Just a minute's walk away from Brock and me was a crew who should have just finished their escapades with Team Rocket. Although I wouldn't remember much about the encounter as I don't even remember much about Morrison.
Even though he was maybe the rival?
Tyson was easier to remember having won the Ever Grande Conference.
Behind May, Max, Ash, Tyson and Morrison were some Pokemon beside them.
A Meoth and a Beldum.
Watching them get closer I waved at them, to which the original trio waved back.
"Hey Brock! Sunny! We're back with some friends!" He shouts.
After they arrived Ash quickly explained the situation with Team Rocket and how they were able to send them blasting off again... It wasn't anything with machinery this time as it was the classic, dig a hole that's in one specific spot.
Somehow one of the side or main characters falls in it, then spills dialogue.
"And how do you fall for that..." I say trailing off at the end a bit confused.
Ash who heard this just sheepishly looked away. Morrison who was off to the side though looked a bit flustered.
"Thanks to us pulling out a certain someone," May says with a sly smirk which makes me chuckle.
This was clearly targeting a certain Morrison.
But her brother not to skip a beat immediately defended him.
"May you've fallen for way more pits." Max retorts which got him a head rub from his dear sister. While the little kid was being "kindly" taught a lesson by his sister, the two new group members introduced themselves.
"Hey my name is Tyson, this is Meowth. What's your name?" He says with a calm respectful tone. Meowth who was next to Tyson just looked off into the distance.
Seeing his reached out hand I smile back and grab it.
"I'm Sunny and this is Marshtomp. It's great to meet you."
After the handshake shake my thoughts about his silent confidence grew even more. While maybe a small overthought, he was definitely the classic build of a strong trainer.
He had a fully evolved starter, Sceptile. A pseudo-legendary, Metagross, and an overpowered first-stage Pokemon that didn't evolve.
Paired with his more mature demeanor when it came to socialising, he was perfect.
He was pretty intelligent too with a good battle IQ.
'Ignoring that Team Rocket stole the sacred fire from him.' I thought weirded out.
In all fairness though that trio has snuck into so many places without fail. At least Tyson recognised they were suspicious in some sort of way.
'Both Tyson and the guy who won the Hoenn festival had the respective Ace.' I thought. Tyson had a Metagross which obviously led to Steven Stone as he is the past champion.
The person who beat Drew in the finals was also a Gary Sue similar to Tyson. Perfectly humble and an IQ built for battling and elegance.
He had a Milotic like Wallace.
It's as if their exact purpose was to beat the main characters...
Kind of like Tobias the legendary catcher but more believable.
I mean the chances of a strong trainer with a great team are rare but not entirely zero. They probably become trainers just a bit weaker than future elite four members which is amazing in itself. My thoughts were like a broken record but, these two were someone Lysandre would keep alive for his perfect world type Gary Sue.
Just a few seconds later the flustered guy finally calmed himself after seeing my partner.
"Whoa is that a Marshtomp! I have a Swampert myself. Oh-right! I'm Morrison and am the future winner between Ash and I in the conference." He smugly says with his hands on his hips nodding to himself.
This quickly got Ash to bicker with him as they quickly fought.
Seeing this I look at Brock who just shakes his head.
The thing is Morrison had the final evolution of my ace and Tyson had the final evolution of Ash's Hoenn Ace.
Not important information but just something funny.
We all spent a few hours together before we each went out different ways. Thankfully I was able to train with Ash for this entire week as he had a conference to battle, throughout this time the only things that changed were his type of matchups.
I used a lot of switching tactics which Ash soon after adapted to.
Thankfully with Brock's high-tier food, my two Pokemon weren't completely helpless and could recover to train more at the same rate as Ash's team.
That might of been the main reason I wanted to train...
Two surprising things were the sheer physical power of Corphish and Glalie's special attack.
No wonder Ash actually had the confidence to use them in elimination rounds.
...
[1 Week Later]
"Here's your Pokemon and their scans sir!" Nurse Joy says a little tired.
Feeling pity at how busy she should be at this current time I nod and take my stuff. The main thing I wanted to see was my Pokemon's growth in a single week.
Compared to my usual 1-2 weeks gaining a single level.
We had Ash and Brock's food to thank for this growth.
---{[---{[Marshtomp Scan]}---]}---
Pokemon: Marshtomp
Level: 16 > 19
Type: Water/Ground
Ability: Torrent
Egg Moves: Refresh, Mirror Coat, Barrier,
Moves: Growl, Tackle, Mud-Slap, Water Gun, Rock Throw, Rock Smash, Protect, Foresight, Supersonic (New), Mud Shot (New), Water Pulse (New)
---{[---{[]}---]}---
The first new move was more situational as it was better to use [Water Pulse] and pray for confusion. [Mud Shot] on the other hand was the direct improvement to one of my favourite moves, [Mud-Slap] due to blinding opponents.
Now though it is bigger, better and does more spread damage.
[Water Pulse] is my go-to move for now until [Hydro Pump] comes along.
---{[---{[Mankey Scan]}---]}---
Pokemon: Mankey
Level: 8 > 13
Type: Fighting
Ability: Defiant
Nature: Naughty
Egg Moves: Night Slash, Meditate,
Moves: Covet, Leer, Scratch, Fury Swipes, Low Kick, Close Combat, Seismic Toss (New), Pursuit (New), Karate Chop (New), Focus Energy (New)
---{[---{[]}---]}---
This time for Mankey he gained four new moves.
