silver to train for the Indigo League.

After he caught Onix on Mt. Hideaway, Ash started his journey toward Mt. Silver and it took him about five days to get there, and climb on top of the biggest mountain in both Kanto and Johto Regions. He climbed all the way up there because he wanted to train in the place where conditions were brutal and everyone will tell you that there are no more brutal conditions in both Kanto and Johto Regions, with only few other places in the whole world where conditions are as brutal as those on Mt. Silver.

When he got there, he had a little over four and a half months left until the tournament starts, so without wasting any time, he started his and his Pokémon's training.

Since the training started, it took a while for some of his Pokémon to adjust to the conditions on Mt. Silver, but after they did, all of them started to catch up with the others who didn't have the problem with extreme cold and ice.

All of Ash's Pokémon have become much more powerful than they were and some of them have finally decided to evolve while some stayed the same.

Both Charmeleon's, Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Haunter, Dratini, Seadra and three of the Eevee's from Safari Zone have all evolved, while the others are still in their first forms or are already fully evolved.

Dratini and Tyrunt have had a lot of problems for the first month of training because of their big weakness against Ice, but after they got used to it, both of them quickly caught up with the others, and after a lot of training they have almost developed immunity to Ice, which means they are damaged by it about as much as any other Pokémon and it's not their main weakness anymore.

Ash had a lot of problems with Aerodactyl and Kabutops, because they would start fighting with other Pokémon, and wouldn't listen to Ash, but after several beatings from Lucario, they have slowly started to get along with the others.

As for Ash, he has been training with Mewtwo, Alakazam and Lucario nonstop and has taken his Psychic powers to a new level. The same goes for his fighting capabilities because of his training with Lucario.

Ash has finally decided to stop his training about teen days before the start of the tournament so that his Pokémon can have some rest, and so he can have time to get to Indigo Plateau.

Right now, he is on his way there.

"So, what do you think of our training guys, do you think we could have all became more powerful or we did the best we could in the time we head?" Ash asked Lucario and Pikachu.

"I think we did as best as we could," replied Lucario. "There was no other training to do as we did everything that has come to our mind."

"I agree with Lucario, this was the best we could have done in four and a half months," said Pikachu.

"Besides, all of your Pokémon are at least Elite Four level, with a few of us who are Champion level or above," added Lucario.

"You are right, they did advance more than I thought they would." Ash said, after which, they continued toward Indigo Plateau in peaceful quietness.

XXX

"We are here." Ash, Lucario and Pikachu have finally arrived at the Indigo Plateau as they are now standing in front of it, while some people were going around the place.

"Yeah, we made it, but there is still five days until the start of the tournament, what are you going to do until then?" Lucario asked.

"Nothing," replied Ash simply. "I'll go and register for the League, and then we are all resting until the start of the League."

"Then we should go and do it right away," Pikachu suggested.

"Yeah, there is a building were trainers are registration, and then we can go in Pokémon center and get a room," agreed Ash, and then they went to register for the League.

A few minutes later, Ash and his Pokémon entered inside of the application building and went in front of a woman that is working there, while ignoring the curious looks that some trainers were giving to Lucario since they are already used to them.

"Hello, I'm here to register for the tournament," said Ash.

"Of course, I'll just need your Pokedex and it will be done in a minute," said the woman with a smile.

"Sure," Ash said and took his Pokedex from his backpack, and gave it to her. "Here you go."

The woman was a little surprised by an odd looking Pokedex, but said nothing and started typing Ash's information on the computer. After a minute she gave him his Pokedex back and said. "Here is your Pokedex, Ash, and also here is a guidebook that you might need. Your first match will be on the Water Field on the first day."

"What do you mean by water field," asked Ash?

"There are four fields in which you have to win you matches before you compete in the main tournament, it's preliminary round to narrow down the number of participants. Your first match is on the water field and if you win you will have a match on one of the other three and so on until you win on all four," explained the woman.

"I see. Well thank you," Ash said before he walked away to the Pokémon center.

When he got to the Pokémon center, Ash took a room and, along with Lucario and Pikachu, went to rest a little from the trip.

