The next morning, Ash wakes up to the sound of Pikipeck's chirping. His eyes flutter open as he lets off an excited smile.
Today is the first day of the Alola league and Ash is super hyped. He spent his night going over every registered opponent and doing some research on their backgrounds. As expected there were a few strong trainers amongst the names but the main threats were easily the kahunas and his main rivals.
After coming to his senses Ash realises he's not got the same comfortable weight on his chest he usually wakes up with. He looks down to see that Serena isn't in bed with him.
Ash tilts his head with confusion and his mind drifts into worry. It's really unlike Serena to be awake before him. Plus even if she was then she'd always stay cuddled up in bed with him. She loves to be close to one another so this is definitely unusual behaviour.
Suddenly the door to the room creaks open as a figure slowly walks in. His face turns from concern to a smile as Serena steps in while holding trays worth of food. She smiles and exclaims "Wakey, wakey sleepy head."
Ash takes a sigh of relief seeing his girlfriend up and about. He smiles at her and replies "Hey princesses, what have you been up to?"
Serena giggles and remarks "This!" She places the tray down on the bed before Ash takes the top of it. His eyes sparkle with love as he gazes at the tray of food. Serena has constructed quite the platter worth of food. All of Ash's favourite breakfast items are there in one place as his mouth starts to water.
Serena mentally cheers at her boyfriend's clear approval of her little surprise. Ash smiles up at his girlfriend and says with excitement clear in his tone "Wow Serena this looks awesome!"
Serena smiles and exclaims "Well since your going to be competing in your first league match up today, I figured you could use a big breakfast. After all you can't think on an empty stomach and your going to need plenty of energy."
Ash smiles at his girlfriend with love in his eyes. She did all this just for him. He truly feels loved. He also feels as though he needs to repay the favour by doing something special for her. He leans up and pecks her on the cheek. After the quick kiss he takes a loving sigh and exclaims "I love you so much Serena."
Serena blushes slightly as she gets the exact appreciation she was hoping to get for going out of her way for him this morning. She runs a hand through his bed head and exclaims "I love you too handsome."
Ash smiles at her again before he gazes at his plate of food. He adjusts himself slightly and states "Come on Serena, I'm not going eat all this by myself."
Serena shakes her head with a sheepish smile and replies "It's fine Ash, I'm not hungry."
Ash frowns slightly and questions "Really Serena? You never touched your food last night either. Your not sick are you?"
Serena shakes her head and nervously admits "No Ash, it's just that I'm trying to eat less. I don't want to get fat and have people think I'm some whale . A performer needs to stay in good shape and I want to look good for you."
Ash frowns as he hears his girlfriend's statement. First of all she needs to be eating food considering she does a lot of physical activities. Secondly she shouldn't worry about her body. Ash hates to comment on it because he's not sure if he should be she looks like Arceus sculpted her every curve and edge to be as perfect as can be. If she's worrying about how she looks then she needs to stop. Ash hates to be stern with her but sometimes it's better to say it how it is.
Ash crosses his arms and scolds in a serious tone "Serena Grace Yvonne. You work out like crazy, your body is more than fine in fact it's more than perfect. Plus I don't care how you look. I love you because it's you. Now sit down and eat some breakfast before I force feed you."
Serena feels her heart warm at her boyfriend's care for her but still slightly objects. She puts on her baby doll eyes and whines "But Ash I..."
Ash cuts her off and exclaims "No buts! If you won't eat then I'm not eating either. Now sit down and eat your fill beautiful."
Serena shakes her head and gives in to her boyfriend's demands. In truth she's actually relieved and happy that he cared enough to scold her over ignoring her own health. In truth she was lying about not being hungry. She is absolutely starving. She's letting her insecurities the better of her and she needed Ash to set her straight.
Serena sits down on the bed while slightly snuggling up to Ash. They both enjoy a delicious breakfast as it soon becomes clear to Ash that his girlfriend was indeed lying to him . However instead of feeling anger towards her he feels relief. He couldn't forgive himself if he didn't spot this and she sat in the boiling hot sun while feeling faint.
After finishing their breakfast the two engage in their usual morning routines. Once they are both ready they get in a car, provided by the pokemon league and head off to the stadium.
