Chapter 32: Rematch
As the announcement of the start of the Grand League concluded, the stadium's screen displayed the matchups.
What was shown shocked Ash, causing his pupils to contract in surprise.
In chronological order:
Lorelei vs Flint
Red vs Misty
Karen vs Green
Skyla vs Blue
Bruno vs Bea
Lisia vs Agatha
Grant vs Ilima
Lance vs Clair
Gary smirked upon knowing who his opponent was.
"That's…," Blue muttered as she recognized Skyla.
And finally, Ash turned towards his upcoming opponent.
"Well… looks like it's the end of your journey, Ash," Misty began.
"I can guarantee this won't be like a Gym battle."
The raven-haired boy recalled her desire for a rematch against Lorelei and gave a forced grin.
"Y- yeah! That's what I want!" Ash responded, fumbling a little.
And the opening ceremony ended.
Early dawn, Ash was on a pillar looking over Indigo Plateau. The young Trainer then looked back on his Kanto journey.
"Look, Pikachu, Charizard! What an amazing view!" Ash exclaimed to his two starters.
"How long has it been since we've said goodbye to Pallet Town?" he asked to no one.
"Since our promise to Green?"
His fingers drifted towards his treasured locket.
"Since I last saw her?"
And Ash chuckled.
"Well, at least I know she's watching."
Just then, the Trainer's now upgraded PrelimPass, the LeaguePass, rang as new information about the Grand League arrived.
As Ash pulled out the device and read the contents, he was surprised at what was written. The Fifth Grand League, now titled Festival of Champions, had new rules for the first time in the event's history.
For the entire duration of the event, all Pokémon are allowed to use every move they were had learnt without restrictions. The reasoning for such a drastic change was simply to put on an amazing display of Pokémon battles.
However, for the competitors, this meant there would be no need to lose their heads over which four moves to use during battle. A blessing for the Trainers.
The second notification was about the first match, Flint vs Lorelei. Prompting Ash to fly on Charizard to the stadium to watch the match.
A field terrain was present and a Flareon fainted in the middle.
"Kuh! Go, Rapidash!" Flint cried out.
The red afro was already on his last Pokémon while Lorelei still had her Lapras out on the field, never needing to switch. The score was now 2 to 0, causing Flint to sweat.
The redhead teen did not expect to be losing this badly to an Ice Type specialist of all people. And in a panic, he gave his instructions to his blazing horse.
"Rapidash, gallop around Lapras with [Flame Charge]!"
"[Water Pulse]," Lorelei responded without a hint of hesitation.
However, Rapidash was too fast for the Transport Pokémon to hit. In addition, [Flame Charge]'s secondary effect made the horse gallop even faster, raising its Speed stat.
Flint then found an opening as Lapras missed Rapidash, who stopped behind the Transport Pokémon.
"Alright! [Flame Wheel]!" Flint commanded, seeing his opportunity.
He knew Lapras, despite being an Elite Four level Pokémon, could not turn backwards on land as quickly compared to in water. So, when Rapidash got behind it, Flint went on the offensive.
Rapidash closed in behind Lapras and was about to hit it with [Flame Wheel]…
But…
Splash!
'Water?' Flint thought curiously as his Pokémon's hoof stepped closer to Lapras.
Then, his face paled as he looked closer.
Around Lapras' vicinity was a pool of water, made by the remnants of its failed [Water Pulses] that failed to hit Rapidash. And it was all Lorelei's plan.
"Welcome to my world of snow and ice," she said with an intimidating smile.
"[Sheer Cold]."
And a pillar of frost manifested from the puddles of water upon the poor blazing horse.
"R- Rapidash…" Flint muttered in defeat as he gazed upon his Pokémon's icy statue.
Everyone in attendance were shocked at the sight of the frozen Rapidash. A viciousness from Lorelei's OHKO, and yet a certain beauty conveyed to the audience.
{ RAPIDASH IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! }
{ THE FIRST VICTORY OF THE INDIGO GRAND LEAGUE GOES TO LORELEI! }
The competitors of the Grand League were in a special glass room overseeing the match, including the Elite Four.
