Tournament Registration...

Chapter 9 - Tournament Registration...

Ash arrived at the Indigo Plateau within two hours. Even though it was quite a distance from their island to the tournament area, Pidgeot was one of Ash's fastest pokémon, especially in the air, but she still took her time to get there. If she wanted to, they would've been there in half the time buy she was enjoying the trip and Ash didn't mind. They landed in front of the plateau's hotel, which had a sign in front of it saying that the tournament registration was held there. Ash and Pikachu looked around, not seeing anyone. They did get there pretty early and it was a Saturday morning, everyone sleeping in.

Ash slid off Pidgeot, thanking her for the ride and told her to get a good rest as he returned her. Her poke ball then vanished from his hand in a blue glow after minimizing it. He unclipped Gardevoir's luxury ball and brought her out, her ball disappearing and soon brought forth Lucario as well. The four then stepped inside the building and walked up to the pretty girl with pink hair, who was wearing a nurse's uniform and was busy working on her computer while behind the front counter. The ground floor of the hotel doubled as a pokémon center.

"Good morning Nurse Joy. I'm here to register for the tournament," said Ash.

"That's great. Please provide me with your invitation and Poke Dex," replied the nurse without looking up from her computer screen. Ash took them out and placed them on the counter. Nurse Joy took them without even noticing who was in front of her.

"Okay, so here's the invitation, okay that's in order. Alright, let's slip your Poke Dex into the system's scanner here and let's see….hmm….okay so you're Aaaa….Aaa…."

Nurse Joy began stuttering as she looked at the picture on her computer screen. She then glanced at the trainer standing in front of her.

"You…..you're….you…." she couldn't finish, her mouth kept opening and closing. Ash chuckled while his pokémon around him grinned.

"Yea, it's me."

"Ash Ketchum!" shrieked Nurse Joy. "Oh my Arceus! They said you disappeared! Nobody was able to find you! You know how many people went looking for you?"

Ash tilted his head, his cheeks turning a little red. "They did? I'm sorry about that. I just went into training." He said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, so that's what you were up to? Well, I'm glad that you're okay Mr. Ketchum and participating at this tournament. A lot of people are going to be extremely happy to hear you're back! This may be one of the biggest tournaments ever!" said the nurse excitedly.

"Whoa wait up!" cried out Ash suddenly, waving his hands in front of him. "I don't want anyone to know I'm here. I'm going to participate under an alias and disguise. I can do that right? I really don't want the attention. Please Nurse Joy!" pleaded the raven-haired trainer. Nurse Joy was over whelmed by his puppy dog eyes and pout.

"Oh alright. I can't say no to that face," sighed Nurse Joy, her face heating up. "I won't tell anyone you're here, but in order to compete in the tournament, you must register with your Poke Dex. Good news is only the president, Mr. Charles Goodshow will know and I will send him a message right now telling him that you want to enter under an alias. You may want to get a disguise on right now and think up of a name quick, as I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of people here soon."

Ash nodded as he retrieved his invitation and Poke Dex. He then told her that he had a disguise and glanced at Gardevoir, whose eyes glowed blue for a couple seconds then returned to her original color. Ash then faced Nurse Joy who yelped, covering her mouth with her hands as she faced him again after a moment, instantly turning crimson red. She thought the trainer looked cute but now, he looked much older and very handsome.

"Ash is that you?" whispered the nurse through her hands, which were still over her mouth. Ash laughed out loud, his pokémon smiling at the nurse's reactions.

"Yea, it's still me. What do you think? I had my Gardevoir do this for me. Not many people will notice huh with the beard, black eyes and birth marks gone. Oh and I picked a name. Let me type it in please."

The nurse nodded and handed him the keyboard. He typed in his alias and hit enter. She glanced at the screen and nodded with a smile; the name he picked matched his disguise.

