Power Stones, please.
It took me some time to rewrite this as the original one was lost.
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The group then took a small boat out to sea from the harbor in Cerosi Town, Ash and his team finally arrived at the location of the Ash's last official Gym Badge, the island of Sootopolis City!
This was a Water-type Pokémon Gym. From a long time ago, Ash made sure that this Gym was going to be the last Gym he battled here in the Hoenn Region. It was not for anything else other than it just because the former Gym Leader of the Sootopolis City Gym is the current Champion of the Hoenn Region, Wallace.
Wallace also happens to be the best Pokémon Coordinator out there as of yet, no one came close to his power level in Pokémon Contests.
It was said that in order to be able to collect all the rare stones in this world, Steven, the former Champion, resigned from his post as the Hoenn Region Pokémon Champion, and handed over this title and responsibility to his VERY close friend and rival, at that time the Gym Leader of the Sootopolis City Gym, Wallace!
Therefore, Wallace's own master, Juan, had to serve as the Gym Leader of the Sootopolis Ciry Gym again, as he was already the Gym Leader here before he retired to travel the world and showcase the beauty of his own Pokémon's.
In short, the Gym Leaders in this place was always someone with some real powers and someone that has a very high level of understanding of battles and Pokémon Contests.
With the current strength of the team Ash decided to use, Ash believed that they will definitely be able to give Juan's team a run for their money and win them at the end.
"Okay, here I come, my last official Gym Badge!" After getting off the boat, Ash's fighting spirit was already burning hot from all of that excitement, and even Brock and May could clearly feel Ash's enthusiasm from behind him.
"Ash is really excited about his last Gym Battle." May looked at her boyfriends attitude and smiled.
He rarely acted like this in front of them, so she always deeply cherished these moments in her heart.
"May, Mr. Juan, the current Gym Leader of the Sootopolis City Gym, is not only a very powerful trainer, but also a top Pokémon Coordinator with a few Grand Festivals under his belt. You must watch this battle carefully, although it wouldn't be like one of tjose Pokémon Contest battle, it will still definitely be helpful for your future growth."
As soon as these words came out of his mouth, May suddenly became even more excited than Ash, "Really? Now I will definitely watch and record the battle. This will be my first time watching a battle between top Pokémon Coordinator's!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the group saw that the sky in the city was lit bright with firecrackers going off. This city was really lively, it was almost if they were welcoming them.
Or someone else that is important to them!
"There seems to be some kind of celebration, let's go take a look!" May, who was already excited, saw the lively scene and hurried over before anyone can say anything.
There was a large stage on the water. When May and the others came there, it was already crowded with many people, the drums and other instruments were making some real good noise, and it was even more lively here than anywhere else.
"In our beautiful Sootopolis City, a true piece of water art is happening again! Soon, it will be the Sea Festival, where we thank our Guardian for providing protection to our home for another year!" The host of the event was giving an introduction before the performance was truly set to begin.
'Sea Festival? Is this maybe one of the reason Maya came during this time? Well, who cares? All I have to do is spend our perfect day together tomorrow. No worry at all.' Ash thought with a small smile that only May noticed and somehow understood.
"Then, let me introduce to you, Sir Juan, or better known as the 'Water Artist' across the world and our dear Mayor of Sootopolis City!"
This Juan person was indeed extraordinary, dressed in a water-blue luxury suit, he was receiving countless screams and applauses from the audience from the moment he appeared on the stage.
"May, that is Juan, he was Hoenn Region Champion Wallace's Master. They are both very proficient at using Water-type Pokémon. Whether it was for regular battles or performing on the Contest stage, they are all very powerful."
Ash introduced May to Juan's abilities , "Didn't you tell me that you wanted to train your Gorebyss better? You can take a closer look at his various Water-type Pokémon's, it will definitely be helpful to you in the way you train it in the future."
"Yeah, I got it!" May's eyes were filled with stars.