Everyone was amazed at Lorelei's stunning display of overwhelming power. A trait every Elite Four shared. Ash stared in silence at the red-haired woman with his eyes widened.
'So, this is the strength of the person Misty looks up to…' he thought in bewilderment.
After the handshake between the competitors, Lorelei then looked towards the competitors. Or more specifically, at Misty.
With a sharp gaze and a dangerous smile, it conveyed all she wanted to the redhead Gym Leader.
'I'll be waiting…'
Immense pressure built within Misty as she and the other competitors looked at the brackets.
Flint now eliminated and Lorelei advancing to the quarterfinals. The second match now read:
{ RED OF PALLET TOWN VS MISTY OF CERULEAN CITY }
'If I beat Ash in the next match, I'll finally get my shot against Lorelei again!' the redhead thought with determination.
'Once my role model, now my rival.'
Then she made her to the exit to prepare for her upcoming match.
'This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.'
Coming face to face with her opponent himself.
The others observed as Misty locked eyes with Ash. Blue and Gary watched in silence.
The redhead then gave a serious stare towards the raven-haired boy.
'This is my one chance, and I'm taking it.'
And she walked past him, leaving Ash to his own thoughts.
'She's serious about this…' the boy thought worryingly.
He then glanced at his childhood friends, recalling his promises he made throughout his life.
To Gary.
"Well, I'm gonna be a Pokémon Master!"
To Blue.
"Strong enough to knock some sense back into him!"
To his Pokémon.
"There is only one road. And we walk it together."
And finally, to the most precious person of his life.
"Even if it takes 10 years. No matter what, I'll be here waiting for you."
Unconsciously, the crimson orbs flared up slightly.
"I'm not gonna lose…" he said to himself, unknowing of his red eyes and left to the battlefield, leaving the room to do his own preparations.
Kalos Region, Pokémon Academy
{ MATCH 2 STARTING SOON }
The halls were once again filled by students, teachers, and parents alike. Among the crowd was an excited honey blonde, eagerly anticipating the appearance of a certain raven-haired boy.
"Calm down, Serena. Just be patient," Shauna assured her friend, sweat dropping after seeing the girl's trembling clasped hands.
"Yeah, it's starting soon so just relax, geez," Calem chimed in as well, hoping to calm the honey blonde.
Sycamore could only chuckle at his student's enthusiastic behaviour and waited for the match to begin.
Meanwhile, a certain Pokémon sat besides the professor. A blue frog with a large mane of bubbles around its neck, Froakie. However, this one was peculiar.
A fighter at heart and dedicated his entire life to battling and training. The reason why he was with Sycamore was because of his behaviour with previous Trainers. A Pokémon that abandoned unworthy Trainers caused a lot of problems for Sycamore, resulting Froakie being a very unpopular starter to choose in Kalos.
This also led to Froakie being bullied by his species that lived in the lab, blaming him as the reason why no Trainers would choose them. But the frog would always shrug it off despite the injuries and continued training.
Sycamore brought him to the watch party so that Froakie could improve on his techniques by reference. But soon, the professor got more than what he hoped for.
{ MATCH LOADING… }
Inside the glass room where the competitors spectated, an orange-haired boy started snacking on some cookies. Prompting a chestnut-haired girl to appear behind him.
"Are those Daisy's cookies?" Blue asked hungrily.
"Heh. You could smell them from there?" Gary teased playfully.
"What a glutton~"
"Wh- what?! No, I'm not!" Blue exclaimed panickily, denying his claims. But was then betrayed by her stomach's rumbling.
Gary then waved the cookies in front of the girl with a smug look.
"Want some, Snorlax Blue?"
Nom nom nom!
"Mmm! Daisy's cookies are the best," Blue sighed contently after taking a bite of a cookie.
"More or less," the boy agreed, doing the same.
Before long, the two Trainers were then joined by the other competitors:
Bea, Lisia and Skyla.
Blue began introducing themselves while Gary spared no effort ignoring them. The three older girls were fascinated by the Pallet trio, the youngest Trainers to have ever climbed to the peak of the Indigo Grand League seemingly effortlessly.
Bea then took notice of the spectators that came to watch the upcoming match.
