POKEMON: BATTLE OVERTURE

By Kanon

Part I

How long had it been since he had seen Misty? Or Brock? Or the two of them together. He couldn’t remember; the light was right on his face as the window pour luminously on a bright, sunny afternoon. Ash sat up from his lumpy bed, looking out the window to see several children playing in their rural fields. He was itching for a new battle.

Ever since the Sinnoh League had come to an end, Ash decided to part ways and go back home for a nice break and to spend some quality time with his mother, the professor, and of course, reminisce on his other life, the life he had when he wasn’t traveling, battling, and raising Pokemon.

But Pokemon was part of his life.

As much as he had tried to relax, he managed to always find himself pouring over some book on Pokemon, or sneakily going outside to train with Pikachu and the others. He couldn’t help it now; it was a habit that couldn’t be broken. The sad thing was, no leagues were open yet, and his friends were busy on their own. There were times he tried to call Dawn, Brock, or even Gary, who had been away on an errand for his grandfather, the professor. But he would midway wondering how to they would react to his boredom.

Delia Ketchum went upstairs, smiling kindly as she watched her son from a few feet away, staring out into the window with a melancholy sigh. “Ash, dear, are you sure there aren’t any leagues open?” she asked, avoiding his eyes. He shook his head without looking up. “Really? How about Professor Oak? Does he have an errands? Maybe Tracey needs help.”

He shook his head again. “He asked Gary to go to Saffron City to pick up some Pokemon he needed for his research,” he muttered. “Pikachu and I have been sitting here for hours wondering what to do besides train. There’s nothing to train for.”

Delia set the laundry down, staring at her son worriedly. “Ash, ‘nothing to train for’? Is something the matter? Did something happen with your friends?”

“No, just that they must be busy right now and I’m not,” he said dully. “Misty and Brock got called by the Gym Leaders Association for a huge convention for gym leaders only. Tracey’s always researching, and May and Max are spending time with their parents before another contest, Dawn’s also training for another contest with her mother, and I really can’t think of anyone else at the moment.” He sighed, lying down on the bed once more with a magazine in his hand. “Might as well sleep until the next league’s up.”

His mother didn’t respond to him this time; she went downstairs towards the kitchen for the phone, dialing the number to the Pewter City Gym. “Hello? Is this Flint? Oh, Lola! Lola, how are you?”

“Fine, just fine!” Lola said, keeping her several children from taking the phone simultaneously. “What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if you could tell me where Brock went to. Ash told me that he and Misty left to a convention of some sort?”

“Mhm! Misty came by on her bicycle two days ago telling him about the convention, and I guess the two of them left by foot, err, he on foot and Misty by bike. Brock’s going in place of Flint because he’s a bit tied up at the moment. Why do you ask?”

Delia sighed on the phone. “Oh, well, Ash has been a bit lonely the past few days and I was wondering if something happened between all of them. Any ideas?”

“Not that I know of. Brock and Misty were talking about Ash on their way out of the gym, and they were speaking highly of him. I don’t think if they were on bad terms they would be talking like that about him.”

“No, they wouldn’t,” Delia agreed. “Do you know when they should be back?”

“Mhm. They said they should be back by tomorrow morning. I guess they’ll be making an evening trip back.”

“Oh, great! If you can, could you pass the message to them that I’m inviting them to pay a visit to Ash? They can have lunch here, or whatever they like.”

“You bet I will!” Lola said happily. “I hope that helps Ash.”

“I hope so too,” Delia said. “Thank you, Lola, and have a lovely day!”

She set the receiver down, giggling happily to herself as she ran to Mr. Mime for a hug. Surprise, he almost threw the broomstick down. “I can’t wait to see the look on Ash’s face!”

Brock and Misty were both seated amongst an enormous hall full of gym leaders, elite trainers, and even members of the Battle Frontier. The silvery halls gleamed against the bright lights as several people met and greeted. In the main stage, there were four people dressed in similar dull charcoal suits, all standing stiffly while the gym leaders rushed to their seats. “Please take your seats!” they called firmly.

Misty looked nervously at Brock. “There are so many gym leaders here!” she said gingerly, looking uncomfortable. “I don’t know why my sisters put me up to this!”

Not surprisingly, Brock hadn’t been paying attention. His mind had fluttered elsewhere to the land of dresses, makeup, jewelry, and the beautiful faces of several gym leaders. “This is like heaven! So many girls, so many memories! I wonder if they remember me!” Misty sighed.

“I’m sure they do, Brock, and when they do, they’ll turn the other way.”

