♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝔹𝕪 𝔻𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕪 (𝔸𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘) ♛

Chapter 28: PRELIMINARIES (4)

"I'm terribly sorry for his guy's beh—"

But Agatha merely chuckled silently.

"It's alright, dearie. It's been some time, my boy. You too, Blue dear," Agatha greeted Ash, patting his head.

"Yeah! I've gotten stronger!" Ash replied excitedly.

"It's nice to see you again, Miss Agatha!" Blue replied with delight.

Misty could only watch, baffled as the senior happily conversed with the two children, as if a grandmother to her grandchildren.

The other Elite Four were surprised as well since, for all their time together, the old woman was not one to respond to crowd reactions. However, the red-haired man looked even more astonished at the raven-haired boy.

'That's…'

"Agatha, do you know this young man?" he asked.

"Yes, Lance. The boy is a close acquaintance of mine. Plus, he managed to beat that old coot quite spectacularly," the old woman answered with a soft chuckle.

The Elite Four knew who the old woman was talking about. After all, there was only one person who Agatha would address in that name.

Although they were now Kanto's strongest, the Elite Four held a deep respect for Oak as the professor would on occasion spar with them when he was visiting Agatha. And the old man had not lost his touch.

Which was why curiosity towards Ash further increased from the Elite Four.

Ash then looked towards the other 3 and grinned. He faced them and bowed, taking his cap off as a sign of respect.

"It's an honour to meet you all," he greeted cordially.

"I'm Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. And…"

Ash put his cap back on and gave the Elite Four the boldest statement they had ever heard. His red eyes conveying his determination.

"The future Pokémon Master. Looking forward to battle y'all in the finals!"

The crowd were frozen stiff. They could not believe what the boy had said.

Misty was mumbling incoherently, thinking Ash had lost his mind. While Agatha and Blue gave the boy an amused snicker.

Hearing this brazen introduction, the Elite Four smiled.

"Heh, quite the bold claim," the red-haired woman replied.

"Haha! Dear Ash is still as amusing as before," Agatha chuckled again.

"…You have spirit, kid," the burly man simply said, his eyes still closed.

Lance was amused.

"Well, well. I'm surprised there's a kid like you in the Preliminaries," he stated.

Ash got ticked off at Lance writing him off as some kid. The boy was aiming to be Pokémon Master, after all.

"Age has nothing to do with a Trainer's skill. I've already won my fir—"

"A single victory in the Preliminaries does not make you invincible, boy."

An intimidating air surrounded the crowd. Ash widened his eyes at the man's change in demeanour.

Lance looked at the raven-haired Trainer with a serious expression.

"Do you know why there are only 12 spots available for the Preliminaries? Even though there are 16 Trainers in the main event?"