"Your friend is rather famous for his age," the gray-haired girl stated.
Hearing this, Gary finally spoke.
"No. They are mostly here for Misty," he replied, clarifying her statement.
Since the teenage girls were not of Kanto, Gary reluctantly explained any misunderstandings the older girls had. Blue knew this and smiled at her crush, but admittedly a little jealous since he was explaining to girls.
'Does he like older girls?' Blue thought.
"She's Kanto's youngest Gym Leader and rather well-known for her performances in Cerulean City," he continued.
"But isn't Red younger?" Lisia asked, chiming in.
"A kid like him got in due to pure luck. As if anyone would be interested in watching him."
Meanwhile, a certain honey blonde sneezed.
Hearing this, Blue looked at Gary blankly.
"Hey Green… Do you really think Red has only won through pure luck?" she asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Gary smirked.
"Can't wait to see him fall from all that confidence and get a huge dose of reality."
The girls frowned at the boy's condescending remarks towards his rival, but Blue merely stare silently at him, not buying his words.
Then, among the Elite Four, Lorelei's smile did not go unnoticed by Lance.
"Excited?"
"…A little."
{ LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! }
{ IT IS TIME FOR THE SECOND MATCH! }
{ PLEASE GIVE OUR TRAINERS A WARM WELCOME! }
{ ON THE LEFT, KANTO'S YOUNGEST GYM LEADER, THE TOMBOYISH MERMAID! }
{ MISTY OF CERULEAN CITY! }
The redhead of 16 years emerged and waved to the crowd. The teenager was now sporting a new outfit consisting of an open turquoise hoodie with a zipped-up tank top with suspenders underneath as well as ripped shorts.
{ ON THE RIGHT, ONE THE YOUNGEST ROOKIE TO CLIMB TO THE TOP AT 11 YEARS OLD! }
{ RED OF PALLET TOWN! }
On cue, the raven-haired boy appeared with a fist pumped. The young Trainer was now wearing a slightly different outfit with the main difference being instead of his long-sleeved winterwear that he wore underneath his signature red vest, he now wore a black T-shirt. In addition, Ash was now wearing black wristbands.
The masses that were witnessing cheered and clapped for the two Trainers. Blue clapped excitedly while Gary was unamused.
"Go, Red!" Serena yelled out her lungs.
The girl was running on pure adrenaline when Ash appeared, flushed at his new look.
'So loud…' Calem groaned in his mind with Shauna giggling at her boyfriend's reaction.
"What a pretty girl!" Tierno exclaimed with hearts for eyes.
Most of the boys in the halls silently agreed and cheered for Misty instead, much to Serena's annoyance.
"Now now, everyone. It's about to start!" Sycamore called out to the people, politely asking them to settle down before the match started.
{ EACH TRAINER IS ALLOWED 3 POKÉMON! }
{ AS STATED IN THIS YEAR'S GRAND LEAGUE RULES… }
{ BOTH POKÉMON ARE ABLE TO USE EVERY MOVES AT THEIR DISPOSAL INSTEAD OF THE USUAL 4! }
{ WITH THAT, THE BATTLEFIELD FOR THIS MATCH WILL BE… }
{ THE SAND TERRAIN! }
The metallic plates covering the battlefield whirred open to reveal a sandy field.
Both competitors took their place.
'This is it,' they both thought simultaneously.
'Now it's on,' Misty thought. / 'We've hit the big time now…' Ash thought.
'If I lose now…' / 'My mind's a total blank.'
'It'll all be for nothing.' / 'The first battle of my goal…'
The two Trainers clenched their fists.
"I'm not backing down! Get ready for a crushing defeat, Ash!" Misty declared with a confident expression and a determined smile.
"I'm gonna give my all too! Prepare yourself, Misty!" Ash shot back with his signature grin.
The stadium's screen turned on to show both Trainers' match info.
'I WILL WIN AGAINST HIM!'
{ LET THE SECOND MATCH OF THE INDIGO GRAND LEAGUE BEGIN! }
'I'M NOT LOSING HERE!'
{ MISTY OF CERULEAN CITY VS RED OF PALLET TOWN! }
Chapter 32: Rematch
{ BEGIN! }
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