Destiny Rebirth

The Opening Ceremonies

In the suite, stood five champions towards the back. While two figures, in lab coats, sat near the railing, as they eagerly wait for the first battle to begin.

"So which region do you think will take home the trophy?" a man with red hair and black cape asked. Lance was the champion of both the Johto and Kanto regions. He's well-known for his use of Dragon Pokémon, with his ace being Dragonite. His work with the G-men is also well-known across the world.

"Who knows, we'll just have to wait and see the drama unfold before us." A beautiful woman in a white jacket with a white shirt and shorts underneath state. She's Diantha, a famous actress and the champion of the Kalos region.

The champions saw the tournament, as a way to one-up each other. To have a trainer defeat the best that the other regions had to offer, would certainly make the champion, from that region, look good. They all considered their top choices that they handpicked.

Alder picked the newly minted dragon master, Iris. He has complete confidence that her fierce dragons wouldn't be a match for anyone in this tournament.

Diantha looked to Bonnie, as her top pick. While it was true that the coordinator/trainer didn't have as much experience as the others in the tournament, few have the strategy that Bonnie possessed and that could aid her in the later rounds when there's little time between matches.

Cynthia felt as if she had an overabundance of choices, but her thoughts came to rest on Paul and Tobias. Both trainers had won the Lily of the Valley Conference and only gotten stronger. They were now able to stand up against the Elite Four.

Wallace didn't have to think too hard about his selection. Tyson and Max Maple were the perfect choices for him. Tyson had won multiple Conferences and Frontiers and seemed to be one of the favorites to win since he had the most experience. As for Max, he was proving that his strategies cannot easily be beaten.

Finally, it was Lance who found a wide range from which to choose. He could go with either Ritchie, who had surged to the top of the charts in the last two years, Jon Dickson, who always pushed the Johto Elite Four and him to the limit each battle, or Trevor, who had defeated Lance before and won the Conferences in other regions. Any competitor, who goes up against Trevor, would be overwhelmed by his powerful team of Pokémon, especially his Mewtwo, who has never been defeated in battle before. Trevor was another favorite to win.

The five champions were deep in thought when they heard a door open and saw the final 'champion' walk in. He's a champion by title, but they all looked down their noses at the leader of the Orange Island Crew, Drake.

The calm man walked in with a black, sleeveless jacket unzipped to show off his Pokéball necklace. His black hair was spiked every which way. The rest of the group looked on with smirks across their faces.

"Well well well. Nice of the great Drake, of the Orange Islands, to finally bless us with his company," Wallace sarcastically said while gesturing with a wide sweeping bow to Drake as he passed him.

"Can it, Wallace! I'm just here to watch the trainer, from my region, battle," he said while keeping his eyes on the arena below, ignoring the stares he was getting from the rest of the champions.

"You're lucky to even be here," Cynthia commented. "Initially, no one, from the Orange Islands, even made the first cut to be chosen for the tournament. You should be glad that one trainer, from your region, actually made it through the wild card tournament."

"Lucky me," Drake said dryly, even though he knew that they were right.

The Orange Islands were more of a tourist destination than an actual region to train for battle. He and the Orange Crew worked hard to promote Pokémon training on the islands. When it came time for challenges, they found most of them came from people, who were passing through, on their way to one of the six major regions. Still, he had held his spot longer than anyone else in the room, only losing to one challenger.

"If I remember correctly, haven't you lost to a challenger before? That, in itself, should prove that you don't belong here," Lance pointed out. The comment made Drake shiver and tense up. He gritted his teeth, as he chose his next words very carefully.

"You're right, I did lose to a worthy challenger," he slowly spat out. But with a smug look on his face, he finished his thoughts. "One Ash Ketchum."

The mention of Ash's name made the group fell silent. Each felt a tinge of regret for pushing Drake too far. Each one of them reflected on their past experiences and the many adventures they had with Ash.

Cynthia finally spoke up, ending the silence. "He would have made a great champion."

"Indeed," said Wallace as he looked towards Drake. "At least one of us wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for that tragedy 5 years ago. I'm certain of this."

"You're right. That Ash sure had some guts, now didn't he?" Alder said with his eyes to the ground.

"Yeah, that Ash always had some plan up his sleeve," this was followed by a laugh from the doorway. The group turned to see Scott, who's accompanied by Ash's friends.

"Ah Scott, good to see you!" the voice came from the older of the two figures in lab coats. The voice came from the great Professor Samuel Oak with his grandson, Gary Oak, sitting next to him. "Please come in. The first battle is about to begin."

The mass of people, who had crowned in the suite, ran over to their seats. They looked towards the field, as the announcer began to speak across the speakers.

"Welcome one and all to the Pokémon Master's Challenge Tournament!" the crowd roared with excitement. "And now, introducing the first competitors..."

---

The sound of music could be heard throughout the halls of the lower section of the stadium. The assistant ran to where the music was coming from. Once he arrived at the door, he gave a hesitant knock. "Aaron Tajiri, your battle is about to begin," the man said, as he noticed that the music didn't stop. He continued, "Please! The higher ups wouldn't be happy if the first battle were to start late! It's already dark out, for Pete's sake!"

Inside, sat Ash with his two Pokémon. He paid no attention to the knocks. He knew what they were about, but he continued to play the song. Once he was finished, he slowly rose. He felt a burning fire in his gut that slowly spread across the rest of his body. Ash was ready to battle. Without saying a word, he stepped out of the room and walked towards the platform that would take him up to the arena above.

Ash took a quick look around and lowered his head, as the platform raises him up to the battlefield. The first battle is about to begin.