Chapter 12

The next morning, Ash was awoken by his alarm at around 8:00am. He fell back asleep twice before wrestling himself out of bed around twenty minutes to nine. After showering and getting dressed, he woke up Pikachu and the two went downstairs for breakfast. When he got downstairs all of the others were already there, including an unexpected visitor.

"Ash, finally! It's great to see you again."

"Dawn! I'm happy to see you too. Are you competing in the tournament as well?"

"Sure am. I got my gym leaders license a few months ago. I could've competed in the Sinnoh league but instead I spent the time training to be a gym leader, that's how excited I was about competing in this tournament," she rambled enthusiastically, in her slightly Ash-like manner, "of course, I was really excited about becoming a gym leader as well, you know, but I've wanted to compete in the gym leader's championship since I first became a trainer, isn't that right Piplup?"

"Lup-lup."

"So that's four of you now," May noted, "wow, you're starting to make the rest of us are look pretty bad," she joked.

"I'm sorry May, I had to put you in your place," Dawn replied jokingly. "So Ash," she continued, "Serena was telling me you've got a mysterious pokeball that you're trying to find the rightful owner of." He nodded in reply. "Do you think it could be me, I mean, it's worth checking to make sure isn't it?"

"I'm sorry Dawn, we're looking for a king"… "Oh, I get it," she cut in, "you assume it has to be a man."

"No Dawn," he replied with an amused expression, "the prophecy speaks specifically about a king, so it's nothing personal."

"Oh, well can I touch it anyway?"

"Sure Dawn."

Ash took the ball out of his pocket, it was now twice as bright as it had been the day before, almost as bright as it was back in Azalea Town. "Hey Ash?" Brock asked.

"Yeah Brock?" Ash asked with an air of excitement in his voice.

"Did you ever think, maybe you are the heir?"

"No Brock, because then it should be this bright whenever I carry it."

"I suppose, but you say this ball recognises the heir. In that case, maybe it has a mind of its own, so it only glows when it wants to?" A few of the others began to nod in agreement with Brock. "I don't know, Ash responded, "you could be right, but I'm still confident there is an heir around here and that it's not me." Secretly, he didn't want it to be him, he didn't want the responsibility.

"I agree with Ash," Clement noted, "because when Kurt gave Ash the ball, you would think if it had been him, the ball would've reacted, but it hardly lit up at all, we were there."

"How about this," May began, "perhaps it's glowing brighter now because the heir is in this hotel, because they're one of the competitors or their entourage right? So let's go up to as many people as possible and get them to touch the ball?"

"Yes!" Ash screamed, "let's do it."

"Um, hello you two," Drew mocked, "there's such a thing as personal space, I don't think people want you to storm into their rooms."

"Then we'll wait here," Ash determined. Most of the others appeared reluctant, but they stayed with him. May seemed fascinated with the ball, and after a while she approached Ash and asked if she could hold it?"

"Ok May, but don't get too excited, we can't afford to lose it."

"Pinkie swear," she responded excitedly, touching her little finger against Ash's; his chestnut haired friend had always made him laugh. He then handed the ball to her. What it did next was totally unexpected: it began to glow brighter, even brighter than back in Azalea Town, then it began to shake until it burst open. May's hands were shaking as she dropped the ball onto the table in front of her. It was about to roll off before Ash caught it. Inside he noticed an old looking sheet of parchment. Ash's eyes were brimming with excitement, "this is it, the ancient prophecy. I think May was meant to be the one to read it."

"Let's read it together," she answered. "All of us." He nodded in agreement, as everyone else came and stood around the table where Ash and May were sitting together. They began to read.

The early sections made references to the story Steven had told about legendary pokemon and ancient tribes who were able to communicate with those same pokemon, who also possessed the aura. Most of the remainder of the prophecy dealt with the content discussed by Kurt, except in slightly more detail. It mentioned more details about a royal family:

The seed of the old royal family of Kanto will be joined together in those days, but the heir will not be the heir according to blood, but rather the one chosen by our kin, from out of the royal bloodline…"Wait a minute," Misty shouted, "I don't get it, first it says the heir will not be chosen according to blood, then it says the chosen one will come from the royal bloodline." Bonnie nodded in agreement, "I'm confused to," she whined.

"It's actually really simple," Clement said gently. "Royal inheritance is based on a patrilineal system, in other words, the oldest surviving male son is supposed to inherit the throne, or if there is no male heir, then the eldest surviving daughter inherits. But in this case, the heir won't be selected according to that system, but rather, he will come from another branch of the royal family. Does that make sense?" They both nodded in agreement. "Actually I was wondering about that too," Ash added. "Actually," Brock noted, the rules of royal succession are a little more intricate than that, but the general premise is correct."