XXX

While Ash was resting, Misty, Leaf and Brock were on their way to meet him at the tournament grounds.

After Misty and Brock went back to their homes, they stayed there with their families for about a month, before they met with Leaf again and traveled with her around Kanto Region until now.

"We are getting close," said Brock. "We should be there in a couple of hours."

"Yeah, and I can't wait to see Ash again," said Misty, with a blush on her face.

"Me as well," added Leaf, and got the look from Misty, which made her slightly nerves.

Brock saw this and sighed. "Why do all girls want Ash and no girl wants me?" He thought out loud not thinking that Leaf and Misty would hear him. They did, though.

"That's probably because you flirt with any girl you see," said Misty, with a scowl on her face. Brock was getting on her nerves sometimes with his constant flirting with almost every girl they come across.

"Y-You heard that," Brock said with a sweat drop.

"Yeah Brock, we heard you," replied Leaf. While traveling with Brock for the past few months, she saw that he likes to flirt with girls, and honestly it was starting to annoy her.

"Let's just go," said Brock while crying.

They just stopped their conversation, when someone called them from behind. "Hey Misty, Brock wait!"

All three turned around and saw Cynthia walking toward them, though only Brock and Misty recognized her since Leaf didn't know her.

"Hey Cynthia, it's been a while," said Brock, when he saw who she was.

"Yeah Brock, it sure has been a while," she agreed. "How are you doing?"

"We are fine," replied Misty. "Just on our way to watch the tournament."

"Oh, and who is this," Cynthia asked when she was Leaf? "And where is Ash, I thought he will be with you?"

"Oh, right, you too don't know each other," Brock said, and then went and introduced the two girls to each other. "Cynthia, this is Leaf, she is a friend of Ash's and ours from Pallet Town. Leaf, this is Cynthia, a friend we meat on board St. Anne."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Leaf," Cynthia said and offered her hand for a shake, which Leaf took and replied. "It's my pleasure as well."

"As for Ash, we are not sure where he is right now, but we are supposed to meet him at the tournament," replied Misty on Cynthia's second question.

"Why were you separated," Cynthia asked a little confused? "I thought that you will be traveling here together."

"We were together until Ash won his eight gym badge," Misty said. "After that we went back at Pallet Town where we separated because Ash was planning to go and train his Pokémon by himself."

"We went back home after Pallet, and spent some time with our families before we met with Leaf and traveled again since then. But we promised to come and watch Ash competing in the tournament." Brock added.

"I see," Cynthia said with slight sadness in her voice since she has to wait longer to see Ash again.

Leaf noticed her expression, and realized that this girl loves Ash just like Misty and herself, and she didn't know what to feel because there was another girl after Ash.

"Did you also get all badges and are going to participate in the tournament," asked Brock?

"Yeah I got my last one four months ago, and I've been training ever since," replied Cynthia. "I had to train very hard to be able to catch up to Ash."

"Well then let's go, he might already be there," Misty said, after which, they all started walking again.

XXX

"Excuse me Nurse Joy, can we get two rooms please?" Misty asked, after she and the others have arrived in the Pokémon center at the Indigo Plateau. When they got in the Village, Cynthia, went to sign up for the tournament, while the others went to find rooms for them all.

"Of course, it's no problem," replied Nurse Joy and after she typed a few things on her computer, she gave them two keys. "Here you go, enjoy your stay."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," said Misty.

"Excuse me Nurse Joy, but can you tell me if a boy named Ash Ketchum came here?" Brock asked in as neutral tone of voice as he could, since he was fighting with himself to not start to flirt with Nurse Joy right then and there.

"Yes, he came a few hours ago, and is in his room right now," replied Nurse Joy. "Are you his friends?"

"Yeah, we traveled together before he went to train his Pokémon by himself and prepare for the tournament, but we promised to meet each other here," replied Brock.

"Oh, well you can find him in his room. Its room number 25," said Nurse Joy after checking on her computer. The group said goodbye and left to put their stuff in their rooms and then go and see Ash.

XXX

Ash, Lucario and Pikachu were currently sleeping in their room when there was a knock on the door that woke them up.

Ash stood up and groaned. "Who the hell is waking me up?"

