"Tap, tap, tap..."
Sitting in his wheelchair, an old man named Pryce looked up at the quickly receding scenery, his walking stick occasionally tapping the ground.
"It's starting..."
Pryce sighed inwardly, a cold glint flashing in his narrowed eyes.
"Thank you for waiting, everyone."
Inside the Indigo Stadium, the chairman walked to the center of the stage, a spotlight shining down on him.
"Once every three years, the grand event that determines the strongest Pokémon Trainer in the nation, the Indigo League, has begun!"
The chairman's voice was full of passion, though he sighed inwardly. He was putting everything on the line; the Rocket Gang had to be completely eradicated while still in its infancy!
"For this year's League, we received more than 20,000 applications from the Kanto and Johto regions. Of these, 700 have qualified for the preliminary rounds! They will now compete for the one and only championship title!"
A sweet female voice came through the broadcast: "The entire League will be broadcast exclusively by Goldenrod TV. I, Kurumi, will be your host for a special four-hour program during today's opening ceremony."
"And now..."
The chairman raised his microphone and gestured toward the contestant's tunnel. "For our first event, please give a warm round of applause for the champion of the last League! From Pallet Town, our champion, Ash!"
Amidst thunderous applause, everyone eagerly watched the contestant's tunnel, hoping to catch a glimpse of the champion.
But after two minutes, not a soul had appeared in the tunnel. A staff member quickly ran onto the stage and whispered into the chairman's ear.
The chairman listened, a look of helplessness on his face. He quickly announced, "My apologies, but our champion, Ash, is temporarily unable to make it to the stadium today due to some matters. But don't be disappointed, you can watch the exciting final match from the previous Indigo League on the big screen..."
Before he could finish, the entire stadium erupted in boos. The audience was clearly not buying it.
The chairman wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and quickly added, "Then let's go straight to the main event! A performance match featuring 16 Gym Leaders—the eight-on-eight team battle of Kanto versus Johto!"
As he spoke, the entire stadium floor split open, revealing a light rail track below.
A train pulled into the stadium, slowly coming to a stop inside the hall.
"Thank you for your patience! The eight Gym Leaders from Kanto and the eight from Johto, please take the stage!"
As the chairman's words fell, the train doors opened. A group of people stepped out and simultaneously released a Pokémon from a Poké Ball.
In an instant, Gym Leaders from various regions appeared before the audience with their signature Pokémon.
"Has it started?"
Ace hovered in the air, carried by his Crobat, watching the maglev train enter the venue. He knew the plot was about to officially begin.
"Ring, ring, ring..."
His phone rang. Ace answered, and Green's voice came through. "I'm finished here. The Indigo Stadium is your responsibility."
"Got it. I'll leave the Ilex Forest to you," Ace replied, then hung up.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
Just as he ended the call, a series of sharp noises rang out.
An alarm went off in Ace's mind, and Crobat immediately carried him out of the way.
The next moment, a sharp object flew past Ace's body, leaving a gash on his cheek and instantly tearing his windbreaker to shreds.
"A gun?"
Ace's eyes narrowed. He used his finger to wipe away the blood trickling down his cheek, a flicker of rage rising within him.
"Step, step, step..."
Soon, a group of Rocket Grunts wearing half-ice masks surrounded Ace on the ground.
Ace's eyes narrowed again. Among them, he spotted three or four grunts holding guns.
They raised their weapons again, aiming at Ace in the air.
As he stared at the dark muzzles, memories from the past flashed through Ace's mind.
"I really hate it when someone points one of those things at me."
Ace stared intently at the grunts with the guns, his killing intent gathering. "You're all walking into your own graves!"
"Bang!"
A shot was fired, and several bullets sped toward Ace. But with a flash of light, two Metang appeared in front of him. The bullets struck the Metang, ricocheting off and leaving only a few dents, causing no real damage.
"Psychic!"
The two Metang's Psychic energy surged, quickly acting on the guns.
As the Metang exerted their power, the guns were instantly pulled and twisted by an invisible hand, morphing into lumps of scrap metal!
The Metang's action ignited the battle. The Rocket Grunts took out their Poké Balls one after another. With flashes of light, a horde of Pokémon appeared beside them, launching attacks at Ace in the air.
Ace sneered. His Crobat moved like a ghost, swiftly dodging the attacks.
In the brief moments of respite, Ace's Poké Balls fell one by one, and his Pokémon landed among the Rocket Grunts' Pokémon.
"Roar!"
Garchomp's roar attracted everyone's attention, and in an instant, its Dual Chop sliced through the surrounding Pokémon, sending them flying and clearing a space.
But in contrast to Garchomp's high-profile display, the sinisterly grinning Gengar was even more terrifying.
Gengar, merged with the shadows, didn't seem to have much offensive power, but without a sound, a small portion of the Rocket Grunts and their Pokémon collapsed to the ground.
Ninetales, Victreebel, and Blastoise converged, standing back-to-back. In a flash, the three powerhouses began to unleash their firepower. Flamethrower, Hydro Pump, and Solar Beam alternated, and the original encirclement, under intense fire, was pushed back nearly a hundred meters in just ten breaths!
But even so, the Rocket Grunts, controlled by Pryce's ice, showed no fear. Even after being blasted back, they continued to charge at Ace and his Pokémon.
Their faces, not covered by the half-masks, were full of dullness and numbness. They were mere walking corpses, devoid of self-awareness. The only thing they could think of was to defeat or kill the enemy in front of them.
Watching this scene, Ace's brows furrowed. He was truly astonished by Pryce's ability to control ice!
"Boom!!!"
Just as Ace was busy dealing with the grunts, a huge explosion suddenly erupted from the distant Indigo Stadium. A cloud of black smoke mixed with flames shot into the sky!
Ace instinctively looked at the location. A massive bird-like Pokémon was slowly descending toward the Indigo Stadium...