After a quick drive the driver pulls over near the VIP entrance as Serena gets ready to depart. They both sit in the back of the car as they gaze at each other. Ash smiles and remarks "Serena, stay safe and try to enjoy yourself. Don't worry to much about me because there's no way I'm losing today."
Serena smiles and replies "I will Ash, I'll be cheering for you all the way."
Ash feels comfort from his girlfriend's words and exclaims "Thanks Serena I'll do my best. After all I promised you we'd win this and take her home the trophy. That's exactly what I intend to do."
Serena giggles at Ash's enthusiasm and says with a slight tease in her tone "I know you'll do your best Ash and before you go I have something for you."
Ash raises his eyebrow and asks "Really, what is it?"
Serena smiles as she leans towards her boyfriend. She gently presses her lips on to his and gives him a loving gentle kiss. Ash smiles and returns the kiss with the same softness and love. After a few seconds the couple break apart while savouring each others lips.
Serena smiles with a red blush forming on her cheeks. She beams a brighter smile while tilting her head and exclaims "A good luck kiss!"
Ash smiles feeling even more determined to win after Serena's support. He scratches his cheek and responds "Thank you baby, I'm sure to win now."
Serena beams another smile hearing Ash's gratitude. She says one last goodbye and steps out of the car before she heads towards the VIP entrance.
Ash takes the car around to the competitors entrance where he is thankfully able to avoid the barrage of fans. He thanks the driver and exits the car before heading into the stadium.
He makes his way to the front desk where he is told by the officials to make his way down the corridor and to the left. Ash does as he's told as he makes his way to the his designated spot. He stands in a corridor in a line with a bunch of other trainers where he is told to wait for Kukui to begin todays proceedings and wait for his instructions.
Ash thanks the officials and waits in the corridor with a bunch of other trainers. As they all queue up in a single file line, Ash begins to feel as if this is a little strange. Usually by now he'd know who is first round match up is and be able to prepare his team accordingly. However he has no idea who he's going to be battling or what he's even going to be doing.
As he stands in the line he notices a few trainers giving him dirty looks. Ash is a little confused by this as he's not done or said anything to them. Maybe it's because he's a strong trainer but still he's always been pretty respectful to trainers stronger than him, so he's not sure why others don't share his sentiment. He shrugs it off and waits patiently for the start of the event.
The Manolo stadium slowly starts to fill up until its packed to the brim with excited fans. Serena makes her way to through the corridors until she scans a little card to get into a private VIP box. It's safe to say the professor has out done himself with this one. The VIP box it's situated right at the top of the stadium with a perfect uninterrupted view of the battlefield. Inside the box itself are comfy padded seats with plenty off leg room. It is open plan, meaning there is no glass, leaving a nice cool breeze. There is a little tv which shows another angle of the battlefield. There is a private bathroom as well as a fridge stocked up with drink and food alike.
Serena smiles as she makes herself comfortable and finds the perfect view to watch from. The only problem she can find with the VIP box is that it's a little lonely but it's a small sacrifice to have a little privacy while watching her boyfriend do what he does best.
Her attention is snapped out of her thoughts as as the crowd roars. Serena looks down to see Kukui walking out onto the stage. He takes a microphone and exclaims "Alola everyone and welcome to the first day of the Alola league."
The crowd cheer and woooo before the professor continues his speech "Today we are going to see all of our competitors in action for the first time. So without further ado let's discuss the plans for today. Now usually at this point in the league we'd showcase to you the bracket for the first round matchups. However in Alola we are going to skip through the filler and get right into the big battles we all came to see."
The crowd gaps and murmur amongst themselves as they take in the professors statement. Serena thinks over the announcement and thinks it makes sense. She may have only watched one Pokémon league before but the earlier rounds in the Kalos league were quite tame when she thinks about it. All that really happened was Ash and Alain trying to one up each other. When Charizard swept 3 Pokémon in a row so did Greninja. When Charizard won without using mega evolution, Greninja did so without using the bond phenomenon. Alain beat a mega with his Bisharp, Ash beats one with his Hawlucha. While it was exciting at times she also kind of felt bad for the other trainers they kept completely crushing. This way things will be more competitive from the start and no one will be against someone they are completely out of their depth against, especially considering the lack of gym badges needed to enter.
