Author's Note: Was able to complete this fast so enjoy as the next one might take time.
Third POV
Grey hurried to the assigned arena, where he found another trainer already waiting for him. There were still five minutes left before the scheduled start time, and he had no idea why the guy had arrived so early.
The referee noticed that both trainers were present ahead of time, so he decided to begin the match early. He asked if both trainers were fine with starting now, and they both nodded. He then explained the rules: it would be a one versus one battle, there was no time limit, but it was encouraged to finish matches quickly if possible, as there were many other trainers waiting for their turns.
He then announced, "On the right side, we have a trainer from Cherrygrove City, Rodrigo. And on the left, we have a trainer from Celadon City, Grey. Both sides, release your Pokémon simultaneously on my signal." Both trainers nodded again.
The referee raised his hand and said, "Ready… begin!"
Rodrigo released an Octillery, while Grey sent out his Exeggcute. Seeing the group of eggs, Rodrigo looked a bit disappointed at first, as it was a Pokémon he had a type disadvantage against. However, his confidence quickly returned, as his was an evolved Pokémon, and he believed he could win easily.
Rodrigo even taunted Grey, saying he should give up while he still could, as with a baby Pokémon, he wouldn't stand a chance. He proudly added that Octillery was his starter and that they had trained a lot together to evolve and reach the next stage.
Grey, instead of reacting, calmly asked the referee if the match truly had no time limit. The referee nodded again.
What happened over the next 10 to 15 minutes was an utter humiliation for the Johtonian trainer. Grey didn't care if it wasted time for others or caused delays. He was here to win, no matter the means.
Grey used Exeggcute to stall the entire match. Octillery, despite having strong moves like Octazooka, Constrict, and Take Down, couldn't make much impact. Its evolved status didn't matter. Exeggcute repeatedly used Toxic and Leech Seed at intervals, slowly wearing it down. At the same time, it used Confusion to guide the attacks almost like tracking missiles, ensuring they hit Octillery even when it tried to dodge.
Whenever Octillery attempted to attack, Exeggcute would either block with Confusion barriers or counter with Giga Drain, recovering its own health. The opponent visibly grew frustrated, hating every second of the battle, but Grey remained completely indifferent.
Eventually, Octillery collapsed. Even at the end, Exeggcute looked mostly unharmed, having recovered nearly all the damage it had taken through Leech Seed and Giga Drain.
The opponent wanted to shout at Grey for fighting in what he considered an unsportsmanlike manner, but he held himself back. In his mind, Grey would lose in the future anyway. With that thought, he left the arena, clearly shaken and even a bit teary-eyed from the loss.
The referee then told Grey that he had asked for matches to be finished quickly. Grey replied calmly that it was only an optional request, and it was up to the trainers whether they wanted to follow it. He added that the opponent had brought his defeat upon himself, and if he had kept his mouth shut, the match would have ended much sooner. Saying that, Grey turned and left.
As he walked away, Grey thought to himself that he hadn't even used Sunny Day and Synthesis together. If he really wanted to, he could have turned the stall into a complete nightmare for the kid. In the end, he was still being a bit soft. Not that it mattered. Even if he had used Shellder, which would have been his worst matchup, he would have still won, as Shellder's defenses were nearly impenetrable, and with Counter Shield, it would have been even worse for the octopus Pokémon. So much for that being his starter.
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In the stands after some time
Grey's POV
I went back to the stands to watch the rest of the matches, as mine had gotten over very quickly. I was a bit disappointed since my battle had been far too easy, but at the same time, I was inwardly glad it had been such a straightforward win. It meant I had qualified without wasting too much energy. Since I had time to spare, I decided to scope out the competition a bit more, and it quickly became clear that aside from Red and Blue, there were several other strong competitors here.
I didn't get to see Red in action, as he probably had a match scheduled around the same time as mine, but I did get to watch Blue's battle. He absolutely dominated some Kanto kid using his Golduck. What surprised me was that the duck seemed capable of using its psychic abilities almost as well as his Kadabra. The opponent had a Magnemite, which should have had the type advantage, but Blue still won the match with ease. It was yet another reminder of just how skilled he really was.
I also noticed quite a few serious threats for me.
One of them was a kid named Stefan, apparently from Goldenrod City in Johto. He had a Kangaskhan, and it was incredibly strong. The Pokémon was able to use Return and Power-Up Punch with great efficiency, and the way it moved showed clear battle experience. I had no idea how he had managed to get a Kangaskhan in the first place, though there was a decent chance he had been sponsored by Whitney. Given her influence in Goldenrod and her own preference for powerful Normal-types, it wouldn't be surprising.
Then there was Aria, whose match I got to watch in full.
Her opponent was some rich-looking guy who had a Gorebyss of all things. I immediately realized how he had gotten it, considering Gorebyss required trade evolution. With enough money, he could have basically purchased the Pokémon outright.
Aria used her Piloswine, and the match itself was actually quite entertaining to watch.
The guy spent most of the battle ranting nonsense about how both of them were elites, but she would lose because she was a girl, and how he would eventually ask for their families to unite and all sorts of other nonsense that had absolutely nothing to do with the actual battle.
Aria, meanwhile, had a completely stone-cold expression on her face.
Then she proceeded to utterly demolish the rich kid's pride.
Her Piloswine was a menace. It knew Magnitude, Take Down, and Ice Fang, and the sheer thickness of its fur made it look capable of shrugging off most attacks with ease. To make things worse for her opponent, his Gorebyss wasn't even listening properly. Half the time it would ignore his commands and use random moves instead. It honestly made me wonder how he had even managed to beat Surge. Maybe he had some purchased Pokémon specifically built to counter Electric-types. Then again, Surge should have measures against that sort of thing.