“Everyone take your seats!” Wallace cried from the top of his lungs, walking flamboyantly onto the front stage. “Take your seats! We want to get started quickly!”

Brock smiled, suddenly returning back to reality. “It’s great to see Wallace again,” he said admirably. “I haven’t seen him since the Wallace Cup when Ash and Dawn competed.”

“He looks amazing,” Misty replied, nodding in satisfaction. “A fellow water Pokemon trainer, and to top it all off, a contest master!”

Wallace continued to yell at the gym leaders for not sitting down, until he finally stared at the group in suits desperately. “Do something about them?”

“No need to,” said a booming voice from behind. Lt. Surge stormed forward, staring at the crowd with a broad grin. “Everyone take your seats or you’ll be hearing from me!”

His voice was so loud that even the neighboring homes felt a small rumble in their living rooms. The gym leaders instantly ran from place and took their seats on several silver desks, each pulling out their laptop. Right next to Brock was a Erika, the Celadon City gym leader. Both Misty and Brock remembered when Ash won his Rainbow Badge. He had been so desperate to get into the gym for a battle that he even dressed up as a girl, but managed to win Erika’s trust after he rescued her Gloom from a fire.

“Great to see you again, Brock, Misty,” Erika said politely, pulling out an ebony tinted laptop with a small Gloom keychain dangling from one side. “How is Ash doing?”

Misty smiled. “Great! He has been working hard on his training, though right now he’s been taking a break.”

“Send him my regards,” she said, smiling brightly as she turned her attention back to the stage.

Next to Misty was Luana, the Kumquat Island Gym Leader, and a loud, hearty woman with an enormous smile and a arms always ready for a hug. She grinned brightly at her, winking. “Good to see you, miss!”

“Same here,” she said happily. But before they could continue their conversation, Wallace lifted his hands high into the air to gather everyone’s attention.

“Now we’re ready! My name is Wallace, former gym leader of Sootopolis City. Now that we have everyone’s attention, I want to discussion about the last and most important part of the convention. We have gone over everything concerning our gyms, maintenance, and league rules, but now we are here to discuss about a new league that concerns us gym leaders as a whole.”

“Our new league, called the Kouten League, involves all the gym leaders and is an exclusive battle ground. Eight of you will be selected to represent these gyms and will be the elite team, while the other gym leaders will become participants of this league. You will battle each other and ultimately compete in the major stadium. If the gym leader loses, then they were out of the tournament. One by one you begin to eliminate each other until you reach the final eight contestants, and if you defeat them, they are eliminated from the round until we go to the semifinals and finals. There, we will decide on the winner of the Kouten Cup. Soon afterward, if this league is successful, we shall open it to the public. For the meantime however, this league is only open to gym leaders and their one guest. Each leader is allowed to nominate one Pokemon trainer to compete in this league, as it will help create more variety among you. So, right now we ask you to fill out your application, and eight of you will be selected momentarily. We’ll be calling you up in alphabetical order.”

“Well, won’t hurt,” Misty said, typing languidly on the computer. “Who to nominate? That’s an easy one, Ash.”

Brock nodded. “He’s definitely my pick too, but if you’re going to nominate him, I should nominate someone else. I should nominate Dawn. She’s really good even though she likes to do more contests than battle.”

Misty smiled. “But there is a lot of battling in the second rounds of contests!” she said. “And she wins a lot of those, so she must be good!”

Once again, Wallace’s voice interrupted the murmurs of chatter among the spacious halls. “Aaron, Agatha, and Annabel, please stand to declare your nominees.” Everyone kept quiet as a young man with lime green hair, an older woman, and a boyish looking girl stood up from their seats, all together staring Wallace, who was grinning brightly at each of them. “Declare!”

“Daisy of Cinnabar Island!” Aaron said loudly.

“Riley of Veilstone City!” Agatha said promptly.

“Ash of Pallet Town!” Annabel said proudly.

“What!?” Misty and Brock looked at each other. “She chose him before us!” Misty stared at him hurriedly. “Quick, think, think, I know! Tracey!”

“Not a bad idea,” he said in agreement, feeling slightly disappointed that neither he nor Misty had the chance to nominate their best friend. He had an idea as to why Annabel had nominated him first, because despite that he was an unforgettable trainer, she seemed to have a bit of a crush on him. But they couldn’t do anything about it, and decided to find someone else to nominate.

“You’re not bummed, are you?” Misty asked curiously, gawking at him with her azure eyes. Once again, Brock nodded, feeling a little surprised, but too shared Misty’s overwhelming shock. As much as she tried to hide it herself, a sense of guilt hurled between the two. “I wish we could have nominated him. Brock, you’re next.”