Kukui lets the crowd settle before he continue "So, how are we going to do that you ask? Well it's simple. right now there are 4 planes in front of our trainers waiting for them to board."
Suddenly the doors at the end of the corridor in front of Ash open up, revealing a plane ready to take off.
"Each trainer will fly on one of these four planes and will be flown to a nearby island. Once they arrive the trainers will parachute out and be left there to fight it out until only 16 remain of our 200+ entrants. You are allowed to use all of the resources you find on the island. You are only allowed to use one pokemon on the island, once that pokemon faints you are eliminated and a marshal will pick you up and take you back to the stadium. Now trainers select your pokemon you will be using and once your ready, board the nearest plane!"
Ash feels excitement build up at the format the professors has created. It's going to just like a battle royal except on a much grander scale. He turns his head to Pikachu and exclaims "I'm going to be trusting you buddy. There's gonna be a lot of trainers gunning for us so we need to be strong and stay on guard."
Pikachu pumps his fist and replies with a determined "Pika,Pika!"
Ash grins at his first Pokémon and replies "Your right buddy, now let's go and win this thing!"
The two fist pump and walk through the corridor. They board the plane with the rest of the trainers in their group following close behind. Once all the trainers are aboard Kukui announces "Now it's time for take off!"
All the planes take off and fly to the island as the crowd cheer as they get ready to watch the action. Serena scrolls through her tv and finds out that she can select a trainer to follow. Obviously she clicks on the button for Ash. It's not like she couldn't just follow him anyway through aura but having the option to use the Tv is nice considering aura vision can make her pretty tired. Plus know she can send her pokemon out to watch too which will help alleviate some of the loneliness. She does just that and sends out her team of 6. Sylveon and her baby Pikachu are particularly excited given Ash's Pikachu is his chosen Pokemon.
After 10 minutes of flying the plane hovers over the island. Ash sits in his thoughts, waiting for further instructions while others begin to panic around him at the prospect of skydiving.
Inside the stadium gets on the microphone and announces "Our trainers are now in position for the drop. Now let the countdown begin." Suddenly a 10 second countdown appears on the big screen as the crowd begins to follow along.
Panic only increases inside the plane as the crowd shout 5....4....3.....2......1!!"
A massive buzzer sounds inside the stadium as Kukui shouts "Let the Alola league battle royal begin!!"
Suddenly parachutes attach to every trainers back before the bottom of the plane opens up leaving all the trainers free falling through the sky.
Serena gasps with worry as she watches Ash falling out of the plane. It gives her small flashbacks to the day Goodra departed when Ash was falling through the sky as well as the time he jumped off Lumiose tower.
Come to think of it, it was similar to how she was free falling off of that hotel in Mauvile city. She takes a deep sigh of relief as she watches Ash pull his shoot and start to fall slowly with Pikachu on his shoulder. Seeing him safe she relaxes and thinks back to that night in Hoenn when he saved her from certain death and admitted his feeling to her. They really have come full circle.
Ash parachutes in cool and calm while others scream around him. It's not his first time jumping from a plane and being in free fall. It most likely won't be his last either given his track record. He lands on the island in a small clearing and takes in his surroundings.
Ash looks around a little and notices he's landed in a spot with no other trainers in his immediate vicinity. He turns his head towards Pikachu and asks "You ready buddy."
Pikachu nods his head and exclaims "Pika!" The two leave the safety of the clearing and head off in search of trainers.
Before long they find themselves wondering through a small forest until a Blue haired trainer around Ash's age shouts "Hey you there."
Ash turns to face the trainer and asks in a confused town "Huh, who's there."
The blue haired trainer smirks and remarks "You don't know me, but I know you Mr Kalos fraud."
Ash laughs at the insult and questions "Kalos fraud huh, what makes you say that."
The blue haired trainer puts on a serious look and states in a harsh tone "Back during the Kalos disaster you were carried by champion Alain and Steven. Unlike you they're the real champions, the real hero. You'll never be a champion or a hero. Guys like you don't become champion. Your just a fraud who's lost 6 Pokémon leagues and is about to lose his 7th."