He then walked to the door and opened them. As he did, someone immediately jumped on him which made him fall on the floor. Lucario and Pikachu were about to jump and help Ash, but then they saw who it was and stopped.

"Hey there Ash, what's up," someone asked?

When Ash looked at who it was, he saw Brock standing in the door with Cynthia who was next to him. He then looked at who jumped on him and saw Misty and Leaf, both with their heads on his chest and hugging his arms.

"Hey guys, what are you doing, and why did you jump at me like that," Ash asked?

"We just came here and Nurse Joy told us in which room you are so we came to see you," replied Brock. "As for Misty and Leaf, I guess they missed you a lot."

Ash then looked at Misty and Leaf and said. "Hey girls, can we stand up, this is getting uncomfortable if you know what I mean?"

Both Misty and Leaf blushed deep red and quickly pulled themselves from Ash, who then stood up as well.

"If I knew you were going to miss me so much, I would have brought you with me, we could have had a great time," Ash teased them both with a sly smile on his face.

When the others heard what he said, Misty and Leaf blushed even more, and even Brock and Cynthia were blushing.

"Will you stop with the teasing Ash," yelled Misty and punched him on the arm?

"Ok, ok, I'll stop," said Ash and then invited them in his room.

All four of them then entered inside and took a sit on the beds.

"So how have you all been," asked Ash as they all set down? "You to Cynthia, I haven't seen you even longer than the others."

"I have been traveling and training," replied Cynthia. "I got my final badge four months ago and then I went on Seafoam Islands and trained there until few days ago."

"So, you went there, it's a nice place, good choice," said Ash, with a smile.

"What about the rest of you," Ash asked?

"We meet with Leaf about a month after you left and have been traveling around and training our Pokémon," replied Brock. "We didn't want for our Pokémon to fall even further behind yours."

"Hahaha," laughed Ash. "That is good to hear."

"What about you, were did you go to train," asked Cynthia?

"Oh, I went on top of Mt. Silver," replied Ash and the others widened their eyes in surprise.

"Why would you go there," asked Misty?

"That place has very tough terrain, and the top of the mountain is covered in snow and Ice, which makes it a perfect place to train," said Ash.

"Wow, and here I thought that my training was tough," said Cynthia.

"Hey Ash, when is your family coming," asked Leaf?

"My dad said they will be here on the second day of the tournament, since he has something to do first, and they all want to come together," Ash replied.

After that, the group spent a few hours talking, and when the night has fallen, they all went together to have dinner and then to bed. For tomorrow, they have planned to go around the Pokémon Village and check it out.

XXX

For the next four days, Ash and his friends have spent doing nothing and just went around the Pokémon Village. They also had as much rest as they could, because they were all tired from training and traveling.

One day while checking the Village, Ash meat Richie, a kid his age who was carrying Pikachu on his shoulders just like Ash, and the two of them quickly became friends with Richie even joining Ash and the others on their tours around the village and hanged around with them.

The day before the tournament was to start, all competitors went to the main stadium where the torch runner just came and brought the torch which carried the Flames of Molters that were used as a marking for the start of the tournament and will be burning on top of the stadium until the official end of the tournament.

After the fire was lit, the Pokémon League President, Mr. Charles Goodshow, gave the opening speech and wished all the trainers good luck.

Ash even met Gary, who came two days before the League starts in his convertible, and a bunch of cheerleaders, like always. But unlike the last time they saw each other and even before then, Gary wasn't acting like an ass toward Ash, because, apparently, he gained a lot of respect for him when he saw what Ash did in Grampa Canyon.

Gary even apologized for how he acted toward Ash before, but Ash just waved off his apology, and told him its fine.

Right now, Ash is standing on one side of the water field, ready for his first match at the Indigo League tournament. Across from him is his opponent, Mandi, who, to Ash at least, appears to be a total jackass, because of how he acts and thinks of himself as some hot shit.

"Welcome, ladies and gentleman, for the first battle today here on the water field. On the green side we have an 11-year-old Ash Ketchum and on the red side we have a fan favorite Mandi!" Said the announcer, while the crowd was cheering for both trainers as they wanted a good match.

