Pokemon: The Aura Guardian Strikes Back

Ch 22 - Let the festival, begin!

Suddenly, Ash snapped awake.

He looked out the window, sunny. "Alright, the announcement is happening today!" Ash said while stretching. He looked at his alarm clock. "6 in the morning? I guess everyone went to bed later than me, I think." He got out of bed and got changed.

Once he got out his room, he took his time to look around the villas Professor Kukui and Burnet had rented. There were 4 villas, and once bigger house with the kitchen, living room and dining room. Once he walked into the kitchen, he found a note, written by Lillie. 'You fell asleep so early Ash! Have a look in the fridge, you can have last nights leftovers, or make toast. Up to you!' Ash had a peek in the fridge, to find it stuffed with food. "Jeez! Did they have a smorgasbord last night or what? And without waking me up, aw man..." He ended up eating toast in the end.

"Hmmm, I still have hours until the ceremony, what to do..." Ash was pondering. "I know, time to train my Pokemon!" Ash went back into his room and got his Rotom Phone. For some clearing up, he got a Rotom Phone when he was shopping in Alola, only for the small bargain of 150,000 Pokecoins. "I spent alot on this, but at least I can call people as well." The Rotom Phone also had the same functionality as the Nanodex, being able to store all of his Pokemon. 

Ash went outside and walked down the road until he found a sign. When everyone was headed to the Villas, Ash saw this sign and knew that training grounds were near by. "Ok, lets see... right! Only a kilometre to the left and I'm there!" But before he started walking off, he heard Pikachu. 'Pika! Pikachu!' "Oh, Pikachu! I nearly left you behind, sorry bud" "Pika.." They walked off together.

After two hours of training, Ash recalled all of his Pokemon. "Jeez, think I went a little overboard then, I wanted to be back at the villas around this time..." "Rio." Ash's Riolu called out to him. "I assume you want to walk back to the villa's with me and Pikachu, huh." "Rio!" "Righty then, Pikachu, Riolu, lets head back to the villas!" "Pika!" They set off down the road back to the villas they were staying at.

Once Ash arrived, he saw one person in the living room, Lillie. "Morning Lillie! Where is everyone?" "Oh hey Ash, they are all still asleep, they must all be tired from yesterday. I went to bed early like you did." "Oh, ok. Do you have any news about the announcement." Ash asked Lillie. "It's meant to be in about 3 hours, so you still got some time. Have some more breakfast." Lillie said. 

Timeskip 2 hours and 30 minutes:

"Alright! Is everyone ready!?" Shouted Professor Kukui. "Professor, you've said that for the fourth time already." Said Sophocles. "Oh, right, lets get going then!" Kukui shouted as they head down the road. 

"Just thinking about it, the island is man-made, right?" Ash asked Kukui. "Yeah, why do you ask Ash?" "It's huge! How long did it take to build?" "I'm not sure Ash, probably quite a while." Kukui said. Ash and the others started talking to each other in the back seat. "So Kiawe, how much did you train? You were already pretty strong before?" Ash asked him. "Enough at least, I have to put on a performance here since my family is coming!" Kiawe shouted excitedly. "What about you Sophocles?" "Togedemaru has been through plenty of training, along with my Chargabug who evolved as well!" Sophocles exclaimed.  "Looks like we're ready then, lets do well in this tournament, lets win this." Ash said. "Well... when we get there at least."

"Well, here we are, the moment we've all been waiting for."

"The stadium is HUGE!" Ash shouted. "How many battles can go on at once!?" "This stadium isn't only for Pokemon Battles Ash, performances are being held as well, and performers from all around the world are coming as well." Said Kukui. "No wonder why this is so big then! Lets go inside-" "Wait Ash, we have to check our tickets first." Kukui said. "...fine." Kukui mentally sighed. 

Once they entered the stadium, there were food stalls and games everywhere. "WOAH!!" The boys shouted in unison. "There are so many things, this is a festival!" Kiawe shouted. "Hold on, where are the others? I only just realised." Sophocles said. "Burnet said they were gonna go shopping beforehand, so they should be here soon." Kukui said. "Lets do as much as we can then! We still have half an hour!" Ash said as the boys ran into the crowd. "Oh boy, this is going to be a long day..." Kukui said, wearily. 

Meanwhile outside the stadium

Burnet and the girls have just arrived. "Oh boy, I think we spent a bit too much on shopping..." "It was worth it, look how much we got!" Mallow shouted. "I guess, the boys should be inside, we should try and find them, sound good?" Burnet said. "Sounds good to me." Lana said. 

As they went inside, they were met with an unexpected surprise. There was a festival inside. "Woah... this looks amazing. We will never find them at here." Lillie said. "I guess we will meet them at the announcement the-" "Lillie! Guys they're here!" They heard someone shout. "Nevermind, we just found them." Burnet said. "Hey Ash! How are you?" "Good thanks... uh, how much did you spend guys." Ash said. "Haha... we may have gone a bit overboard... yeah..." "Your car is packed!" Sophocles said. He managed to get a peek of their car. "A-anyway, the announcement should be starting soon, right?" Said Lillie. "Shoot, your right, lets head over to the stage now."

When they were walking to the stage, they heard a lot of people saying the festival hasn't properly started yet. "Looks like there is more to come, right guys." "Think so... there's the stage." They walked over. "Right on time guys."

Everyone started cheering when one person walked onto the stage. He took the mic and cleared his throat. "Hello everyone! Trainers, Guests and Pokemon alike! My name is Rose and I am proud to announce the Pokemon Masters Tournament!" The stage area erupted into cheers. "As most of you probably know, I am the chairman of the Galar region Pokemon League, so today, I got a special guest for everyone! Please welcome, Champion Leon!" The arena erupted into even louder cheers as Champion Leon took the stage. "Hello all! I am Leon, uh, there are so many people here today! I'm sure this championship is gonna be a Champion Time! Now everyone, you see that there are food stalls and games everywhere, right! Well get ready for more! Let the festival, begin!" Leon said as he struck his famous pose. 

The walls opened up behind him to reveal more Pokemon Battlefields with more games and activities on. "Now everyone, have a Champion Time!"

And from then until the end of the day, they all had a blast of a time.