"Well, I believe you're all set. I will send this message to the president right away. Oh and here's your room key." She took out a key from a drawer to her right and gave it to him. "All of the top trainers get complimentary suites at the Indigo Plateau Hotel, courtesy of Mr. Goodshow. I hope you enjoy your stay Mr. Ketchum," Nurse Joy finished sweetly.

"Wow, my own suite. Cool. Looks like we're going to have a good time here guys." The three nodded at their trainer, grinning. "Thanks for everything Nurse Joy. You're the best. And call me by my alias."

Nurse Joy's cheeks turned pink at the praise and nodded. "Oh, just doing my job, but thanks. You may want to go check out your hotel before everyone else gets here."

As if on cue, the pokémon center's doors slid open and a group of trainers walked in. Pikachu quickly slid inside his backpack and zipped it shut. Ash heard the group's voices and his eyes widened. He quickly moved towards the far left side of the counter, his pokémon right behind him. Nurse Joy smiled at his actions.

He really doesn't want to be seen, she thought.

Ash knew who those voices belonged to but he couldn't believe it. Of all the times to come they had to come now. Ash stayed in his spot, hoping they wouldn't notice him since he went in the wrong direction, as the elevator was on the other side of the counter. He acted casually as they approached the counter and their voices became clearer.

"I'm going to win this tournament! Just watch and see guys!" said the brown haired male trainer.

"Yea right, this tournament is for the best. You really think you can win it all?" said a young boy with glasses. He was quickly hit against the back of his head by an older brunette, who had a red bandanna on her head.

"Max, don't say that! You know Richie is one of the strongest trainers!" said his sister.

"Yea, May's right! Why do you always have to be like that?" asked a blue haired girl.

"Whatever Dawn," replied Max while rubbing the back of his head. "Let's just get the registration over with so we can go get a room. I'm tired."

They agreed and turned to speak with Nurse Joy. Ash was focusing on them talking about registration and getting a room.

I wonder who else is in the tournament. It might be fun facing Richie again at least. Well, at least this time I won't lose, that's for su-

"OOUF!"

Ash was suddenly tackled to the floor from behind. His pokémon stepped away a little and stood stunned over what just happened.

"DAWN!"

The group of trainers came towards Ash and the blunette and tried to pry her off of Ash.

"Dawn this isn't funny now let him go!" yelled out the red head girl.

"NO! I'm never letting him go again! I'm never letting Ash out of my sight again!" cried out Dawn, beginning to sob into the back of the man. The group of trainers stopped what they were doing and looked at her, then at the man who was faced down, all thinking the same thing; could it be?

Lucario and Gardevoir sweat dropped as their trainer had many thoughts fly through his head.

Fuck, she knows. Fuck…already? But how? Wait, there's no way. She only saw the back of my head. Maybe she's just confused. I did leave my hair the same. Damn it, I should've changed my hair color too. Ah, it's too late. Let's get this over with.

Ash slowly twisted himself around, while the sobbing blunette kept him in her bear like hug, now crying into his chest.

"You know, as much as I would like to have a pretty girl be on top of me, this isn't what I had pictured it to be like," joked Ash, having decided he would have some fun with this. Dawn stopped her crying abruptly and slowly looked up at the man's face.

"Hi there."

Dawn yelped and jumped off the man with a beard when he spoke. He chuckled and slowly got to his feet and stretched his back.

"Man, that's some tackle you got there. It's Dawn, right?"

Dawn looked at him for a second and then slowly nodded, blushing like mad.

"Well, nice to meet you. Some advice? Next time you want to say hi to someone, don't tackle them from behind okay?" he said as he chuckled again. Dawn blushed even more and looked down at her feet.

"Master, what are you doing?" asked a concerned Lucario with his mind.

"Don't worry Lucario. They don't know it's me, otherwise I would've been in a death hug, or crumpled in a corner after they kicked the shit out of me. Do me a favor though, and let Gardevoir know what's going on and help her relax. And stop calling me master!"

"Okay Master."