While the announcer was talking, Brock and the others were amongst the crowd siting and discussing this match.

"So, do you think Ash will only use one or more of his Pokémon to wipe the floor with this guy?" Brock asked.

"I don't know, maybe he'll only use one," replied Misty.

"I think he will use more than one," added Cynthia.

"Why, it's not like this guy will give him any trouble," said Leaf.

"Because he might want to give all of his Pokémon a chance to battle in this tournament, and if he uses only one per match most of them wouldn't be fighting," said Cynthia.

"That is actually a good reason to use more of them," said Brock.

"Let's just watch and see," said Misty, and then they focused on the match.

Back at the field, Mandi was chosen to first call his Pokémon and he called Exeggutor, while Ash let out his Wartortle.

"Trainers are you ready," asked the referee, and both Ash and Mandi nodded? "BEGIN!"

"Exeggutor, use Confusion," said Mandi!

"Wartortle, use Protect," Ash calmly said.

Exeggutor's eyes glowed red and he tried to use Confusion to control Wartortle, but Wartortle created a barrier in front of him and Confusion didn't have any effect.

"Good, now use Leer." Wartortle put down the barrier and his eyes glowed green while he looked at Exeggutor, which made Exeggutor flinch and drop his defense.

"Finish it with Water Gun," said Ash and Wartortle just fired a blast of water from his mouth, which hit straight at Exeggutor and he dropped on the floor unconscious.

"Exeggutor, NOOO," yelled Mandi after his Pokémon got defeated by one attack!

"Exeggutor is unable to battle, the winner is Wartortle," said the referee!

"Wow, this was one quick win for Ash and his Wartortle. Who would have thought that he will make such short work of Mandi's Exeggutor," shouted the announcer as the crowd was going crazy in their seats, but this time they only seem to be cheering for Ash, as they can see that he is a great trainer and that he will probably get far in this tournament!

"Exeggutor, return. You did good to defeat my Exeggutor, Ash, but you won't be able to defeat my next Pokémon," said Mandi, and called out his Seadra.

"Mandi calls out his Seadra, what will Ash do, will he stay with Wartortle, or will he switch for another Pokémon," yelled the announcer?

Ash smirked and said. "Wartortle return." Ash returned his Wartortle, and took out another Poke Ball before he released his second Pokemon. "Kingdra you are up." Mandi's jaw dropped at seeing Kingdra, while his Seadra lost all color on its face.

"I cannot believe this, Ash has just called Kingdra which is Seadra's evolved form," yelled the announcer at the top of his voice, and most of the crowd got confused because they didn't even know that Seadra can evolve, let alone into this monstrosity! "And this Kingdra appears to be bigger than normal!"

"Are you ready?" Asked the referee. Ash just nodded, while Mandi gulped. "BEGIN!"

Mandi managed to pull himself together and called his attack. "Seadra, don't be intimidated by his Pokémon and use Hydro Pump!"

Seadra took a deep breath and fired a powerful looking spiraling jet of water from its mouth at Kingdra.

"Kingdra, use Twister," said Ash!

Kingdra pointed his head up and started to spin around quickly, making itself into a twister. And since he was in the water, it created a water tornado which then stopped Seadra's Hydro Pump and even trapped it in a water tornado, and started to spin it around.

"SEADRA!" Mandi yelled again as he realized that his Seadra is doomed!

A few moments later, the water tornado stopped and Seadra fell in the water, defeated.

"Seadra is unable to battle, the winner is Kingdra," said the referee!

"And another one-shot win for Ash and his Pokémon. I sure hope that he doesn't do this through the entire tournament because it will be boring!" The crowd started laughing at the announcers comment.

"Golbat, you are next!" Mandi released his final Pokémon!

"Kingdra, return," Ash said. "Crobat, come on out!"

"BEGIN!"

"Crobat, use Air Slash," said Ash.

"Golbat, dodge it and use Wing Attack."

Crobat flapped his four wings and sent multiple light blue glowing saw disc-like energy blades from its wings at Golbat, who barely managed to evade it, and then went toward Crobat and tried to use Wing Attack.

