In pallet town in the Kanto region there was a raven hair trainer sitting bored in the house he grew up in. He was living there with his mother after another one of his journeys had come to an end. With no more new regions to explore he was now at a loss of what to do next. Beside him was a little yellow mouse that had been with him since the beginning of his journey.

"pika, pika" said the mouse as it looked up to its bored looking trainer. The trainer came out of the trance he was in and looked down at his little yellow partner. "Oh, hey Pikachu. I was just thinking of what we should do next. With no new regions to challenge I'm afraid we're stuck." Pikachu looked sympathetically at its trainer. It knew how much its trainer hated to sit around and to nothing. He was feeling the same way. By doing nothing he was not getting any closer to his dream of being a Pokemon master.

"Ash dear." He heard a voice come from downstairs. Ash got off of the bed and proceeded to make his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where his mother was waiting.

"Ash." said his mother. "You really need to get travelling again, you're looking worse by the day." Delia was concerned by the slum that her son has been in since he returned from Unova.

"I know mom, but where am I supposed to go. There have not been any new regional leagues to participate in." Ash looked more sad for every word that came out of his mouth. "Well" said his mother. "You could always visit some of your friends from your travels." "Pika, chu" Pikachu looked enthusiastic about seeing some old pals, but Ash seemed less than interested. Delia spoke up again. "At least go to see Professor Oak and Tracey at the lab. You have not even been out of the house for 2 weeks." "Alright mom" he agreed. "I'll go and pay them a visit, let's go Pikachu." Pikachu with a smile on its face jumped on its trainer's shoulder as they rushed out of the house and of to the lab.

As they walked down the dirt road to the lab, Ash started to reminisce about all of the past achievements he had collected. Top 16 in his first regional pokemon league at the Indigo plateau. Top 8 in the silver league conference. Top 8 in the Ever Grande conference. Top 4 in the lily of the valley conference. And top 8 in the Vertress Conference. As well as champion of the Orange islands and winner of the Kanto battle frontier.

Once they got to the lab Ash walked in the door to find Tracey looking over a Zororark. "Zorak!" yelled the pokemon as it transformed into Ash. Ash was startled as he remembered this Pokémon's ability to change its appearance.

"Oh hey Ash." began Tracy. He was currently examining a Zororark to determine how it could change its appearance. "Haven't seen you in a while." Ash rubbed the back of his head and said, "Yeah, I've been cooped up at home for a while now." Tracey looked him in the eye and said; "have you decided what you're going to do next?" Ash looked at him with uncertainty and replied. "Not yet, I'm at a loss of what to do." "If your travels are done, you seem like you're prime and ready for a new challenge." Said Tracey. "I'm sure there are other challenges out there ready for you to concur. But in the meantime, I'm also sure that your pokemon are ready to see you again."

Ash thought about it and said, "Alright Tracey, I'll just go out and say hi." Ash then proceeded outside where he was tackled by a mob of pokemon, all the ones from his past journeys. He spent the rest of the day catching up and getting smuggled to near death by his pokemon.

That evening Ash came home to see a feast of delectable foods on the dinner table. He and Pikachu liked their chops as they saw all of the food waiting to be devoured. Ash sat down in his seat while Pikachu dashed straight for the ketchup. Just before he started eating he was joined by his mother. She sat down and began to speak. "How was your visit at the lab." Ash replied. "It was great. You were right when you said that I needed to get out again." "Oh, that reminds me" she said as she grabbed a handful of envelopes.

"Something came for you in the mail. It says it's from the pokemon league, it must be important." Ash looked intrigued as he grabbed the envelope and read the letter inside.

Dear Ash Ketchum,

After a thorough examination on all of your achievements, you have been selected to participate in the Driftveil world tournament. You will be competing in the 1st world tournament against a large gathering of powerful pokemon trainers. If you wish to compete you will need to be at the Driftveil stadium by August 22nd where you will be able to register for the tournament. We hope you will attend and best of luck in the competition.

The official pokemon league

Ash's eyes light up as read through the letter. He looked overjoyed as he now had a new challenge to take on. "Well it looks like it's time to get training again. What do you say Pikachu, you ready to win?" his partner looked at him confidently and said. "Pika, pi." Ash fist bumped the air and shouted. "Ok, world tournament here we come!"