"Sorry about that. Our friend…no, all of us, know someone who is very special to us and we haven't seen him for a long time. You just happened to look similar to him from the back I guess," said one of the oldest in the group. He was tall, with tanned skin, spiky hair and squinty eyes. He wore brown pants, an orange shirt and a green jacket over it. "My name is Brock, nice to meet you sir." Brock raised his hand and Ash shook it.

"Yea sorry about that. Sometimes our friend gets carried away," said the red head girl. She said her name was Misty, and she was wearing blue shorts that reached half way down her thighs, with a yellow blouse. Her red hair was tied in a pony tail that flowed down behind her back.

"She's not the only who gets carried away, I remember you did something similar too Misty. You guys should all stop being such kids. Anyway, my name's Iris," remarked a purple haired girl, shaking hands with Ash as well. She had long purple hair and wore a loose yellow dress that went over white pants.

"We all have Iris, not just them two," cut in the brunette with the bandanna on her head, in order to prevent Misty from exploding. She was wearing a red tank top with a black short skirt. She extended her hand and Ash shook it. "My name is May and this is my little brother Max. And that's Richie, Cilan, Gary and Serena."

Ash shook hands with each person that May pointed out. Max was the youngest and shortest of the group. He had on a green shirt and brown shorts with dark hair and wore glasses. Richie had almost the same outfit as Ash, except the colors were reversed, with black pants and jacket and blue shirt. Cilan was as tall as Brock and had green hair and was wearing what looked to be like a tuxedo without the jacket. Gary was wearing a white lab coat with black jeans and a black shirt with brown red hair. Serena was wearing a black tank top with a red skirt that flowed down to her knees and had honey blond hair.

"It's very nice to meet all of you. You all seem to be a good group of friends," said Ash.

"Thanks, ah…" started Misty.

"Oh I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Solid. This is Lucario and Gardevoir. I'm from Kanto and here to compete in the tournament," revealed Ash.

"That's great Solid. We're here to cheer on Richie as he competes as well," said Serena brightly.

"Oh so you're in the tournament Richie?"

"Yup. I hope you're ready for a good match. Sorry, but let me finish registering and getting a room for us," said Richie as he went back to finish things up with Nurse Joy.

"Why is Gardevoir hiding behind you?" asked Serena. Her group glanced at the fairy pokémon, who was hiding behind Solid but had her head sticking out a bit from behind him, who promptly blushed and squeaked while ducking behind him again. Solid gave both a sigh and a slight chuckle.

"Well it's both funny and sad. The funny thing is that she is very shy and scared of new people or pokémon, unless she's in a battle, then she just focuses on her opponent. The sad part….well…" Solid started scratching the back of his head. The others waited for him to finish. "Let's just say she had a bad past with other pokémon trainers before we crossed paths," finished Solid with a glum look on his face.

"What assholes!" commented Dawn. May smacked the back of her head.

"Dawn, Max is here!"

"May, I've heard worse things okay? I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Wow, you're all acting like kids," remarked Iris.

"Takes one to know one," jeered Max. Iris scowled.

"That's so sad. I'm glad that someone nice like you found her," Misty said sweetly. She moved closer to Gardevoir, who clutched Solid's back.

"Oh, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you, ever, I promise. I'm not here to take you away from Solid either, as long as he continues treating you right."

With that, Misty shot a glare at Solid, as if daring him to challenge her on that remark, but what she found instead surprised her. He simply smiled when she shot him a death stare. It softened her expression and she understood; he would never do something like that, and for some reason, that made her like this new man in front of her. She looked back at Gardevoir.

"Will you give me a chance? I can be your new friend," asked Misty softly as she raised her right hand in front of her, palm up and open.

Gardevoir looked at her for a moment. She then glanced at Solid, who gave her an encouraging smile. She understood that this girl was someone she could trust, at least a little bit until they got a stronger bond. She raised her hand and placed it on Misty's hand, and they shook. Misty smiled as did Gardevoir.