They then continued to read, and it was not long before May's hands began to shake. "Oh my…" She was reading the next section, along with the others:

But the heir according to blood will by no means be the least of those to fight in the great war. He will form a bond with the girl from the south, who during Kanto's darkest hour, will ride upon the wings of our leader – the guardian pokemon of Kanto - who will reveal to her the heir. Then she will deliver the pokeball of gold and silver, and the prophecy contained within the ball, to the heir, who will take upon him the pokeball and summon our leader, and together the king and the guardian will lead the people and pokemon of Earth to victory. The pokemon from the heavens will be turned from darkness to light, the great three limbed animals will tumble to the earth, along with the great menace, who will also come from the royal bloodline, and all things will be restored as they were."

"What is it May?" Drew asked anxiously, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I think it's talking about me."

"How can you possibly know something like that?"

"Well think about it. Firstly, the ball opened when I touched it, and I guess I am a girl from the south because Hoenn is South of Kanto and Johto."

"Ok, outside chance maybe. But I would want to see a fair bit more proof before we jump to any hasty conclusions."

"I think you're right Drew," Ash agreed. "But I still agree with May, it came to her for a reason and I think we can pretty certain that she, and probably others among our group, have a role to play in the events that are soon to unfold."

"Anyone want some macaroons?" Serena asked.

"Yes!" They all shouted, wanting any excuse to take their minds off the events of the previous half hour, from which they were still trembling with fear.

Meanwhile, Jesse, James, Meowth and Wobberfett had set up a stall in the main street, not far from the stadium, where they were attempting to sell forged memorabilia. "Get your own official gym leaders games t-shirt, signed by the great Brock himself," Jesse declared, shouting out in whatever direction she could to get the attention of the crowds. James also chimed in but somewhat less enthusiastically: "come right up and get your free gym leaders games badges, signed by the competitors themselves: get a Misty and Vincenzo two-for-one-deal now, only ten dollars…no, make that five, five dollars. "No James," Jesse pleaded, "don't get desperate, not yet. We've already made a few sales, just keep on going for another few hours at this rate and we'll be well on our way to having the money we need."

"Oh, what's the point," James moaned. We've already been over this, do you really think us having a little bit of money is going to be enough to bribe our way into a positon of safety in the new world order? I think, personally, it would be better for us to die with everyone else rather than endure all of that anyway."

"No James!" She cried, slapping him across the face. "Get with it, you're not giving up ok, whichever way it goes. Start being a man for crying out loud. Besides, this money could give us enough to bribe someone back at team rocket headquarters to let us bunker with them during the worst of it."

"But we're already members of team rocket, won't they let us in if we come knocking?"

"I wouldn't count on it."

Moments later, a girl of no more than eight, approached James, "Excuse me," she began softly, "could I have a Misty badge?"

"Yes, you certainly can," he answered, slightly hesitantly. Suddenly his head was filled with the voice of his Pop-Pop. He knew eventually he had to make a stand, even after everything that had happened. He was beginning to realise being 'good' wasn't an easy path, rather it was a path that often requires courage and the ability to go against the tide. As he brought out the badge he decided to make a stand: "I'm sorry," he said sincerely to the young girl, you wouldn't want this badge, it's a fake you see. I apologise again. Now run off and have a good day." She had a bewildered expression on her face, but she soon did as James told her and headed off towards another stall. When he turned around he was not surprised to see the expressions on Jesse and Meowth's faces, but this time he decided he would speak first: "That's right, from now on we're doing it my way." They remained silent, thinking it best not to speak back. They hoped James was just in a slightly delirious state, which would be remedied by a good meal and a decent night's sleep, but something told them it would not be quite that simple. A new James was materialising right before their eyes.

It was now a tick after 7:30pm as Ash and the others began to file into the stadium for the opening ceremony. Brock, Misty, Dawn, and Clement were not with them, as they had gone down into the bowels of the stadium to prepare for the ceremony. Everyone was in a good mood due to not only their excitement about the start of the tournament, but also the fact they had all spoken to their families via phone that afternoon. "I'm glad I got to speak to mom and dad," May spoke, "but I still wish I could've spoken to Max."

"Why couldn't you?" Serena asked.

"Because he's on his way to the Hoenn league and he doesn't carry a phone with him."

"Oh, that's ok, I'm sure he'll be in touch in the next few days or so."

"I hope so," she responded with some anxiety.