[Pursuit] is the highlight with [Focus Energy] being a close second. The former with its uses against Pokemon trying to be switched out completely erasing that fighting style. And the latter being a good set-up move.
Either for wild fights and maxing it out, or for training.
In total Marshtomp gained three levels and Mankey got five. Way better than my usual one level every 1-2 weeks.
I felt elated until I saw the time.
'There's just a couple of minutes before the match.' I thought a bit in a hurry.
Sprinting towards stadium three, it was where Ash would be fighting. There were five total stadiums with one main stadium for the important matches.
...
Getting through the entrance I heard the announcer talk.
"The next battle will be between Gilburt Arenas and Ash Ketchum!"
Seeing I got here just in time, I made my way towards my parents. Their seats were pretty good being on the seats all the way to the bottom, closest to the battles.
Taking a seat and greeting my parents, Marshtomp exits his Premier Ball.
"Marshtomp watch closely, we will be up there next year." I softly say patting his head. My parents who heard this both had a warm smile seeing my bond with my starter.
"Tomp!"
While Mankey could also watch, he might run into the battlefield which isn't ideal...
The current match was between a Hitmonlee and Pikachu.
"Wow, Pikachu is using his speed!" The announcer shouts.
The match was pretty straightforward for Ash as he got Pikachu to dodge and weave circles around the opponent. Especially with the natural speed he had, the electric mouse was able to get a [High Jump Kick] to miss and injure Hitmonlee.
This later snowballed as a few more attacks finished the battle.
"Hitmonlee has fainted... Winner Pikachu and Ash from Pallet Town!"
The crowd went crazy as they just witnessed the more iconic rather than battle-centric Pokemon win. Seeing this a smirk went on my face as it was expected.
Bringing my hands together, I shout.
"Good stuff Ash, Pikachu!"
Ash who was getting ready to leave heard me. Looking straight into my eyes he gave me a thumbs up with a wide smile. Pikachu who saw Marshtomp raised both his hands trying to mimic his trainer.
My parents who saw this were a bit confused but I quickly explained it.
They just thought I would disappear for a bit...
With that battle over a couple of tens of battles occur. While none of them were quite as interesting, there were a few powerhouses who owned a Dragonite or Aggron.
Just like that, the first day was over and the ceremony of lighting up the torch happened.
Of course, Ash was the one to hold the flame as he retrieved it after it was stolen.
...
The next few days were a bit more of the same thing with the trio of Ash, Morrison and Tyson winning their second and third matches.
With this a week break.
Everybody had to train extra hard but I didn't go with Ash this time. I would just be a distraction at a time like this because of how weak my Pokemon were.
From what I've noted down, the average level of the competition was low 30s. While the latter competition had a mid level 30 Pokemon. But because of how weirdly Ash's Pokemon evolved there was no way to tell.
On top of evolutions not exactly correlating with levels for all Pokemon.
This brings me now to the break before the start of the top 256.
May messages me to meet up at the reception area.
It was buzzed with trainers and civilians alike signing in and out. Especially with the main battles coming out, the activity of trainers surged. The sounds of doors opening and closing were constant, but a voice broke out.
"Sunny!" A voice calls out.
Turning around with a soft smile, I spot May wearing her signature clothes. A red bandanna and sporty gear.
Slowly making my way to her I speak.
"How are you doing today May, you're looking gorgeous," I say casually which stopped her in her tracks. "I'm hungry right now, you wanna roam around and try all the restaurants here?"
These words completely flipped the script on May as her face was visibly red.
Chuckling at her reaction it was quite amusing. While she wasn't someone I'm into right now as I'm into more mature women, she was more on the adorable/cute side.
'Not that I'd let her know.' I thought to myself.
I've had my fair share of flirting in college and keeping a girl happy on a casual meetup isn't too hard. Already knowing what she wanted to do, taking the initiative would allow her to speak her mind after a question.
It's like if you're out with your girl and she asks if you want some ice cream with a happy face. Naturally that means she wants ice cream, and is just asking you because she wants the both of you to "want" it .
Saying you don't feel like eating ice cream is basically a death sentence to her mood.
In this instance it's like I knew she wanted ice cream and asked her if she wanted ice cream. While making her pick her favorites/restaurants from the booklet.
"I'm not sure where to eat though, I've tried looking around but I don't have a handbook."
My words didn't go on deaf ears as her own ears perked up like a puppy.
"I've read about some places we could go! My Ever Grande City guide right here has all the best-rated foods!" She eagerly said, her flustered look now gone.
Keeping eye contact I nod at her which got her to keep talking.
May pulled out a notebook which acted like a guide for all the best places to eat, already looked at this when I was training with Ash for a week.
This was going to be fun.
"Let's check this place out first!" She squeals out.
Taking a look at the paper it showed a restaurant with a BBQ grill on its banner.
The Evergrande Flameside Grill.
"Did someone say barbeque?" I murmur almost drooling. Alright maybe this wasn't a bad idea, food is food after all.
Casually chatting with May about her current journey, we spent basically the whole day roaming around eating snacks. Of course as the gentleman I decided to pay for her food as technically "I wanted to eat" out.