Welcoming Ceremony

After exiting the plane, Daikon's breath was taken away by the beautiful scenery. A huge building sat on the top of a mountain with beautiful grey pillars and huge castle like doors. Mountains and valleys were in the surroundings, filled with pokemon.

"Wow…" Daikon said breathlessly, still taking in his surroundings.

"Gary had the same look when he first saw it." Professor Oak grinned, amused by Daikon's expression.

Gary snorted and pushed past them. Following him, they walked through those giant castle like doors. The room was huge and open, a Wailord could fit in there no problem. The three of them walked to a counter which two people stood at, boy and girl.

"Hi, how can I help you?" the girl asked.

Gary pushed Daikon forward impatiently. Daikon cleared his throat and said, "Hi, I'm Daikon Klein. I am here to register me and my pokemon for the U20 Tournament." He took out his pokedex and handed it to the girl.

The girl took it wordlessly and plugged it into her computer. A few seconds latter, information popped up on her scene.

Daikon Klein

Age: 15

Pallet Town

No Badges

Espeon ♀

Dragonair ♂

Typhlosion ♂

Togekiss ♀

Flygon ♂

Milotic ♀

Registered by Professor Samuel Oak

The girl smiled and gave Daikon back his pokedex. "Your registered for the tournament. You will be staying in Villa 07. Two trainers are assigned for each villa so make sure you are respectful to your roommate." she said, handing him a large key with the number 7 on it.

Daikon looked back at Professor Oak who gave a quick nod. Daikon took the key and thanked her. She pointed and gave Daikon directions towards the villas and told him to keep an eye on his pokedex for emails. Thanking her again, Daikon headed in the direction she gave. After a few minutes of walking, Daikon found the villas.

He was astounded at the size and beauty of these villas. They were huge, two or three of his childhood home could fit inside the villa. Large gardens with a pond were in the backyard, filled with beautiful trees. The building was two stories tall with eastern design to them.

Daikon found one with a large number 7 on the front and used the large key that was given to him. Opening the door, he was shocked once again. The room was open with modern appliances. Glass doors were at the back of the villa, opening up towards the garden. A little overwhelmed, Daikon didn't notice the guy standing in the kitchen.

"Hello? I'm Joel." the guy said a little awkwardly, seeing that Daikon hadn't seen him yet.

Coming out of his stupor, Daikon scratched his nose in embarrassment. "Sorry, I'm Daikon." He walked up to Joel and put out his hand. Joel took his hand and shook it. He was average height with brown hair and black eyes. His body had a stocky build that seemed radiant strength. Daikon could feel a slight vibration of aura.

The of them made polite conversation for awhile. Daikon found out that Joel was from Pewter City and that the former gym leader Brock Harrison who was now a well known pokemon doctor was his mentor and entered him into this tournament. They both avoided the topic of their pokemon, not wanting to give each other an edge if they battled.

*Ding!*

Daikon looked down at his pokedex and saw that he had an email from the Pokemon League.

Welcome,

You have been entered into the U20 Kanto Pokemon Tournament. You and your pokemon will represent the young talented trainers of Kanto. The tournament will start June 9 with the opening ceremony happening June 8.

Good Luck

Pokemon League

"Looks like the opening ceremony is today. We should get ready." Daikon said, heading towards his room which was on the main floor. The room was spacious and had huge king size bed. Dropping his backpack on the bed he jumped on the bed.

Daikon was startled by a knock at the door. "Umm Daikon there is someone here to guide us to the opening ceremony." Joel said.

Daikon opened the door and saw that Joel was wearing dress clothes.

"Do we need to dress up?" Daikon asked a little surprised.

"I'm not sure, but better safe than sorry." Joel said shrugging his shoulders.

Daikon nodded and quickly put on the dark blue dress shirt he wore for court. He unbuttoned the top button and wore his dress pants. He quickly fixed his hair in the mirror and followed Joel out of the room. In the front of their villa a man waited for them, guiding them towards the opening ceremony.

