"Meow!"
Ash had just caught the leaders of the Murkrows in this island, who surprisingly had decent experience in tactics despite being a wild Pokémon.
He was just about to release the leader to deal with his underlings in front of them, but then heard a harsh cat growl.
What appeared in their vision was a particularly special looking Meowth rushing out of one of the alleyways, came to Pikachu, and it then used its crazy Fury Swipes skill to repel most of the Murkrows away.
Only then did the Murkrows realize that their leader was not coming back to lead them, so they quickly dispersed and went their own ways.
Seeing this, Ash smiled slightly and put away his new Murkrow's Poké Ball. Pikachu and Togetic also returned back to him and sat at their previous positions.
Ash then looked at the Meowth that "saved" him from taking care of the black crows. This Meowth was walking upright like the one from Team Rocket, and also wore a pair of boots and a cowboy hat.
He looked very nonchalant but had sharp eyes. It was obvious to Ash that this Meowth was a well trained Pokémon.
A young man in a green coat hurriedly ran towards Ash and his group, "What are you guys doing here? Don't you know that this area is run by hoards of Murkrows?"
Although Ash has subdued the Murkrow and the crisis has been easily resolved, the group naturally still thanked him for his concern and helping them.
Ash looked at the Meowth and was very interested in knowing a Trainer he briefly remembered from the original series, so he invited him, "We are going to a place called Ever Grande Noddle Nosh. If you don't mind, you can join our group."
"Huh? Are you guys also planning on going to that place?" Unexpectedly, the young man became very excited and decisively agreed without any hesitations. It seems that he too was like May, a person who pursues delicious food in any and all places.
The group soon found the real location of the restaurant without getting lost this time, and just as they expected but did not want, there was a long queue before they even saw the entrance of the restaurant.
However, for them, the food was indeed delicious, but not worth the wait in Ash's opinion. But a good thing from the process of waiting in the line was that the group also got to know the young man well.
The Trainer with Meowth was called Tyson, and he was also a Trainer who was set to participate in the upcoming Ever Grande Conference
"Since we are competing for the championship trophy, we are rivals!" Tyson was very happy to meet Ash, someone he had heard many things about as Ash was a pretty popular name amongst Pokémon Trainers and fans of Pokémon battles.
He was someone who had shown to be using Legendary Pokémon's and said to have even defeated the Champion of the Johto Region, Lance, a bonafide Champion-level Pokémon Trainer.
Although Tyson didn't see Ash's battle first hand or even just now, he could tell from Ash's temperament that he had never truly had the chance to go all out against any of his past opponents.
To Tyson, Ash was the strongest Trainer he had ever met, someone he wanted to test his team against despite knowing the chances were very very low.
And Ash on the other hand was looking at the classy Meowth sitting next to Pikachu while his Togetic and Ralts played with each other, and recognized Tyson as someone who could challenge his Hoenn Team.
"Mr. Tyson's Meowth is really amazing!" Max has seen a lot of Ash's Pokémon, and well it may not be stronger than any of his older members, or even most of the newer ones, it was still much stronger than the Meowth of Team Rocket.
Brock also praised it, "Indeed, whether it's speed, special moves, or power, it is all very high, which shows just how hard it has trained and its results!"
Any Pokémon Trainer with a heart will be happy to hear a new friend praise their Pokémon like this. Tyson thanked them repeatedly and said with a smile, "But it's true, he never eats anything I make or anything from stores, but he actually eats Pokémon food made by others so happily. I always have to order its food from a very prestigious Pokémon Breeders place."
He looked at Brock and said with a smile, "Brock, you must have put a lot of effort into studying to become a Pokémon Breeder of this level!"
He had also noticed just how much Ash had been paying close attention to his Meowth. Tyson explained to them after seeing Ash's questioning raised eyebrows, "This one's mind is very unpredictable to say the least. With its strength, it could have obviously long evolved into a Persian, but it always refuses to evolve whenever I bring up the topic…" he sighed.
"I do believe that a Pokémon should be able to choose whether they should evolve or maintain their current form, though I'm more inclined to let them evolve unless it's something more than just simple evolution, like my Pikachu. So even if we are their Trainers, we shouldn't interfere too much…" Ash said, recalling his own experience with his own Pokémon's, mostly from the past version of him.
"However," his eyes glowed slightly in a shade of blue, "your Meowth's leg seems to have been heavily injured at one time, though it seems to be slowly recovering."
"So you too can see that…" Just as Tyson drank the last mouthful of noodle soup in his bowl and was about to tell Ash and the others the brief story about his Meowth and how it got that even got that injury in the first place, he looked up and caught a glimpse of the clock on the open wall, and suddenly it seemed like he was on fire, remembered something very important, and stood up like there was something inside of his ass.