Juan was supposed to be the opening performer for this celebration. As soon as he waved his hand, several water jets shot up from the water stage, and a rainbow suddenly appeared on the stage sky, illuminating the whole area in bright lights.
A small unnoticeable amount of blue light flashed across Ash's eyes, and now he realized just how many of Juan's Water-type Pokémon's were already under the water stage.
"Everyone, how are you today on this fine day? Although I wanted to increase the dear people of Sootopolis City to the woman we are boasting the Sea Festival for, she was unable to reach here on time! My apologies!" Juan said as the performance officially started, "Thank you very much for coming. As I just introduced, although I'm part of the contributor to the planning of this event, these beloved Pokémon's of mine are the real heroes today!"
"Okay, come out and say hello to everyone!" All of Juan's Water-type Pokémon's all began to appear like this was a official Pokémon Contest first round, and May's eyes were widened quickly, not daring to blink and miss the spectacle before her.
There were Gorebyss, Seadra, Azurill, Luvdisc, Goldeen, and Wailmer, these six Pokémon jumped out of the water and lined up on both sides of Juan to make him seem like he was royalty.
Finally, a Milotic splashed out from the deep water and perfectly began to display its charm from the moment it got out, even though it was now in the air. Whether it was its temperament or posture, it all seemed so damn beautiful.
"It's so beautiful, especially that Milotic of his, it's so beautiful. I'm once again reminded how much I need one in this life." May still misses her nonexistent Milotic, it was the one Pokémon she wanted the most out of any Pokémon's for her team and career as a whole.
"Same, but I still think the Big Bros Milotic is the prettier one. It's scales are much more shiner and it's also a lot bigger, not to mention it's beautiful color scheme." Max said in a stand still voice. Just talking about appearance, Ash's Milotic golden and pink scale patterns did already it more beautiful than any other ones, though it was their opinion and was not proven yet by research.
"Big Bro, when there is a Gym Battle, will you use your Milotic to fight against Mr. Juan's Milotic?"
"Yeah, that's my current train of thought." This was exactly what Ash thought was right.
"Okay, let's show it to everyone, the legendary Water Artist!" Juan finally started to perform and show the people why he was such a renowned Pokémon Coordinator at even this age.
It should be said that he truly was one of the greatest Pokémon Coordinators that shaped how people viewed this initially small competition format. Before him, it was just a preety small thing that only some female Pokémon Trainers liked, then he came in and won multiple Grand Festivals, changing its viewpoint while also bringing in more and more people to watch Pokémon Coordinators.
Then came in Wallace, who made this still mostly a Hoenn Region thing popular worldwide with his own power and advertising methods.
Out of any people alive or dead that were responsible for how popular Pokémon Contests were at this day and age, Juan and Wallace were definitely in the Top 3.
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Juan just used some basics skills of the Water-type to cooperate with each other in the form of Water Gun or Bubble, these simple moves were still more than enough to create mesmerizing effects on the audience below and around.
"He turned all that simple things into ab awesome musical fountain, and here I thought I was good at being a Pokémon Coordinator. Looks like we are still children in front of the legends that formed this and are it's very foundation." Ash commented from his stranding point.
"Ash, what you said so not nice, and here I thought we were getting better." May protested to Ash to show her dissatisfaction, even though she really knew what he said was right and he's just thinking of ways himself to get better at his work.
She just wanted some of his attention for now because she knew who was coming here tomorrow.
Maya.
His first lover and the one that he had stayed the furthest away from.
After the performance, the program here had nothing to do with Juan anymore. He came directly to Ash and his group as if he already knew something about them, "If my observation is astute, this should be your first time visiting my city, correct?"
"Yes!" Ash and the others replied respectfully.
"Mr. Juan, I am Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region, and I came here specially to challenge the Sootopolis City Gym and get my eighth Gym Badge!" Ash's fighting spirit has been burning, and he was ever eager to have a good fight with Juan, a powerful Pokémon Trainer and Pokémon Coordinator like he was.