Entering a large tunnel they walked into a large open stadium where Daikon assumed that they would be battling. The seats were filled with lots of people that were excitedly waiting for the welcoming ceremony to begin. Daikon and Joel were separated. Daikon stood next to 2 girls that looked at him with flashing eyes. The one even threw a wink his way, causing Daikon to look down at his shoes.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I introduce you to Kanto's future pokemon masters and our future!" a loud voice filled the stadium.

Cheers erupted as people yelled and clapped their hands vigorously.

"These 50 young stars are all under the age of 20 and have promising futures that will shock not only the Kanto region but the entire pokemon world! Now let's introduce the young stars!" a giant screen appeared above the stadium, causing everyone to look at it.

"First up is the fan favourite and runner up from last year! His Charizard easily crushed its opponents with its powerful flamethrower! At 19 years old and with 7 gym badges, give it up for Charlie Gartel from Cinnabar Island!" the screen was filled with the image of a man with short green hair. His face was ordinary but Daikon could see the steadiness in his eyes. The crowd erupted and cheered ferociously for him.

"Charlie I love you!"

"It's your year Charlie!"

Charlie gave a gentle smile as he waved towards the fans.

The announcer continued to introduce everyone. What shocked Daikon is that most of these people already had won gym battles, causing Daikon to feel immense pressure. When the announcer announced Joel, he looked like he was sick and about the throw up.

There was 5 people who ranked in the top 10 last year that were participating again.

Soon it was Daikon's turn.

"Now for our youngest participate, who is only 15 years old. But make no mistake, he is well known across Kanto for his heroic deeds in Cerulean City saving a young child and defeating the corrupt police captain, our very own Daikon Klein from Pallet Town!" Daikon appeared on the large screen, he looked incredibly handsome and when he looked at the camera, his blue eyes seemed to pierce their souls.

Soon the stadium erupted with cheers, mostly from females, as they all heard about his story. Calming himself from the shock, Daikon gave a slight nod to the camera and then turned away, staring forward.

The other contestants gave him a once over. Daikon could feel some hostility from a few, mostly guys. The announcer finished the announcing the trainers.

"The tournament will be in eliminations format, lose a match and your are done. Due to there being 50 participates, the top two trainers from last year will get a by, Charlie Gartel and Chelsea Gampe."

Daikon looked at the girl beside him, who ranked 4th in last year's tournament. She shot a smile at Daikon and waved at the crowd.

'She placed 4th… she must be strong.'

"Our Elite 4 has something to say."

Daikon looked down at the ground in surprise as the stadium floor split and a stage emerged. On the stage stood 4 people that Daikon would recognize anywhere.

Sabrina Natsume. Former Saffron Gym leader and psychic type.

Lorelei Kanna. Ice type.

Lance Wataru. Dragon type.

Bruno Siba. Fighting type.

A pressure filled the stadium, causing everyone to quiet down.

Lorelei stepped forward, she adjusted her glasses and brushed her red hair out of her face. "Welcome talented trainers of Kanto. As a member of the Elite 4, it brings us nothing but pleasure and joy to see such young and talented trainers as yourselves. Becoming a pokemon trainer is dangerous occupation and is filled with peril, only the strong can continue down this path." her voice was sweet but had a cold edge to it.

After she was finished, Bruno stepped forward. "Never give up your dream. Trust in your pokemon and believe in yourself. Never let your fighting spirit die." he stepped back and didn't say anything else. Everyone was a little confused about their speeches but didn't say anything.

Lance and Sabrina had disinterested looks and didn't say anything.

Shortly after that the ceremony came to a close.

---

"Didn't think you were coming Lance." Lorelei said to Lance, a smile seemed to dance across her lips.

"I wasn't but someone is of interest to me." he said simply.

"Oh?"

Lance ignored her and continued to stare out at the trainers.

'Let's see was a main clan descendant is capable of.'