"What a heart lifting flavor this has been," said Cilan with a smile on his face. Iris elbowed the connoisseur lightly in the stomach.

"We'll become the best of friends, you'll see!" Misty stated happily. Gardevoir nodded.

"I'm quite impressed Misty. I've not known any other person to bond with her so easily," commented Solid, causing the red head to blush the same color as her hair.

"Oh, it's not a big deal." She looked down at the floor and tapped the floor with her shoe as she rubbed her arm with her other hand. Solid smiled, sensing that she was embarrassed. Some of the group looked at each other and grinned.

"Okay guys, everything's set. And we got a room in the Indigo Plateau Hotel," Richie said as he rejoined the group.

"Finally. Did they say what floor it's on?" questioned Gary.

"Ah yea, it's on the twenty first. Why?"

"Damn, well that sucks. Floors from the twentieth to thirty are one room with two twin beds."

"Well it's a good thing we brought sleeping bags," said Brock happily as Gary scoffed.

"Just like the good old days huh, Brock? Hey where did Solid go?" asked Dawn, as she looked around.

"Look who's finally talking again," sniggered Gary. "Don't worry; your boyfriend is at the counter." May smacked him upside the head, hard, causing the young researcher to yelp in pain.

"Leave her alone Gary!" warned May, then she looked at Dawn, her cheeks a little pink.

"Alright. Hey, Serena, how come you're not talking?" Serena's eyes widened as she was put on the spot.

"I….ah…I…"

"Well well well. Looks like we're back to three years ago everyone. Four girls all crushing on one guy again. Oh this is going to be interesting," laughed out Gary, without thinking of the consequences. The four girls' faces were tomato red and glaring at the young researcher.

Brock, Richie, Max, Cilan and Iris all glanced at each other. They knew Gary was in some deep shit and they were concerned that he was not taking it seriously.

"Ah, Gary, you may want to stop while you're still breathing, cause…." Brock started but was interrupted by the researcher continuing on, not knowing when to stop.

"Let's put a bet on them. Actually, let's do a few bets. Like who makes an idiot out of themselves first, not counting Dawn's since it was before, and let's bet who's going to make out with him first and then…"

WHAM!

The pokémon researcher was face down on the floor, groaning, while Misty was towering over him, her trademark mallet in her hands, her eyes blazing with anger.

"Consider that a warning Oak."

"Why is Gary on the floor?" questioned Solid, appearing behind Misty. He knew why, but since he was being "Solid" right now, he had to play dumb on certain things.

"Gaahhh!" screamed a frightened Misty and hit Solid in the stomach with her mallet, causing him to fall down on his rear.

"Ugh!" grunted Solid as he hit the floor.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Solid!" cried Misty as soon as she realized what she did and bent down to help him back up.

"It's alright, should've known not to stand behind someone." Especially if it's you Misty, he finished in his head.

"Ah man, one of us could have won that bet already. Who would've thought Misty would be the one to do something foolish first," joked Gary as he slowly stood up. Misty shot him a death glare.

"Bet? What bet?" Solid looking around, actually confused.

"Oh don't worry about it." May stepped towards him and Misty. "Gary just likes to say stupid things all the time. Sometimes we have to remind him to stop being such a moron before he gets himself hurt." May glared at Gary, who simply stuck his tongue out at her.

"Ah I see."

"What were you doing at the counter Solid?" May asked him, being careful not to stare at him. Gary smirked and was about to say something when he noticed Misty hold up her mallet again. Gary's smirk faded away and gulped.

"Oh I was checking out which room I have and I found out that it's a pretty big one. I was going to ask you guys if you wanted to switch as I don't need such a big room as it's just me and my pokémon."

"That's very kind of you but we can't do that Solid," Cilan said.

"What do you mean Cilan? Don't talk for everyone like a kid!" shot Iris.