Ash looks at this guys and his first thought is that he's a douche who needs to be taught a lesson. However soon Ash's self doubt begins to creep in as he thinks to himself "But what if he's right, will I ever be a champion? Am I good enough to stand along side the likes of Alain and Cynthia as there equals? Every time I face off with one of them they always seem to be a league above me. Maybe I should have stayed home."
Ash's mind and anxiety begins to betray him as he slowly slips back into his depressed state. The boy who he was after he came home from Kalos. Ash begins to sink into his shell as he hears the blue haired trainer laugh and mock him. He feels tears brim on his eyes until he suddenly he feels a presence watching over him.
Seconds later Serena's angelic voice fills his ears as she encourages him through aura "Remember what I told you earlier Ash. No matter what happens you'll always be my champion. That's what you are already. A champion, a hero and the person I love the most. Idiots like this guy don't change that. Now go and show him how strong you are. It's time to do what you love to do most Ash. Prove everyone wrong and show them just how special I know you already are."
Ash smiles as he hears his girlfriend's message. No longer is he doubting himself. No longer is he worried about not being good enough. No longer is he going to lose a league.
Ash snickers slightly much to the blue haired trainers surprise. He puts a massive smirk on his face and exclaims "Steven and Alain are both champions but so am I. Maybe not officially to world but to the people that matter. My dream is to become a Pokémon master and I will succeed! As for your Kalos fraud comment, think what you will about my tittles. They don't define me, it's my actions that do and my next action is to eliminate you from the Alola league."
The blue haired trainer smirks a confident smirk and remarks "Then I will end your dreams right now. Toxapex go." He throws a pokeball forward and a Toxapex emerges with a sinister look in his eyes.
Ash nods to Pikachu who jumps from his shoulder and onto the battlefield. Ash puts on a serious look and says in a cold tone "Go ahead and try and end it, I dare you."
The trainer sneers and states "With pleasure, Toxapex use venoshock." Toxapex grins and glows purple before releasing a beam of poison towards his opponent.
Ash smirks and commands "Pikachu, dodgeit with quick attack." Pikachu nods and kicks off with a white aura surrounding him, using his speed to easily dodge the incoming attack.
Ash grins and commands "Now use electroball." Pikachu nods and leaps into the air with a ball of electricity formed on his tail. He flips in mid air and flings the ball towards his opponent.
The blue haired brat gaps and commands "Use Baneful bunker Toxapex." Toxapex quickly forms a purple barrier in front of him and uses it to block the incoming electroball. Upon impact with the barrier, the electroball explodes causing dust to kick up.
Ash smirks excliams "Now use iron tail." Pikachu matches his trainers expression as he leaps through the smoke with his tail coated in iron. He swings it round and slaps Toxapex straight in the face with it, causing the water poison type to stumble back.
The blue haired trainer quickly realises he's bitten off more than he can chew as Ash's grin only grows wider. He pumps his fist and exclaims "Now Pikachu wrap this up with thunderbolt."
Pikachu leaps into the air while sparking his cheeks with electricity, he lets off a powerful bolt of electricity and screams "PIIKKKKAAAAAACHUUUUUU!" The bolt of lightning quickly travels towards Toxapex as his eyes widen in fear. The attack connects as Toxapex screams out in pain before an explosion occurs around him. Once the smoke clears Toxapex is laid out with swirls in his eyes.
The blue haired trainer falls to his knees as he is eliminated from the competition. Ash walks directly passed him as the trainer sobs on the floor. Ash doesn't makes eye contact with the trainer as he remarks "No one will stand in the way of our dreams anymore." He walks away as a Marshal head over and leads the trainer away.
Back in the stadium, the crowd roars as they watch Ash eliminate his first competitor from the competition. Serena excitedly smiles and cheers loudly for her boyfriend. She couldn't be prouder of how he handled the situation. She knows he has a little bit of a mental strain on his mind given his past league experiences. However she's decided that any mental problems Ash may have from here on out, she's going to be the one to solve them.