They all put their tickets through the machine next to the front entrance and proceeded through to their seats. The stadium was a cake-tin shape with one main, large grandstand, circling the field below. Ash, Serena, May, Drew, Bonny, and Sara were seated only a few rows from the very top. They continued to chat away as the seats around them continued to fill with spectators. It was the middle of summer so the sun had not yet set, making for an amazing view of the stadium and its surrounds, from where they were seated. Beyond the stadium they could see some of the taller buildings in the City and even some of the trees and hills beyond the city itself, which were cast a brilliant golden green colour by the evening sunlight. "Not a bad view hey guys," Sara noted.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Ash replied admiringly. We're really blessed aren't we?"

"You can say that again," Drew responded. "Aren't we girl?" He said to May, as he grabbed her in his arms. "Thanks Drew and yes we are." She began to look at him, with affectionate eyes and a warm smile. "You're awesome," she spoke softly.

"You're the best," he responded, "I love you."

"Love you too."

Serena began to stare at Ash, trying to get his attention. Soon Sara was also gazing at him suggestively; she even gave him a small nudge with her elbow. He felt guilty but he found such situations very awkward. For him, he was either in the mood to show affection or he wasn't. He didn't think there was any point in faking such things.

Soon the awkwardness of that situation came to an end when the announcer opened proceedings, as the crowd gave a huge, collective cheer. "But before we start the official ceremony, we ask that all of you would observe a minute's silence for all those who lost their lives in Johto." As the slience began, Ash could see the tears begin to roll down Serena's eyes. This whole tragedy seemed to have devastated her more than anybody else, including Ash himself. But this did not surprise him: while Serena may have seemed a little bit vain and self-important in the eyes of some, he knew her to have a fiercely strong sense of justice and a strong empathy for others. While the rest of them, despite their sadness, were for the most part just happy to have survived, he knew it wasn't that easy for Serena. Now the moment felt right for Ash, so without being disrespectful to those paying their respects, he leaned in and gently put his arm around Serena. She smiled back at him warmly, as he kept his arm around her for the remainder of the silence, while simultaneously reflecting on those who had been lost. As he did, he noticed the GS ball in his pocket glowing a little brighter.

Once the silence had been observed, it was time for the torchbearer to enter the stadium. The young man ran up and lit the giant flame, which was placed above a small set of steps in the middle of the arena. It was dusk when it was lit and it made for a marvellous site, as the crowd roared with excitement.

Soon, the announcer spoke again: "Now it's time to bring out the contestants, they are the following…" The announcer introduced each region, and the two contestants who would be representing each region, who walked out next to each other. Ash couldn't wait to see his friends but the first regions announced were the Orange Islands and Genoa, so he didn't see anyone familiar yet. But soon he did see someone familiar who he wasn't expecting to see when Unova was announced: it was his old friend Cilan, who was walking side by side with a female gym leader, who Ash didn't recognise. He was trying to call out to his old friend, but from where Ash was sitting, and with all the noise the crowd was making, there was no way he was going to recognise him. But only moments later, Johto and their two gym leaders, including Brock, were announced to the spectators: they got the loudest roar of all, especially Brock, who walked alongside Whitney, who Ash remembered from Goldenrod City. Not long afterwards, Dawn walked out alongside a leader who Ash did not recognise. She was followed by Clement, who was walking next to none other than Korrina. The two of them appeared to be having a conversation together as they walked towards the flame. Then there were a couple more regions Ash was yet to visit: Albion, where the gym leaders consisted of a red-haired man and a blond-haired girl, who both looked around Brock's age, and very happy in each other's company – which reminded Ash a little of Misty and Clement–; then there was the Zhou region, which also consisted of one male and one female gym leader; and finally came Kanto, as Misty walked out onto the arena alongside another female gym leader whom Ash did not recognise.

All the gym leaders now stood at the foot of the steps, beneath the lit flame, as the announcer spoke again: "everyone give a round of applause for our competitors, as they complete a lap around the stadium." They did just that. When they came around to where Ash and his friends were seated, Ash noticed Misty and Clement were now walking together, and chatting away, as he and the others screamed trying to get their attention. Brock looked up towards them for a few moments, but he appeared uncertain. "Come on Brock, can't you tell it's us?" Sara whined.

"Oh well," Drew resigned, "we'll be with them again soon and everyone had a good time."

"That's right Drew," Ash responded cheerfully. "So, is everyone excited about the tournament?"

"Sure are Ashy boy," Serena replied.

"Whoo-Hoo, go Clement, go Clement," Bonny started jumping up and down on her seat, full of beans.

"I'm Readyyy!" May added, which made Ash and the others laugh.