Author's Note: Finally got some free time after work to write this one up , Enjoy
Third POV
Aria could not believe she had lost.
Even after the referee announced Red's victory and the crowd slowly began erupting into cheers and discussions, her mind still refused to accept it. She recalled Shellos into its Poké Ball with slightly trembling hands before quietly leaving the arena.
The entire hall had fallen into silence for a few moments after the battle ended.
Before this, most people had thought Grey defeating Ryu was the biggest upset of the tournament. But this completely topped that.
Internally, Aria was confused.
Who exactly was this Red kid?
He was not even in the top fifty of the Trainer's Exam rankings, yet he had just defeated her head on.
What she did not know was that both Red and Blue had barely cared about the exam in the first place. They were already guaranteed starter Pokémon from Professor Oak, and both of them had already owned powerful Pokémon even before officially receiving their licenses. Red had his Poliwhirl while Blue already possessed his Scyther. Unlike many trainers who desperately needed high scores for opportunities, they had treated the exam more like a formality.
Still, none of that mattered to Aria right now.
She had lost.
And she was not supposed to lose.
She had imported Pokémon from different regions to build a balanced and powerful team. She had prepared carefully, trained seriously, and entered the tournament believing she was among the favorites to win.
Yet in the end, none of it mattered.
Red had simply been stronger.
Back in the stands, Grey stared at the battlefield for a few seconds before speaking to Blue beside him.
"He is strong," Grey admitted quietly. "Very strong. Even I don't know what tactics I'd use to beat him."
Blue smirked slightly after hearing that.
"That's Red," he said confidently. "And he seems to have gotten even stronger with that Ninetales on his team. But I'm not losing to him again."
There was a sharp determination in Blue's eyes as he continued.
"I'll give it everything I've got. Then after I beat him, I'll see you in the finals for our rematch, Grey."
Grey nodded lightly.
Blue then left the stands, probably wanting to prepare for tomorrow's battle.
Grey remained seated for a little longer, thinking deeply.
Both semifinal matches were going to be difficult.
As much as he wanted to believe he could beat Ash comfortably, he had learned not to underestimate unpredictability in battles. Ash especially had a habit of growing mid battle and pulling out unexpected strategies or new moves.
And after seeing Red reveal a Drought Ninetales today, Grey could no longer assume anything.
If Ash somehow had another surprise hidden away like that, things could become troublesome very quickly.
Still, Grey mentally reviewed his team matchups.
Shellder could handle Ninetales well.
Persian's speed and Thunderbolt gave him options too.
Even Axew could potentially fight it depending on the situation.
But Exeggcute would have a terrible matchup against that Ninetales.
This was not like Bruce's Vulpix at all.
Ninetales was on a completely different level. Faster, smarter, more experienced, and its fire attacks were vastly stronger. Under sunlight, even Exeggcute's Chlorophyll advantage became risky.
Eventually, Grey stood up and left the arena as well, deciding to rest for the day and mentally prepare for the semifinals.
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The champions continued discussing the tournament after the matches concluded.
Steven leaned back slightly in his chair before speaking.
"So these are the Top 4 for this tournament. Not bad."
Diantha smiled faintly and nodded.
"Yup. They're all strong enough to deserve their spots."
Lance crossed his arms while looking toward the battlefield below.
"The surprising thing is that all four are from Kanto," he said. "And even more surprising, three of them are trainers sponsored by Oak."
He narrowed his eyes slightly before continuing.
"I thought the old geezer retired from battling years ago. What exactly is he doing sending out this many prodigies all at once?"
Alder laughed loudly.
"They are pretty good," he admitted. "Personally, I like the Grey and Ash kids, so it's a bit unfortunate only one of them can make the finals. But the other two are excellent as well."
He then looked toward Lance.
"That Red kid beat the noble girl pretty convincingly. By the way, Lance, is it really that easy here to get Pokémon from other regions?"
Lance let out a sigh before replying.
"Luckily none of her Pokémon looked abused or mistreated, so she probably didn't get them through the black market. My guess is her parents pulled some strings and imported pre evolved Pokémon for her legally."
He continued calmly.
"Since all of them were still unevolved, it probably didn't raise too many alarms within the Trainer Association."
Alder shrugged.
"Not that it mattered much. If having rare Pokémon alone made someone strong, collectors would be sitting here instead of us."
"Bya hahaha!"
Steven smirked slightly.
"You're not wrong about that."
Lance immediately glanced at him.
"You don't get to say that, Mister Stone and Fossil Collector."
Steven instantly frowned.
"Hey."
Diantha chuckled softly watching the two argue while Alder laughed loudly again.
After that, the champions continued discussing the day's battles, some promising trainers they had noticed, and eventually even drifted into conversations regarding regional politics and trade relations between Kanto, Johto, and Unova as the tournament slowly moved toward its final stages.
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Third POV
Grey went back to his room to rest for a while before eventually heading toward the dining hall on the ship for dinner.
This time, however, things were very different.
He was now officially one of the Top 4 trainers of the tournament.
A lot of people approached him while he was eating. Some wanted battle tips, some simply wanted to talk, while others just seemed excited to interact with one of the semifinalists.
For someone as antisocial as Grey, this was honestly a strange experience.
Still, he tried his best to respond politely.
Some trainers asked how he trained his Pokémon so well at such a young age, while others questioned him about Counter Shield or how he managed to raise Axew despite not being from a dragon clan.
