The Finalists are Announced

"I won't! I'll never give my Badge to a cheater! Never in a million years!" Whitney declared with a pout, as she practically threw a temper tantrum when I asked for my newly earned Plain Badge.

Not only that, but she was also calling me a cheater, because my Miltank and Tauros managed to defeat her own despite them being alphas, while mine were normal pokemon.

"Sorry about this. Whitney gets like this sometimes whenever a trainer manages to beat her ace pokemon. Its a big part of the reason why she rarely brings Miltank and Tauros out to battle anymore." One of the girls who had been cheerleading earlier whispered to me, while the other nodded in affirmation.

"And she's the reigning Gym Leader of Goldenrod city?" I asked them incredulously, while Whitney continued to pout.

"She will calm down eventually, and when she does she'll give her Badge to those that earned it." The girl assured me. But it looked as if we wouldn't have to wait that long.

"Is this truly how a member of the Johto League behaves?" Demanded a harsh female voice, which immediately put an end to whitney's tantrum as she instead turned completely pale.

"Its Clair!" One of the spectators exclaimed as the entire area was filled with whispers and muttering.

Clair herself was a vision of confidence and authority as she arrived, the sounds of her boots hitting the ground echoing as everyone quickly fell silent. After all, she was the strongest Gym Leader in all of Johto, and acted as their commander under the Elite Four and Champion.

"Clair! Uh.... This isn't what it looks like!" Whitney immediately tried to explain herself.

"Really? Because it looks like you're refusing to give a trainer the Badge they earned after beating you in battle." Clair stated observantly.

"B-but he cheated! He HAD to!" Whitney declared while pointing a finger at me in accusation.

"Really? Ace Ketchum? The same man who challenged a Champion on the first night of the tournament? Who has ONLY been challenging Gym Leaders afterwards? Who even defeated me and earned the Rising Badge the other day? THAT Ace Ketchum?" Clair asked, making point after point until Whitney looked completely deflated.

"Here you go..." Whitney said in a quiet voice as she handed me the Plain Badge, a look of defeat on her face.

"Thank you." I said while accepting the Badge aand adding it to the case carrying the others. I was now officially halfway through the Johto League.

"Excellent! Now then Whitney, shall we go have a conversation regarding the proper etiquette and mannerisms of Gym Leaders?" Clair asked her once I had my Badge.

"Eh?!" Whitney uttered before Clair grabbed her by the arm and prepared to drag her away despite her protests.

"Hm..." Clair hummed as she stopped, seemingly listening to Whitney before looking back at me. "You come too Ace. There's some things we need to talk about."

"???"

I cocked a brow at Clair but followed her regardless, curious as to what it was she wanted while there was still an hour left until the results were announced.

...

*PA!*

*PA!*

*PA!*

"HYAAAN!"

Whitney cried out as she came for the fifth time on my cock, despite the fact that she was being fucked by one of us 'ugly' men.

Apparently her Gym was based off of cuteness more than anything, which meant it was staffed entirely by women who used 'cute' pokemon. And since men were VERY rarely 'cute', she couldn't care less for us as a whole.

Well apparently her body was far more honest than her mouth as I pounded her from behind while holding her arms back, and made her cum yet again.

"So how does it feel inside of her?" Clair asked as she hugged me from behind, pressing her naked breasts against my back as she did so.

"Tight and hot." I answered truthfully, giving a few last thrusts before I finally poured a load of semen into Whitney's womb.

"HAAAAAAAAA!"

She cried out with yet another orgasm as I filled her, before going limp as she seemingly passed out from the how intense it was. Though her pussy continued to spasm and pulse around my cock.

I held her up in my arms, staying sheathed inside her the entire time, and moved backwards towards Clair's bed to sit on the edge, with Clair sitting behind me as she hugged me to maintain closeness with me. As she did that, I shifted my hands upwards to grab and knead Whitney's breasts, making her stir and moan despite still being unconscious.

"You know..." Clair whispered in my ear. "I could also introduce you to Jasmine, the Gym Leader of Olivine city if you want. She's a little shy, but I'm pretty sure there's a reason why her ace pokemon is a Steelix."

I turned to look back at Clair with a brow cocked, even as she looked back at me with hopeful eyes.