Ash and Pikachu continue on exploring the island and find more trainers to battle trainers. They win all their matches in a ruthless show of brute strength. Ash has clearing had enough off playing games today and he wants to progress to the round of 16 as soon as possible.
After around 10 more battles, Ash and Pikachu walk through to an open area of the jungle. As they walk into the clearing Ash raises an eyebrow and comments "It's quiet around here. A little too quiet." Pikachu nods in agreement as the two continue to walk.
Suddenly they hear a choir of maniacal laughs from all directions. Ash takes a defensive stance and shouts "Who's there!"
The laughs only get louder as bushes and trees start to rustle. Suddenly 20 team skull grunts slowly emerge from the bushes and evily grin at the raven haired trainer.
Ash frowns at the evil team and shouts "What are you guys doing here! Jumping Serena and her friends at the mall wasn't enough!"
A team skull grunt puts his hands out in front of him in a defensive manner and exclaims "Wow I have no idea what your talking about. We're just here to become the champ. Remember anyone who's a certified trainer can enter yo! This battle royal is the perfect opportunity to gang up on you and beat the strongest trainer early on."
Ash shakes his head as his clear distain for team skull plasters with face. He exclaims in a cold tone "Bring it on. If you idiots won't admit what you did then I'll just have to beat it out of you. You think the beating Serena have you guys was bad, this will be much worse. After I win your going to tell me the name of your new boss."
A team skull grunt scoffs and spits "Really, you and what army?" The grunts take out pokeballs and proceed to send out their standard pokemon.
Ash smirks and casually remarks "20 vs 1? I like my odds."
"Make that 20 vs 2!"
Suddenly Ash hears a loud roar which diverts his attention. He looks back to see Gladion riding on the back of his Sivally. The beast leaps over the grunts, who circle Ash, and lands directly next to Pikachu. Gladion jumps off Sivally's back as he stands with Ash, directing venomous gazes towards the team Skull members.
Ash smirks and remarks "Gladion, good to see you."
Gladion smirks and responds "You too Ash, now let's deal with team skull. As you know I owe these guys a little payback for what they did to my mother."
Ash nods and exclaims "I like the way your thinking. Are you ready Pikachu."
Pikachu nods his head and sparks with cheeks with electricity. A team skull grunt scoffs and remarks "You don't care us former boss ladies little boy."
Gladion shakes his head and replies in a cold tone "I'll give you something to be scared about. Sivally use multi attack." The pokemon based off Arceus himself nods and lunges towards two Pokémon while glowing with an intense light. He slams into a Salandit and an Alolan Raticate with brute force, causing them to slam into a tree before laying with swirls in their eyes.
Ash follows up, not wanting to be out done by his rival and shouts "Pikachu use thunderbolt." Pikachu nods and leaps into the air while sparking his cheeks and shouts "PIKAAAACHUUUU!!!" He fires off a powerful bolt of electricity that connects with two Houndours. The two dog like pokemon scream in pain from the shock of electricity before dropping to the floor with swirls in their eyes.
The remaining 16 grunts command their pokemon to fire off their standard attacks. Dark pulses, flamethrowers and shadow balls. Ash and Gladion both command their pokemon "Dodge it!" Pikachu and Sivally take off, dodging every attack that comes their way while also watching the others back with iron tail and crush claw respectively. If they can't dodge the attack the other blocks it. If they can't block the other goes on the offensive and tries to land a hit of their own.
After around 5 minutes of intense battling, Ash and Gladion have managed to knock out 6 more pokemon. The two despite being fierce rival work together with flawless proficiency. Pikachu uses Sivally's height as leverage to get behind targets before landing unexpected strikes while Gladion works overtime. constantly switching Sivally's type to get the advantage.
Eventually though the numbers game starts to catch up to the two as Pikachu and Sivally start to fatigue. After landing a quick iron tail, Pikachu finds himself pelted by multiple shadow balls, causing the electric mouse to fall back through the air before landing on his feet with marks and scratches on his body. Meanwhile, Gladion makes a mistake and throws Sivally the ghost memory at the wrong time. Three super effective dark pulses collide against the beasts as he stumbles back, next to Pikachu, while panting slightly heavy.
