Chapter 1: The Invitation It was 10:00am of Ash Ketchum's sixteenth birthday. Ash lay in his bed awake, thinking of the dream that he had just experienced. It was a very strange dream that Ash was still wondering about. In his dream, Ash was sitting alone in the middle of the ocean. He was sitting on a raft, with no ores or sails to guide him, and water as far as the eye could see in every direction. Then, Misty rides up to him on her Dewgong, wearing a black bikini, and rescues Ash from his dilemma. Then they kiss. Ash sighed, not knowing what the dream meant. Ash never had feelings of love for anyone. He always was too preoccupied with his quest to become a great pokemon master to recognize feelings of love. Ash got up, got dressed, and went downstairs to eat breakfast. There was no tournament taking place, no badges to be acquired, and Ash thought he needed a little down time, so he returned to his home in Pallet Town for his birthday. When Ash got to the kitchen, pikachu was all ready eating, and a stack of chocolate chip pancakes where on the table. The chocolate chips in each pancake where arranged to spell: Happy Birthday Ash. Ash smiled. His mom was outside, tending to the garden with Mr. Mime. "Good morning pikachu!" Ash said with a smile. "Pi-Pikachu," responded pikachu. Ash ate his pancakes, and he and pikachu went outside for a breath of fresh air. "Good morning Ash," said Delia Ketchum, Ash's mom. "Happy Birthday. Oh, and Ash, you've got some mail." "Thanks mom," Ash said. Ash went out to the mailbox and pulled out several letters addressed to him. The first one was a postcard from the Orange Islands, and it was a happy birthday letter from Tracey. The second was from Max and May, in Hoenn, also a happy birthday letter. The third one was an advertisement for 'Victreebel Sleep Powder. It'll put you to sleep in seconds.' The fourth letter was a birthday card from Misty, the Cerulean city gym leader. When Ash opened the card, it played the music for Happy Birthday. Ash chuckled. It looked as though Misty had written something she didn't want Ash to see, because of the number of scribbles that had made the writing illegible. The fifth was another birthday card from Brock, who was in Pewter City. The final piece of mail was a bit of a surprise to Ash. It was not a birthday card, but a formal letter, stating: "Dear Ash Ketchum, We have been observing you for some time now through use of satellites, and telepathic pokemon, and we have decided you qualify for the tournament of a lifetime. This tournament will use skill, strength, loyalty, friendship, guts, and above all, Pokemon! You will have a chance to face the best and the brightest pokemon trainers to see who is the greatest pokemon trainer. The winner of the tournament will receive a unique pokemon egg of an ancient pokemon god. If you wish to partake in this tournament, be at the Vermilion City docks at 4:00pm on May the first. The ship that will take you to the tournament is the luxury cruise ship, the S.S. Aquatica. Your ticket is enclosed in this envelope. If you accept the challenge, good luck. Signed, Mewtwo, head of pokemon/human relations and tournament organization."