Chapter 152

As per the rules of the Pokémon League Conference, regardless of the Trainer's Licence, all Participants were allowed to carry up to 12 Pokéballs on them.

This was done to eliminate any unfair advantages for Trainers with better Licences in the matches.

Aizen took his time as he decided on his Roster for the Preliminary Rounds, and in the evening, when he waited in the Tunnel, hearing the crowd cheering his name, he felt a little hollow in his heart.

"Lyla..." He whispered the name of the person he terribly missed and then took a deep breath as he walked out of the tunnel, onto the First Rock Battlefield, and took his position at the Western Grid.

His opponent was from Johto, fourteen years old, who had reached the Top 64 of the Silver Conference last year.

And yet, the boy seemed nervous after he learned that he was up against someone who represented the Blanc Palace of the Blanc Kingdom, and whose name was Orayen.

Having already decided whom he wanted to use, Aizen plucked the Pokéball from his belt, and as soon as the Referee's whistle sounded out, he activated it and threw it in the air.

"Wartotle!"

His Pokémon announced itself and then smirked at the massive Stone Serpent it was up again.

"Wartotle vs Steelix. Let's begin!"

Aizen stayed quiet as his Pokémon got to work on its own, having prepared for such a scenario, and having fought a Steelix before nearly a dozen times.

The Orayen Prince put all his trust in his Pokémon and did not give any commands even when Wartotle suffered.

Ten minutes later, when his Indigo Tortoise won the round, the crowd went crazy and his opponent stared at his Pokémon in disbelief.

He was clearly not expecting a Wartotle to win against his Steelix.

However, the boy managed to compose himself and sent out his Aerodactyl, and Aizen recalled his Wartotle and sent out his own Aerodactyl.

"Second Round: Aerodactyl vs Aerodactyl. Let's begin!"

And what followed was a painful watch for the audience.

The Alpha Aerodactyl toyed around with its kin and taught it a lesson that the Pokémon would never forget in its life.

Again, Aizen did not give a single command to his Pokémon and allowed it to fight on its own.

His first match concluded with a perfect result. He had 4 points on the Table now.

The next morning, in the Second Grass Battlefield, he was up against a Novice Trainer, and to the surprise of people, he sent out his Aerodactyl in the first round, continuing where he had left off yesterday.

It was up against a Raichu, who had an advantage over it, but the poor Pokémon lost the moment the Ancient Pokémon landed on the ground and generated a powerful earthquake before using Aerial Ace.

Since Aerodactyl was much faster than Raichu, the Electric Pokémon was helpless against its Aerial Ace.

In the second round, the Trainer sent out his Gyarados, and Aizen recalled his Aerodactyl and sent out his Wartotle, which excited and confused the spectators, who were unaware that they were going to witness a contest that would remain fresh in their minds for a while.

The crowd witnessed a memorable battle where Wartotle, without any instructions from its Trainer, managed to win thanks to its ingenuity. It was a hard-fought win, but a win. And the Indigo Tortoise was proud of himself when its Trainer appreciatively smiled and nodded his head.

At 2 pm, they watched Ritchie's match in the First Ice Battlefield, where he had to win a hard-fought victory after his Magneton lost the first round against a Quilava.

However, he put all his trust in his Magmortar, who made quick work of the evolution of Cyndaquil and then proceeded to win against a Feraligatr, thanks to his Belch and the Thunder Punches.

Leaf had her match at 4 pm at the Second Grass Battlefield, and she sent out her Florges in the first round, who was up against a Sawsbuck.

Fiona made quick work of her opponent and did not complain when Leaf recalled her and sent out her Charmeleon against a Scizor.

It was not an easy battle for the Fire Pokémon despite being at a massive Type Advantage, however, it prevailed and let out proud plumes of flame from its mouth after its stunning victory.

At 5 pm, Aizen had his third Preliminary Match against an opponent from Unova at the First Ice Battlefield.

And in the first round, again to the surprise of people, he sent out his Alpha Aerodactyl, who was up against an Electivire.

A smile formed on the Prince's lips at the Pokémon his opponent had chosen, but he still not did give any commands to Aerodactyl, who took its time and stayed out of Electivire's reach before engaging with it in an exhilarating battle.

A lot of people thought Aizen would recall Aerodactyl once the five-minute mark was crossed, but he didn't. And to their dismay, the Ancient Pokémon persevered long enough to make Electivire suffer a powerful earthquake that destroyed the Ice Battlefield and then used a powerful Rock Slide, unleashing dozens of rocks at the Electric Pokémon who was rattled.

And to everyone's excitement, Aerodactyl won.

In the second round, when he saw that his opponent had called out a Skarmory, Aizen recalled Aerodactyl and sent out his Wartotle again, treating the audience to another memorable battle, which Wartotle won.

The next morning, in his last match at the Water Battlefield, he did something that made the audience laugh out loud.

