After the announcement, those who were going to participate in the Battle Contest made their way to the stadium to register. Ash's friends found him a while later after he'd come down from the balcony.
"So it seems they made you something of a host since you were last year's Aura Guardian." Brock said. "You knew about this?! I'm going to have to fine you for withholding information!" Barry exclaimed, pointed at him. "We were with him the last time, so we knew." May said. "Yeah, he was amazing!" Max added. Ash grinned, scratching the back of his head. "It was nothing, really." "Wow! So, are you going to be like a judge or something for the Battle Contest?" Dawn asked.
"They're only 1 vs. 1 battles until the finals, so there isn't really anything to judge. I will be in the VIP box though, so I can try and get you guys up there too!" he replied. Everyone cheered, before talking excitedly with each other. Gou was lost in thought off to the side, and Ash walked over to him. Pikachu jumped off his shoulder to play with the others' pokemon. Mew was floating invisibly next to Ash. She felt kind of guilty, since Gou's unhappiness was mostly her fault.
"Hey, Gou?" Gou looked up, turning to Ash. "Huh?" he asked. "I'm sorry. For catching mew." he clarified. Gou sighed, looking down. "It's not really your fault. I'm kinda the one who made a big deal about it. If mew's choice was you, that's not really something I can change. I guess I was just upset that you hid so many things from me." Gou said dejectedly. "Well, I'm sorry about that too." Ash said. "I guess I either didn't think it was important enough to mention, or had a reason to keep it a secret. I didn't really want mew to be disturbed at the Tree if she didn't have to be, so I didn't tell you I knew mew."
Gou thought about that for a moment, before nodding. "I suppose that makes sense. What about the Aura Guardian thing?" "That was just supposed to be a surprise." he replied, scratching the back of his head. "Dawn and Barry didn't know either." Gou nodded at this. "And for the record, you can always play with mew or study her anytime." Ash smiled, to which Gou smiled back.
"Hey, I think the Battle Contest is starting soon!" Dawn said, coming over to them. "Oh right! Is anyone entering?" Ash asked his friends as he and Gou joined back with the group. "I think I'll try my hand at it!" Dawn replied. "Yeah, me too!" May said. "Count me in!" Barry agreed. "What about you?" Ash looked over at Brock and Gou. "I think I'd rather watch." Brock replied. "Yeah, battling's not really my forte." Gou said.
"Alright, then you three better get registered. The rest of us can head for the stands." Ash said, to everyone's nods. "Let's go!"
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"Ah, Ash! And I see you've brought some friends, wonderful!" Lady Ilene greeted the group of four as they entered the VIP box. "So, how many people are competing?" Ash asked, once they'd all gotten settled into their seats. "There are 32 competitors with about about 28 matches I believe." Lady Ilene replied. "After that will be the Battle Royale."
The group chatted for a while, before the announcer's voice boomed throughout the stadium. "We will now begin the annual Battle Contest! Our 32 competitors will be matched up randomly for 1 vs. 1 battles. The winners will proceed to the next round, until the final four. They will then participate in a Battle Royale!" The audience cheered.
The screen showed the cards with the names and faces of participants, before flipping them over and shuffling them. They were then put in pairs, and the cards flipped over to reveal the match-ups.
"Our first battle will be between May Maple and...."
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The battles continued for the rest of the day. Dawn, Barry, and May had all won their matches. According to the chart on the screen, tomorrow Dawn would be battling May, and the winner would battle Barry.
After the day's battles ended, the group met up by the palace. "Congrats guys!" Ash said. "Yeah, great job out there." Brock and Gou said. "I'm beat." Dawn sighed, stretching. "We should get a good night's sleep if we want to be in top form for the semi-finals tomorrow." May said. "That's right! But I guess it doesn't matter which of you wins, because I'll be beating you either way!" Barry exclaimed. Dawn and May looked at each other, before smirking. "You're on!"
Yayy, here's another update to make up for not updating in so long last time! Oh yeah, and I definitely didn't write this in the middle of the night and forget to publish it, what are you talking about? Anyways, hope you enjoyed!
- PokeMeow
P.S I'm thinking about turning this into a Youtube Series, would anyone watch it? I haven't sorted out the details, but I think it could work. I'll probably finish this book first though. (For those of you who were wondering, YES I do have an idea how to end it, hope you paid attention to chapter 5!)
YOU ARE READING
Ash of Aura
FanfictionAsh and Gou are headed to Rota for the festival. However, Gou has no idea what Ash knows about the place. Now what is in store for our heroes? (If it's not obvious yet, then I own pokemon and while we're at it, I own the world cuz I'm Arceus.)