"Crobat, use Supersonic," said Ash. Crobat released multiple thin light-blue circles from his mouth, which then went at Golbat, and caused it to hold its ears in pain. "Finish it with Wing Attack."

All four of Crobat's wings glowed white and he flew at Golbat and hit him with them, causing Golbat to fall in the pool of water, defeated.

"Golbat is unable to continue the winner is Crobat, and the winner of the match is Ash Ketchum!" Said the referee, and the crowd cheered even more for Ash.

"What a match for Ash and his Pokémon, he has defeated Mandi and moves on to the next round," shouted the announcer!

"Crobat, return," Ash called his Pokémon back in its Poke Ball, and then turned around and left the field, while Mandi fell on his knees. He couldn't believe how easily he lost.

Back with the crowd, Brock, Misty, Leaf and even Cynthia were surprised by how easily Ash won.

"I knew Ash's Pokémon are good, but I wasn't expecting this from the Pokémon that are not his Lucario, Alakazam and Pikachu," commented Misty.

"I guess his training at Mt. Silver really paid off," replied Brock, while Leaf and Cynthia just nodded in agreement with Brock.

"Let's go and see him," said Misty and then they all stood from their seats and went to find Ash.

XXX

"Wow, that kid is good," said the man with red hair and wearing a large black cape, seating in the VIP room in the administration building of the Pokémon Village, after watching Ash's battle. He is Lance one of Kanto Elite Four.

"He sure is. I think he might win this if he keeps this up." A woman with long purple hair, wearing red shirt with a jacket over it and a skirt, agreed with Lance. She is Lorelei, one of two women in the Kanto Elite Four.

"The kid did well, but let's not jump ahead until we see him in his next few battles," said an older woman with yellow hair and wearing something like a maid dress. This is Agatha, the other woman of the team.

"There is no way that this kid will lose," said Bruno, the member of the Elite Four who Ash met on Mt. Hideaway.

"And what makes you say that," asked another man who was in the room? He was a tall man with a darker orange hair, wearing a simple black shirt and a blue pants. He was Blue Oak, Gary Oak's father and the Champion of Kanto Region.

Blue knew Ash since he was little as he and Red are good friends and rivals, and because of that he knew about Ash and his training and powers, but he didn't know why Bruno has such confidence in Ash, as he doesn't' know about Ash.

Bruno smirked and replied. "I meet the kid five months ago on Mt. Hideaway, and I got impressed by how he handled a rampaging Onix that lived there so I challenged him to a one-on-one battle."

Bruno's response surprised the other members of the Elite Four and the Pokémon League President who was there as well, but not, Blue.

"I see," said Blue. "So, you know who he is!"

"Yeah, I do know," replied Bruno.

"What are you to talking about, what is so special about him," asked Lorelei?

"Ash Ketchum is a Grand Master of the Aura Guardian's," Bruno's reply surprised the others in the room besides Blue who already knew and Mr. Goodshow, who figured it out after he heard his name.

"He was that kid I told you about a year ago that was allowed to carry 12 Pokémon at all time because of him being a Grand Master," said Mr. Goodshow.

"So that was this kid," said Lance!

"Yeah," Goodshow simply confirmed.

"How did he do in that battle of yours? He must have done well if you are so sure in him, even if he is an Aura Guardian, he is a trainer for only a year, how far could he have advanced in such short amount of time," asked Agatha while looking at Bruno?

"He wiped the floor with my Hitmonchan," Bruno replied, and caused all of them in the room to widen their eyes.

"Wow," exclaimed Lance with eyes widened.

"So, he's that good," commented Lorelei just as surprised as Lance.

"I see now why you were so sure in him wining this, because if he could defeat your strongest Pokémon with ease then I don't think anyone in this tournament will be able to defeat him," said Agatha.

"Why are you not as surprised as we are," Lorelei asked Blue?

"I knew him since he was born," replied Blue. "Or are you forgetting that he's from Pallet Town like I am."

"I guess I did forget about that," Lorelei admitted.

"Well it has been a few years since we all saw someone who was good enough to challenge us after winning the tournament, and this kid sure looks like he can defeat us if he's as good as you say, Bruno," said Agatha, and the others in the room agreed.

After that, they all just continued to watch the rest of the matches.