As we are moving into the Battle Club Tournament, we hear a voice, "Out of my way!" And much to my horror, Bianca has come and he crashes me into the fountain.
"It's you again, Bianca..." I mutter.
"Ash, are you alright?" Reisa asks.
"Why is it every time I have to get pushed into the water when I meet you..." I say.
"I'm so, so, sorry. I want to register for the tournament." Bianca says.
So it seems that Bianca is also attending and hasn't changed much. Six of us, Nate, Rosa, Reisa, and even Bianca, are attending this. And much to my surprise, we also find that Burgendy here as well.
"You're entering the tournament too?" I ask.
"My feelings are not for you, but for him!" She points at Cilan. "The time has come for some sweet revenge."
Cilan says, "Then are you a high-class connoisseur yet?"
"Not exactly, but I'll show you what a true Connoisseur is about." Burgundy says.
Stephan is also here, and he says, "Ash! Long time no see!"
"It's Stefan!" I say. "You enter the tournament too?"
"Well, you still don't say my name right... But you bet I'm in." Stephan says.
"All right." Then he also shows that his Blitzle has evolved into a Zebstrika.
"I thought I smelled a Dragon type." We are also surprised to find Georgia here as well. "I'm the first-class Dragon Buster. You may be a Champion, but I won't lose to the likes of you!"
And there's also Trip and Hugh. The two of them are also here, Trip though ignores us, but Hugh asks me if we see any Team Plasma around. Nate asks, "You're still chasing after Team Plasma?"
"Yeah... I can't forgive them..." Hugh says as we sigh.
And with another unfamiliar trainer, that's sixteen of us who're entering the tournament. The winner gets to win a badge and several feathers that are for boosting stats.
The first match is Rosa against Georgia, Rosa tries to use a Joltik to battle her, but Georgia's Beartic wins in the end. The second battle is Reisa and Eve, and Eve wants to use Krokorok to battle Reisa's Milotic, only to be defeated in the end. And Hugh also advances into the next round after defeating the unknown trainer.
Now it is time for me to battle Burgendy in the fourth round. I say, "Okay, it's about time."
"You may be an S-Class Connoisseur, it will be a great taste to defeat you right here and now."
"Look, all I want to do is win." I say.
She goes for Stoutland while I decide to go with Palpitoad to battle.
Palpitoad opens with Mud Shot, to which Stoutland counters with Tackle. Afterward, Stoutland then tries an ineffective Thunder Fang on Palpitoad. Cilan remarks on the critical mistake, but Burgundy was simply trying to catch Palpitoad before delivering a direct Ice Fang instead. However, before Palpitoad is completely frozen.
"Use Supersonic!" I say, and it causes Stoutland to let go and also shatters the ice. Stoutland replies with a Tackle attack and rushes in for a Fire Fang. However, Palpitoad sprays a Mud Shot directly in its opponent's mouth, causing Stoutland to start coughing in an attempt to clear the mud. With a jet of Hydro Pump, Palpitoad emerges victorious, allowing me to proceed to the second round.
The fifth round is Trip against Cilan, and Trip uses a Gurdurr to battle, while Cilan goes for Dwebble. It is a close match, but in the end, Cilan still wins by having Dwebble uses Shell Smash and then Rock Slide to flinch Gurdurr and defeats with the final Slash.
The sixth match is Stephan and Bianca, and the battle between Minccino and Zebstrika begins. Minccino uses Tickle to incapacitate Zebstrika, who has tears in his eyes from laughing. Minccino then uses Double Slap and Hyper Voice to knock Zebstrika back. Stephan calls for Zebstrika to stand its ground, and it retaliates with a Shock Wave, badly hurting Minccino. Bianca pleads with Minccino to get up, but a Stomp from Zebstrika knocks Minccino out and gives the victory to Stephan, who decides not to make an issue of the referee mispronouncing his name.
Alice and Golly are facing each other in the seventh round, and this round gives me a tough choice because one is my girlfriend and one is my sister. But in the end, Alice wins by defeating Golly's Yamask with Darumaka. Nate and Iris' match is also a close one, but Emolga goes for Attract to incapacitate Nate's Watchog before defeating it with Hidden Power.
"So you're leaving already, Trip?" I ask.
"Gurdurr is healed, so there's no reason to stick around. Besides, I got things to do." Trip says.
We watch him leave and we decide to continue our training, and much to my delight, our Timburr evolves into a Gurdurr after some training.
Gurdurr: The Muscular Pokemon: Fighting Type. Evolve from Timburr at LV:25. This Pokémon is so muscular and strongly built that even a group of wrestlers could not make it budge an inch.
"Even though Gurdurr is in great shape... I really wish we could change the Pokemon so that we can use it tomorrow..." Alice says.
"I know." I say. "You know, maybe we should try to evolve it once more."
"A Trade you say?" Alice says as we do the trading, and Gurdurr evolves into a Conkeldurr.
Conkeldurr: The Muscular Pokemon: Fighting Type. Evolve from Gurdurr by trading. They use concrete pillars as walking canes. They know moves that enable them to swing the pillars freely in battle.
The next day, the first battle is me against Georgia. I use Servine while Georgia uses Pawniard. We are surprised to learn that Pawniard can learn Guillotine, but it's a good thing that Servine dodges the attack and causes her scythes to get stuck on the ground, it is then I have Servine uses the new move Grass Pledge to finish it off.
"At least I'm not losing to a Dragon-Type." Georgia says while storming off.
Reisa and Hugh are battling, Hugh wins by using a Flygon even though it is weak to Walrein. Reisa sighs, but she knows that Contest Pokemon and Battling Pokemon are different. Cilan is facing Alice in the third round, and despite Stunfisk is working hard, it is still defeated by Absol.
