263: A Claim to Flame!
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Yes, Ash's older nephew has appeared on the scene, still displaying the ultra-confidence that enraged Ash so much in the past but without the overbearing arrogance that made everyone else hate him too. He greets Ash and tells them he has all ready done all of his paperwork and finished figuring out exactly which Pokemon to use. Brock and Misty are impressed but Ash says he will still beat him, and Gary chuckles that Ash still has that "naive enthusiasm" but this time, Gary means to put Ash in his place. He saunters off confidently, leaving Misty and Brock further impressed, but Ash doesn't care, he means to beat Gary AND win the Silver League, which will give him.....
A Claim to Flame!
They head into the town to look about, and discover another blast from the past, Mister Goodshow handing out balloons. He greets them happily in his shorts, sweater, Santa beard and creepy paedophile vibe all intact since the last time they saw him, saying he is looking forward to seeing Ash getting all sweaty and excited and screaming out in ecstasy.
Oh dear.
Meanwhile in a nearby busy restaurant, Team Rocket have jobs as waiting staff and are rushing about trying to fill their orders. A small girl with a Teddiursa teddybear asks where her hamburger is, and Jesse shows surprising restraint by making nice and telling the little girl that she'll go check up on it for her now. But then the girl makes the mistake of calling her old, and Jesse prepares to FUCKING THROW DOWN ON A FIVE YEAR OLD GIRL, only to be stopped when James pulls her into the kitchen and warns the customer is always right, while Meowth sighs in the background and keeps on cooking. He gives her a plate to take to the girl, but instead Jesse angrily (yes, ANGRILY) swallows the contents as James and Meowth look on aghast. She then starts chowing down on every body's meals, grumbling that the food wouldn't be there if it wasn't for them so they DESERVE to eat it. James and Meowth can't fault this horrible, horrible logic so they start chowing down too, and the restaurant owner pops in, sees them and gives them the (literal) boot.
Back at the Pokemon Centre the twerps have found that benefits come with registration, as they enter their wonderful rooms for the first time. The place is huge, with a great view, big table, comfortable bedrooms, a computer and a nice big couch. As Pikachu bounces happily on the couch, Brock informs Ash that the various registered trainers are about to undergo the screening process. A lot of people want to take part in the Silver Conference, and of the more than 200 trainers who successfully got eight Hoenn Gym Badges, only 48 will survive the screening process and make it through to the opening matches.
They head out and watch the other trainers fight, and then a voice calls over the PA system that Ash Ketchum's first battle will be against Salvador from Cherrygrove City, a young trainer who doesn't get to have a last name. Ash sends in Pikachu against Salvador's Furret, the evolved form of Sentret. Pikachu Thunderbolts but Furret uses Double-team to confuse Pikachu, then fires at Pikachu with Swift Attack and knocks it down. Pikachu comes back with a Quick Attack, only for Furret to use Dig, and then pounce through the earth with a head butt. Pikachu gets back up but Furret digs again and then tackles Pikachu from behind, before using dig again and Head butting Pikachu again, then again, and Pikachu can't figure out where the attacks are coming from. It uses Swift again and Pikachu seems dazed and confused, so Salvador calls for it to finish off with Head butt. As it comes down though, Ash calls for Pikachu to jump onto Furret's back and hold on. Furret digs under the ground again but Pikachu holds on, using Thunderbolt, and the dug up holes from earlier in the battle explode with light, kicking up sand everywhere, and when it clears Furret emerges from one hole exhausted and Pikachu from another full of energy. It uses Quick Attack and knocks Furret down, and Ash wins!
Man, sucks to be Salvador.
Ash asks if Furret is okay and he says it'll be fine, and compliments Ash on his great work. But for Ash the boy with only a first name is merely a memory now, one more in the long list of one-named and no-named punks he's destroyed on his endless journey towards Johto. He moves onto his next battle and defeats a Machoke with Take Down, then an Exeggutor with Cyndaquil. After winning all three matches, he returns to the Pokemon Centre to see if he'll make it through the screening process...
Is he worried that somehow other people managed to win four of their three battles?