"No Iris, Cilan's right," Brock answered and the rest dropped their heads in defeat. "We can't accept that Solid, it was meant for you."

"Seriously? What do you think I'm going to do all alone in some big room on the thirty fifth floor?"

Everyone's jaw dropped. Nobody made a sound, besides Nurse Joy who was giggling behind her counter, having been eavesdropping on the conversation from the beginning. Solid sweat dropped.

"Ah guys, are you okay?"

"Did you just say thirty fifth floor?" asked Richie. Everyone stared at Solid.

"Ah yea, I did. Why does that matter?" Solid tilted his head in confusion and scratched the back of his head, causing everyone to remember a certain friend they know and haven't seen for so long.

"There are only forty floors in the hotel. From the nineteenth floor and down, they are all single rooms with a single bed, bathroom and a TV. From twentieth floor to the thirtieth floor, those are a little better, with a little extra stuff, such as two beds. From the thirty first to the thirty eighth floor, they are usually held for important people, such as company owners, the Elite Four, popular and rising trainers and such others. The thirty ninth floor is for the Champions of the different leagues and the last floor is reserved for the President of the Pokémon League and the current Pokémon Master," lectured Gary.

"Ah, okay, I gotcha. Well anyway, it doesn't matter to me. You guys can have it since I don't care for such things."

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" screamed Dawn and May together, causing the group to jump. Some of them laughed a little after calming down.

"No, I'm not crazy. Even though it's supposed to be some great room, I don't care about it. Here, let's switch since it'll be better for you guys since you're a big group."

"How about we share the room?" Serena asked, causing everyone to look at her. "Well, think about it. If it's supposed to be a big room or suite or whatever, we could share it, so none of us feel guilty about using it."

"You know, that's a great idea! Let's go!" Max said and dashed towards the elevator.

Solid and Brock nodded to each other and they all stepped inside the elevator, with Solid returning Gardevoir and Lucario so they can fit. It was still barely though, as they still had to squeeze in, the four girls sandwiching Solid between them and blushing like mad. Gary noticed and smirked, catching Richie's eye and gestured towards the five with his eyebrows. Richie caught the hint and grinned.

After a moment or two, they reached the thirty fifth floor and stepped out into the hallway. They only saw three doors in the hallway; one right in front of them, labeled "A", one down the hall to the left labeled "B" and another on the opposite end of the hall labeled "C". Solid's key had an "A" on it, so he put the key into the lock, unlocked the door, pushed it open and they walked into the room.

It wasn't a room. It wasn't even a suite. It looked to be more of a pent house than anything. Every single person had a shocked look on their face as they weren't expecting something like this. They were greeted with a huge living room, furnished with several large couches, a large coffee table in the middle of them and with a large flat screen TV hanging on the wall. There was a large kitchen next to the living room, as well as a balcony attached to it with sliding doors. They walked around the area and found there were five bedrooms with four queen sized beds and the fifth, larger room had a king sized bed. There were two bathrooms and one master bathroom in the larger room. The group assembled back together in the living room after checking out the place, each one having an insane grin on their face.

"And you wanted to give this up!" laughed Dawn as she pointed at Solid. Everyone laughed.

"I must confess, it's a very nice place. But I probably wouldn't have cared after a while. Like I said, I'm a simple man with simple needs."

"Yea, whatever, keep telling yourself that buddy," teased Gary. Solid grinned.

"So, I take it we're sharing this place and that's good for everyone?" asked Cilan.

"Yeah that's good with me. But Solid gets the master bedroom, since this was his at first. And we all need to thank him for letting us be here. That's the only way I'll allow us to stay here," finished Brock.

"Thank you!" chorused the group together. Solid's cheeks turned red.

"No need. I'm just glad to help out. Okay, so we're sharing, cool. I'll drop off my stuff in my room and then I'll return your key for you Richie since I forgot to do something downstairs."

Richie handed Solid his room key and Solid headed downstairs to return the key and to ask Nurse Joy a question.