Feeling Ash's high fighting spirit, Juan smiled and said, "Ash, I already knew it was you the moment I saw your Ralts from the stage, even without needing to look at your face. I was still wondering when I would be able to wait for your challenge, so I'm delighted to hear that the day finally come."
"Mr. Juan, do you know Ash from somewhere?" May asked doubtfully.
"Yes, I have heard of Ash from an old good friend of mine, Professor Birch, many months ago, even before Ask began to participate in Pokémon Contests. It was only just after Ash won his first official Pokémon Contest that I truly began to pay attention to him, he defeated one of my students with only a Ralts. Then I saw the recording of the Pokémon Contest myself, and call me shocked." He said like this was a story and he was narrator of how a legendary master found the future Dragon Warrior.
"Ash," he said while turning to look at him directly, "ever since that one, I made sure to watch all of the Pokémon Contests you have participated in, and have repeatedly showed me my past and how fun things were before I got into all of these political games. So for that, I thank you from the deepest point of my heart." He said while actually giving Ash a full bow.
This absolutely shocked Ash, who had no idea that his decision on the moment to become a Pokémon Coordinator for points can have a result like this.
He immediately took hold of Juan's shoulders and made his stand up. "Mr. Juan, you don't need to thank me at all for this. All I did was my job, and it was you yourself that found your true self again." Ash said in some real understanding.
Thankfully no one was look at them as they moved to a quieter place. If there were none, they would have already been swarmed up because both of them were immensely popular in this city more than ever, especially Juan as the Gym Leader and the Mayor of Sootopolis City.
"Haha, you really are too polite. I had once lost my way, but now I found myself again. This is exactly the reason I quit being a Board Member of the Pokémon Contests, it was simply too much for me to get so political with the thing I loved ever since I was a child. Finding out things that I should have never found out and too many things." He said in a true bittersweet voice.
Ash and his group now sat down at a small but beautiful cafe with a great view of the sea, "This is a place that I made all those years ago to act as a place where I could think about things and not be haunted by what I have seen in my career."
Juan said as he trailed his finger across a mahogany table, remembering things about the past, "I remember I got this from a friend of mine who is now retired because of something he saw but should have never seen..."
He then turned his look to the guests and smiled, "No, now is not the time for me think of the past. I moved on and did my best to get the forgiveness of all those people I have unknowingly harmed."
"Ash, I have to tell you something and you have to remember it very well. And you too, May. I see potential in you, and this is the exact reason I believe they will began to use you two." He said in a cold voice.
Ash's eyes turned cold and held his beloved girlfriends hand, "Mr. Juan, what exactly are you insinuating at?" He knew that Juan meant no harm as he was constantly using his Aura Sense.
Brock understood the importance of this situation and how maybe Max was too young for it and stood up, "Max, you come with me. We gotta buy some stuff from the market."
Max, who himself understood the gravity of the situation, left with Brock.
'Thanks, Brock. I'll tell you later what happened.' Ash used his telepathy and told Brock, who in turn nodded and closed the door. Making Ash, May, and Juan be the only one sitting on the room.
Ash also took back his mostly confused Ralts and Togetic back into their Poké Ball to make sure that they don't hear anything too much for their young mind.
"Ash, May, are you two really ready for what I'm going to say?" He said as he took a deeper breath.
May and Ash looked at their hands that were holding each other and nodded, "Mr. Juan, we are ready." They said in unison.
Juan looked them over and sighed deeply, "Sometimes I do regret ever becoming a member of that shithouse. Where should I even begin…" He sat down, looking all gloomy.
"Ash, this is more for you now and more so the future May. There is something extraordinary weird with this industry, something known as 'Perfect-D.'"
"When I was at my peak, I thought I was at the very top of the pyramid of Pokémon Contest related things… but I wasn't even near the top," he said all darkly.