"I mean, I would appreciate it. But why the sudden aggression?" I asked her, seeing as Clair already arranged for me to sleep with Whitney when we first got to her room.

"I just want to make you happy..." Clair said, though she didn't look me in the eye when she said it, and there were obvious hints of guilt and anxiety in her voice. I didn't need aura to know something was bugging her.

"What's going on Clair? Tell me." I asked the older woman, making her bite her lip anxiously before resigning herself.

"Lady Ilene wants to take you to Rota." She said eventually, and I began to piece together what was going on.

"So you're trying to give me more reasons to stay in Kanto/Johto." I said, to which she nodded in affirmation.

"Haaa... Sorry to say this, but I planned on leaving anyways." I told her, making Clair look up at me sharply.

"You see Clair, there's a LOT going on in the world that I have to be a part of. So once I'm finished with the Kanto and Johto League circuits, I plan on traveling to different regions to challenge their circuits as well. And while I'm there, I'll also need to deal with whatever criminal groups are there as well. So while I do plan to come home when i get the chance, I'll always be traveling for the forseeable future."

Clair was silent as she absorbed what I said, which was the entire truth. Even Lance was aware that once I finished with things here, I would have to travel around to deal with the various threats.

"But you don't need to worry about some woman taking me away or anything." I said as an afterthought. "After all, I doubt there's a woman alive that could truly tie me down! Speaking of, is that offer with Jasmine still on the table?"

Clair just stared at me in disbelief for a moment before she proceeded to pinch my side, HARD.

"OW!" I yelped as if in pain, making her smirk before I spun around real quick, and laid Whitney down on the bed.

"I'm gonna get you for that!" I declared, before takling Clair onto the bed, where I proceeded to have my seedy way with her.

...

After getting back at Clair for pinching me, and waking Whitney back up, the three of us hurried to shower and change before rushing to the hall from the opening ceremony, where everyone had already started to gather. Once again I was wearing my suit, while the two girls had changed into their usual battling gear.

Of course they had to split away from me when we got to the great hall, leaving me on my own as I looked for the others. Thankfully I didn't have to look long as I sensed a group of people with auras stronger than normal, which naturally belonged to the group of protagonists.

"Ace! Over here!" Serena called out once they noticed me, and I hurriedly made my way towards them through the crowds.

"Where have you been?" Misty asked as I got there.

"I've been busy. Did I miss anything?" I asked them, while nodding to the guys in greeting. Goh gave a look of utmost loathing though for some reason. Meanwhile some of the guys seemed pleased with themselves, while a few of them appeared pissed. Guess they didn't make the cut.

"No, they're just waiting on the last few people." Dawn explained, while Joy brought me a plate of food.

"Thanks Joy." I said while accepting the plate, though when I did the little nurse paused and sniffed me a little, before shaking her head in exasperation. Well EXCUSE me then!

I had barely managed to start shoveling the food in my mouth, as I felt like I was STARVING, when Steven suddenly spoke into the mic on stage.

"Well welcome back everyone! It's been an eventful few days!"

A great roar greeted him as the trainers around us cheered, making me flinch at the sudden spike in emotions and noise. No wonder Lucario was hiding out on another part of the ship.

Steven allowed the cheers to continue for a moment, before motioning for silence as he continued, "Now then, before we give you all the names of our eight finalists, how about a replay of the highlights from the battles over the last few days?"

Again, there was a great cheer before the lights dimmed as a large monitor flickered to life, and a series of clips began playing.

The scenes looked like something out of a movie as one scene after another played of pokemon battling, some of which I recognized either from my own battles, or those I knew.

In one scene Lyra's Meganium took down someone's Golem with a powerful Razor Leaf, and in another Elio's powerful Mudsdale took out an entire opposing team. Then there was a clip of Misty's battle against Nessa, in which her Starmie won a decisive victory with a well-placed Thunderbolt, before it was followed by a clip of May's battle against Iono.

Then there was those of us who were featured numerous times throughout the montage. I saw a brief clip of my race against Falkner, as well as a shot of my battle against Norman. They even had a clip of my battle against Whitney right as the preliminaries ended.

There were also numerous shots of Ash, Ethan, Gary, Brendan, Lucas, Calem, Victor, Nate and Hilbert, along with shots of a girl dressed like a punk in a pink dress that I recognized as Marnie from the rankings. And needless to say I paid extra special attention to those clips, since they were most likely to be my opponents in the finals.