Harrison has made it through, and so has Gary, and... yes, Ash made it too. Ash declares that he will push through Gary to make it to the finals, but Mr Goodshow pops up behind Ash (oh he'd love that, wouldn't he) and wonders if things will go as easily as Ash expects. He explains the point systems, in which the 48 who survived the screening process are divided into groups of threes. The people in those groups then battle against each other in 3 on 3 Pokemon Battles, with points awarded based on wins or draws. Then the top 16 trainers battle it out in elimination matches until only one is left, and that person is the winner.
As opposed to Salvador, from Cherrygrove City, who would be crying over the videophone in his room to his mother right now if they hadn't probably already booted him out on his ass the moment he got screened out.
That night, Ash can't sleep and so hops out of bed and takes Pikachu for a walk along the beach. As they walk they spot Gary coming the other way, and settle down to look out over the ocean, both admitting they couldn't sleep. They look up at the moon and Gary points out that the first night he left Pallet Town he saw a moon just like that, and reminds Ash of the first day of his own journey, and how he and Pikachu went from strangers that didn't get along to best friends. Gary philosophizes for a bit, pointing out that if Ash hadn't been late, and if Gary himself hadn't stopped to look at the moon... maybe they'd both be in two different places in the world today instead of together at the Silver Conference. Ash asks Gary why he is being so introspective, and Gary replies that he STILL believes he can beat anyone who gets in his way, including Ash. Ash laughs that he feels the same, and that Gary better get used to being number two, because Ash means to win the whole damn thing, even if they are friends.
The next day....
Well holy shit, Gentle Dodgers, the quickly impending Johto League Silver Conference has quickly impended, and now it's on! Finally the fucking thing begins, with the opening ceremony watched by thousands in attendance and millions watching around the world, waiting to see the opponents get ready to rumble!
Professor Oak watches from his lab, and surprisingly Delia Ketchum is watching from HER home. Professor Elm sits nerdishly at his computer, probably streaming the feed while seeding torrents of horrible, horribly pornography and writing slash fanfiction about his fursona's livejournal. The torchbearer runs in to light the flame and the trainers line up to prepare to enter as part of the ceremony. But as Ash joins the queue of trainers, a couple of officials pop in to ask Ash if he filled in one final form. He says he didn't and they tell him he'll be disqualified if he doesn't, and understandably alarmed he heads off with them as Gary notes his departure and wonders where the hell Gary is going.
Shortly after, we find Ash tied up and tossed aside by the "officials", and...
Oh God it's Mr Goodshow, isn't it!?! And Professor Elm is probably watching on his laptop and things are about to get blue and.... oh, oh wait. The "officials" are a blue haired boy in a suit and a red haired woman in a suit/skirt combo. They're not degenerate child rapists, they're Team Rocket!
"Prepare for since you've been hogtied and roped!"
"Make it double, it's better than we hoped!"
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jesse."
"James."
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light,"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"
"Meowth, dat's right!' cries Meowth, holding Pikachu in a small box. They cheese it and leave Ash behind, slamming against the door to try and escape only for Gary to open it and send him tumbling out. They chase after Team Rocket and all of them crash into the Torchbearer as he's about to head out into the stadium. Ash grabs Pikachu as it falls through the air, and Gary grabs the torch before it can hit the ground and go out. A quick Thunderbolt from Pikachu sends Team Rocket blasting off again, but then Ash and Gary realise that the torchbearer has been injured and can't make it to light the fire that symbolises the start of the conference.
In the stadium, reports come through the torchbearer has been injured, but then in runs Ash with the lit torch, much to Delia's delight watching from home and Professor Oak and Tracey's bewilderment, and Elm's.... well, Elm's weird, who can tell what the hell he is thinking. He's probably got the stream minimised and is updating his youtube bookmarks anyway.
Ash lights the flame and somehow doesn't set fire to himself, and then Mr Goodshow asks all the trainers to battle with integrity and honesty so they never regret a single moment of their time here. The trainers look on with happy faces as the flame burns and the Johto League Silver Conference finally, FINALLY begins.
| BEST QUOTES |
 "Everyone loves balloons!"
 "I'm not sure I totally get it but that doesn't matter anyway."
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