"Everything I did and will do was always already planned out by those people above. I had no control or knowledge about this at that time."
"Not even my own wife…" He said with a disappointed laugh.
"Huh?" May looked confused, "Mr. Juna, what do exactly mean my that?"
"It means that those so called upper people arranged everything, even your wife. Am I correct?" It was Ash that said this.
"Yes, you would be correct, Ash. My own wife that I have loved for many years in fact just someone they placed to watch over me and make sure that I don't retaliate. That was all her job, and she was very good at it."
Their conversation went for more than a hour, Juan told them everything he had seen and experienced and just how many things he regretted ever being a part of.
This further strengthened Ash's and May's resolve in never being a true part of the League.
Now everything makes sense.
With all the sudden small hints both Professor Oak and Lance gave him of never actually trying to become a part of the league.
They cared about him, and that is the exact reason they don't want him to join the main brass of the League like they once were and their regrets.
In fact this is also the main reason Steven stepped down from his position and let Wallace, a more experienced player who had lots of experiences come and became the Champion of the Hoenn Region.
Wallace had tried everything he could to dissolve the board and he's getting somewhere, though it was a slow process.
And Steven, Juan, Professor Birch, and some other well known people are also secretly helping him stop this.
Finally they came to the end of their long conversation.
Ash to Wallace many times before.
"Ash, May, one more thing. Act like I have never told you any of this. This is for your own sake." He said with a look of experience.
They nodded and acted like they just met and were just having some regular conversations.
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"Wallace also told about you from what he found out. You should know, he and Steven are VERY good friends!" Juan said frankly that although Ash had not yet met Wallace, Steven should have mentioned Ash to Wallace many times before.
"So the reason Wallace asked about me is because of Steven." Ash nodded, showing he has not forgotten the favor given to him by Steven when he gave him a very high potential Aron back then.
"Ash, I will accept your challenge. I also want to know what Steven was full of praise for you in your strength, and why Wallace is also so eager to see how you can compete with him on both stages." Juan directly said this without any hesitation.
In this Gym Battle, he will use his full strength and show no mercy, even if it was someone like Ash, who he had told everything he knew.
This also meant that Ash will get to face another Elite 4-level opponent so soon after his battle with Drake.
Ash immediately got excited.
He was someone who craves for such battles. And he can also give some of his stronger Pokémon's from the Lab a chance to test out their strength.
Juan took the group, after Brock and Max came back, directly to the Gym on his private island right at the back of Sootopolis City. He also shared some black tea from his collection with everyone, and slowly said to them in his wise worlds, "I believe what Pokémon's are doing is a form of art, such as what all of my Water-type Pokémon's do."
"When I train them, I think about how to make them use skills quickly and beautifully, without them needing some extra movement to take away their perfect balance. After some exercise and training, I can always say whether of not they are the pieces of art in my heart, whether or not we are meant to be together. That's absolutely not an exaggeration, trust me on that last part."
It can be seen that Juan was very proud of his Pokémon and confident in his own strength, which he had every right to do so.
"Excuse me, Mr. Juan, it might sound a little weird but why did you specialize in training Water-type Pokémon's?" Brock asked a very good question out of the blue.
"I suppose I can entertain your question. Ultimately, its because most of them have streamlined and beautiful bodies, that simple. There is no true hidden reasons behind it, after some time, they become my favorites my a large margin." Juan looked at Ash and smiled, "Ash, to tell you the truth, because I follow every Pokémon Contest that you participate in. I know that you have a very beautiful Milotic, even more than my own and Wallace's one."
"Yes, this time I originally did plan to use only some my Water-type Pokémon's to challenge your Gym." Ash was not only an expert in countering types, but also at fighting against the same types. This was also one of his many specialty's
"I'm looking forward to it!" Ash's words alone were enough to make Juan's fighting spirit ablaze.
"And don't forget what I said, it's a deep secret that only a very few people know." He turned away while muttering this.