Ash shouts with a little concern in his tone "Pikachu are okay?" The electric mouse looks back at his trainer and nods. Ash grits his teeth and whispers "We can't lose, not here. Not to these punks."
A Team skull grunt laughs and spits "Your not that impressive, I'm not sure what the boss was so worried about."
Ash shakes his head and remarks "We'll show you just what we can do. We're just getting warmed up."
The team skull grunt laughs and exclaims "You don't stand a..."
"Use bug buzz!"
"Use spirit shackle!"
Two voices echo through the forest as big like sound waves come shooting past Ash and Gladion and head towards the waiting grunts. Suddenly a ghostly arrow follows suit and lands on the ground before exploding. Within a few seconds the tide of the battle changes as 4 more of team skulls Pokémon fall to the ground with swirls in their eyes.
Ash turns and looks to see who has come to his aid. He smiles and exclaims "Kiawe, Hau. That was good timing."
Kiawe folds his arms and jokes "Looks like my invite to this party must have gotten lost, don't worry though I'm here now."
Hau smiles and remarks "Good job Decidueye!
The grunts all take a step back as they find themselves only with a 6v4 advantage from their initial 20vs1 pact. Ash grits and commands "Pikachu, use iron tail." Pikachu grins as he leaps into the air with a tail coated in pure metal. He slams it down towards a Sneasel and smacks them into a nearby tree, before landing with swirls in their eyes.
Gladion smirks and shouts "Sivally crush claw." Sivally nods and leaps off with tremendous ferocity before slashing his claws into an Golbat. The Golbat cries out in pain before landing on the ground with swirls in his eyes, leaving just 4 grunts remaining.
The remaining grunts begin to panic and start to shake with fear as they realise their plan has gone astray. Ash smirks and remarks "Thanks for your help, now let's finish this. Pikachu use thunderbolt."
"Sivally use multi attack."
"Decidueye use spirit shackle!"
"Volcarona firey dance!"
All four ace Pokémon leap up into the air and ready their attacks as the grunts look on, helpless to stop what's about to happen. The four pokemon release their attacks in unison as they head straight for a grunts pokemon each. The attack all land at the same time and cause a huge explosion. One person the smoke clears the remaining enemy pokemon are all knocked out and lay on the ground with swirls in their eyes.
The remaining grunts gasp and return their pokemon. They quickly flee as quick as they appeared. Ash grits his teeth and shouts "Oh who's scared now cowards!"
Gladion puts his hand on his shoulder and replies "Leave them, Lillie told me about what happened at the mall. I know you want to find out the truth about team skull but that will have to wait."
Kiawe tilts his head and questions "A 20 vs 1 attack? Is that even allowed."
Hau sighs and says "Unfortunately it's not against the rules to team up. Even if it is a free for all out here. You can't trust no one."
Upon Hau's point they all realise something, they are all here to compete against each other. Upon realising Ash takes a step back from Gladion as Pikachu leaps in front of him. The others pokemon all get in front of their trainers as well as they all analyse the situation.
Ash maybe friends with all these people but he knows better than anyone there's no friends once a battle starts. Right now he can't trust anyone. Especially considering Pikachu has just battle more than 30 pokemon in a row since landing on the island. Right now he is in a weakened state and any one of them could try and take advantage.
Gladion's cold nature kicks in. He could easily eliminate his biggest threats to the trophy right now. However at the same time, Sivally has taken some damage. It could be a risky move and not the morally right one.
Kiawe finds himself in a lose, lose situation. If he stands down he risks someone trying to take advantage of him but if he attacks he will betray the trust of his friends. In the end he decides to play it cool and let someone else make that decision.
Hau has the most to gain from this stand off. Beating Ash or Gladion in a one on one battle seems like a pipe dream but when they are both tired out? He may have a chance to eliminate his biggest threats before the first round really begins.
All four trainers stare into each others eyes intensely as their pokemon charge up attack. After a minute or so of deliberation Ash makes the call.
"Pikachu stand down!"
Pikachu nods, putting full faith in his trainer and jumps back onto Ash's shoulder. The other 3 look at each other and nod before calling back their respective Pokémon. The four rivals look at each other with small grins and exclaim at the same time "Don't lose!"
