Old Titles (Betrayed) **Revising**

Chapter 4: Tournament Trials (revised)

And what better place to have it take place than on the location of where he first created one of the major staples of the gym challenge.

Upon arriving at the Plateau, Ash and the others quickly looked around for a proper place to land. The crowd around the plateau was huge, which did not give them a lot of leeway for landing zones. However, after some time, they finally located a spot just by the Pokémon Center.

As they got close to the landing zone, Ash quickly noticed Scott and the others out by the front of the Pokémon Center, clearly waiting patiently. He looked at Anabel. "Told you they would be waiting on us."

Anabel frowned. "I told Scott to go ahead and rent out the rooms early, but he never does."

Lillie looked at all the figures down there. "Are they all Frontier Brains?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, those are the current members of the Sinnoh and Kanto branches. You'll know most of them, but the Sinnoh Brains, you probably won't and Brandon will probably scare you."

Lillie rose an eyebrow. "Scare me?"

Pikachu, on Ash's shoulder, snickered knowingly while Ash just shrugged. "You'll see."

As they landed in a good spot, all three of them jumped off of their flying Pokémon, thanking them for the ride as they stepped off of them. The other Brains noticed the group and approached them, letting Scott speak first. "Hey you two. Late as ever, huh?"

Ash rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, I broke that habit a year after I joined." He groaned.

Everyone else laughed while the Pyramid King looked off towards a blonde teen standing with the pair. "And she is?"

Scott took it. "Oh, this is Lillie, Ash's latest challenger. How did that go by the way?"

"I won. Though it should have been closer."

Scott accepted that answer. "And the report?"

Ash pulled the papers out of his bag and handed them to Scott, who skimmed them over. "Wow, now I wish I was there. Why are your battles with challengers so interesting?"

Ash shrugged. "Can't really tell you. But I knew this battle would be one of my more interesting battles."

Scott rose an eyebrow, to which Ash answered. "She is an old friend from Alola. She has definitely improved since I last saw her."

Scott agreed with him. "Yeah, she knew what she was doing in the conferences. For only her first two conferences and to place so high, she was one to invite for the challenge."

Brandon stepped closer and looked said girl over, then looked over at her Altaria. "You share a strong bond with your Pokémon."

Lillie smiled. "Thank you. I-"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"AAAAHHHH!"

Lillie jumped out of her skin at the loud and sudden declaration from the Pyramid King. She looked at Brandon like he was crazy. The man had shifted from neutral to a stern expression after his yell.

"There is no need to tell me about your bond. Show me by making it to the Battle Pyramid and facing me!" He almost demanded.

Lillie nodded quickly, not wanting him to shout again. "I will."

Pikachu cracked up on Ash's shoulder while Ash went to speak with the other Brains, Anabel following close behind. They first stepped up to the Pyramid King, wanting to get into a conversation with the normally stern Ruins Expert. Lillie was about to follow along when Scott stopped her.