Grey mostly gave simple answers.
Train consistently.
Understand your Pokémon.
Use their strengths properly.
Battle strong opponents.
To him, those things sounded obvious, but the trainers listening looked at him as if he had revealed some hidden secret.
Eventually, while Grey was eating, a familiar voice called out to him.
"Yo, Grey."
Grey looked up to see Ryu standing there with a large roasted leg piece in his hand. The Blackthorn trainer casually took another bite before speaking again.
"I wanted to talk to you earlier after the match," Ryu said, "but it didn't feel like the right time. I've cleared my head now."
He looked directly at Grey.
"If you have time, can we talk?"
Grey was honestly a bit surprised by that request.
Still, after a few seconds, he nodded.
"After I finish eating."
Ryu nodded back.
"I'll wait at the tip of the ship."
Then he walked away.
On the other side of the buffet area, several nobles were surrounding Aria, trying to console her after the loss.
"That Red kid definitely cheated somehow."
"There's no way a three badge trainer should have a Ninetales that strong."
"He probably got lucky."
"He must've hidden his real strength from the start."
They kept making excuses to comfort her.
But deep down, Aria herself knew the truth.
Red had not cheated.
He was simply stronger than her.
Elsewhere nearby, Red himself was currently being surrounded by another group of nobles.
Some were questioning him nonstop about how he defeated Aria, while others were shamelessly offering huge amounts of money for his Ninetales.
"One million Pokédollars for the Ninetales."
"I can offer more."
"Name your price."
Red was already starting to look annoyed and was about to tell them all to leave him alone when another voice suddenly interrupted.
"Why don't you extras move out of the way already? You're being annoying."
The nobles instantly turned around angrily.
"Who do you thi..."
Their voices died midway when they saw who had spoken.
Blue Oak.
The grandson of Professor Oak.
And Professor Oak himself was not only a world famous researcher but also a former Champion.
The nobles immediately backed off after realizing escalating things with Blue would be a terrible idea.
Once they left, Red let out a sigh.
"You didn't have to cover for me," Red said. "I was already about to tell them to buzz off."
Blue shrugged.
"They would've just caused a bigger scene if you did that."
Red smirked slightly before looking at him.
"So we'll be facing each other in the semifinals."
Blue grinned immediately.
"Yeah. And I'm looking forward to my rematch with you."
His eyes sharpened with excitement.
"So don't you dare hold back against me. Go all out."
Red nodded calmly.
"I expect the same from you."
At another table, Ash, Misty, and Brock were eating dinner together.
Ash had also been congratulated by a lot of people for reaching the Top 4.
Normally, Ash realized, this was the point where he would start getting overconfident.
Back during the AJ incident after earning two badges, he had already started believing he was amazing.
But now things felt different.
The loss against Surge had humbled him heavily.
Instead of getting cocky, Ash understood just how difficult tomorrow would be.
Both semifinals and the finals were scheduled for tomorrow. And not only was there prize money involved, but the placement rankings also determined who got first pick among the four prize Pokémon.
First place would receive 100,000 Pokédollars and first choice.
Second place would receive 75,000.
The remaining semifinalists would each receive 50,000.
Ash looked toward Brock while eating.
"Hey Brock... can we discuss some strategies for tomorrow later?"
Brock smiled immediately.
"Of course."
Honestly, Brock was extremely happy seeing Ash grow like this.
Normally Ash would have been loudly declaring himself the future champion after reaching the Top 4. Instead, he was calmly thinking about preparation and strategy.Unlike before like with AJ where he had gotten cocky after getting 2 badges.
The defeat against Surge had genuinely matured him as a trainer.
And because of that, Brock felt Ash was finally starting to bring out his true potential.
Eventually, the three finished eating and left together.
Later that night, at the edge of the ship, Grey arrived to meet Ryu.
The cold ocean breeze blew around them while the waves crashed softly below.
Grey looked at him.
"You wanted to meet?"
Ryu stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking.
"Truthfully... I wanted to apologize for how I behaved earlier."
Grey blinked slightly in surprise but remained quiet.
Ryu continued.
"I know an apology won't erase what I said. I understand that. But I still wanted to say it."
He looked directly at Grey.
"You're a great trainer. And I was wrong about you."
Grey honestly did not know what to say to that.
Part of him wanted to simply say it was fine and move on.
But another part of him thought differently.
Ryu was right.
Words could not just be taken back so easily.
They were not suddenly going to become friends overnight because of one conversation.
Ryu then gave a small sigh.
"To be honest, I'm probably going to get an earful from the clan after losing this tournament."
Surprisingly though, he did not sound bitter.
"But honestly... I don't feel that bad."
He looked toward the dark ocean.
"I lost to a strong opponent. And I learned a lot from this tournament."
Then he turned back toward Grey with a serious look.
"So Grey, I'm not asking to be friends or anything like that."
A small competitive grin appeared on his face.
"But the next time we meet... I'll defeat you."
Grey stared at him for a second before smirking slightly himself.
"We'll see about that."
Ryu laughed lightly at that response.
Before leaving, Ryu asked to exchange numbers, which Grey agreed to without much issue.
After that, both trainers went their separate ways for the night.
Grey eventually returned to his room and went to sleep.
Tomorrow was going to be a very important day.
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Author's Note: A lighter more slice of life chapter , after lot of battles , i have realised this arc is big so lets do it properly and not rush it , besides we have few more battles to go .