He sent out his Wartotle in the very first round, who found itself up against a Corviknight.

For a minute, neither Pokémon made any moves as Corviknight kept flying, and Wartotle dived into the pool.

If things stayed the same way, both Pokémon were going to get disqualified, and the Trainer he was up against needed this victory much more than the Orayen Prince needed it.

He already had 12 Points on the board, and his spot in the Top 128 was guaranteed. It was not the same for his opponent.

The Trainer finally ordered his Pokémon to come down a little and send out Air Slashes into the Water, and it gave Wartotle the opportunity to play its games.

At one point, somehow, Wartotle managed to hide inside a waterfall and climb on the back of the Steel Bird. The Indigo Tortoise then held tightly onto its metallic feathers before starting to pummel the Pokémon with Brick Break as the bird made futile attempts to shake him off.

It was a fight against the clock now for Wartotle because, at the five-minute mark, the Trainer was undoubtedly going to recall his Corviknight. However, when only thirty seconds remained, Corviknight fell from the air and dropped into the pool, having lost consciousness.

Wartotle came out of the water and stepped onto a floating disc before grinning at the opposing Trainer, which unnerved the boy a lot.

In the second round, the boy sent out his Empoleon, and Aizen did not recall his Pokémon.

"Second Round: Wartotle vs Empoleon. Begin!"

Wartotle again dived down into the water and started playing around, however, it soon discovered that it was up against a monster.

Empoleon chased it inside the water, and no matter what it did, the Indigo Tortoise could not harm it by staying in the pool.

When the Pokémon surfaced again and climbed up the floating disc, Wartotle angrily used Waterfall which was followed by Liquidation, and Empoleon proudly used Protect.

The Tortoise again used a Waterfall, hiding itself from the eyes of the Pokémon and its Trainer, and the audience gasped when they saw what it was doing.

Hearing the reaction from the audience, the Trainer ordered his Pokémon to dive into the water, but before it could react, Wartotle appeared in its sight and smashed a Focus Punch in its face.

The Trainer watched in disbelief as its Pokémon was sent crashing into the wall of the pool and dropped into the water.

Wartotle did not dive down into the poom to attack Empoleon again and finish the job. He stayed on the floating disc as he caught his breath. He was very tired.

"Wartotle..." The Indigo Tortoise growled when he saw Empoleon jump out of the water and land on the disc again.

"It's time."

Aizen finally spoke for the first time during the match, and the audience was stunned when Wartotle's body started shining in a brilliant light.

The keen observers already knew that Wartotle was suppressing its evolution since the last round. And how he had fought so far was quite remarkable.

As soon as the newly evolved Blastoise emerged out of the light, it prepared to shoot a Flash Cannon at its opponent, who countered it with the same move.

However, what happened next was surprising.

Blastoise challenged the Empoleon and dived into the water, and the Trainer immediately regretted allowing his Pokémon to go into the water because it was soon hit by an Aura Sphere.

After a battle that lasted for over twenty minutes between the two Water Powerhouses, the Blue Tortoise let out a roar of victory, which promoted the audience to rise to their feet and applaud him.

Finishing his four rounds with 16 Points, and having only revealed his Blastoise and Aerodactyl, Aizen was at the top of the Table.

His performances were so flawless that they weighed heavily on the hearts of other Trainers, especially the young ones.

Even Leaf, who knew him better than anyone participating in the Conference, could not help but feel very nervous at seeing him in the Top 128. The mere idea of facing him early in the Knock-Out Phase gave her a sinking feeling.

Everyone was hoping that they would not have to face him early in the Knock-Out Phase.

His Pokémon were ridiculously strong and intelligent, and they no longer knew what to expect from him and his team. He had only revealed two Pokémon in four matches!

Gary, Ash, and Ritchie, who remembered Aizen telling them that he had 24 Pokémon, grew very nervous when the idea of facing him in the Knock-Out Phase crossed their mind.

By day four of the Preliminary Rounds, the Group's Matches had finished.

Leaf and Gary had managed to gather 14 Points, Ritchie had 13 Points, and Ash had 10. He had three Wins and a Draw in his four matches.

Ash was extremely nervous after he drew his last match against a Trainer named Paul, who was from Sinnoh.

Seeing the results of his friends, he was worried if he would even make it into the Top 128, but after he took a look at the Table on the sixth day of the Preliminary Rounds, he relaxed a lot.

Most Participants were struggling to even get to 9 Points, much less 10. And he finally believed Brock who had assured him that he would make it to the Knock-Out Phase.

Whilst Leaf, Gary, Ritchie, and Ash spent their free days watching matches, having fun around the League Village, and training their Pokémon for the Knock-Out Phase, Aizen spent his days in his suite, making love to Misty at night, and watching some key battles on the TV during the day.

And no one disturbed his routine even though he never asked them to give him some space.