Chapter 138: The Vertress Conference, The Battle Begins

"Lost."

"Iris, your battle was truly spectacular, even though you lost in the end."

"Indeed, you displayed the true strength of your Pokémon; it had such a powerful flavor."

Ash and Cilan both came over to comfort Iris.

"Iris, it seems I was right to let you go on this journey."

Drayden approached them as well. "I hope you continue to become more independent and stronger. Set out once more, and then return here again."

"Yes, Mr. Drayden."

Everyone bid farewell to Drayden and left the Opelucid Gym. Next, they prepared to head toward Vertress City, the host site of the Unova League.

"Everyone, look! We’ve arrived in Vertress City!"

A city appeared before them. After a day of travel, Cheng Cheng and his four companions finally reached the location of the League Conference. Upon entering the city, they noticed numerous small stalls lining the streets, filled with local specialties and merchandise related to the tournament.

Cheng Cheng glanced around and realized that Team Rocket was nowhere to be seen. It seemed that now that they had been promoted, they were no longer short on money.

"Cheng Cheng." Muzi suddenly called out, and Cheng Cheng understood exactly what she wanted.

"Alright, alright, I get it."

"Ash, I’m going to go walk around with Muzi for a bit. We’ll meet up at the Pokémon Center later."

"Got it."

Cheng Cheng accompanied Muzi to the stalls, where she began a shopping frenzy. Naturally, Cheng Cheng focused on the local food specialties. The chestnut cream ice cream and Oran Berry cakes, unique to Vertress City, were truly delightful.

"Cheng Cheng, let’s play this!"

Before them sat a ring-toss game; if you landed a ring on an object, it was yours.

"Shall we play this?"

"Sure."

They each bought ten rings and began. Cheng Cheng tossed a few casually, missing, while Muzi successfully landed two.

"Cheng Cheng, let’s compete to see who can get the most."

"You should have said so earlier!"

"Hehe."

Muzi started tossing again, landing three more. Cheng Cheng only had four rings left in his hand. He smiled and began his turn. Given his actual skill, landing two would have been a decent feat, but since Muzi wanted to compete, Cheng Cheng had no choice but to cheat. He quickly tossed all four, landing every single one.

"Cheng Cheng, you—"

Cheng Cheng had obviously used his psychic powers to ensure they all landed.

"You... you’re going to be single for the rest of your life!"

With that, Muzi ran off in a huff. Cheng Cheng knew he had pushed it too far and quickly chased after her to apologize. After paying a certain price, Muzi finally forgave him.

"Alright, Muzi, no more shopping. We need to hurry to the Pokémon Center to register for the tournament. If we’re too late, we’ll be in big trouble!"

"Oh, right! Let’s go then. I’ll let you off the hook this time."

Carrying their bags of goods, they arrived at the Pokémon Center. There, Cheng Cheng saw Ash and the others, as well as Ash's other acquaintances: Stephan, Bianca, Virgil of the Eevee Rescue Team, and Ash’s rival, Trip.

"Long time no see, Trip."

Trip stiffened when he saw Cheng Cheng; he hadn't expected him to be here.

"Cheng Cheng, are you entering the League Conference as well?"

"Yes."

"Very well. Then this time, I absolutely will not repeat what happened last time."

"I look forward to our battle."

Cheng Cheng had soundly defeated Trip’s Snivy at Professor Juniper’s lab, so it was natural for him to hold a grudge. However, it wasn't certain if they would even meet; Trip had to get past Ash first, being his rival.

"Right, everyone, let’s go inside and register for the tournament."

They entered the Pokémon Center.

"Everyone, please present your eight badges and place your Pokédex on the scanner," Nurse Joy instructed.

"Understood, Nurse Joy."

They each displayed their badges and scanned their Pokédexes. Their data was recorded, and the machine displayed their room assignments. Every competing trainer was allocated a room, while others accompanying them had to either share a room or find their own.

"Let’s go find our rooms."

The rooms were not in the Pokémon Center itself, but in a separate building. On the way, they noticed someone had set up a tent nearby.

"Someone is actually camping here?"

A familiar face emerged from the tent: Cameron.

"Cameron? Why are you here?"

"Oh, hey Ash! I’ve already collected eight badges, so I set up camp here three days ago!"

"Why are you camping? Aren't you supposed to have an assigned room?"

"Assigned room? Never heard of that."

"How could that be? Every contestant gets a room. Cameron, did you go and register for the tournament?"

"Tournament registration? What’s that?"

Just then, Nurse Joy’s voice echoed over the loudspeaker: "Tournament registration is about to close. Trainers who have not yet registered, please hurry. Once the time is up, we will no longer accept entries."

"Cameron, quick! Let’s go register!" Ash grabbed Cameron and sprinted toward the Pokémon Center. Cheng Cheng and the others waited for them.

Fortunately, Cameron managed to register in time, and they returned shortly after. They all headed to their lodging. The ground floor was a massive cafeteria, the second floor contained entertainment and Pokémon healing facilities, and the third floor and above were living quarters.

After dropping off their things, they went to the cafeteria. Seeing the free food, Cheng Cheng regretted buying so much earlier. Afterward, they visited the hot springs on the first floor—unfortunately, they were separated by gender.

The tournament would begin the next day, and many were likely too excited to sleep. Cheng Cheng practiced meditation as usual before drifting off.

The next morning, after breakfast, they headed to the venue. The host announced the start of the tournament, and the torchbearer ignited the sacred flame. Legend said it was formed by the flames of Moltres, though Cheng Cheng was skeptical—he wasn't sure if Moltres even existed outside the Kanto region.

The preliminary rounds began, held across five arenas simultaneously to save time. Although getting eight badges was difficult, over a hundred trainers were participating.

Cheng Cheng’s match was scheduled later, so he watched the others. In the first round, he saw Stephan, who used his Zebstrika to quickly overwhelm his opponent. Bianca’s Emboar also performed brilliantly, easily defeating its rival.

Then it was Muzi’s turn. Ash was also in this bracket; Cheng Cheng had expected him to face Trip, but he didn't. Ash used his ace, Pikachu, and finished the match quickly. Muzi, meanwhile, used her Altaria to claim a perfect victory.

Finally, it was Cheng Cheng's turn. His opponent was a trainer named Ryota, whom he didn't know. Ryota used an Emboar, a powerful Pokémon. Even in the preliminaries, most trainers brought their best. Since Ryota used a Fire-type, Cheng Cheng chose his Water-type Slowbro.

"Emboar, use Flamethrower!"

"Slowbro, use Hydro Pump!"

Slowbro’s Hydro Pump easily overpowered the Flamethrower, striking Emboar directly.

"Keep using Hydro Pump!"

The continuous output of water left the opponent’s Emboar unable to defend itself, and it soon fainted.

"Emboar is unable to battle! The winner is Cheng Cheng!"

Cheng Cheng passed the first round with ease. After two more rounds, the day’s matches concluded. Cameron and Trip had also won and advanced.

The first day ended. Tomorrow, the official tournament would begin. Cheng Cheng looked forward to seeing who he would face next. They returned to the building, ate, soaked in the hot springs, and prepared for the second day.