They a nod in response and head off in separate directions through the forest.
Ash heads up through the forest and takes on more trainers. He begins to one every one pretty comfortably given his experience compared to some of the entrants who are competing in their first league. He finds himself creeping up the elimination board as he reaches first place with 45 wins.
Back in the stadium, the crowd roars every time Ash appears on screen as the raven haired trainer slowly starts to turn a few doubters into believers. There was a small technical issue though during team skulls attack on Ash that blocked out the screen.
No one in the stadium knew what happened apart from Serena who watched through aura vision. Naturally she was pretty annoyed at team skull for ganging up on her man but she was happy once she saw how great Ash was in defending them off.
Ash fights more trainers while continuously restoring Pikachu's health with berries found in the forest. When the electric mouse really starts to look a little tired he sneaks him one of Serena's home made poke puffs she packed for him just in case he or his Pokémon got hungry during the day. After a lot hard fought battles Pikachu's hunger levels are definitely rising so the poke puff was definitely appreciated. Ash smiles as he mentally thanks his girlfriend for making sure he was prepared. He is particularly thankful for the big breakfast this morning. After all he has expended a lot of energy with all the travelling through the island.
Eventually Ash gets into another sticky situation against another 10 trainers who have made a pact to take him out before the final rounds. This is starting to become a common occurrence for the raven haired trainer but this is the biggest pact yet since the whole team skull fiasco.
It was really confusing for Ash to say the least. He gets that he is one of the favourites and one of the strongest trainers on the island but to purposely gang up on someone is just weird to him. For example if this sort of event happened in the Sinnoh league, Ash would feel guilty ganging up on someone like Tobias in the same manner. If you can't win on your own strength then do you really deserve to be champion? That was the thoughts that flooded the teenagers mind.
Serena is having similar thoughts in the stadium. It would be a bit like if every performer was doing everything thing possible to ruin Aria's performance during the Kalos master class. If she became Kalos queen by conspiring to beat someone then would always feel like she didn't deserve that title.
Ash shakes off his thoughts and survives the encounter when he snaps and uses his z move. Giagavolt havoc. To take out 7 at once. He decides to save the 10 million volt thunder bolt for another time.
After another 5 minutes of travelling, Ash finnaly runs into a familar face as he spots his first trial captain he faces in the Alola region.
Ash smiles and exclaims "Ilima, good to see your still here. I was hoping someone wouldn't eliminate you too quickly.
Ilima laughs lightly and replies "Of course I am, I'm more suprised you haven't been beat yet. It seems like you've got quite the target on your back."
Ash shakes his head and remarks "Yeah unfortunately that just comes with the reputation."
Ilima rolls his eyes and questions "So, are we gonna talk all day or are we going to battle."
Ash smirks and exclaims "Your right, let's battle. Pikachu I choose you." Pikachu leaps off Ash's shoulder and takes a defensive stance in front of his trainer.
Ilima smiles as he takes a pokeball out of his pocket. He throws it forward and shouts "Eevee come on out." The pokeball hits the floor as an Eevee emerges with a determined look on his face.
Ash raises an eyebrow and whispers "An Eevee huh, This be fun." He extends his arm forward and exclaims "Pikachu start this one off with thunderbolt."
Pikachu leaps into while sparking his cheeks with electricity. He screams "PIKKAAAACHUUUUUU!" Before firing off a bolt of electricity towards his opponent.
Ilima holds his palm forward and commands "Eevee use protect." Eevee nods and forms a blue barrier in front of himself. The thunderbolt connects with the barrier and causes a small explosion.
Ash smirks, feeling pumped up about the prospect of this battle and shouts "Okay Pikachu use."
"RINNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!!!"
Suddenly a massive bell sounds directly everyones attention away from their opponents.
There is a moment of confusion until Kukui announces over the sound system "Attention competitors, the final 16 have been finalised! Can you please stop your battles and head back to the nearest plane for pickup."
The crowd roars in approval at the announcement. In the VIP box, Serena beams with pride having seen Ash make it through to the round of 16. However she is a little upset as she can tell Ash was enjoying the battle with Ilima before it was interrupted.