Either way, it didn't matter.
Aria completely crushed him despite technically fighting at a type disadvantage. And after the match, she coldly told him to just quit being a trainer altogether because he sucked at it.
Damn.
That was brutal.
Even I might have said something similar in his place, but definitely not that bluntly.
One more person I observed, and was glad I did, was the guy I had earlier assumed was some Lance wannabe.
He thoroughly and easily defeated his opponent using his Shelgon.
That genuinely surprised me.
Someone having a pseudo-legendary Pokémon was already rare enough, but having it at its second evolutionary stage was something else entirely. This guy clearly wasn't just some random participant. He seemed like the real deal.
What surprised me even more was that after his match, while I was in the stands, he kept glancing in my direction.
It almost felt like he knew me.
Which made no sense.
This guy clearly wasn't from Kanto, so I had no idea how he would know my face, or why he seemed interested enough to keep looking my way.
His name was Ryu Blackthorn.
That explained a lot.
He was clearly a member of the Blackthorn clan, just like Lance and Clair. I guess most Blackthorns really did have a bizarre sense of dressing with those capes. I doubted I'd ever wear one.
What was that line that lady, Edna, used to say?
Right.
No capes.
Most of the matches were over by then, and I decided to leave. There would be about an hour's break before the next round, where the top 128 would be reduced to the top 64. For today, those two rounds were the main agenda. Tomorrow would cover the rounds of 32, 16, and 8 all on the same day, while the semifinals and finals would take place on the last day.
With that in mind, I finally left the arena.
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In the VIP booth
Third POV
The champions were busy commenting on the trainers present, and they weren't particularly impressed by the overall quality.
Lance commented, "It seems there aren't that many good trainers present in this tournament. Frankly, I expected more. Well then, let's talk about the ones we did find promising."
Steven replied, "Yes, let's discuss them. I liked the girl, Aria, as a trainer. She had great control over her Pokémon, at least compared to her opponent, and she had trained that Piloswine quite well."
Alder responded, "No, I find her a bit too uptight and somewhat spoiled as well. No doubt she might be a good trainer, but I don't think she will go that far."
Steven countered, "You would see her that way, as your opinions on nobles are somewhat skewed, Alder. But she does seem promising. Even your clansman performed quite well."
Lance added, "Of course, I expected him to be somewhat decent. The clan leaders have been raising him to reach great heights, much like me, so they must have invested quite a bit in his training. Not that I believe he will reach my level. He lacks a lot, but more importantly, he lacks a key perspective that most champions need."
Diantha said, "You are right about that. Speaking of which, two trainers did impress me quite a bit—Red and Blue. Aren't those two being sponsored by Oak?"
Lance replied, "You are correct. Oak does sponsor trainers from time to time, but I haven't seen any who showed as much promise as these two. I can tell they could go far. I am a bit disappointed that Blue already has a Charmander, so he won't be choosing the one I arranged as a prize. But perhaps Red might."
Diantha nodded, "Yes, they remind me of myself, as I too have a strong association with Sycamore. Speaking of good trainers, that boy Grey also seems quite capable."
Alder said, "While he has the temperament and skill, I wasn't particularly fond of his fighting style. He could have finished the match much sooner."
Steven responded, "On that, I would disagree. His style was elegant and precise, and he executed his plan perfectly, despite his opponent having an evolved Pokémon."
Lance smirked slightly. "Of course you would like his style. His Exeggcute fights much like your Cradily—just as insufferable as that dreadful plant fossil. Now that you mention it, I do seem to recognize him. Let me think."
Diantha raised a brow. "You do? That's surprising. Generally, you have a poor memory when it comes to remembering trainers."
Lance snapped his fingers lightly. "Ah, yes, I remember him. He was one of the trainers, along with that Aria girl, who were given their starters by me and my fellow Elite Four. In fact, he chose the starter I had arranged."
All the champions reacted at once. "What?"
Lance then explained the context—how, on Charles Goodshow's request, the Elite Four had decided to reward the top four Trainer's Exam candidates by sponsoring them with starter Pokémon, and that this Grey had chosen the one Lance himself had prepared.
Alder asked, "And what starter was that?"
Lance replied with a slight smirk, "An Axew."
Alder looked confused. "How did you give him a Pokémon from my region? Don't tell me you have one in your own party as well."
Lance shook his head. "No, I didn't catch one personally. However, I have connections with the Village of Dragons in Unova, and I was able to breed an Axew from a female Haxorus there. I did catch another dragon from there for my own team."
Diantha then asked, "Why did you go through so much trouble? Couldn't you have simply given him a Dratini or something?"
Lance replied, "Firstly, the League wouldn't allow giving a pseudo-legendary Pokémon as a starter. Secondly, the clan itself would have caused an uproar over it. Not that they didn't already—they were against me giving that Axew and wanted to claim it for the clan. But I stood my ground. They've been causing me some trouble these past few days, as I am not behaving like the puppet they expected me to be."
Steven added, "I understand. Even my father and Devon Corp have unreasonable expectations of me at times—expectations I know I cannot always fulfill."
Lance nodded slightly. "Well, I just hope the boy is doing well and has raised that Axew properly. Only time will tell, as we continue to watch these matches."
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With great power comes great responsibility… so readers hit that Collections and Power Stones.
Author's Note: My plan is too cover each battle of Grey in a chapter then a glimpse of others as if I write in details for them this arc could go on and on but at some point will write chapters of other fights as well when we reach closer to the end of arc , how do you like the interactions of champions and this splitting of chapters in parts and I did drop a potential matchup for the future as a hint in chapter.