Soon the climax of the montage arrived as it turned to my battle against Cynthia, where both of our Lucario duked it out until both were knocked down, only for mine to slowly rise to his feet with his fist raised up in a pose for victory.

With that being the final shot on the screen, it went dark before the lights turned back on and the stage before us was occupied once again, except this time with all of the Champions, Elite Four, and Gym Leaders that were on board. Even Lady Ilene was there, though I noticed her glance at me specifically in the crowd.

*Clap clap clap!*

"Truly, those were some excellent battles, from ALL of you!" Lance declared, eliciting another cheer before he joked, "I'm pretty sure that what we saw here, on board the SS. Anne, will be chronicled as the arrival of several new Champions that will rise in the near future!"

Though there was another cheer at that, I noticed that Lance wasn't particularly happy from the idea. Especially when he glanced in our direction.

Well I'm SORRY that you have to be my stepping stone Lance!

"Before that day though, we have this tournament and the finalists to discuss!" Lance declared as the noise died down again.

"Though we have seen valiant efforts, from ALL of you, trainer and pokemon alike, only eight of you will move on to the finals! And from there, only one will be crowned the champion of the Inter-League Tournament!"

The largest cheer yet went up as so many people anxiously awaited the results, with even several in our group holding their breath slightly while those of us that I believed got in stared ahead with a sense of stoicism.

"And now, here are your Inter-League Tournament finalists!" Lance declared with a flourish of his cape, and the monitor behind him lit up once more to show eight darkened icons.

"This first young man is someone from the Galar region, who's trainer license was endorsed by none other than the current Champion of that region himself, VICTOR!"

As Lance declared his name, Victor's picture lit up on the monitor for everyone to see.

"Yes!" Victor declared, while both Gloria and Hop congratulated him.

We then watched another montage of Victor's battles over the last few days, in which he secured victory after victory with three pokemon in particular, Cinderace, Appletun and Seismitoad.

"Very well done Victor!" Lance declared once the montage was finished and Victor made his way up onto the stage, before Cynthia this time stepped forward to make the next announcement.

"Next is a young man from the Kanto region, taught and sponsored by his own grandfather, who is also a former Champion! Presenting GARY OAK!"

This time Gary's picture appeared on the monitor before it was followed by a montage of his own battles over the last few days, featuring mostly pokemon of his that I hadn't seen before. I'm pretty sure he was just trying to keep his main team hidden for the real thing. But main team or not, even the pokemon Gary used for the preliminaries were pretty strong.

"Nice job man." I said while holding out a fist to gary.

"Humph." Gary sneered with a look at my fist, before bumping it with his own. "Just don't leave me hanging. No one else here is worth my best." Gary stated as he headed up to join Victor and the Champions on stage.

"Excellent Gary!" Cynthia stated, before Steven this time stepped forward.

"From the Sinnoh region is a young man who only obtained his starter by mistake, but has grown to be a true powerhouse with a shot at the League! Please join me in welcoming young LUCAS!"

"Hell yeah man!" Barry declared as his best friend was announced, before the two high fived as Lucas made his way up onto the stage. Meanwhile I kept an eye on the montage of his own battles for the last few days, seeing that Lucas mostly used pokemon like a Duskull, Bronzong and his Toxicroak.

"It is an honor to meet one so talented." Steven said as he shook hands with Lucas, Before Iris this time hurriedly stepped forward.

"So far its such a guy-fest up here! How about some representation for the ladies?!" She cried out, only to be answered by a high-pitched cheer from the women in the crowd. "Thats what I like to hear! Now keep that momentum up for the woman of the hour from Spikemuth in Galar, MARNIE!"

When I say there were cheers for Marnie, I mean I was practically deafened by the roar that resulted as a result of her being announced as one of the finalists, particularly from one group over by where Marnie was.

"Thats the girl who I lost to last night..." Ash pouted as we watched Marnie make her way up to the stage.

"You lost to her?" I asked him curiously.

"She challenged Ash thinking he was you shortly after he had to fight off Team Yell, so his pokemon were already exhausted." Tracy explained to me while Ash pouted silently. "If not for that loss, then Ash might have made it into the preliminaries."