“Ash, honey!” Delia walked into his room again in high spirits, doing a small twirl as she set a tray of dinner for him. To her dismay, he was still bleakly the magazine with his eyes slightly drooped, and his hands barely making the effort to turn the page. She smiled hazily, lamenting her son’s poor state. “Ash, why don’t you go outside to train, or work on the garden? You need to wash up too, I think we’ll be having guests here tomorrow.”

Ash finally looked up, slowly sitting up and careful not to wake a soundlessly asleep Pikachu on the corner. “What?” he asked, almost in disbelief. Delia nodded with a wide smile. “Who?”

“Your friends!” she cheered, tossing a long sheet of white linen over him. “I called Brock’s mother and she said that Misty and Brock will be coming back from their convention tomorrow morning, and they can pass by for lunch!” Ash nearly fell off the bed.

“Why didn’t you say so?!” he clamored, stumbling off in his dark shirt and jeans, running to hide his pile of magazines that had grown over the past few weeks. “Now I gotta go change!” Before running into the closet, he stopped at gawked at his mother. “Wait, they’re coming tomorrow?” She nodded patiently. “Oh fine, then I have one more day, but I really should clean up.” She smiled happily.

“That’s my boy.” Suddenly, she heard a small ring coming from the computer. “I wonder who it is.” Delia walked quietly downstairs towards the computer, pressing a single key before noticing a small white envelope on the desktop screen. “It’s addressed to Ash,” she murmured silently to herself. “Ash! There’s mail for you!”

Ash had been tossing piles of magazines into his closet when he heard his mother calling for him. Grabbing his old vest, the first thing he found in sight, he ran downstairs at full speed, making his way to the computer. Eagerly, he opened the message.

“‘To Ash Ketchum, you have been invited to participate in the Kouten League, an all exclusive league consisting of several gym leaders and their nominees. You have been nominated by a respected leader to join in on this event. Please send your response promptly if you choose to accept this challenge. More information will be send to you from the Gym Leader’s Association discussing the rules. Signed, the Kouten League Association.’”

He was surprised. His eyes loomed over the message happily, like a child eagerly awaiting Christmas. A wish came true, as Ash hopped loudly up the stairs, cheering and screaming at the top of his lungs, rushing to find Pikachu. After banging the door, he burst in, hugging a sleepy Pikachu. “We’re going to the Kouten League!”

It took a few seconds for Pikachu to fully understand what Ash had been cheering about. Its eyes slowly rolled until they suddenly bolted open with an enormous smile spreading across its face. “Pi Pika Pikachu!”

“Honey, do you want me to accept the request then?” Delia shouted from downstairs. Ash grinned, chuckling to himself.

“Of course!!”

A young girl sat on the steps of a massive basilica with a large sketchpad and a few pastels resting next to her. Quietly, she stared at the gaggle of tourists before her with their brightly colored Pokemon. She smiled tranquilly, continuing her artwork until a old man approached her with a small envelope.

“Bianca, you have a message,” he said gruffly, handing her the envelope. She looked at him curiously.

“Who from, grandfather?” she asked slightly dismayed. He motioned her to turn it over, and as she did, she noticed a small golden crest sealing the creases. “From the Gym Leader’s Association?” She finally opened the letter, examining closely. “Grandfather, they’re asking me to join a Pokemon league…” Her voice faltered softly. “I don’t have any other Pokemon, and Latias isn’t even mine.”

Lorenzo smiled, giving her a small pat in the back. “I’m sure Latias will understand if you ask her to join you, and in any case we’ll find a way. Why not join? You may find new inspirations to draw.” Bianca smiled.

“All right, grandfather,” she said, standing up and fixing her white beret. “I’ll go, but promise me that you’ll be all right without me!”

“Of course!”

Meanwhile, several miles from Altomare, Ash Ketchum and his Pokemon prepared for the greatest challenge of his life.

Author's Note: Konnichiwa and hajimemashite! My name is Kagura, though I go by the name Kanon. It a pleasure to finally post something to write. I have visited this site since 2000 and while I've never written any fanfiction before for any anime, I felt that I should make an exception with Pokemon. This is also a way for me to practice my English, and writing is such a fun hobby! I hope you enjoy this new fanfiction ~ it's personally hard for me to write using American names because I have grown up with Pokemon in Japanese (my native country) and did not watch the English version until a few years ago since I have moved to the United States for college. Since then, I have researched and learned their names so I can converse about Pokemon with those familiar with the dub. Nonetheless, the love of Pokemon is still there. Hope you enjoy, and of course, I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters. Till next time! Ja mata ne! ~ Kanon