Ash and Ilima grin at each over with knowing looks. Ash shakes his head remarks "Next time we'll finish this."
Ilima nods in approval and replies "Agreed." The two head back to their respective and get ready to take off back to the stadium.
After a short flight, the remaining competitors land back at the stadium and line up on the battlefield. Upon taking to the battlefield, Ash finds out that he eliminated the most trainers with 65. It's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but it certainly boasts his confidence.
Serena takes notices of the number as well. She is really proud of how well Ash battled today and for getting the most elimination she feels like he deserves a little reward later.
It's not like he needs anymore motivation to win but if she can give him incentives to encourage him further then she will.
Both of their attentions are drawn away from their thoughts and to the stage. Kukui takes to said stage and announces "Now that our competitors are here, let's announce our top 16 match ups. These have been completely drawn at random and have provided us with some intriguing match ups."
Everyone turns their attention to the big screen as the match ups slowly reveal themselves.
"First off, a battle of the Kahuna's Olivia vs Nanu!" The crowd cheers in approval at the prospect of two Kahuna's facing off. Nanu gives Olivia a death glare while the Akala island Kahuna chuckles nervously.
"Next up, a battle of the the generations. Hau will take on the Melemele island Kahuan and his grandfather Hala!"
Hau looks nervously to his grandfather who just laughs holding his belly. Hau feels an intimidation, facing his grandfather at his full strength but also a sense of determination to surpass.
"Next up, a battle between two of Alola's young up and coming trainers. Lana vs Kiawe!"
Kiawe looks to Lana and gives her a nod. She returns the nod of respect as the two revel at the prospect of facing each over.
"Next up a Poni island showdown as Kahuna Hapu takes on Mina."
Mina gulps at the prospect of taking on the island kahuna while Hapu beams her and encouraging smile.
"Next up it's one of the earlier favourites Gladion taking on the electric type wiz kid Sophocles."
Gladion stares at Sophocles who looks away from him while shaking with intimidation.
"Next up it's Ule vs trainer Moon!"
Ule graciously bows to the local competitor while they give off a determined grin.
Our penultimate match sees Acerola vs Sun!"
Acerola looks at this random trainer and giggles creepily as he mutters "New toys."
And for our final match. Two Kalos league runners up go head to head, as the artist from Kalos Ilima. Takes on the hero of Kalos Ash!"
The crowd roars in approval, excited to see two Pokémon league veterans facing off.
Ash and Ilima look at each other and smirk Ash takes a quick glance at the crowd and whispers to himself "Let's make a statement Tomorrow."
Kukui lets the crowds excitement die down before he announces "That is it for today, please join us tomorrow for the round of 16 match ups!" The Crowd cheer loudly as Kukui leaves the stage. Music blares out from the speakers as the crowd slowly exits as well.
Many competitors take their leave as Ash stays on the battlefield. He looks up to the VIP box and sees Serena beaming with pride as she clutches her blue ribbon. Ash puts a hand on his locket and the other to his heart. Serena places a hand on her own heart before she giggles and blows her boyfriend a kiss. Ash catches it as always as places it by his lips. Serena whisper to herself "Only 64 more to go."
Ash gives her one last smile before she turns and exits the battlefield. As he leaves he collects his thoughts as he prepares for the challenges ahead. He may be through the first round but there's still 4 more to go. Four rounds that he fully intends to win.
_________________________________
And finished.
So that's it for the first round of the Alola league.
I decided to keep to battle royal route that they did in the anime but mixed it up with the setting and the opponents.
Or at least I think I did because I'm purposely not watching the S&M league on purpose.
One because I want to keep this as original as possible.
And two because controversial statement incoming.
I think the Alola league is one of the worst leagues in the anime.
The only good battle is Ash vs Kukui and I might be wrong but Ash already won the league so there was no stakes.
Like imagine your league final being a 3v3
Anyway let me pause before I dig myself a hole.
Next chapter will be the round of 16.
The battles from here on out are only going to get more intense and higher stakes.
Also Ashy boy is looking to make a statement.
Anyway enough talking.
Thanks you so much for reading.
Make sure to vote and comment down below as always and I'll speak to you guys soon.