"Huh..." I said while looking over at the group cheering for Marnie, almost obnoxiously so. And as I did so, I noticed that several of them were glaring at me with undisguised hostility and thug-like expressions.

Could they be...?

"And now we have the young man from Hoenn!" Professor Kukui, who was also the Champion of Alola, announced as he stepped forward this time.

"This young man has been blazing a trail throughout the entire Hoenn region on his way to the top, and now he's here to do the same! Introducing, BRENDAN!"

"THAT'S MY BROTHER!" Max immediately yelled with pride, while I could see Norman looking down towards Brendan with pride from his place on stage.

The rest of us gave him our congratulations as Brendan made his way up to the stage to join the others, leaving only three slots left.

Nemona this time stepped forward as she declared, "there's so many strong and promising trainers with strong and promising pokemon out there! This guy is one such trainer from the Unova region, and he goes by the name of HILBERT!"

"DAMN IT!" Nate cried out as his cousin started to make his way up to the stage to join the others.

"Better luck next time." I said while patting him on the shoulder, even as Nate slumped to his knees.

"There's still two more slots." Rosa told him as she too tried to comfort her brother, before Lance stepped forward yet again.

"And now from Kalos! We have a Young man who is not only a budding trainer on the rise, but he is also rising through the ranks of the Battle Chateau! Presenting CALEM!"

As his name was announced Calem made his way up onto the stage while the rest of us congratulated him, with Serena even giving her brother a quick hug while I eyed the pokemon he used. Like Gary, it seemed as if Calem focused on using pokemon that weren't a part of his main team, aside from a few select choices like his Doublade, and his Simipour.

With all but one of the finalists named, I felt a sense of expectation rising within me even before I noticed Lance looking right at me after he finished greeting Calem. And then Cynthia stepped forward once again.

"It is my absolute honor to introduce this young man, who not only has a near undefeated track record, but he also gave me the most invigorating battle that I've had in a long while! I am most proud to present, ACE KETCHUM!"

Yet another great cheer went up as my name was announced, though I could also feel some bitter auras in the crowd, more than any of the others if anything. Though I assumed they were mostly from those who challenged me and lost, I also noted that several of them that bordered on malicious were coming from the same group that cheered so loudly for Marnie.

Meanwhile in another area I could feel the excitment of my two 'disciples', Bruce and Jackie, as they waved a couple of large banners bearing my name and cheered me on, while several of the girls also kissed me right there in front of everyone. I felt quite a bit of the bitterness turn to jealousy at that.

That's right peasants, seethe!

That's what I thought to myself as I made my way up onto the stage to join the others, who appeared completely unsurprised that my name was announced. If anything, it would be more surprising that I wasn't announced first.

As the noise began to die down, Lance stepped forward again and gestured towards the eight of us with a flourish of his cape.

"And here we are! The eight finalists for the first ever Inter-League Tournament!"

There were some more cheers while I also noticed numerous cameras and shutters flashing as we were broadcasted all over the world, and people took our photos for news articles and such.

"BUT! They are not finished yet!" Lance continued, bringing the applause down as he gestured towards the monitor behind us, which we needed to turn around to look at.

On the monitor was all eight of our pictures, in no particular order, and Lance continued.

"Tonight, the first match ups of the finals will be randomly decided. And then tomorrow at nine in the morning, we will begin the first round! The victors of those matches will then go on to the semifinals, before we see our two finalists duke it out! Let's see who will be battling who now!"

As Lance said that, Lady Ilene approached us while carrying a box with a hole in the top, which she held out to me with barely concealed intentions in her gaze. Which had nothing to do with the box in her hands.

I readily reached in to feel a number of balls inside, one of which I pulled out to reveal a large number 1 on it, before the number appeared beside my name on the monitor as I showed it. The rest of my competators did the same as they pulled out various balls, each of which apparently were numbered 1-4, until only Victor was left.

After he too pulled out what was probably the only remaining ball, we all turned to look back at the monitor, which had changed in appearance.

We were now separated into four pairings that were labeled with different rounds, with me being in round one to match the number of the ball in my hand. And joining me there, was Marnie from Galar.

After us would be Gary versus Calem, Brendan versus Hilbert, and Lucas versus Victor, in that order.

"And here we have the match ups for the first round!" Lance declared, to which people cheered once more as their emotions all began to run high in anticipation for what we were going to show them.