"Oh no!" he shouted, and he and his Meowth rushed out of the restaurant in a hurry in front of all the other confused customers, "Sorry, but it looks like I have to leave first! But don't worry, I already paid for all our food!"
Seeing this, Ash and his group quickly followed after him after making sure they didn't forget anything and thanking him for the meal, "Tyson, where are you going? And why are you in such a rush?"
"Pokémon Center!" Tyson replied as he ran, "I'm going to the Pokémon Center! The Sacred Fire is coming soon!"
"Sacred Fire!"
When they heard that it was the Sacred Fire, Max and May's eyes suddenly shone with bright stars, "I remember now! During last year's Silver Conference when Big Bro participated, he also served as the Sacred Fire Runner! I heard that the Hoenn Region Pokémon League uses the Sacred Fire belonging to the legendary Pokémon Moltres!" Max explained in delight.
"To tell you the truth, I am one of this year's Flame Runner!" Tyson looked at Ash, looking forward to his hopeful battle with Ash even more than before, "I did hear a lot about you, Ash, but I didn't know that you were also a Flame Runner before!" He said while running.
"That's right!" Ash responded with a smile. "It was kinda fun looking back!"
"Yep, not only was he the Flame Runner, but he was also the Champion of the last Silver Conference, but you probably already know that, right?" Max ran while he continued to show off Ash's record again.
Ash "gently" hit him on the head. Why would he say it while there were so many people around them?
He had always made sure to stay lowkey so people came up to him less while he was training his Pokémon or traveling around with his friends.
Hearing this, Tyson nodded and his fighting spirit was getting even more stronger.
At the Pokémon Center, the roadside was already full of people, but now even more as people like Tyson came. President Charles Goodshow was also here, waiting for someone. The torch was being escorted by the local Officer Jenny and her entourage, rushing here as fast as they could.
"President!" Tyson and Ash's group arrived, "I'm sorry I'm late! I am Tyson, the Flame Runner!"
"Hahaha! It's okay, Tyson, the torch just arrived a second ago!" President Goodshow didn't seem to mind this at all and instead seemed jolly about it, but so noticed Ash and his group standing behind Tyson.
Before anything else or before anyone even noticed anything, Ash winked at the Officer Jenny that was blushing at him. His powers were already working on her despite this being their first encounter.
"Ash, long time no see! I was there when you became a Top Coordinator at this year's Hoenn Region Grand Festival. Sorry that I couldn't visit you then, but you know how busy I was at that time! But you performed really well! I knew that I'll definitely see you here before you go to participate in the competition this time, so I had long reserved your spot as a Torch Runner early on. And you're the final one! How about it, Ash? You should be already experienced in this!"
President Goodshow had always valued Ash very much. He even saved Ash a spot during last year's torch run early on, not to mention this year when he was already a Champion.
This was the torch responsible for lighting the conference torch, the beginning of the tournament, a glory for any Pokémon Trainer.
"Yes, I'd be honored!" Of course Ash wouldn't refuse such a high honor from the President of the Pokémon League himself.
Seeing this scene, the two siblings were stunned. In their opinion, President Charles Goodshow was the greatest figure in the Pokémon League as a whole. It was really amazing that such a big shot liked Ash this much.
"Oh, and would you look at that, it's May and Max, Norman's children!" President Goodshow looked at May with a smile, "Your performance at the Grand Festival was also outstanding, especially as this was just your first time being a part of it!"
It felt great to be recognized, especially for her own performance, so May said happily while Max was still awestruck at President Goodshow for knowing of his existence, "Thank you very much for your compliments!"
The torch was lit with the flames, and Tyson, who was the first runner, got ready and set off. According to the rules of previous League competitions, the torch will be passed with the baton of each torch runner.
It was still a long time before it was Ash's turn to give the final run and light up the stadium, so the group followed President Goodshow and drove into the venue of the Ever Grande Conference!
In the car, President Goodshow pointed to a Pokémon Center near the Trainer Village and introduced, "The Pokémon Center over there is solely dedicated to the tournament. The conference schedule and the release of the battles and its categories will all be in that place!"
In other words, that Pokémon Center will become the place where Ash, his group, and all Trainers go the most often.
And now, they are going there to go through the formalities for joining the whole thing.
As soon as he entered the door, Ash noticed a familiar figure.
He was leaning against the pillar in the hall with aloofness, his eyes closed lazily, which obviously looked like he was showing off, which he was doing 100% without a doubt.
His mostly handsome profile attracted a few young girls to come forward, but the boy ignored them all.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu was the first to cheer up after seeing this familiar looking hedgehog.
Hearing its sound, the boy finally opened his eyes and looked over, "Ash, looks like you're finally here!"