Up next, it's Stephan and his new Pokémon Sawk against Iris and her Emolga. Powerful and unrelenting, Sawk puts up a furious battle, aggressively attacking again and again! Iris responds by asking Emolga to send in a barrage of Attracts, and eventually, Sawk is overwhelmed and paralyzed. One final Volt Switch finishes things off, and Iris moves on.
For the semi-finals, I'm facing Hugh. Hugh's using Servine and I decide to go with the female Pikachu that I swap with my Dad a few days ago.
"Wait, you have a female Pikachu? And why is it wearing that costume?" Hugh asks.
In the stands, Cilan says, "So you're saying that you have two Pikachu and one is female?"
"Of course, that's Pikachu's twin sister." Alice says. "And for that costume, that's a Cosplay costume."
Reisa says, "It is one of my cousin's masterpieces. When wearing 5 different outfits, Pikachu can learn five unusual moves normal Pikachu can't learn."
Burgundy says, "Your cousin has an awful taste at picking clothes."
"What is that?" Reisa tries to punch her, but Nate and Rosa calm her down.
"Now finish up with Icicle Crash!" I yell.
"Icicle Crash?" Hugh exclaims in shock as Servine is unable to battle.
"Well, that move caught me off guard." Hugh says as he shakes hands with me.
The next battle is Iris versus Lillie. Iris sends out Hydreigon. Alice says, "You have made a big mistake. Abomasnow! I choose you."
When Abomasnow appears, Iris is shivering and says, "Why do you have an Abomasnow as well..."
"Ash captured this one in the Sinnoh Region, and I'm familiar with Abomasnow because of my Dad." Alice says.
Then the battle is one-sided because of the Snow Warning ability creating the snow and giving Hydreigon a lot of hail damage, and then the Icy Wind also proves to be difficult for it to counter back.
"Now who is the kid now?" Georgia taunts, causing Iris to lower her head.
Reisa says, "Nate, I think you owe me 50 Poke dollars."
Nate sighs and gives her the money, I ask, "What is that about?"
"We make a bet, I think you and Alice are facing each other in the final round." Reisa says.
"Oh." Alice says. "Well, considering our Pokemon are champion material after all."
In the final battle, it is me and Alice using Pikachu and Absol. Absol manages to put up with a good fight, but my female Pikachu here has been learning a lot and it uses Draining Kiss to defeat Absol in the end.
"Looks like I win the match this time." I say to Alice, who sighs, "Congratulations. Pikachu sure is really strong."
My Pikachu is now hugging his sister for the win, and I'm also rewarded with the 7 feathers and the badge known as the Geode Badge. Then everyone parts ways as we are now heading to the Desert Resort.
As we finally get to the Desert Resort, we remember this place because it is where I was controlled by Team Rocket and how I first met the mysterious woman.
As the sun blazes down on the vibrant Unova desert, we stumble upon a group of Maractus, dancing and swaying to their own melodious rhythm. Since Alice and I are band members and we are intrigued by their lively performances, we decide to show some skills to them. After some dance-off, we decide to capture a friendly Maractus, who has been interested in joining our band.
Maractus: The Cactus Pokemon: Grass Type. It uses an up-tempo song and dance to drive away the bird Pokémon that prey on its flower seeds.
The next Pokemon we find is a Dwebble, diligently crafting a new shell for itself. However, it has some problems, and both Cilan's Dwebble and Alice decide to help out. We try to find some rocks for him, it is until we find one on top of a cliff that we climb to pick it up for him. In the end, Dwebble has a perfect home and we decide to capture the Pokemon as well.
Dwebble: The Rock Inn Pokemon: Bug and Rock Type. It makes a hole in a suitable rock. If that rock breaks, the Pokémon remains agitated until it locates a replacement.
"So this is the Relic Castle..." I say after we are inside the ruins. "It is said that this is the place where Fossils are usually found, along with the Dark and Light Stones..."
"Yeah, but now there's nothing inside, and the place is mostly covered in sand." Cilan says.
Inside the Relic Castle, we are ambushed by Sigilyph and Yamask. Those two are the reason why we're here. After we capture the two Pokemon, we quickly leave the area.
Sigilyph: The Avianoid Pokemon: Psychic and Flying Type. The guardians of an ancient city, they use their psychic power to attack enemies that invade their territory.
Yamask: The Spirit Pokemon: Ghost Type. These Pokémon arose from the spirits of people interred in graves in past ages. Each retains memories of its former life.
Here is a new chapter, and this wraps up the Battle Club Tournament and also the Desert Resort as well as Relic Castle. I hope you like it and the next chapter will be Nimbasa City.
Ash and Alice's Pokemon:
Charizard x2 (In training), Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu x2, Lapras, Meganium, Espeon, Steelix (Crystal), Mantine, Sceptile, Gardevoir (Shiny), Milotic, Absol, Infernape, Lucario, Abomasnow, Magnezone, Victini, Servine, Pignite, Dewott, Watchog, Herdier, Liepard, Musharna, Tranquill, Zebstrika, Swoobat, Audino, Conkeldurr, Palpitoad, Swadloon, Scolipede, Whimsicott, Lilligant, Krokorok, Darumaka, Maractus, Dwebble, Scraggy, Sigilyph, Yamask, Tirtouga, Archen, Trubbish, Minccino, Zekrom, Egg
Golly's Pokemon:
Gastly, Liepard, Scolipede, Krokorok, Scraggy, Yamask, Trubbish
Eve's Pokemon:
Houndoom, Mightyena, Liepard, Krokorok, Scraggy
Iris' Pokemon:
Lapras, Aggron, Excadrill, Archeops, Emolga, Axew, Druddigon, Hydreigon
Cilan's Pokemon:
Pansage, Maractus, Dwebble, Ferrothorn